When Delays aren’t the Sub-Contractor’s Fault, How Do You Protect Their Position?
How acceleration claims, formal notices and disciplined valuation protected a sub-contractor’s position on a delayed care home development
Labour-Only Brickwork, New Care Home Development, Aylesbury
Oxford Surveying Services were instructed on a labour-only brickwork contract for a new care home development in Aylesbury, carried out under a sub-contract order for a large main contractor, valued at £77,346.
The scope of works increased due to issues on site attributable to the main contractor: delays to scaffolding, material procurement and difficult site conditions. We assisted with acceleration to recover lost time, priced the resulting increase in labour costs, and issued formal notices in response to a pattern of late payments and other problems experienced during the contract.
The original works order was increased to a final account of £114,504, an increase of £37,158, achieved despite an extended programme. Margin rose to an estimated 22% on cost; final costs were not submitted to Oxford Surveying Services, as the client chose not to share this information, and the true figure may be higher.
The OSS Role
- Administered a labour-only brickwork sub-contract order valued at £77,346 for a new care home development in Aylesbury
- Assisted with acceleration to the programme to recover time lost to scaffolding delays, material procurement issues and difficult site conditions attributable to the main contractor
- Priced the increased labour costs arising from the extended programme
- Issued formal notices in response to late payments and other problems experienced during the contract
- Secured an increase in the agreed order value to a final account of £114,504
Why This Matters
On a sub-contract order, delay and late payment are rarely within the sub-contractor’s control. The main contractor typically controls the scaffolding, material procurement and site conditions, yet the subcontractor carrying out the works bears the cost of recovering lost time and the cash flow impact of late payment.
Formal notice and disciplined cost recovery change that balance. The subcontractor priced the acceleration costs rather than absorbing them, formally challenged late payments rather than accepting them as routine, and captured the increased scope in the final account rather than leaving it unclaimed.That turned a £77,346 works order into a £114,504 final account, protecting the sub-contractor’s position throughout.ree it before work proceeds and, crucially, record it in a way that stands up at completion. This discipline turned the design changes into £96,069 of additional value.
the numbers
| Original works order: | £77,346 |
| Final account: | £114,504 |
| Increase in agreed order value: | £37,158 |
| Estimated margin: | approximately 22% on cost |
| Total OSS fees: | £3,362 |
For every £1 spent with Oxford Surveying Services, £11.05 came back as an increase in the agreed order value on this contract.
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