Under NEC4 ECC, a compensation event does not become money or time automatically. The Contractor has to notify it, and clause 61.3 sets a hard deadline: eight weeks from becoming aware that the event has happened. Miss it, and the Prices, the Completion Date and any Key Dates are not changed for that event, however strong the case would otherwise have been.
Who this is for: commercial managers, quantity surveyors and contract managers working on NEC4 ECC contracts, who need to know exactly when the eight weeks start, which events are exempt, and how the deadline gets missed on real projects.
What clause 61.3 says
The time bar sits in the last part of the clause. If the Contractor does not notify a compensation event within eight weeks of becoming aware that the event has happened, the Prices, the Completion Date or a Key Date are not changed, unless the event arises from the Project Manager or the Supervisor giving an instruction or notification, issuing a certificate or changing an earlier decision.
That makes 61.3 a gate rather than a formality. The work may genuinely have cost more and taken longer, but a late notice means the entitlement to time and money for that event is lost.
When does the clock actually start?
The eight weeks run from awareness of the event, not from the moment the Contractor realises it is a compensation event, and not from when its cost or time impact becomes clear. That gap catches people out: a contractor can be time-barred before anyone has formed a view that the event is compensable.
Typical moments when awareness begins:
- an instruction that changes the Scope is given on site
- unforeseen physical conditions are encountered
- late access, or late information the Contractor relied on, becomes apparent
This is why the trigger date matters as much as the clause reference. Two notifications citing the same clause can have very different deadlines if the awareness date is wrong.
The exception, and its limits
The bar does not apply where the event arises from the Project Manager or the Supervisor giving an instruction or notification, issuing a certificate or changing an earlier decision. The logic is simple: the Project Manager already knows about its own instruction, so the Contractor isn't penalised for not notifying it.
The exception is narrow. Unforeseen ground conditions, a third party's delay, or late information from someone other than the Project Manager or Supervisor fall outside it. Those still need a Contractor notification within the eight weeks, however obvious the problem was on site.
Early warnings are a separate obligation
An early warning under clause 15.1 is not a compensation event notification. It flags a matter that could increase the Prices, delay Completion or a Key Date, or impair performance, as soon as the Contractor becomes aware of it. Giving one does not satisfy 61.3, and failing to give one has its own cost: if the Project Manager decides an experienced contractor could have given an early warning and didn't, the event is assessed as if it had (clauses 61.5 and 63.7).
How NEC4 compares with other contracts
Not every contract form treats lateness the same way:
| Contract and notice | Period | Effect of a late notice |
|---|---|---|
| NEC4 ECC 61.3, compensation event | 8 weeks from becoming aware the event has happened | Not changed for that event (time bar), subject to the Project Manager / Supervisor exception |
| FIDIC 2017 20.2.1, Notice of Claim | 28 days from when the Contractor became aware, or should have | Time-barred unless late submission is justified (20.2.5) |
| JCT DB 2016 2.24, notice of delay | "Forthwith", once delay is reasonably apparent | Usually weakens the position rather than ending it, unless amended |
On NEC4 and FIDIC projects, a late notice isn't a paperwork problem to tidy up later; it's the difference between an entitlement and nothing. For how FIDIC's 28-day bar has played out in court, see FIDIC notice of claim: the 28-day time bar.
Where this catches contractors out in practice
The clock rarely gets missed because someone forgot clause 61.3 in principle. It gets missed because the awareness date sat in a site group chat, a site diary entry or a passing comment in a progress meeting, and by the time it reached the commercial team the eight weeks had quietly run out. For the wider picture across NEC4, FIDIC and JCT, see why contractors lose entitlements to time-bars.
OnNotice reads site messages, project email and meeting minutes as they arrive, flags events that may be compensation events, cites the clause and starts the eight-week count from the day the event surfaced, so a person can confirm and notify in time. See how it works.
Sources
- Arbicon, The NEC4 ECC contract: notifying compensation events and early warnings, PBC Today (November 2022), quoting clause 61.3
- NEC, Time-barred compensation events (FAQ)
- S. Goodwin, A. Wooldridge-Irving and J. Broome, The mismatch between 'belief' and 'awareness' in clause 61.3, NEC (February 2022)
- Mansion Place Ltd v Fox Industrial Services Ltd [2021] EWHC 2972 (TCC), judgment, para 12, quoting clause 2.24 of an amended JCT Design and Build Contract 2016
This is general information about how NEC4 ECC clause 61.3 typically operates, not legal advice for your contract. Notice periods, exceptions and their effect can be amended by the Contract Data, secondary Options or Z clauses, so have a contracts specialist confirm the position on your project.
Frequently asked questions
- When does the NEC4 eight-week clock start?
- When the Contractor becomes aware that the event has happened. It does not wait until the Contractor realises the event is a compensation event, or until the cost and time effects are known.
- What happens if the Contractor notifies a compensation event late under NEC4?
- Under clause 61.3, if the Contractor does not notify within eight weeks of becoming aware that the event has happened, the Prices, the Completion Date and any Key Date are not changed for that event, unless the exception applies.
- Which compensation events are exempt from the NEC4 time bar?
- Events arising from the Project Manager or the Supervisor giving an instruction or notification, issuing a certificate or changing an earlier decision. Events such as unforeseen physical conditions, late access or a third party's delay still need a Contractor notification within eight weeks.
- Is the Contractor's eight-week notice the same as an early warning?
- No. An early warning under clause 15.1 flags a matter that could affect cost, time or performance, as soon as the Contractor is aware of it. Notifying a compensation event under clause 61.3 is a separate step with its own eight-week bar. If the Contractor fails to give an early warning it could have given, the event can be assessed as if it had (clauses 61.5 and 63.7).