Daywork: definition and example
A method of valuing work using recorded labour, plant and materials under agreed rates and rules.
By Jack Butler-Kettle · Updated
Guidance for England and Wales. Check the contract, amendments and facts that apply to your job.
What it means in practice
Read this alongside NRM 2: Detailed measurement for building works.
Daywork values work by specified resource inputs and agreed rates or rules. A signed sheet may acknowledge the resources used without accepting liability, the instruction or the final price. The subcontract determines when daywork is appropriate and how additions or mark-ups are calculated.
Record the instruction as well as labour, materials and plant. Variation recovery connects those records to the applicable payment basis.
Worked example
The facts
Two operatives each spend four hours on instructed extra work at an assumed agreed rate of £30 per hour.
What happens
The sheet records eight labour hours, the work location and the instruction reference.
The subcontractor checks any separate material charges and agreed additions.
What this shows
The labour calculation is £240; the signed sheet alone does not establish acceptance of every element of the claim.