Fluctuations: definition and example
Terms that adjust your price for rises and falls in costs after your base date.
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
Fluctuation provisions describe how specified changes in cost are reflected in the contract price. They may use indices, defined cost categories or other agreed rules. The relevant option must actually be included, and amendments can narrow or remove its effect.
Keep the baseline, evidence and calculation method together. Price rise loss prevention can help identify what your proposed terms do and do not adjust.
Worked example
The facts
A fictional clause adjusts £20,000 of eligible material value by the movement in a named index.
What happens
The subcontractor confirms a movement from 100 to 105 for the relevant period.
It applies the assumed 5% change only to the eligible £20,000.
What this shows
The illustrative adjustment is £1,000, not 5% of every cost or the entire subcontract sum.