What does JCT clause 4.22 mean?
Clause 4.22 lists the Relevant Matters: the only events for which loss and expense can be recovered under clause 4.20.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
For the plain-English answer and how it differs from a Relevant Event, see what a Relevant Matter is under JCT.
The answer
The clause numbers here are from SBC/Q 2016, the JCT Standard Building Contract With Quantities. There, the Contractor is your main contractor and the Employer is the client. A Relevant Matter counts when it materially affects regular progress. If an event is not on the list, it does not qualify, however much it cost. The list is short. Variations come first and are the most common. They include anything the contract treats as a Variation. Second are instructions of the Architect/Contract Administrator under the clauses the list names. These include postponing work. They also include opening up or testing work that turns out to comply with the contract, so the cost is not the Contractor's. Third is deferring possession of the site under clause 2.5, where the Contract Particulars allow it. Fourth is an approximate quantity in the Contract Bills that turns out not to be a reasonably accurate forecast of the quantity of work required. Fifth is the Contractor suspending work under clause 4.13 for non-payment. Sixth is any impediment, prevention or default by the Employer or the Employer's Persons, by act or omission. In plain terms, that is anything they did, or failed to do, that got in the way. It does not count to the extent the Contractor or the Contractor's Persons caused or contributed to it. That last item is the catch-all, and it is where most arguments happen. The Contractor has to show what was done or not done, that the Employer was responsible, and the effect on progress. The list is about money only. The events that give an extension of time sit in the separate extension of time clauses. The two lists overlap but are not the same, and we do not assess time. Three mistakes come up often. The first is claiming for an event that is not on the list, such as weather or a subcontractor's failure. The second is treating an extension of time as proof of a Relevant Matter. The third is failing to tie each pound of loss to a named item on the list. As a subcontractor, your own claim is tested against the list in your subcontract, not this one. So read that list the same way before any head goes forward.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
A Contractor's loss and expense submission of £120,000 has four heads. Each head is tested against the list of Relevant Matters in clause 4.22 before it goes forward.
What happens
- £50,000 follows a Variation that re-sequenced the roof. That is a Relevant Matter.
- £30,000 follows a postponement instruction. That is an instruction under a listed clause, and a Relevant Matter.
- £25,000 follows a month when the Employer's own fit-out contractor occupied the plant room the Contractor needed. That is an impediment by the Employer's Persons. It qualifies unless the Contractor contributed to it.
- £15,000 follows exceptionally wet weather that stopped the groundworks. That is not on the list, so it comes out, whatever the extension of time position.
The four heads tested
| Head | Amount | Clause 4.22 position |
|---|---|---|
| Variation re-sequencing the roof | £50,000 | Relevant Matter |
| Postponement instruction | £30,000 | Relevant Matter |
| Plant room occupied by the Employer's fit-out contractor | £25,000 | Qualifies unless the Contractor contributed |
| Exceptionally wet weather | £15,000 | Not on the list |
| Submission going forward | £105,000 | Three heads |
The outcome
The submission that goes forward is £105,000. Each head is tied to its item in clause 4.22 and to the notice given under clause 4.21.
To have each head of your claim tested against the list in your own subcontract before it goes forward, see our Delay & Disruption Claim service.