NEC4 Accepted Programme: What Clause 31 Requires and Why It Protects the Contractor

The NEC4 Accepted Programme is the programme identified in the Contract Data or the latest programme accepted by the Project Manager under clause 31 of the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract. It is the baseline against which delay is measured and compensation events are assessed for time. On an NEC4 project it is the single most important management document the contractor produces.

Many contractors treat the programme as a planning tool for the site team. Under NEC4 it is far more than that. It sets out the contractor's plan, records progress, shows what the contractor needs from the client and decides how much time the contractor recovers when things change. A programme that is late, incomplete or not accepted weakens every one of those functions.

What is the Accepted Programme?

Clause 11.2(1) defines the Accepted Programme as the programme identified in the Contract Data or the latest programme accepted by the Project Manager. Each newly accepted programme replaces the previous one.

That definition has two practical consequences:

• If no programme is identified in the Contract Data, there is no Accepted Programme until the Project Manager accepts one
• If revised programmes are not submitted or not accepted, the Accepted Programme quickly stops reflecting the real position on site

Under clause 31.1, where a programme is not identified in the Contract Data, the Contractor submits a first programme to the Project Manager for acceptance within the period stated in the Contract Data.

What must an NEC4 programme show under clause 31.2?

Clause 31.2 sets out the information each programme submitted for acceptance must show. In summary it includes:

• The starting date, access dates, Key Dates and Completion Date
• Planned Completion
• The order and timing of the operations the Contractor plans to do
• The order and timing of the work of the Client and Others as last agreed with them
• Provisions for float, time risk allowances and health and safety requirements
• The procedures set out in the contract
• The dates when the Contractor will need access, acceptances, Plant and Materials and other things to be provided by the Client and information from Others
• For each operation, a statement of how the Contractor plans to do the work, identifying the principal Equipment and other resources it plans to use
• Any other information the Scope requires

The Scope often adds its own requirements, such as software format, level of detail, logic linking or a narrative. These are part of what the programme must show.

Planned Completion and the Completion Date

Two dates matter more than any others:

• The Completion Date is the contractual date by which the works must be complete
• Planned Completion is the date the Contractor currently plans to complete

The gap between them is terminal float. Under clause 63.5, a delay to the Completion Date is assessed as the length of time that, due to the compensation event, planned Completion is later than planned Completion shown on the Accepted Programme current at the dividing date. Because the assessment is measured from planned Completion, the contractor's terminal float is preserved. This is one of the main reasons an accurate Accepted Programme protects the contractor.

Time risk allowances and float

Time risk allowances are the contractor's own allowances for risks it carries. They should be shown openly against the relevant activities rather than hidden in inflated durations. Float is the spare time within the programme. Both should be visible, because they affect how the effect of compensation events is assessed.

How does programme acceptance work under clause 31.3?

Within two weeks of the Contractor submitting a programme, the Project Manager must either notify acceptance or notify its reasons for not accepting it. Clause 31.3 lists the reasons for not accepting a programme:

1. 1The Contractor's plans which it shows are not practicable
2. 2It does not show the information which the contract requires
3. 3It does not represent the Contractor's plans realistically
4. 4It does not comply with the Scope

If the Project Manager does not accept a programme, the Contractor should address the reasons given and resubmit promptly.

Deemed acceptance

NEC4 added a deemed acceptance mechanism. If the Project Manager does not notify acceptance or its reasons for not accepting within the time allowed, the Contractor may notify the Project Manager of that failure. If the failure continues for a further one week after the Contractor's notification, the programme is treated as accepted.

Deemed acceptance is not automatic. The Contractor has to notify the failure. Contractors who submit programmes and simply wait may find the contract never had an Accepted Programme at all.

When must revised programmes be submitted?

Under clause 32.2, the Contractor submits a revised programme:

• When the Project Manager instructs it to, within the period for reply
• When the Contractor chooses to
• In any case, at no longer than the interval stated in the Contract Data

Under clause 32.1, each revised programme shows:

• The actual progress achieved on each operation and its effect on the timing of remaining work
• The effects of implemented compensation events
• How the Contractor plans to deal with any delays and to correct notified Defects
• Any other changes the Contractor proposes to make to the Accepted Programme

Each revised programme goes through the same acceptance process under clause 31.3.

What happens if there is no Accepted Programme?

The consequences of not having an Accepted Programme fall mainly on the contractor.

Payment. Where no programme is identified in the Contract Data, clause 50.5 allows one quarter of the Price for Work Done to Date to be retained in assessments of the amount due until the Contractor has submitted a first programme for acceptance showing the information the contract requires.

Compensation event assessments. Under clause 64.1, the Project Manager may assess a compensation event itself where the Contractor has not submitted a programme or alterations the contract requires, or where the Project Manager has not accepted the latest programme for one of the reasons stated in the contract. That takes control of the assessment away from the contractor.

Time recovery. Compensation events are assessed for time against the Accepted Programme current at the dividing date. If that programme is months out of date, the assessment will not reflect the real position on site.

How the programme connects to early warnings and compensation events

The programme is the thread that links NEC4 contract administration together:

• Early warnings should identify which activities on the programme are at risk. See our guide to NEC4 early warnings.
• Compensation event quotations must include any alterations to the Accepted Programme needed to show the effect of the event on time.
• Payment can be affected if the first programme is not submitted.
• Access dates and information dates on the programme show what the contractor needs and when. If the Client or Others do not meet those dates, that may give rise to a compensation event.

For contractors running several packages, a programme that is current and accepted is also the basis for coordinating interfaces across the supply chain. Our programme management support focuses on that governance layer.

Common programme failings on NEC4 contracts

• First programme submitted late or never accepted
• Programmes that show activities but no logic linking
• Time risk allowances hidden in activity durations
• Access dates and information required from the Client not shown
• Revised programmes not submitted at the interval in the Contract Data
• Reasons for not accepting a programme not addressed before resubmission
• No notification of failure when the Project Manager does not reply in time
• Programmes that do not show the effect of implemented compensation events

Need support with NEC4 programmes?

Matthews & Roberts supports contractors with NEC3 and NEC4 programme preparation, submission and revision. We help contractors keep an Accepted Programme in place, track progress against it and use it properly when compensation events arise.

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