Our collective thoughts

In August 2024, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in which it held that a contractor was entitled to terminate its employment based on just two late payments, each of which was rectified within 14 days. In our blog at the time, we explained how the decision was a stark warning to employers, with the Court of Appeal itself noting how the decision left them on thin ice in respect of late payments. However, the Supreme Court has now overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision and restored the leeway afforded to employers under the JCT contract.

The NEC’s new Conflict Avoidance Clauses, for use with the NEC4 ECC form, were announced earlier this year and are intended to prevent the escalation of “disagreements” into “disputes”. In this blog, Claire King reviews how they are meant to operate in the context of contracts that are already subject to statutory adjudication and examines the extent to which parties should be adding them to their dispute resolution toolkit.

The UK Supreme Court yesterday handed down its much-anticipated judgment in the case of URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd [2025] UKSC 21. The appeal was heard by a full panel of 7 justices who dismissed URS’s appeal on all 4 grounds. The judgment runs to 88 pages and is a must read for anyone working in the construction sector.

In this article, Ben Smith, Huw Wilkins and Paul Smylie examine the judgment and discuss the key issues arising and practical implications for those likely to be affected, including developers, contractors, consultants and insurers.