How does JCT clause 4.13 work?
When the Employer has not paid the sum due by the final date for payment, the Contractor gives notice to the Employer, may suspend once the period the clause gives has run, and is entitled to a reasonable amount for the costs and expenses reasonably incurred as a result.
Updated: 15 September 2026. By Jack Butler-Kettle, Quantity Surveyor & Claims Consultant.
The answer
Clause 4.13 of SBC/Q 2016 gives the Contractor the right to suspend performance of any or all of its obligations when the Employer has not paid the sum due by the final date for payment, and to be paid a reasonable amount for the costs and expenses it reasonably incurs as a result. It is the contract's version of section 112 of the Construction Act, so the statutory right and the contractual one run together. The mechanism has three parts. First, the failure: the sum due, which is the notified sum less any amount stated in a valid Pay Less Notice, has not been paid in full by the final date for payment. Second, the notice: the Contractor gives written notice to the Employer, with a copy to the Architect/Contract Administrator, stating its intention to suspend and the ground or grounds for doing so; only if the failure continues for the period the clause gives after that notice may the Contractor suspend, and only until payment is made in full. Third, the consequences: the Contractor is entitled to a reasonable amount in respect of costs and expenses reasonably incurred as a result of the suspension, and suspension under clause 4.13 is also a Relevant Matter under clause 4.22, so the loss and expense route is open for the effect on regular progress. The effect on the completion date is dealt with under the separate extension of time provisions and by the programming expert, not here. What goes wrong is suspending before the final date for payment has passed, suspending on a sum that is disputed rather than notified, giving the notice to the Quantity Surveyor rather than the Employer, stopping work before the period in the notice has run, and failing to keep a daily record of the demobilisation, standing time and remobilisation costs the clause is meant to pay for.
Example
The situation
An Interim Certificate shows a notified sum of £140,000, no Pay Less Notice is given, and £90,000 is paid on the final date for payment, leaving £50,000 of the certified sum unpaid.
What happens
- The following day the Contractor gives written notice to the Employer, copied to the Architect/Contract Administrator, that it intends to suspend all of its obligations because £50,000 remains unpaid.
- The period the clause gives runs without payment and the Contractor suspends.
- Its records show demobilisation of £4,000, standing plant and supervision of £12,000 across the suspension, and remobilisation of £6,000.
- £22,000 is claimed as costs and expenses reasonably incurred, with the invoices and timesheets attached.
- The Employer pays the £50,000 and work resumes.
The suspension in figures
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Notified sum | £140,000 |
| Paid on the final date | £90,000 |
| Demobilisation | £4,000 |
| Standing plant and supervision | £12,000 |
| Remobilisation | £6,000 |
| Costs and expenses claimed | £22,000 |
The outcome
The £50,000 is paid and the £22,000 is claimed under the clause. Had the Contractor walked off on the day the money fell short, before any notice, the clause would not have covered the stoppage and the same £22,000 would have been its own cost.