Construction - Managing a Nominated Subcontractor

The client issues a formal instruction naming the nominated subcontractor and defining their works package. Review against the contract documents and confirm the scope against the PC sum before accepting.

Prepare and issue a subcontract to the NSC covering scope, programme, payment terms, retention provisions, and attendance arrangements. Confirm the NSC's price against the PC sum and record any variance.

Raise a purchase order for the NSC's package against the confirmed subcontract price. Link the PO to the main project job record for cost tracking and cost-to-complete monitoring.

Schedule the NSC's access around the main programme. Confirm welfare and scaffold provisions, log the start date in the project record, and maintain a site attendance register.

Receive and assess the NSC's payment applications at each payment cycle. Value certified work, issue payment notices within required timescales, and record payments against the PO.

Where the NSC encounters scope changes, agree variation costs in writing before instructing the works. Issue revised POs for approved variations and update the project cost record.

On practical completion of the NSC's package, agree the final account value including all approved variations. Confirm retention release dates align with the main contract and issue final payment once defects are resolved.

We received a nomination instruction but had no formal process for issuing a subcontract quickly, so the NSC started on a handshake and now disputes the payment terms.

We had no way to separate the nominated subcontractor's costs from our own in the job record, so we could not tell whether the PC sum had been exceeded until the final account was due.

The NSC submitted payment applications directly to the client and bypassed our process, which caused confusion over what had been certified and left us exposed on cash flow.