Back-to-Back Claim Notices: How to Stop Subcontractor Claims Falling Through the Gap
A subcontractor claim can be completely valid and still cost the main contractor money, because of a gap that nobody owns. The notice clock in the subcontract and the notice clock in the main contract run separately, and they rarely start or stop on the same day.
Suppose a subcontractor tells you about an event on Day 20 and your main contract notice is due on Day 28. You have eight days to check the records, decide and notify the Engineer. If they tell you on Day 31, your own notice may already be late, and the claim against the Employer can be lost with it. It is one of the quieter commercial risks in subcontract administration, and it is easy to prevent once you can see it.
📋 What You Will Learn In This Article:
- Why the main contract clock and the subcontract clock create a gap
- The three situations that decide whether a subcontractor claim can still be passed up
- A six-step notice relay you can set up at subcontract award
- A simple notice register layout with an internal deadline
- How to treat a late subcontractor notice without rejecting it by reflex
⚠️ All day counts in this article are illustrative. Subcontract forms and main contracts vary, and Particular Conditions often change the standard periods. The effect of time bars depends on the contract and the governing law. This is educational, not legal advice, so check your own documents and take specialist advice before relying on any deadline.
Two Clocks, One Claim
Under the standard FIDIC forms the Contractor must notify the Engineer within 28 days of becoming aware, or of when it should have become aware, of an event that may give rise to a claim. Your subcontract will set its own period for the subcontractor to notify you. In many subcontracts that period is much shorter, for example 7 days, so that the main contractor has time to pass the claim up the chain.
The sensible design is a relay, with a buffer between each runner. The numbers below are an example only.
The Notice Relay (illustrative day counts)
The internal deadline is the part most teams skip. Treating Day 28 as the target leaves no margin for a postal delay, a wrong address or a reviewer on leave.
Where the Gap Opens
Whether a subcontractor claim can still be passed up depends on who knew first and when you were told. Three situations cover most cases.
| Situation | What it means for the main contract notice | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Subcontractor notifies on time | You have time before your own deadline | Acknowledge, check the records and issue the main contract notice by the internal deadline |
| Subcontractor notifies late, but before your deadline | The subcontract position may be weak, but your own notice can still be saved | Protect the main contract position first. Decide what to do about the subcontractor afterwards |
| Subcontractor notifies after your deadline, or never | Your notice may be late, and whether your own awareness started the clock earlier becomes the question | Check your site records for when you knew, then take management direction and advice before taking any position |
Whether a main contractor is treated as aware when its subcontractor is aware can be argued either way depending on the contract and governing law. Do not build your process on the hope that it works in your favour. Build it so that your own records show the day you knew.
The Six-Step Notice Relay
A Simple Notice Register Layout
You do not need software to start. A table with these columns, reviewed every week, is enough. The rows below are fictional examples.
| Ref | Event | Date we became aware | Subcontract notice due | Internal deadline | Main contract deadline | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N-001 | Revised drawing issued to subcontractor | Day 0 | Day 7 | Day 21 | Day 28 | QS | Notice received Day 5, main notice drafted |
| N-002 | Access restricted by third party | Day 0 | Day 7 | Day 21 | Day 28 | Site manager | No subcontractor notice yet, main notice to issue |
The second row shows why the register earns its place. The subcontractor has not written, but your own site team knew on Day 0. The main contract notice should not wait for the subcontractor.
When the Subcontractor's Notice Is Late
A late notice does not automatically end the discussion. How far a time bar can be enforced depends on the subcontract wording and the governing law, and the commercial position is a separate question from the contractual one. A typical approach looks at four things:
- The strict position. What does the subcontract say, and was the notice compliant?
- Your own exposure. Did the delay or cost affect your main contract position, and did you protect it in time?
- The merits. Is there a real event, a real effect and evidence for it?
- The relationship and the risk. Is a commercial settlement better than a dispute?
Management direction matters here, because the answer is rarely purely arithmetic. For a real, anonymised example of how a subcontractor claim was assessed and settled, read our Subcontractor Management articles, which include the case study.
Your Notice Relay Checklist
Tick every box when a subcontract is awarded. These boxes are a reading aid and are not saved.
Protect the Main Contract Position First
The question is not only whether the subcontractor was late. It is whether you protected your own claim against the Employer in time. Solve that first. The conversation with the subcontractor can come second.
Where AI and Free Tools Help
Use the Contract Notice and Claim Deadline Planner to calculate dates. Choose the custom option and enter your subcontract period to see the dates for both clocks. For drafting, the Free AI Prompt Generator has a subcontractor claim option. Use fictional or approved information only, as explained in our article on what to check before uploading project documents to AI tools.
This prompt builds a blank register without any project data:
Copy-ready prompt: blank notice register
Create a blank notice and claim register template for a Quantity Surveyor managing subcontractors. Include columns for reference, event description, date of awareness, subcontract notice due date, internal deadline, main contract notice due date, owner, evidence held, status and next action. Use placeholders only. Do not invent project facts, clause numbers or dates.
Check Both Clocks in Seconds
Enter the awareness date and your subcontract period to see the dates side by side.
Open the Deadline Planner All Free QS Resources💬 Found This Useful?
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- 💬 Tell me in the comments: would a ready-made Excel notice register with built-in deadline dates help your team? Please do not include confidential details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a back-to-back claim notice?
It is the process of passing a subcontractor's claim up to the Employer under the main contract. The subcontract notice period and the main contract notice period are separate, so they must be managed together to avoid losing the claim between them.
Why is the subcontract notice period often shorter?
Because the main contractor needs time to evaluate the event and notify the Engineer before its own deadline. Check the periods in your own subcontract, because they vary.
Does the main contract clock start when the subcontractor tells me?
Not necessarily. Standard FIDIC wording refers to when the Contractor became aware, or should have become aware, of the event. Whether a subcontractor's knowledge counts can be argued, so record your own awareness date and do not rely on the later date.
Can I reject a subcontractor claim because the notice was late?
It depends on the subcontract wording and the governing law, and a time bar is not always enforced in the same way everywhere. Take management direction and advice before rejecting a claim, and consider the merits and your own main contract position.
Does this apply to NEC or JCT subcontracts?
The principle is the same, but the periods and procedures differ. The free deadline planner supports NEC, JCT and custom periods, so you can enter the periods from your own documents.
About The Author
Thushara Priyanka | BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying | MRICS | MCIOB | MQSi
Chartered Quantity Surveyor with 19 years of experience on large scale infrastructure projects under FIDIC conditions.
AI Construction Hub shares practical professional guidance for Quantity Surveyors. Read more about the author.
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Editorial note: educational content only, not legal advice. All day counts and register entries are fictional examples. Your contract may be amended and the effect of time bars depends on governing law. Verify against your executed contract and subcontract and take specialist advice before relying on any deadline.
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