Sub-contracts

Sub-contracts

Sub-contracting in construction

It is very common for sub-contractors to be engaged by the main contractor on a construction project. Unless the contractor has itself been appointed for specialist skills or qualities where sub-contracting would not be permitted, it is standard in the market for the contractor to consider which packages of works to sub-contract out to specialist sub-contractors when it becomes involved in a project—and in fact it may sub-contract all of the works. See Practice Note: Sub-contracting in construction projects which also explains the difference between domestic 'nominated' sub-contractors and 'named' sub-contractors, and looks at sub-contracting under the various standard form construction contracts.

Typically, the contractor will enter into a direct sub-contract with each sub-contractor for them to carry out, for an agreed sum, a portion of the obligations that the contractor has taken on under its building contract with the employer. Usually the contractor remains fully responsible to its employer for the works carried out by its sub-contractors and therefore is liable for any default by a sub-contractor.

From the contractor's perspective, it needs to ensure that it has passed down all the relevant obligations

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Construction News

S&P Global publishes October 2025 UK Construction PMI report

S&P Global has published its October 2025 UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report. The PMI registered 44.1 in October 2025, down from 46.2 in September 2025, representing the steepest decline in overall industry activity since May 2020.

Construction weekly highlights—6 November 2025

This week's edition of Construction weekly highlights includes a Court of Appeal decision upholding the Technology and Construction Court (TCC)’s striking out of unparticularised and speculative heads of loss in relation to a fire safety defects claim (Wilson v HB (SWA)), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)’s support for the Code for Construction Product Information, the Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025, a TCC decision reaffirming the business common sense approach to interpreting payment regimes and rejecting technical adjudication challenges (Vision Construct v Gypcraft), a Privy Council decision confirming entitlement to contractual quantum meruit under FIDIC terms (Winter v NH International), the Scottish Building Contract Committee (SBCC)’s progress update on its 2024 contract suite, the launch of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC)’s Carbon Management Guide, publication of the British Standards Institution (BSI)’s Retrofit Assessment for Domestic Dwellings – Code of Practice and the International Bar Association (IBA)’s Emergency Arbitration guide for young practitioners.

AAA-ICDR launches AI arbitrator for construction dispute resolution cases

The American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR) has announced the availability of its AI arbitrator for two-party, documents-only construction cases. The system operates under a human-in-the-loop framework where parties review and validate the AI's understanding of submissions, whilst human arbitrators oversee, revise if necessary, confirm and authorise each outcome before finalising awards. The AI arbitrator was trained on AAA construction awards and refined using expert-labelled examples. Participation remains voluntary and fully opt-in, with parties able to proceed under traditional AAA-ICDR processes if they opt out or fall outside the initial use case parameters. The organisation expects to expand the system to additional industries, case types and higher value claims in future phases, including multi-party proceedings and cross-border elements.

UKGBC announces new Regenerative Places Framework Task Group

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has announced the establishment of a Regenerative Places Framework Task Group, comprising 36 industry experts to advance place-based regenerative approaches in the built environment. The task group will create guidance for industry and policy makers on embedding regenerative principles into projects from the earliest design stages. Building on the UKGBC’s Regenerative Places Programme and the Local Authority Retrofit Accelerator pilot projects, the initiative will also consider how regenerative approaches can be applied to the retrofit of existing homes and communities at scale. The group will define what ‘regenerative’ means in practice, explore how and when these principles should be applied and develop pathways for policy and industry to deliver more regenerative project outcomes.