JCT Minor Works Building Contract 2011 - What's new?

Guidance is given on the inside front cover of the Minor Works Building Contract 2011 for its use. JCT states that it is appropriate where:

• the work involved is simple in character;
• MW only: the work is designed by or on behalf of the employer;
• MW/D only: the work is designed and the requirements for the contractor’s design of discrete part(s) are detailed by or on behalf of the employer; and where the contractor is required to design those part(s) of the work (contractor’s designed portion);
• the employer is to provide drawings and/or a specification and/or work schedules to define adequately the quantity and quality of the work; and
• a contract administrator is to administer the conditions.

The MW contract can be used by both private and local authority employers.

It is not suitable:

• where bills of quantities are required;
• where provisions are required to govern work carried out by named specialists;
• where detailed control procedures are needed;
• MW only: where the contractor is to design discrete part(s) of the works, even though all the other criteria are met.
• MW/D only: as a design and build contract.

There is also a helpful flow chart which may be found in a practice note entitled Deciding on the appropriate JCT contract 2011.

The basis for the contract price under MW 2011 is lump sum with monthly interim payments.

The MW/D contract makes provision for a contractor’s designed portion which may comprise of one or more discrete parts. It is not however drafted as a design and build contract.

MW 2011 requires the employer through professional consultants to provide at tender stage drawings and/or a specification and/or work schedules to describe the works. A lump sum will be based on drawings and/or a specification and/or work schedules but without detailed measurements. On acceptance of the tender, the documents that have been provided become contract documents, defining the works.

This is what the contract sum is based on. As it is intended to be used for construction work which is simpler in character, the contract conditions and procedures in MW 2011 are much less detailed than those in the Intermediate Building contract. There is no provision for naming sub-contractors in MW 2011.

MW 2011 does however provide for the option of limited fluctuations, i.e. those arising from contribution, levy and tax changes.

There is no contract price limit for use of MW 2011 and JCT does not define what it means by work which is simple in character, perhaps understandably. However, it could be said that MW 2011 is intended for projects with an estimated cost of less than £300,000.

Paragraph 9 of the MW 2011 Guidance Notes (Paragraph 10 of MW/D) cautions that MW 2011 does not deal with or refer to the Site Waste Management Plans Regulations 2008 (SI No 314) since they only apply to projects with an estimated cost greater than £300,000. These regulations require an employer to prepare a site waste management plan and appoint a principal contractor to maintain it. Whereas the JCT Standard Building contract expressly deals with the regulations, MW 2011 does not. It would not however preclude parties from using MW 2011 and dealing with the requirements of the regulations outside of the contract agreed under MW 2011 should they so wish.