How the GCC 2015 payment cycle works under clause 6.10, when payment is due, how interest on late payment runs, and what a contractor can do when payment stops.
Under GCC 2015, getting paid follows a fixed cycle: you submit a monthly statement, the Engineer certifies it, and the Employer pays by the due date. When the Employer misses that date, interest starts running and you gain remedies, but only once you have given proper notice. This guide walks through each step. For the wider picture of the edition, see our GCC overview.
First, check which edition you signed. GCC 2010 and GCC 2015 number some clauses differently, and this guide follows the 2015 numbering.
Each month you deliver a statement to the Engineer showing the value of work done, materials on site and any other amounts you say are due. The statement starts the cycle, so date it, keep proof of delivery and send it in the format the contract data asks for.
A late or incomplete statement delays everything after it. The Engineer cannot certify what has not been submitted.
The Engineer assesses your statement and issues a payment certificate for the amount they consider due. The certificate may be less than you claimed. If so, the Engineer should show how the difference is made up. Any disagreement over the amount is a separate matter from late payment of a certified amount.
Clause 6.10.1 requires the Employer to pay the certified amount within 28 days. GCC 2015 counts calendar days, so weekends and public holidays count unless your contract says otherwise. Check whether your contract counts the 28 days from delivery of your statement or from issue of the certificate. The clause wording decides this, and the difference can be a week.
If the Employer does not pay by the due date, clause 6.10.6 entitles you to interest on the overdue amount. Interest runs from the day after the due date until the day you are paid. The rate is set by the contract. Look in the contract data first, and if no rate is stated there, check what the conditions fall back on.
Interest is not automatic in practice. Claim it in writing and include it in your next statement so it is certified.
If a certificate goes unpaid, write to the Employer, with a copy to the Engineer, as soon as the due date passes. There is no time bar on this notice, but no remedy period starts until you give it. We recommend sending it within 7 days of the missed due date. The notice should state:
Keep it factual and send it by a method the contract recognises for notices, with proof of delivery.
If the certificate remains unpaid after your notice, GCC 2015 gives you further remedies. You may be entitled to suspend the works, or to slow the rate of progress. Clause 9.3 allows you to terminate the contract where the Employer fails to pay, after notice and once the remedy period has run. Sakhani's rules library works on a 14-day remedy period from your notice.
Termination is a serious step with lasting consequences, and the procedure must be followed exactly. Take advice before you use it.
The costs and delay of a suspension are a claim in their own right. Give a Written claim notice to the Engineer under clause 10.1.1, followed by the Detailed claim particulars under clause 10.1.2, within the periods those clauses set.
Assume these facts. The Engineer issues Payment Certificate No. 7 for R1,850,000 on Thursday 5 February 2026, and the 28 days run from the certificate. Days are calendar days.
Suppose payment finally arrives on Thursday 26 March 2026. That is 21 days of interest, 6 to 26 March. At an illustrative rate of 11% a year, interest is about R1,850,000 × 11% × 21 ÷ 365, roughly R11,708. Use the rate your contract actually sets.
There is no time bar on the payment notice itself, and interest keeps accruing. But until you send it, the remedy period does not start, so you cannot suspend or terminate however long the Employer delays.
This guide describes the standard GCC 2015 conditions. Your signed contract may change them through particular conditions, special conditions or contract data. Those amendments govern over the standard text, so read them before you act. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
Sakhani reads your signed contract, including its amendments, and records each certificate's due date. When a due date passes without payment, it counts the days, reminds the people responsible and drafts the notice with the certificate details and interest filled in, for a person to check and send. It then tracks the remedy period and any claim deadlines that follow. See how it works.
See every GCC notice with its clause, period and addressee, or let Sakhani read your signed contract and keep the clocks for you.