How does NEC4 Option Y(UK)2 work?
Option Y(UK)2 makes the due date seven days after each assessment date, the Project Manager's certificate the payment notice, the final date for payment fourteen days after the due date or the period the Contract Data states, and any Pay Less Notice due seven days before that.
Updated: 15 September 2026. By Jack Butler-Kettle, Quantity Surveyor & Claims Consultant.
The answer
Option Y(UK)2 is the secondary option that makes an NEC4 ECC comply with the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 as amended, and it works by mapping the Act's notices onto the clause 50 and 51 machinery. Under clause Y2.2 the date on which a payment becomes due is seven days after the assessment date, and the final date for payment is fourteen days after the date on which payment becomes due, or a different period if the Contract Data states one. The Project Manager's certificate under clause 51.1 is the notice of payment required by section 110A of the Construction Act, stating the amount due and the basis on which it was calculated, and because clause 51.1 requires it within one week of the assessment date it should be in the Contractor's hands by the due date. Where no certificate is given, the Contractor's application for payment stands as the notice under section 110B. Under clause Y2.3 a Party which intends to pay less than the notified sum gives a notice of intention to pay less not later than seven days before the final date for payment, stating the amount it considers due and the basis of that calculation; without it, section 111 requires the notified sum to be paid. Under clause Y2.4 a suspension by the Contractor under section 112 of the Act is a compensation event, so the cost of a lawful suspension is recovered through clauses 61 to 66 rather than as damages. What goes wrong: the certificate is issued without a basis, so it is a weak payment notice; the Pay Less Notice is given by the Project Manager rather than by the paying Party; the final date is counted from the certificate rather than the due date; Contract Data or Z clause periods replace the fourteen days and are not diaried; and a Contractor suspends without the notice the Act requires.
Example
The situation
An unamended NEC4 ECC with Option Y(UK)2 has an assessment date on day zero, so the due date is day seven. The Project Manager certifies £72,000 on day five, and the payment dates follow from that.
What happens
- The Project Manager's certificate on day five is the payment notice.
- The final date for payment is day twenty-one, and a notice of intention to pay less must be given by day fourteen.
- The Client pays £60,000 on day twenty-one with no Pay Less Notice, so the £12,000 shortfall is unpaid notified sum.
The cycle in figures
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified on day five | £72,000 |
| Paid on day twenty-one | £60,000 |
| Unpaid notified sum | £12,000 |
The outcome
The £12,000 shortfall is unpaid notified sum. If the Contract Data gives twenty-eight days to the final date for payment, the same sequence runs to day thirty-five with the Pay Less Notice by day twenty-eight.
The free Notice & Deadline Register holds the assessment date, due date, Pay Less Notice window and final date for every cycle in one place.
