Variations

Variations are quite simple in concept. Where a client varies works, or where the work varies through no fault of the contractor, the contractor ought to be entiled to payment for such a change. However, every contract determines when a contractor will be entitled to payment or not, how much it will be entitled to, and what additional costs it will be entitled to on foot of that variation.

In order to ascertain entitlement to payment for a variation, a careful examination of the contract is necessary and in particular compliance by the contractor with any conditions precedent to liability. It is representative of the complexity of the consideration of variations that this single aspect of variations necessitated this paper on conditions precedent: Conditions Precedent CBA March 2015.

There are many other complexities to variations, not least how to value them. John Lyden presented an excellent paper to the Construction Bar Association on this: Fair Valuation of Variations and Contractual Quantum Meruit.

As noted earlier on, variations are central to all construction contracts and beyond the scope of this introduction. Claimants would be well advised to have a Chartered Quantity Surveyor or an experienced dispute consultant (it is my website after all) advise them on these matters in detail.