A back-to-back subcontract passes the main contract's terms down to the subcontractor, including its notice requirements and time-bars. In the Gulf and on Indian packages it typically shortens them: if the main contractor has 28 days to notify the Employer, the subcontractor may have 14 or 21 to notify the main contractor, so there is time to pass the claim up the chain. The subcontractor's entitlement depends on hitting the shorter window.
One event, two clocks
| Clock | Runs between | Typical window | What is at stake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstream | Main contractor and Employer | 28 days from awareness under FIDIC, or as amended | The main contractor's entitlement, which your relief usually depends on |
| Downstream | You and the main contractor | Shorter, often 14 or 21 days, from your awareness | Your own right to time and cost under the subcontract |
If you notify late, two things happen. Your own claim against the main contractor is time-barred under the subcontract. And the main contractor may argue that your lateness prevented it from notifying the Employer in time, leaving you exposed to its loss as well. The downstream clock protects you from both.
Pay-when-certified and pay-if-paid traps
Many back-to-back forms make the subcontractor's EOT and cost recovery conditional on the main contractor obtaining relief from the Employer. Where that is the case, your interest in the upstream claim is direct. Ask to see the notice the main contractor gave, and keep a copy against your register entry. If the main contractor never notified the Employer, your subcontract may give you a separate route, or it may not; that is a question for your contracts lead, and the answer depends on the wording.
Practical protection
- Read the subcontract's notice clause separately from the main contract's. The window, trigger, and form are often different.
- Track both clocks for every event. Your deadline and the main contractor's. When yours is met, ask for confirmation that theirs was.
- Keep your own records. Do not rely on the main contractor's site diary or programme. Your evidence locker is yours.
- Notify the main contractor even for its own delays. A main-contractor-caused delay is still an event under your subcontract, with its own window.
- Preserve rights on continuing delays. Periodic follow-up notices, downstream and, where you can see it, upstream.
What this means in practice
- Two clocks per event; the shorter one is yours.
- Confirm the upstream notice was given; your relief may depend on it.
- Keep independent records.
- Main-contractor delay is notifiable too.
A back-to-back profile in DraftMyEOT spawns two linked clocks for each event: the upstream deadline and the downstream deadline that preserves your own rights.
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This article is general information about how these contract mechanisms typically work. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for review of your specific contract by a qualified professional.