No industry is immune from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the prognosis for the construction industry is particularly poor due to the potentially ruinous impact of
site closures, project delays and supply chain disruption.

In this article, we take a look at the key issues to consider in your construction contracts with regards to extensions of time, changes to the contract price and the suspension or termination of projects.

The current situation
At the time of writing, the Government had told Britons to "stay at home" and only go to work “where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home”. The Prime Minister has since clarified that  work on construction sites should continue unless it is not possible to follow Public Health England guidance.

That approach has been criticised by many high profile people and pressure is mounting on the Government to restrict construction work to only that which is "essential" or "critical". While having resisted those calls so far, it is possible (some may say likely) that the Government will impose more draconian restrictions on construction work and transport in the near future, enabled via emergency legislation. It is conceivable that any further measures may make it practically impossible for work to continue on many UK construction sites. Indeed, many contractors and developers have already taken the difficult decision to close all their sites until further notice.

So, where does this leave developers, contractors, and the supply chain now? Of course, each project is different, but when it comes to time, money and suspension/
termination, it is prudent to ask the following questions: