Omission: definition and example
Taking work out of your subcontract by instruction.
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
An omission removes work from the agreed scope through an applicable contractual mechanism. Its valuation is separate from questions about whether the work can lawfully be transferred to another contractor. Saved costs, already-ordered materials and any claimed loss need to be examined under the actual terms.
Keep the instruction and the original scope together. Variation recovery can help identify the financial effect, with legal advice where the right to omit is disputed.
Worked example
The facts
A contractor instructs a specialist to omit part of a ceiling package after materials have been ordered.
What happens
The specialist separates work no longer required from commitments already made.
It checks the omission and valuation clauses before agreeing the account adjustment.
What this shows
Removing the selling price of the omitted work does not by itself resolve every contractual consequence.