Two predictable seasons change the arithmetic of delay in the regions where FIDIC and NHAI contracts dominate. In the Gulf, Ramadan brings legally reduced working hours for the fasting workforce and, in summer, midday outdoor work bans. In India, the monsoon reduces or halts earthwork and concreting on many highway packages for weeks. Neither is an excusable delay by itself. Both affect the numbers around one.
Three places the season shows up
| Where | Effect | How to handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Notice deadlines counted in working days | Public holidays around Eid and reduced-day periods change the count | Maintain a per-project holiday list and a defined reduced-working period; compute working days from it, not from a generic calendar |
| Time impact of a hindrance | A 20-day hindrance during monsoon may have displaced less productive time than 20 days in the dry season; conversely, a delay that pushes work from dry season into monsoon multiplies its effect | Model the programme with the seasonal calendars it was planned on; a delay analysis that ignores calendars overstates or understates impact |
| Prolongation cost | Reduced-hour periods have different daily costs; idle plant during a monsoon standstill may already have been planned | Separate the cost of extended time from the cost of seasonal standstill that would have occurred anyway |
The season is usually the contractor's risk
Under most standard forms, ordinary seasonal conditions are foreseeable and priced by the contractor. Only exceptionally adverse weather, measured against records, gives an extension, and it usually gives time without money. The argument is never that the monsoon delayed the works. The argument is that an employer-caused delay pushed critical work into the monsoon, and the programme shows the resulting knock-on. That is a legitimate and often large effect, and it depends entirely on the baseline having been planned with a seasonal calendar the Engineer accepted.
Practical modelling
- Define the seasonal calendar in the baseline: reduced hours for Ramadan, reduced or non-working days for monsoon, summer midday bans where applicable.
- Keep weather records from an objective source, so exceptional weather can be distinguished from ordinary seasonal weather.
- Compute notice deadlines from the project's actual calendar, including holidays that move each year.
- In the time impact section, show the calendar used and state plainly where a knock-on into the season occurred.
What this means in practice
- Ordinary seasons are priced risk; the knock-on from an employer delay into a season is claimable.
- Keep per-project calendars with holidays and reduced-working periods.
- Use objective weather records to separate exceptional from ordinary.
- State the calendar assumptions in the claim.
Each DraftMyEOT project carries its own weekend profile, editable holiday list, and user-defined reduced-working periods, so working-day deadlines and delay narratives reflect the real calendar.
Start a 48-hour draft →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.