Is this pay less notice valid?
Under the Construction Act in England and Wales, a pay less notice generally works only if it meets four conditions. Your contract sets the details, so the answer depends on its exact payment terms.
It states the sum the payer considers due on the date the notice is served. Zero is a sum.
It states the basis on which that sum is calculated: enough to show how the figure was reached, not just a total.
It is served no later than the period the contract sets before the final date for payment. Under the Scheme, that is seven days.
It is given by the payer or the person the contract names, by a method the contract permits, and actually received.
Worked example: Placefirst
A UK subcontract, interim payment 30, valuation date 31 July 2024. The contract made payment due 16 days after the valuation date and set the final date for payment 12 days later, on 28 August 2024. A pay less notice had to be given no later than two days before that date.
The record reached the court's result only on the conditions the payment terms set out, using documents dated before the claim. Read the full case →
Check your own notice
To answer for your notice you need four things: the notice as served, the payment terms of the contract, the due date and final date for payment, and the date the notice was received.
Why notices fail
- A total with no breakdown: the basis is missing.
- Served after the cut-off, often because the final date was assumed rather than worked out from the contract.
- Served before the contract allows.
- Sent by someone the contract does not name, or by a method it does not permit.
- A letter that disputes the application but never states the sum the payer says is due.
General information, not legal advice. Contracts and statutes differ; the record reads the exact terms you supply.