Some of our variations were never confirmed in writing. What does Variation Claim do with them?
We rate each one on its evidence before valuing anything, and prepare a confirmation for you to issue now on any still in its period.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
The answer
Each variation is rated strong, arguable or weak. The rating looks at the instruction, the authority behind it, the scope it changed and the records that support it. We agree the ratings with you before any variation is valued. You then decide which variations go forward, and the weak ones are named plainly rather than padded into the total. Those that go forward are valued on the basis your subcontract requires and submitted in your name. They go in with a Scott schedule, a table your main contractor has to answer line by line. If agreement fails and the sum justifies it, we prepare the money side of the claim for adjudication. We do that alongside whoever runs the adjudication for you. Anything urgent comes first, such as a confirmation period closing this week. So does a Pay Less Notice that needs answering this week. That is the notice your main contractor must send if it plans to pay you less than it said. No settlement or outcome is guaranteed, and legal questions go to your solicitor.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
A partitioning subcontractor has twenty-two variations worth £64,000 on its application, and none of them was confirmed in writing.
What happens
- Eight have an email or a marked drawing from the main contractor's project manager, and are rated strong.
- Six rest on a site manager's direction with photographs of the changed work, and are rated arguable.
- Eight rest on memory alone and are rated weak.
- Three of the arguable items are still inside the subcontract's confirmation period, so confirmations are prepared for the subcontractor to issue that day.
- The director takes the strong and arguable items forward.
The twenty-two variations
| Rating | Items |
|---|---|
| Strong | 8 |
| Arguable | 6 |
| Weak | 8 |
| Total on the application | 22 |
The outcome
Fourteen variations go forward to be valued, and the eight weak items are named as such in the schedule rather than included in the total.
To have unconfirmed variations rated, valued and pressed in your name, see our Variation Claim service.