Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
that he is entitled to £10,000 if he does not take over any section until he
takes over the whole of the works after the completion date.
The delay damages are set at a rate per day. This might lead to the
contractor successfully arguing that the amount is really a penalty unless,
for example, the employer can show that the daily rate for Saturday and
Sunday, which is the same as for the other days, was a genuine pre-estimate
of the loss likely to be suffered by the employer in the case of an overrun. Of
equal concern is the fact that, although clause 35 provides for the employer
to be able to take over a part of the works, there is no provision under clause
R for the delay damages to be proportionately reduced. Therefore, in the
event that partial takeover is carried out, it is likely that the delay damages
clause will become inoperable and the employer will be thrown back on his
common law remedies for breach of contract.
Clause R1.2 provides that if the completion date is changed after delay
damages have been paid, the employer must pay the overpayment with
interest. Interest is to run from the date of payment to the date of repayment,
which is an assessment date. This is more advantageous for contractors than
JCT contracts which make no provision for interest in these circumstances.
