Can I change the terms of a JCT or NEC subcontract before I sign?
Yes: the terms can be changed by agreement before you sign, and most main contractors have already changed them in their own favour.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
The answer
JCT subcontracts are usually amended with a schedule of amendments. NEC subcontracts use additional conditions under Option Z. You can propose changes the same way, either to the published wording or back towards it. But nothing obliges your main contractor to agree. Once you have signed, any change needs it to agree a variation of the subcontract itself, which is much harder to get. So ask now for the few changes that move the most money, each with its wording and its cost to you. Price whatever is refused. Check that the edition named in the subcontract is the one you are reading, because wording and clause numbers change between editions. Where amended wording is unclear, what it means in law is a question for your solicitor.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
A mechanical subcontractor is offered a £1.4m subcontract on the JCT Design and Build Sub-Contract with 62 amendments.
What happens
- The subcontractor reads each amendment against the published clause it changes. It finds fifteen that move money or risk onto it.
- It rates five as high and sends each back with proposed wording and its cost on the job.
- The main contractor agrees three and refuses two.
The outcome
The subcontractor prices the two refused amendments before signing, so it carries no risk it has not allowed for.
To have the amendments to ask for written, and the refused ones priced, see our Pre-Signing Contract Review service.