Legal

Contractors will be able to claim an extension of time and costs if asbestos or unexploded bombs are unexpectedly found during a design-and-build job, under new changes to the JCT contract. The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) yesterday (17 April) published a new edition of a standards document for design-and-build contracts,…

The Home Office has cleared precast-concrete firm FP McCann of the threat of a fine after inspectors found five contractors working illegally during an immigration raid on a site in Wales. The Northern Ireland-based company — ranked second in last year’s CN Specialists Index for concrete — faced a £225,000…

A defunct contractor has lost a drawn-out court battle after pushing for a multimillion-pound payout when a contract ended prematurely. Shaylor Group went into administration in 2019, during a construction job for Valescure Property. It claimed that its work had been undervalued by Valescure and pushed for more than double…

Erith Plant Services has been fined £175,000 after a worker was killed by a falling demolition grab at the firm’s workshop. Liam McArdle, 24, was at the facility in Swanscombe, Kent, when the excavator attachment fell onto him while it was being loaded onto a lorry. According to a statement…

Lagan Construction and a local authority have been fined a combined £50,000 after a worker was killed by a falling tree during a storm. Electrical engineer Matthew Campbell, 24, died after working on water mains at Slieve Gullion Forest Park, Newry, Northern Ireland, in September 2018 in stormy conditions. According…

A demolition contractor has been fined £130,000 after a site engineer was crushed to death. James Rourke died after being run over by an excavator at the housing job in Brampton, Cambridgeshire, according to a statement by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The 22-year-old had been attaching ‘warning’ signs…

A court has ordered the client involved in the Battersea Power Station revamp to pay a subcontractor £3.2m. The subcontractor, QFS Scaffolding Ltd, worked on the second phase of the bumper development project. The phase was completed in January 2022, but costs had ballooned on the project. Initially, QFS signed…

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is seeking a judicial review after a tribunal refused warrants to raid homes as part of an investigation into suspected construction chemical cartel activity. In a hearing on 13 and 14 March, the Administrative Court heard an application by the CMA for a judicial…

The High Court has overturned housing secretary Michael Gove’s decision to block Marks & Spencer’s controversial Oxford Street redevelopment. Justice Lieven upheld M&S’s appeal against the decision on Friday morning (1 March) in a blow to campaigners, who objected to the carbon impact of demolishing and rebuilding the retail giant’s…

Builders merchants, scaffolders and a subsidiary of a large main contractor are among firms named by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage. More than 500 companies have been named after investigations by HMRC found that between 2015 and 2023 they had breached the National Minimum Wage Act.…