NEC3 contracts

NEC was first published in 1993 as the New Engineering Contract. It is a suite of construction contracts intended to promote partnering and collaboration between the contractor and client. It was developed as a reaction to other more traditional forms of construction contract which have been portrayed by some as adversarial.

In 1994, NEC was strongly recommended in the Latham Report (Constructing the Team) which investigated the perceived problems with the construction industry, describing it as ‘ineffective’, ‘fragmented’ and ‘incapable of delivering for its customers’, proposing that there should be greater partnering and teamwork.

The NEC contracts are intended to:
- Stimulate good management.
- Be clear and simple, written in plain English, in the present tense and without legal terminology.
- Be useable in a wide variety of situations from minor works to major projects.

The third edition, NEC3 was published in 2005.
NEC is a division of Thomas Telford Ltd, the commercial arm of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

In 2009, as NEC3 became more popular, ICE announced that it would withdraw from the ICE Conditions of Contract (CoC) in favour of NEC3. The UK government also stopped updating the GCWorks contracts in favour of NEC3.


The contract documentation under the NEC Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) comprises:
- The form of agreement.
- Conditions of contract.
- Contract data (setting out information needed to operate the contract and identifying the documents which contain works information).
- Prices, activities schedules and bill of quantities.
- Works information (describing what is to be done on the site).
- Site information (describing the condition of the site before the work starts).

Most NEC3 contracts have nine core clauses:
- General terms.
- Contractor's main responsibilities.
- Time.
- Testing and Defects.
- Payment.
- Compensation events.
- Title.
- Risk and insurance.
- Termination.

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/NEC3#Criticism