Prolongation: definition and example
An extended period needed to carry out your work, distinct from the separate question of recoverable delay costs.
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 SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol.
Prolongation describes work taking longer. A claim for prolongation costs requires a separate assessment of entitlement and the financial effect of the relevant delay. The compensable period may not match the entire extension of time, and actual records are important when explaining additional resource costs.
Connect the event, period and extra resources. Delay and disruption recovery can help distinguish an extended programme from a supported financial claim.
Worked example
The facts
A specialist remains on a project for two extra weeks after an access delay.
What happens
It records which people and equipment were retained because of that delay.
It checks the contractual basis and separates unrelated overruns or costs already recovered.
What this shows
The additional weeks provide context; the claim still needs evidence of the particular recoverable costs.
Sources
- Delay and Disruption Protocol, 2nd edition, February 2017. Society of Construction Law.