Builder's Playbook · England · UK04
Construction Act payment notices
Educational, not legal advice. Check your contract and the current law (England and Wales).
5 points
Contract or Scheme: which timetable applies?
Read the payment clause first. Most standard forms set their own periods. For example, JCT SBC 2024 has final date = due date + 14 and a Pay Less Notice 5 days before it. Where the contract sets no compliant mechanism, the Scheme for Construction Contracts fills the gap (HGCRA 1996 s.110(3), s.110A(5), s.111(7)).
Diarise due date, notices and final date
Under the Scheme:
Payment notice: sum and basis, on time
State the sum you consider due and how you calculated it (s.110A). It can be zero. Don't wait for a perfect measure; send it on time with your best basis.
Pay less notice: sum and basis, on time
If you'll pay less than the notified sum, state the sum you consider due on the day you serve it and how you calculated it (s.111(3)–(5)). You can still serve one after missing the payment notice, as long as it is in time. If the payee's own notice fixes the notified sum, the pay less notice can't be served before it (s.111(5)(b)); take advice. Without a valid one, the notified sum must be paid in full by the final date (s.111(1)).
Keep every notice and proof of service
Serve notices the way the contract says. If it says nothing, any effective means will do (s.115). Keep a copy and the proof of delivery with the application.