Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Payment
Most contractors would say that securing payment is one of the trickiest parts
of their job. All the standard forms dealt with in this topic, with the exception of
GC/Works/1 (1998), make provision for the contractor to terminate its employment
if the employer does not honour certificates (or in the case of DB pay the amount
in the application) within the due time. If the architect simply does not issue a
certificate at the proper time, it is a breach of contract for which the employer may
be liable. It may be possible to recover payment due without a certificate in such
instances.
More difficult is the situation in which the architect certifies less than the con-
tractor considers is due. If persuasion fails, the remedy is to refer the dispute to
adjudication or arbitration. There is a difficulty in that arbitration can be a lengthy
process and the architect can rectify an under-certification when issuing subsequent
certificates before the arbitration takes place. Even the relatively speedy adjudica-
tion will usually take 35 days from start to finish, which is quite long enough for the
architect to issue another certificate. However, that should not preclude the con-
tractor from recovering damages for the late certification. That will usually include
interest.
The following letters deal with several common situations, including failure of
the architect to issue the final certificate on the due date. Special letters are included
to cover the special payment situations under DB.
