Employer’s agent for design and build projects
Your representative on a design and build contract: we write what you need, hold the contractor to it, value the work fairly and see the job through to the end of defects.
On a design and build contract the contractor carries the design, so the client needs someone on their side of the table who reads every drawing against the brief. Resilient Consult acts as employer’s agent for developers, housing providers, schools and businesses across the North West. We draft the Employer’s Requirements, check the Contractor’s Proposals before signature, then administer the contract on your behalf: monthly valuations, notices, Changes, completion and the Rectification Period. You get one Wigan-based contact who knows the contract and the site.
Design and build moves risk to the contractor, but only for what the contract actually says. Vague requirements turn into arguments about what was included, and loose administration lets payment and change disputes grow. Our job is to close those gaps early, keep a clear record of every instruction and decision, and give you straight advice when the contractor’s position and yours do not match.
Ask for a proposalWhat an employer’s agent covers on a D&B contract
Employer’s Requirements
We set out performance, specification, standards and any design you want fixed, so tenderers price the same scope and the contractor’s design duty is clear.
Tender and proposals review
We compare returns, test the Contractor’s Proposals and Contract Sum Analysis against your requirements, and list every gap or qualification before you commit.
Contract set-up
We help agree the JCT Design and Build form, its contract particulars and any amendments with your solicitor, and assemble the documents for signing.
Valuations and payment notices
We assess interim applications on site and prepare payment and pay less notices on time, so every sum you pay is backed by an assessment you can defend.
Changes and design review
We review the contractor’s design submissions against your requirements, instruct Changes in writing and agree their value and time effect before costs drift.
Completion and defects
We inspect before practical completion, track outstanding items, manage the Rectification Period and agree the Final Statement.
The contract and payment rules behind the role
Most design and build work in England uses the JCT Design and Build Contract, now in its 2024 edition. Under that form the contractor completes the design and builds the works, and there is no independent contract administrator. The employer, or an agent appointed to act for it, gives instructions, issues statements and operates provisions such as extensions of time. That is why the agent’s decisions need to be fair, recorded and made within the contract’s timescales.
Payment is also governed by statute. Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 requires construction contracts to provide for payment notices (section 110A) and lets the payer reduce a sum only by giving notice of intention to pay less in time (section 111). Section 112 gives an unpaid party the right to suspend work. Missing a notice can leave you obliged to pay the sum applied for, so we diarise every date.
What you receive as client
- Employer’s Requirements document
- Tender comparison and proposals review report
- Interim valuations with payment and pay less notices
- Change register with agreed values and time effect
- Monthly progress and cost report
- Practical completion inspection record and snag list
- Rectification Period defects schedule
- Final Statement review
How it runs
Define the requirement
We meet you, read the site information and agree what must be fixed in the brief and what the contractor can design.
Tender and agree
We issue the Employer’s Requirements, review the returns and proposals, and help settle the contract with your solicitor.
Administer on site
We value the work each period, serve notices, deal with design submissions and Changes, and report to you in writing.
Complete and close
We inspect at completion, manage defects through the Rectification Period and agree the final figure.
How we act for you
You deal with one person from the first brief to the last defect. Resilient Consult does not build or design for the contractor, so our advice is on your side only. Because we also handle CDM, health and safety and fire compliance, those duties are picked up at the requirements stage rather than bolted on later.
Where the project needs a specialist input, such as a fire engineer’s review, an asbestos survey before strip-out or a legal opinion on an amendment, we arrange it through our specialist partners, brief them against your requirements and check what comes back before it reaches you.
Who we do this for
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Questions about employer’s agent
All questionsWhat is the difference between an employer’s agent and a contract administrator?
A contract administrator under a traditional JCT contract acts independently between the parties when certifying. Under the JCT Design and Build form there is no such independent role. The employer’s agent acts for the employer, carrying out the employer’s functions under the contract. That makes the agent your representative, but the contract still expects decisions such as extensions of time to be made fairly.
When should an employer’s agent be appointed?
Ideally before tender, while the Employer’s Requirements are being written. Most later disputes on design and build trace back to what the requirements said or left out. Appointing us after the contract is signed still helps with valuations, Changes and completion, but the scope you are paying for is already fixed by then.
Do you check the contractor’s design?
We review design submissions against your Employer’s Requirements and flag anything that falls short or quietly changes the scope. Responsibility for the design stays with the contractor under the contract. Where a technical check needs a specialist, for example structural or fire engineering, we arrange that review and report its findings to you.
Can you take over a design and build project part-way through?
Yes. We start by reading the signed contract, the requirements, the proposals and the payment and change history, then give you a short written position on where things stand. From there we pick up valuations, notices and Changes and carry the job through to completion and the Final Statement.
Do you work with contractors?
Yes. We help contractors with risk assessments and method statements, COSHH assessments, written policies and preparation for SSIP schemes such as CHAS, SafeContractor and Constructionline. On projects we can support clients and principal contractors with CDM duties, and we work alongside main contractors when managing fire remedials, so the people on site have clear information and the right paperwork before they start.
What do your reports look like?
They are written in plain English with each finding located, photographed and given a clear priority. Where remedial work follows, you receive before, during and after photographs, a log of materials used and the certificates for specialist work. Long programmes come with regular progress reports. Everything is supplied digitally for you to keep, ready for your safety file, an audit or the golden thread for higher-risk buildings.
Tell us what you need.
What it is, where it is and what you need checked, fixed or managed. You get a scope and a written proposal back.
- adrian@resilientconsult.uk
- Based
- Wigan-based, working across the North West