Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Sub-contracting definition

What does Sub-contracting mean? Sub-contracting is the practice by which a main contractor engages a third party (a sub-contractor) to perform part of the works under a building or engineering contract. It is a descriptive contractual concept rather than a single statutory term, though construction contracts legislation applies to sub-contracts, particularly on payment and adjudication: Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (as amended) in England & Wales and Scotland; Construction Contracts (Northern Ireland) Order 1997; and the Construction Contracts Act 2013 in Ireland. Key legal features include: - The main contractor remains liable to the employer for performance and risk allocation, despite any sub-contract. - Standard...

IChemE Yellow and Brown Sub-contracts (2013): Back-to-back terms, insurance (LEG 2), testing/acceptance, liability caps, claims, payment and dispute resolution; 2020–2025 amendments (incl. AI)

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Practice notes

This Practice Note provides a review of the 2013 versions of the IChemE Yellow Book (4th Edition) and Brown Book (3rd Edition) sub-contract forms. They are designed to accompany the trio of comparable IChemE main contract forms—the Red, Green and Burgundy Books—used on process plant projects. For the main contracts, refer to the following relevant Practice Notes:

IChemE Conditions 5th Edition—‘Red Book’
IChemE Conditions ‘Green Book’ 4th Edition
IChemE Conditions ‘Burgundy Book’ 2nd Edition

Respectively, the Yellow Book addresses civil engineering works, while the Brown Book deals with ‘subcontract plant’ supplied by a sub-contractor. A full specification of the sub-contract works ought to be included in Schedule 1 of both the Yellow and Brown Books themselves.

Nature of sub-contracting

The sub-contract works form a subset of the main contract works (and any sub-contract plant may constitute an element of the main contract plant), delivered by the sub-contractor on a strictly ‘back-to-back’ basis. This arrangement calls for an explicit confirmation that the sub-contract works (and plant) comprise part of the main contract works/plant. Under the Yellow/Brown Books, the sub-contractor expressly promises not to place the contractor in breach of its parallel duties under the main contract (clause 3.10)...

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Peter Jansen

Sharpe Pritchard

Peter is a highly experienced construction lawyer and has advised clients on projects and dispute resolution both in the UK and internationally.His advisory work has included assisting governments and government entities, local authorities, lenders, consortia and concession companies, developers, engineers and contractors.Peter has extensive knowledge of the principal sectors engaged with the construction industry and a close understanding of the forms of contracts (and related legal materials) it uses, their structure and how they function in allocating risk.His approach is commercial and collaborative, identifying and agreeing objectives for achieving the best and most cost effective solutions for the client. In both contentious and transactional work, this is most often obtained by taking firm, well supported but pragmatic positions.Peter has lectured in construction law at the University of Hong Kong, is a speaker at numerous conferences and seminars and is a trainer for MBL....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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