Builders contract with sub-contractor

About this document

This agreement is for use by a builder who needs to subcontract some of the work on a project to a self-employed subcontractor or a specialist company.

The reason for subcontracting is not important to the document. You may require specialist skills for a particular part of the project, or you may need extra hands to complete to a deadline.

Hiring a subcontractor involves risk. This document seeks to reduce that risk.

The builder remains liable to the client for the quality of his or her work carried out by the subcontractor, which he may not control fully. Depending on the nature of the work required, the builder may not have used the subcontractor before, and may not be aware of the quality that the subcontractor produces. Firstly, this contract controls how work is done, and makes sure that the subcontractor is responsible for what he or she does (or doesn't do). It limits your liability to the subcontractor if things go wrong, while allowing you to claim from him or her if standards required are not met.

Secondly, if you are hiring an individual, there may be employment issues unless you make it very clear that he or she is working as a self-employed sole trader. This document makes clear that there is no employment relationship that gives the subcontractor employee rights.

This is an umbrella agreement that can form the basis of future working arrangements. The work to be done is specified in a schedule at the end of the document. If you want to hire the same person or firm again under the same terms, you only need to update the schedule with the new specification and refer to the terms of this agreement.

We include drafting notes to make quite clear what effect each paragraph has, what the text means and to advise you on choosing from the options we give.

Contents

• Definition of special terms
• Basic contract
• Requirements for projects
• Subcontractor matters: indemnity, warranties, other work, fees, expenses and tax
• On-site matters
• Restraints on trade
• Health and safety
• Use of sub-subcontractors
• Disclaimers and limitation of liability
• Duration and termination
• No assignment
• Uncontrollable events
• Miscellaneous legal matters