1.

Legally entitled to claim fees for providing cost advice with no prior contract signed
Anyway, construction received an enquiry from SolDeb group to provide a quality surveyor for
analyzing cost advice of the project before signing the contract. Anyway Construction can able
to authorize claim for cost advice even if the contract is not signed before. According to Sime et
al, (2014) contract helps both the owner and contractor to enter in to a mutual relationship about
the project. Different perspectives of the project is analyzed and evaluated in this perspective.
The parties can enter in to a legal relationship with the help of contract. According to Peel(2011),
a signed contract acts as an insurance for the contractor and client which prevents both parties
from their disagreement of policies. When a contract is not signed, chances of disagreements will
be in the areas of rates especially whether VAT issues, period of payment and payment date.
Even though it is always better to start the project after designing the contract as a standard
practice, in some circumstances oral contract is also valid for starting the project (Uff2013).In
this current scenario SolDeb Construction requested Anyway Construction to provide a cost
estimate for their new project of shopping mall construction at Wolverhampton and the project
should be finished before 2018 summer. The company also asked to provide quality surveyor for
evaluating the cost advice before signing the contract. The business proposal is accepted by
Anyway Construction and without any written contract agreements both the parties entered in to
a legal relationship. Thus, the services will be provided by Anyway Construction and there is a
legal interdependency between both companies.
2. Can company commence work at site set up and legal implications.
SolDeb Group approaches the associated local authorities after getting the design from Apex
Consult Ltd at Wolverhampton for getting the approval. According to Wood et al., (2011) by
analyzing the project design details, the respective authorities may ask for further details if they
are not satisfied with the current project design. After verification of the design documents, the
respective authority issue permission for initiating the site set up. Apart from the approval from
design authorities there are many obstacles to overcome to start the project like permission from
local parties regarding environmental constraints, safety measures etc. As construction work
involves a wide range of manpower and sectors it is very complex and needed high attention
while handling the work process scheduling. JCT(Joint construction Tribunal), IEC(Institute of
Civil Engineers) and Government published a standard form of legal process of contract. Most of
the projects in UK follow Joint Construction Tribunal as a measure of standard contract.
According to Murdoch& Hughes (2008) there are key factors like risk, quality, cost and time are
the basic building blocks of an efficient contract structure. It is clearly evident from the above
discussion that without getting proper permission from the respective authorities, starting a site
set up is not possible. After issuing all the work permissions Anyway Construction can start their
site set up in SolDeb group. In this current scenario, there should be an effective communication
between both owner Company (SolDeb group) and the design consultant (Apex Consultant) for
the proper functioning of the site set up works. As there is no signed contract the chances of risk
is more than signed contract works. Chances of misunderstanding, unexpected work issues, and
liability issues are more in unsigned contract works.
3. Factors to analyze in selection of form of contract to assign services to the subcontractor
and impact on work performance
According to Powell, G. (2016) contractors hire subcontractors for modulating the project
activities. Subcontractors are also one significant part of the project. General contractors appoint
subcontractors and the project work status is taken from the subcontractors and passes to the
owners. There is direct link between sub contractors to the top management but their role is very
important in the whole project life cycle. Construction work comprises of many small tasks like
piling, plumbing, electrical etc… These entire single tasks will be assigned to different
subcontractors. So with the coordinated work of the all subcontractors, general contractors can
get multiple works done in same time. This will reduce the cost and time. Also performance of
the project is increased with this combined effort.
As per JCT (2011a) Joint Construction Tribunal 98 can be used for the projects with respect to
their size and complexity if the project is primary designed by the owner. Apart from the three
basic contract elements like size, value and complexity, one of the most significant key features
which are essential for the successful project delivery is the “proper analysis of procedural
requirements”. If the procedural requirements are not properly verified and evaluated, it will
adversely affect the relationship between the parties.Success of the project is highly depends in
the effectiveness of the contract. A good for of contract always tries to finish the project in an
effective manner with respect to cost, quality and time. If the contract structure is not convenient
for the parties because of the complexity and nature, they can also select simpler forms from
Joint Construction Tribunal (JCT).
According to Birchall& Ramus(2007) employer agent is also significant for the form of contract
which is act as a dummy of employer. A contract is prepared on the basis of “employer
requirements” and it should meet all the employer aspects about the project. Success of a project
is depends on the quality of a contract. Only if the contract is prepared with clear understanding
of the employer needs, it will be easy to move on next steps like requirement evaluation,
designing, planning, scheduling and work process evaluation.As per JCT (2011b) a signed
contract acts as an insurance for the contractor and client which prevents both parties from their
disagreement of policies. So in this current scenario, the form of contract should be clear and
propely evalueted based on the company procedural requirements.
4. The importance of written contract in construction works based on key factors like time,
quality and cost
According to CBPP (2010) time, quality and cost are the three basic elements of a good
contract. Time represents the duration taken for the completion of the project, quality represents
the standard measures we are using during the project development and cost as it name implies
the amount required for the project development. If there is any major changes happen in these
three specified factors, it will adversely affect the relationship between the parties. The form of
contract depends on many factors like proper selection of sub contractors who help in reducing
the cost and time, increases the productivity of the project. While hiring the subcontractors,
general contractor should properly check whether they are capable for handling the project work
activities. There should be a good communication between the subcontractors for analyzing the
status of the project from the base point. The general contractor also needs to check whether the
work assigned to the subcontractor is finished on given time. According to Thomas & Wright
(2016) rights and obligations of parties have been properly analyzed by using contract.
According to law breach of the terms of contract is enforceable. The construction sector is full of
risk as it includes many sub sectors and the coordination of these entire fields involves high risk.
For the commercial viability of the project, successful completion of the project within specified
cost is very essential. With proper project management techniques and strategies, the time and
cost of the project can be properly managed.
As per Atkinson (2013) contract helps both parties to finish the project in a feasible manner and
also in a legal way. Different project perspectives will be analyzed and evaluated in the contract,
resources required for the projects, different cost scenarios and risk management techniques also
evaluated in the contract. SolDeb Group has a good faith in Anyway Construction and their
enquiry for starting the project prior to sign the contract is the best example for their trust in this
company. But at the same time there are some legal obligations also raised by SolDeb group that
in any situation if the company or contractor didn’t deliver the project on time, the company will
have the right to go for the court proceedings. As there is no prior contract with SolDeb group,
during the project development in any phase if there occurs any cost difference or shortage, and
if SolDeb group refuses to provide the extra amount and that loss should to be faced by Anyway
Construction.According to Blake et al., (2014) a written contract will be always better while
handling all these kinds of obstacles. In the construction industry, the prices of resources are not
stable. If there is a proper written agreement we can clearly specify all these chances of price
change of resource. But in this scenario, as there is now written contract if the client didn’t pay
the extra amount happened during construction, the contractor forced to meet all those liabilities.

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