Peter Barnard
Harshita Kapoor
Beyond these principles, the GCC 2025 delivers substantive procedural updates. It tightens claim and payment timelines, removes ambiguity around variation orders, clarifies the role of the Employer’s Agent, and streamlines the administration of extensions, suspensions, and terminations. Together, these changes encourage more consistent contract management and a shared responsibility for early issue resolution, moving the industry toward a more cooperative and accountable construction environment.
Email communications
Any written communication sent by email is deemed to be delivered one day after the email was sent (clause 1.2.1.3).
Who is the employer’s agent?
Where a corporate entity is appointed as the Employer’s Agent under the latest version, the terms of clause 3.1.1 have been revised to require that a specific natural person who is duly qualified in the relevant industry be appointed to fulfil the functions of the Employer’s Agent. The details of such a person must be notified in writing to the Employer and Contractor.
Spirit of mutual co-operation
The latest version has adopted and drawn inspiration from the NEC’s spirit of good faith contracting, requiring the parties to carry out the contract “in an honest, fair and reasonable manner in the spirit of mutual co-operation” (clause 2.1.1).
Advanced warning systems
There is now a contractual obligation imposed on the parties to work together to solve issues on the project before they become concerns which could impact the cost, quality or timely completion of the project, which would result in a claim under clause 10.1. This clause encourages the Employer and the Employer’s Agent to take proactive steps in this process and to make decisions for the betterment of the contract and project through issuing determinations under clause 3.2.2 where necessary.
Regular meetings
Clause 3.3.7 has been revised to oblige the Employer’s Agent to “arrange meetings with authorised representatives of the Contractor and Employer for the evaluation of progress and discussion of matters pertaining to the Contract.” This is in line with the spirit of mutual co-operation. However, the minutes of these meetings may not be interpreted to comply with any contractual obligation requiring a written action by any of the parties (e.g. an instruction by the Employer/Employer’s Agent). This intends to address common disputes surrounding whether items recorded in meeting minutes may amount to contract instructions.
Programme
The onus rests with the contractor to update programmes on a monthly basis, and when the Practical Completion Date is revised (clause 5.6.4).
The latest edition of the GCC expressly states that the contractor shall revise the programme “whether instructed by the Employer’s Agent in writing or not” under the same circumstances listed in 5.6.4 of the GCC 2015, with the addition of “when the construction sequence has changed the critical path” (clause 5.6.5).
Delays: What can be claimed?
Clause 4.8.2 has been updated to record that if the Employer’s Agent instructs the Contractor to “[provide] access to any part of the Site to allow the Employer, the Employer’s contractors or any authority to [carry] out its work” (clause 4.8.2.3) then the contractor is entitled to claim for any associated delays in terms of clause 10.
The GCC 2025 now expressly allows for contractors to claim for a delay to practical completion in terms of Clause 10.1 for Variation Orders (clause 5.12.2.5).
Works insurance
The contractor’s obligation to ensure its work ceases upon Practical Completion in terms of the GCC 2025 (clause 5.14.3.3), instead of its obligation to ensure its work ceasing upon Completion in terms of the GCC 2015 (clause 5.14.5.5).
Payment and suspension
There have been some revisions to the contractual periods relating to payment and suspension of works in clause 5.11, some added to, some reduced which are set out in the table below:
| GCC 2015 | GCC 2025 |
| Notice to Suspend Works | Contractor is to give 14 days’ notice before suspending works (clause 5.11.1) | Contractor is to give 7 days’ notice before suspending works (clause 5.11.1) |
| Non-payment and Repudiation | If non-payment persists for 84 days then the contractor can treat it as repudiation (clause 5.11.5) | If non-payment persists for 28 days then the contractor can treat it as repudiation (clause 5.11.2) |
| Suspension lasting more than 84 days | Once the contractor delivers the written notice requesting permission to proceed and it is not granted within 28 days then the contractor may treat it as repudiation or omission (clause 5.11.6) | Once the contractor delivers the written notice requesting permission to proceed and it is not granted within 14 days then the contractor may treat it as repudiation or omission of works (clause 5.11.6) |
Variation orders
In terms of the GCC 2015, the Employer’s Agent could give oral orders as a basis for Variation Orders, so long as the contractor confirms such oral order in writing to the Employer’s Agent within 7 days of it being given, and such confirmation is not contradicted by the Employer’s Agent. The GCC 2025 has specifically removed the words “oral order” and only allows for a written order to be confirmed by the contractor in order to amount to a Variation Order (clause 6.3.2). The effect of this is that if an oral order is given, which the contractor understands to amount to a Variation Order, that order should not be given effect to until the Employer’s Agent issues an express and clear Variation Order in writing.
Clauses 5.12.2.5 and 6.4.1.5 have been added in the latest edition of the GCC. These clauses provide that any delay experienced by the contractor as a result of a Variation Order or an instruction to carry out additional work (complying with the provisions of clause 5.12) shall entitle the contractor to make an extension of time claim in terms of clause 10.1.
Retention
Retention under clause 6.4.10 of the GCC 2025 has been revised to limit the amount that the Employer may hold as retention. Clause 6.10.4 reads that the “retention monies shall not exceed 10% of any amount due to the Contractor and in the event where the contractor is required to provide security in terms of clause 6.2, the limit of retention money shall not exceed 5% of the Contract Price”.
Breach and termination
The new edition has clarified and added in more detail to the existing grounds for both parties to terminate the contract. There is the addition of clause 9.2.2.1.7 and 9.3.2.7, which allows both parties to terminate for the other party’s failure to implement the Adjudication Board’s decision in terms of clause 10.5.4.
The GCC 2025 includes an express provision that if the Contractor fails to claim additional costs incidental to the termination events (being the circumstances set out in clauses 9.1.1 to 9.1.3) within 14 days of becoming aware of them, then the Contractor shall forfeit the right to recover these additional costs (clause 9.1.4).
The GCC 2025 expressly provides that the contract may not be terminated by a party if that party is in material breach of the contract; this is a generally understood legal principle which has been written into the latest edition of the GCC for certainty.
Claims under clause 10.1 - Extension of time
When making claims under clause 10.1.1 for extensions to practical completion and/or additional payment, the process has been revised in the GCC 2025. A comparison of the process to make a claim in terms of clause 10.1 is set out in the table below:
| GCC 2015 | GCC 2025 |
| Notice of Intention to Claim | Only required if the contractor cannot submit a claim within 28 days of the event. | Mandatory for EOT and additional payment claims – must be given within 28 days of the event, including particulars and contractor basis. |
| Submission of Claim | Within 28 days of the event or when the contractor reasonably becomes aware of it. | Within 28 days of giving the notice of intention to claim. |
| Content of Claim | Must include event details, contractual basis, time and/or cost calculations. | Must refer to the notice of intention and include the same particulars (time and cost calculations). |
| Incomplete Claims | If unable to comply fully, the contractor submits what it can and completes as so as practicable. | Same principle – partial compliance allowed, balance to follow as soon as practicable. |
Disputes
The only amendment to the timelines and provisions surrounding disputes is that parties are now afforded 14 days, instead of 7 days, to agree on an Adjudicator/Arbitrator before a referral is made to SAICE for it to make the appointment (clause 10.9.1).
Overall, the GCC 2025 focuses on encouraging collaboration and good faith contracting, and in some instances, it appears that the timelines have been revised to favour Contractors. The changes have also refined the drafting to reduce ambiguity in the dispute and claims processes. Given the significant changes, we would advise carefully reviewing the changes prior to contracting with the latest edition of the GCC to ensure proper compliance with the updated timelines and documentation requirements.
Conclusion
As with any contractual reform, the impact of the GCC 2025 will depend on how diligently the parties adapt their practices to meet the new standards. Contractors will need to update internal systems to manage tighter claim timelines and documentation requirements, while employers and agents must ensure that instructions, determinations, and variations are recorded with precision. What’s clear is that the 2025 edition rewards proactive administration and penalises complacency. Firms that embrace its cooperative intent will likely experience fewer disputes and smoother project delivery. For those navigating the transition, informed legal guidance can make the difference between compliance and costly missteps, and that’s where an experienced construction law team becomes indispensable.
