How to claim time or money under GCC 2015 clause 10.1, covering the 28-day written claim notice, detailed particulars, the Engineer's ruling and late notice.
Clause 10.1 of the SAICE General Conditions of Contract for Construction Works, 3rd edition (GCC 2015), is the general route for any claim for an extension of time or additional payment. Whatever the ground (a late drawing, a variation, unforeseen ground conditions), the procedure here governs how and when you claim.
The procedure has two deadlines and a decision. You give a written claim notice within 28 days. You deliver detailed claim particulars within a further 28 days. The Engineer then gives a ruling.
Check which edition your contract uses before relying on anything below. GCC 2010 and GCC 2015 number their claim clauses differently. See our GCC overview.
Under clause 10.1.1, if you consider yourself entitled to an extension of time or additional payment, you must deliver a written claim notice to the Engineer within 28 days of becoming aware of the circumstances giving rise to the claim. The period runs from awareness, not from when you finish costing the effect.
The notice should state:
You do not need final figures at this stage. A short, clear notice sent on time is worth more than a complete one sent late. Address it to the Engineer and deliver it in the way the contract requires for notices.
Clause 10.1.2 requires you to deliver the detailed claim particulars to the Engineer within 28 days after delivering the notice. The particulars set out the full basis of the claim: the facts, the contractual grounds, the time and money claimed, and the supporting records.
If the effects of the event are still continuing, the standard edition provides for interim particulars at regular intervals and final particulars once the effects end. Keep updating the claim rather than waiting for the event to finish.
Once the Engineer has the particulars, the standard edition requires a ruling on the claim within a fixed period, normally 28 days. The Engineer may ask for more information first.
If you do not accept the ruling, the contract's dispute provisions set their own notice periods. Those are separate time bars, so diarise them as soon as the ruling arrives.
Clause 10.1.5 sets out the consequence of not complying with the notice requirement. Under the standard edition, a contractor who fails to give the written claim notice in time is not entitled to the extension of time or additional payment claimed.
What missing the time bar costs: you can lose the whole entitlement to the time and money for that event, even where the event itself was the Employer's risk.
Late or incomplete particulars are treated differently from a late notice in the standard edition, but do not rely on that. Meet both deadlines.
GCC 2015 counts calendar days, so weekends and public holidays count. In this example we assume the contract does not move a deadline that falls on a weekend or public holiday.
Had the notice gone in on Tuesday 31 March, it would have been one day late.
This guide describes the standard GCC 2015 conditions. The signed contract's own amendments, particular conditions and contract data govern over the standard text. Check them for changed periods, a different addressee or extra notice requirements. This guide is general information, not legal advice. For advice on a specific claim, speak to a construction lawyer or claims consultant.
Sakhani reads your signed contract, including its amendments, and records the claim periods that apply. When you log an event, it counts the days from the date of awareness, reminds the people responsible before each deadline and drafts the written claim notice for a person on your team to check and send. See how it works or register to try it.
See every GCC notice with its clause, period and addressee, or let Sakhani read your signed contract and keep the clocks for you.