Every site has one. A WhatsApp group where the foreman posts the locked gate, the engineer forwards the consultant's "hold works until Rev C", the storekeeper notes the delivery that was turned away. None of it was written for a tribunal. That is exactly why a tribunal will believe it.
Why it is such strong evidence
- Timestamped by a third party. The date and time are applied by the platform, not by the contractor.
- Contemporaneous by nature. Messages are sent as events happen, not reconstructed.
- Unguarded. The language is operational, which reads as honest. "Zone B still locked, no access again today" is more persuasive than a formal letter drafted a week later.
- Photographs attached. With the message date beside them.
- Multi-party. If the Engineer's representative is in the group, their silence or acknowledgement is on the record too.
Why it usually gets lost
Phones are replaced. People leave. Media auto-deletes. The group is archived and forgotten. By the time a claim is assembled, the messages from the relevant fortnight are on a device nobody can find. The evidence existed and was never preserved.
How to preserve it
- Export the chat monthly. WhatsApp exports a plain-text file with dates, times, senders, and message text, with or without media. Do it on a schedule, not when a claim is contemplated.
- Keep the media. Export with media where storage allows, or at least save the photographs relevant to any live hindrance with their original filenames and dates.
- Select and file per event. A monthly export contains hundreds of messages. Select the ones relevant to each delay event and file them as one evidence item against that event, with the dates preserved.
- Do not edit. A trimmed selection is fine; an altered message is fatal. Keep the full export alongside the selection.
- Note who was in the group. The membership list at the time, including any Engineer or Employer staff, is itself evidence.
Limits
Site messages are not a substitute for the formal notice. "Boss, zone B locked" is evidence that the delay occurred; it is not a notice of claim under the contract. Use the message to prove the fact, and the numbered letter to preserve the right.
What this means in practice
- Export the site group monthly, with media where possible.
- File selected messages per event with dates intact; keep the full export too.
- Never edit a message.
- The group proves facts; the letter preserves rights.
DraftMyEOT imports a WhatsApp export as dated, selectable messages, lets you file the relevant ones as one evidence item against the event, and preserves the timestamps in the annexure.
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.