Category: Legal
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Everything contractors should know about RIDDOR
In one case, an employee was clearing a site for a new house when the 1.7-tonne excavator he was using tipped over and crushed his leg. His employer neither investigated the incident, nor reported it to the HSE. Eight months later, the employee sadly lost his leg and complained to the HSE. The employer was…
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Four ways construction can navigate Trump’s tariffs
Uncertainty is usually a cause for concern in construction. However, it is nothing new to the UK market. Recent years have seen Brexit, covid, war in Ukraine and more. The effects of the tariffs are likely to be another in a long line of challenges affecting the supply chain. The industry has proven itself to…
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Sisk v Capital & Centric – or why not reading the full contract can lead to unintended consequences
The case of John Sisk and Son Ltd v Capital & Centric (Rose) Ltd flags the importance of reading the whole contract – and not just focus on the legal front-end, explain Jane Hughes and Jessica Barnes. (Image: Gajus via Dreamstime.com) In contract negotiations, the focus tends to be on the front-end of the contract:…
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Sisk v Capital & Centric – or why not reading the full contract can lead to costly mistakes
The case of John Sisk and Son Ltd v Capital & Centric (Rose) Ltd flags the importance of reading the whole contract – and not just focus on the legal front-end, explain Jane Hughes and Jessica Barnes. (Image: Gajus via Dreamstime.com) In contract negotiations, the focus tends to be on the front-end of the contract:…
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What construction should know about the new retentions reporting laws
New regulations now force qualifying companies to report on various aspects of how they deal with retentions. Michelle Essen and James Cooper explain. From 1 March 2025 new laws require certain companies to report on the retentions they hold and on their retention practices. While reporting on payment performance and practices has been required since…
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‘We’re worried about a PFI schools handback’
This month’s question comes from a council liaising with a PFI consortium over a schools handback when the contract ends. Steven Carey and Amelia Hamilton explain the pitfalls to beware of. The question We are a local authority responsible for a number of schools in our area. The PFI contracts for some schools are due…
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‘Our main contractor client is withholding payments. What can we do?’
This isn’t the first, and certainly won’t be the last, time I’ve heard about a subcontractor protesting about being treated unfairly by a main contractor client. When I was taking my first steps in the industry I’ve grown to be so passionate about, things were a lot more difficult for subcontractors. That may sound hard to…
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Is the Building Safety Act slowing the pace of cladding remediation?
Meanwhile, Vista Tower in Stevenage has so far been the subject of two separate FTT decisions. The first, DLUHC v Grey GR Limited Partnership granted the government’s application for a remediation order against Grey, the railway workers’ pension fund. The second, Grey GR Limited Partnership v Edgewater (Stevenage) Limited and others, determined Grey’s application for…
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The adjudication juggernaut rolls on: BDW Trading v Ardmore Construction
Adjudication was originally intended as a fast-track, rough and ready process to ensure cashflow through the contractual chain. It has metamorphosed into an elastic procedure which can and will deal with retrospective, multi-million-pound technical disputes, stretching back 30 years, and arising elsewhere than under the particular contract, where evidence might be lacking and witness evidence…
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‘Should we accept a climate resilience contract clause?’
This month’s contract clinic question comes from a main contractor worried about a data centre project where the client wants to put in a clause on climate events. Peter Vinden looks at this growing area of risk As the need for climate-resilient buildings and infrastructure increases, the construction industry will have to contend with many…