Payment Notice & Pay Less Notice Checker
For UK subcontractors, main contractors and QSs checking whether a payment notice or pay less notice was served in time and in the right form under the Construction Act. Enter the dates from your application and notice, and get a plain-English verdict, a timeline of the key dates, and what to check in your own contract.
How payment notice deadlines work
The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (as amended) sets the framework every UK construction payment cycle runs on. Once a due date is fixed by the contract, two further dates matter: the final date for payment — usually a set number of days after the due date — and the notice windows that sit inside that period.
Where a contract doesn't set its own periods, the Scheme for Construction Contracts fills the gap: a payment notice should be given no later than 5 days after the due date, and a pay less notice no later than 7 days before the final date for payment. JCT, NEC and most bespoke subcontracts set their own periods instead — often similar, sometimes not — so the actual contract always takes priority over these defaults. Both default deadlines are worked out under section 116 of the Construction Act, which excludes Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays in England and Wales from the count, so a window spanning the festive break or Easter runs a little longer than a plain calendar count would suggest.
A notice is only valid if it does what the Act requires. For a payment notice, that means stating the sum the payer considers due at the date of the notice, and the basis on which it was calculated — a total with no working behind it isn't enough. A pay less notice carries the same requirement: the sum the payer now intends to pay, and how that figure was reached. Serving either notice late, or through the wrong party, also makes it invalid.
The consequence of getting this wrong runs one way. If the payer serves no valid payment notice and no valid pay less notice before their respective deadlines, the sum the payee applied for becomes the notified sum — payable in full by the final date for payment, whatever the work was actually worth. Payers who miss both windows lose the right to pay less, however good their reasons; payees who know their dates can rely on that position with confidence.
Disclaimer: this tool is an informational aid, not legal advice. It applies the dates you enter to the general statutory framework and cannot see your contract or any amendments to it. Deadlines can be changed by your contract — always check the contract and take professional advice before acting on a notice.
Questions, answered straight
What happens if no payment notice or pay less notice is served in time?
Under section 111 of the Construction Act, the sum applied for (or the payer's own payment notice figure, if one was given but no valid pay less notice followed) becomes the "notified sum" and is payable in full by the final date for payment — regardless of the true value of the work. This is sometimes called a "smash and grab" position.
What makes a pay less notice invalid?
The usual reasons: it's served late, it's served by the wrong party, or it doesn't state both the sum the payer considers due at the date of the notice and the basis on which that sum is calculated. A bare figure with no explanation of how it was worked out is not enough.
Can my contract change the standard day counts?
Yes. The 5- and 7-day periods used as defaults here come from the Scheme for Construction Contracts, which only fills gaps left by a non-compliant contract. Many JCT and NEC contracts, and most bespoke subcontracts, set their own periods — always check the actual contract before relying on a deadline. Those default deadlines are also reckoned under section 116 of the Construction Act, which excludes Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays in England and Wales from the count — so a window spanning the festive break or Easter runs later than a plain calendar count would suggest, unless the contract sets its own method of reckoning periods.
Is this tool legal advice?
No. It's an informational aid that applies the dates you enter to the general statutory framework. It can't see your contract and doesn't know about amendments, so always check the contract and take professional advice before acting on a notice.
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