What is concurrent delay, and can I still claim time or money?
Concurrent delay concerns competing causes of delay to completion. Overlapping dates alone do not establish it, and entitlement to time and money must be assessed separately.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
The answer
The SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol distinguishes true concurrent delay from events that merely happen together. Your planner needs to establish the effect of each event on completion, using the relevant programme and progress records. The protocol is guidance, not a substitute for your subcontract or its governing law. Amendments may expressly allocate concurrent-delay risk. An extension of time does not automatically carry compensation: identify which additional costs the event you rely on actually caused, separating costs that would have arisen from your own delay. Give required notices while the analysis is developed. Your representative confirms the contractual position; we organise the records and assess the cost evidence alongside the appointed planner.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
Late access and a subcontractor labour shortage both occur in the same fortnight.
What happens
- The planner compares the affected activities with the programme and actual progress, rather than treating the shared dates as proof of concurrency.
- The cost assessment separates access-related standby from labour costs the subcontractor would have incurred anyway.
The outcome
The time submission and cost schedule identify their own evidence and uncertainties. Neither an automatic rejection nor a two-week entitlement is assumed.
For the event records and commercial evidence, use Extension of Time Support. For an assessment of the additional costs, see Delay & Disruption Claim.
Sources
- Delay and Disruption Protocol, 2nd edition, February 2017. Society of Construction Law.