Practice Notes

The NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) allows design allocation to range from the Contractor carrying out no design to having full design responsibility. This Practice Note shows how it is suitable for use as an Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contract (EPC). 

NEC contracts have been designed to be used in most types of work relating to the built environment. Ground investigation contract works can be procured using NEC forms. This guidance gives advice on how to implement this and deal with the specific requirements of ground investigation contracts.

The ECSC is a simplified and shortened version of the ECC. It includes procedures which are simpler to manage and is appropriate for priced contracts of low risk and low complexity. Gain a comprehensive understanding of the differences between the two contracts with this guidance note.

This practice note gives guidance to a client and service provider on the issues to be considered and how employment protection clauses can be incorporated into the FMC (or indeed any other NEC term contract such as the Term Service Contract).

International or cross border contracts are without doubt more complex to develop and manage. This practice note gives an outline of how the FMC can be used in such situations, demonstrating that the benefits of a standard contract form can be seen in even the most complex of cross border scenarios. It details the way that various aspects of the standard contract work in the more common single country contract, such as would be used for a FM contract in the UK.  It then highlights the issues that need to be addressed for international contracts, and how the FMC and its Scope would be constructed to accommodate these issues.

This guidance was produced in partnership with the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM).

The advantages of using Early Contractor Involvement prior to proceeding to the construction stage of a project are increasingly being recognised by clients and their suppliers. For clients who may be considering using ECI for the first time and/or who may wish to obtain further guidance before doing so, there are some key issues to consider including:

• How to select a Contractor when a firm price is not provided at the appointment stage and
• How to establish the construction cost before starting the construction stage.  

NEC has now released this practice note which considers the issues that need to be taken into account at the procurement stage and gives advice on how to establish the most advantageous offer. It provides guidance on what should be included in the Pricing Information, how to manage submissions in stage 1 and how to agree a price for the construction stage.

This practice note is based on the secondary option (X22) available for use with the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (Options C or E). Published Feb 2022.

NEC, alongside the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) and the Living Wage Foundation, are pleased to present this latest guidance on incorporating the living wage into an NEC4 Facilities Management Contract (FMC).

This practice note is written to highlight the importance of paying the Living Wage throughout the supply chain. It is particularly appropriate for contracts which include the provision of ‘soft services’ such as cleaning and security.

NEC, in partnership with the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) and the Social Value Portal (SVP), have released a new practice note highlighting the importance of social value, particularly in UK public sector contracts. Whilst written for the NEC4 Facilities Management Contract (FMC), the guidance in the practice note is equally important and valid for other NEC forms of contract.

NEC has issued a free Practice Note for assessing delays due to compensation events. The Practice Note has been prepared for use on the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract and the approach should be followed on other NEC4 Contracts.

This practice note has been revised. Download version 1.1 below.

NEC has issued a practice note on how to use the Construction Industry Council (CIC) Building Information Modelling (BIM) protocol with NEC4.

This note provides guidance on the information that needs to be included in an NEC contract which includes the processing of personal data as defined in the GDPR in order to comply with Article 28.

NOTE: Similar provisions are needed in the Works Information or equivalent of an NEC3 contract which requires the processing of personal data. The terms should be changed to reflect the defined terms in the appropriate NEC3 contract.

If an NEC3 or NEC4 contract has already been awarded, the Scope (or equivalent) may need to be changed to add in any of these provisions that are not already covered by the contract. Such a change would be a compensation event.

This practice note explains how the NEC4 suite of contracts can be used to support the use of offsite modular construction.

Using a Dispute Avoidance Board for contracts covered by the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 This practice note has been prepared due to feedback from UK based users who would like to use an independent Dispute Avoidance Board (DAB), rather than using the parties’ Senior Representatives to resolve disputes in a contract where W2 would normally be used. The DAB would be similar to that contained in Option W3 of the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC), as part of a consensual dispute resolution process.