NEC subcontracts are not as fair as they look. Z clauses, programme risk allocation, and compensation event notification windows can cost you heavily if you miss them at tender.
LazyQS provides clause-level NEC3 and NEC4 analysis in minutes — flagging compensation event risks, Z clause amendments, and payment term deviations before you price or sign.
No credit card required. First review is free.
You are working on an NEC project. The subcontract arrives. It is “standard NEC4 ECS.” Except it has 14 Z clauses and a pricing schedule that does not match the main contract options.
Miss the compensation event notification deadline and you lose the right to recover time and money. The 8-week clock starts from when you became aware, not when the event occurred.
Z clause 14 that removes your right to defined cost recovery. Z clause 3 that transfers float to the main contractor. Standard NEC with the wrong Z clauses is not standard at all.
Option A is lump sum. Option C is target cost. The distinction fundamentally changes how you get paid, what disallowed cost means, and your exposure to employer audit rights.
NEC requires an accepted programme. Failure to submit on time is a compensation event in the employer's favour. The programme risk register has to be right before work starts.
Upload the subcontract. Get clause-level analysis. Know your risk before you price.
Upload the NEC ECS or short subcontract — core clauses, option clauses, Z clauses, and pricing schedule all in one go. LazyQS identifies the NEC form, version, and main option automatically.
LazyQS reads each clause against the standard NEC allocation of risk, identifies where Z clauses deviate, and flags compensation event notification obligations, programme requirements, and payment term deviations.
A structured risk register with clause references, risk ratings, and NEC-specific context. Compensation event risks flagged with the 8-week notification calendar. Exportable as PDF or Excel.
NEC-specific risk categories, not generic contract review.
The 8-week awareness clock is the most commonly missed NEC obligation. LazyQS flags any Z clause that modifies notification windows, and highlights early warning obligations that preserve your CE rights.
Z clauses that remove defined cost recovery, transfer float ownership, limit your accepted programme entitlement, restrict compensation event quotations, or impose conditions on payment assessment.
Option A lump sum versus Option C target cost — LazyQS identifies the option and flags the specific payment risks for each. Disallowed cost definitions under Option C that could affect your recovery.
Accepted programme submission requirements, content obligations, and the consequences of non-compliance. Sectional completion dates and their interaction with the compensation event and LAD provisions.
Restrictions on how you can subcontract work under Option C/E. SSCC schedule risks. Audit rights and record-keeping obligations that apply from day one of the subcontract.
X7 delay damages, X16 retention, X18 limitation of liability, X20 KPIs — LazyQS reads all secondary options included in the subcontract and flags any unusual combinations or onerous provisions.
The risks that cost subcontractors money when missed at tender or signing. Every example below was flagged by LazyQS.
NEC4 ECS Option A
HIGH RISK£3.4M civils package
Risk identified
Z clause 7 removed the subcontractor’s right to include time risk allowances in the accepted programme, transferring all float to the main contractor
Potential exposure
£220,000 in unrecoverable delay costs on a project where weather and interface delays were foreseeable
Flagged with recommended deletion of Z clause 7 and reinstatement of standard NEC4 clause 31.2 float provisions
NEC3 ECS Option C
HIGH RISK£1.8M M&E package
Risk identified
Disallowed cost definition included “cost of rectifying Defects” without a materiality threshold — making minor snagging items unrecoverable under defined cost
Potential exposure
Disallowed cost deductions averaging 4–6% of defined cost across the project, estimated at £90,000
Flagged with recommended amendment to introduce a de minimis threshold and limit disallowed cost to Defects caused by negligence
NEC4 ECS Option A
HIGH RISK£670K fit-out package
Risk identified
CE notification period reduced from 8 weeks to 14 days by Z clause 2, with no corresponding reduction in the PM’s assessment period
Potential exposure
Loss of entitlement to multiple CEs where 14-day notice was impractical — estimated £55,000 in unrecovered variations
Flagged with recommended amendment to reinstate the 8-week awareness notification period from standard NEC4 clause 61.3
About NEC contract review
Yes. LazyQS reviews NEC3 Engineering and Construction Subcontract (ECS), NEC4 Engineering and Construction Subcontract, and the associated Short Subcontract forms. It handles the core clauses, options A–F, and secondary option clauses including X1, X2, X5, X6, X7, X12, X13, X14, X15, X16, X17, X18, X20, and Z clauses.
LazyQS flags compensation event notification windows (8 weeks from awareness), programme submission obligations, early warning obligations, defined cost disputes, payment assessment periods under option A versus options C and E, Z clause amendments that shift risk beyond the standard NEC allocation, and the interaction between the subcontract and main contract programme obligations.
NEC's collaborative ethos only works when both parties behave in accordance with the contract. Z clauses, bespoke pricing schedules, and unusual option combinations can make a 'standard NEC subcontract' significantly more onerous than the form intended. LazyQS flags where the bespoke additions have shifted risk beyond what the standard NEC allocation provides.
LazyQS reads Z clauses in the context of the rest of the contract and flags where they modify compensation event procedures, payment assessment, time risk allowances, disallowed cost definitions, or any other core NEC mechanism. Z clauses that materially worsen your position are rated as high risk.
Yes, and this is exactly when you should use it. Understanding your compensation event entitlement, your programme risk allocation, and your defined cost exposure before pricing the work means you can include realistic risk allowances in your tender rather than discovering them at delivery.
Upload your NEC subcontract for clause-level analysis in minutes. First review is free. No credit card required.
Upload your NEC subcontract free