Can I refuse to carry out a variation?
Sometimes, but neither refusing nor carrying on under protest is automatically safe, so check the instruction and your subcontract first.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
The answer
Check who gave the instruction and whether they have the authority to give it. Check what it changes, and what your subcontract says you must do or may refuse. If you have a safety or technical concern, raise it straight away and in writing. Keep the instruction, your reply and your cost records. Do not count on a stock phrase like working under protest to shield you from every consequence. Where your duty to carry on is disputed, take it to your solicitor before you decide.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
A subcontractor is asked to carry out changed work and is unsure whether to do it. It is not clear the person asking has authority under the subcontract.
What happens
- The subcontractor records who asked, the document or conversation, the work affected and the open question.
- It asks the right person to clarify the instruction, and takes advice where it needs to, before deciding how to respond.
- It checks authority under the subcontract, not from the job title of the person asking.
The outcome
A familiar job title does not settle it. The subcontractor responds once the instruction is clear and the authority has been checked.
To have the people who may instruct on your job listed and a same-day confirmation route set up, see our Unpaid Variation Prevention service.