‘Modern Slavery’ is a term which encapsulates slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour, and human trafficking. Recent estimates suggest that as much as 45 million people could be living in modern slavery, a problem that the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the “Act”) was introduced to help tackle....
Payment disputes continue to be one of the most common problems in the construction industry, and we have published numerous articles on the key court decisions that affect the interpretation of payment provisions...
Payment provisions are an industry “hot topic” and the wave of litigation since the 2009 amendments to the Construction Act remains relevant. If you would like a reminder of the principles to follow when applying for or making payment, then see our previous articles here and here....
Soft Landings is a process that helps to produce a building that delivers the operational goals that were set for it at the inception of the design and delivery project. To paraphrase, it helps make the building “do what it says on the tin”. ...
The BSRIA Soft Landings Framework has become widely used in the industry on many different kinds of contracts – but what issues should contractors be aware of?...
The Supreme Court ruling in Mt Højgaard v E.On last week held that a “fitness for purpose” obligation in a schedule to a construction contract should be given its natural meaning and effect, so confirming an earlier decision of the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) that there was a fitness for purpose obligation which required the contractor to produce foundations which would last for 20 years. ...
The Court of Appeal has recently ruled that a clause designed to exclude liability was indeed effective in excluding liability. Unsurprising on the surface, but big news when considered against the narrow interpretation rules of contra proferentem and Canada Steamship that historically limit the effectiveness of these clauses. The decision indicates a move away from such restrictive principles and towards a more natural interpretation of clause wording....
Research commissioned by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has today revealed that a third of construction firms employ overseas workers...
The roles and responsibilities of key people on a build project, including that of the facilities manager, should be identified as early as possible to ensure that the soft landings process works most effectively....
This article considers some of the merits and potential pitfalls of proceeding with construction works under a Letter of Intent....
We are delighted to confirm that our partner David Rintoul, head of our construction and engineering group, has been asked to speak at the national 2017 Soft Landings Conference: Delivering value through Soft Landings conference organised by BSRIA, the Built Environment specialists. It will take place on Friday 16th June at RIBA HQ in London and our clients and friends are all warmly invited to attend the conference, invitation to which can be accessed via the below link:...
JCT has now released all of the 2016 edition of its standard form suite of construction contracts....
Limitation of liability clauses are one way in which businesses can manage risk and control their maximum potential financial exposure. As a result, limitation of liability...
After 12 years of NEC3 and its approach to proactive project and risk management, NEC releases NEC4 on 22 June 2017. NEC has described this as an evolution but not a revolution...
Clarkslegal takes a look at modern slavery in the construction industry and outlines some actions employers should take to protect their workforce and their reputation...
Ruth Wilkinson joins the Construction team at Clarkslegal in Reading...
Lawyers providing specialist legal advice to the construction industry - Right To work Checks and CSCS cards...
The recent wave of updated industry standard contracts may seem hard to keep up with at times, but we continue to post regular updates ...
January is almost behind us and has certainly provided its fair share of interesting developments. Having recently published an article on what key themes we expect to see in 2017, we now highlight some of the significant developments to keep an eye out for over the remaining 11 months....
The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) has published the fourth of its 2016 edition of contracts, the JCT Intermediate Building Contract suite. ...