GETTING WORK – GETTING PAID – STAYING COMPLIANT

By Gillian Ross – CIF Specialist Contracting Executive

Many small to medium sized contractors are unaware of important changes in the industry which could effect their businesses. Changes in the Constuction Industry designed to improve contractual processes and satisfy increasing compliance has led to an increase in the adoption of more formal and structured contract management procedures.

In the Construction Industry, those changes include your contract, Building Control Amendment Regulations 2014 and the Construction Contracts Act 2013.

A business should understand its obligations under the contract to avoid the myriad of pitfalls in construction contracts which allocate the risks. Would you sign a prenuptial agreement without reading through the contract? No, so why would you sign a construction agreement when you don’t understand the clauses which could be detrimental to your business. The importance of reading your contract before signing in advance of any work taking place cannot be underestimated. In today’s market, as profit margins shrink and spending on construction projects diminishes, it is critical to have the correct documentation in place in advance to minimise your exposure.

The Construction Contracts Act came into effect on 25th July 2016 and applies to a contract whether written or not. The Act was designed to regularise the relationship between contractors and sub-contractors and provide statutory payment protections for subcontractors. However, to avail of the legislation, the subcontract chain needs to be aware of the credit terms and how to deliver on the payment schedule.

The new building control regime, the Building Control (amendment) Regulations commenced in 2014 and two years on is a system to improve compliance with the Building Regulations. It is underpinned by a system of statutory certification and there has been much confusion on the certification a subcontractor is required to provide. The assigned certifier and the builder may require ancillary assigned certifiers and ancillary subcontractors to sign ancillary certificates in respect of specific works carried out by them be it design or not, which carries a risk for the subcontractor.

There are five events running throughout Ireland in September which will give you a quick snapshot of the main areas that you should be aware of:

• Thursday 1st September Radisson Hotel Cork 4.00pm – 5.30pm
• Wednesday 7th September Tullamore Court Hotel, Tullamore 5.00pm – 6.30pm
• Thursday 8th September Clayton Hotel, Galway 8.00am – 9.30am
• Thursday 8th September Sligo Park Hotel, Sligo 5.00pm – 6.30pm
• Thursday 15th September Castleknock Hotel, Castleknock 8.00am – 9.30am

Book your place by clicking here

Attendance Fee = €25 – Bring a friend for FREE