When the Sky Stops the Job: Weather Delay Notices and Records for Smaller UK Trade Firms
Photo: Sandy B , CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
UK weather has a habit of interrupting external works at the least convenient moment. A sudden downpour, a frozen morning or a week of wind can stop a trade contractor in its tracks. The commercial question is rarely whether it rained. It is whether the firm can show what the weather stopped, when it stopped it, and what it did about it. That is where a disciplined weather file earns its keep.
Weather is a contractual event, not just a site inconvenience
Most UK construction and maintenance contracts treat exceptional weather as a potential delay event. Under common forms such as JCT and NEC, the route to time relief depends on notice, causation and records. A site manager's wet-day note is not, by itself, an extension of time. Nor is every shower a compensable event. The contract will usually distinguish between excusable delay, which may give more time, and a compensation event, which may also give money. The two should not be muddled. Read the notice provisions before the first drop of rain, not after the dispute starts.
Notice first, argument later
When weather stops work, issue notice early and in the form the contract requires. If the contract is silent, a short email to the client or main contractor is still better than silence. It should identify the project, date and time, the activity affected, the weather condition, the expected effect on the programme and the records being kept. Keep the language factual. Avoid adjectives and blame. Confirm that the firm is reserving its rights and will update the position when the impact is known. A notice sent within the stipulated period is worth more than a detailed argument assembled three weeks later.
Separating excusable delay from poor programming
A weather delay claim is weak if the affected work was already late, had no float, or could reasonably have been resequenced. The starting point is the accepted programme. Identify the weather-sensitive activities, their sequence and their float. Then ask a simple question: did the weather actually delay completion, or did it merely inconvenience a task that was not on the critical path? If internal works could have continued, record that mitigation. If a delivery was cancelled because access was unsafe, record why. The aim is not to deny every weather event. It is to show that the firm understands the difference between a genuine delay and a programme that was already struggling.
The evidence that helps
A useful weather file is contemporaneous, proportionate and easy to follow. It does not need a film crew. It needs:
- Time-stamped photographs of the affected area, taken from a consistent viewpoint where possible.
- Met Office data or local rainfall records for the nearest station, saved with the date and source.
- The site diary, including labour, plant, deliveries and instructions.
- Programme extracts showing the activity affected and its float.
- Correspondence with the client, main contractor or supplier about access, cancellations and resequencing.
- A note of mitigation steps taken, such as moving labour to internal works or bringing forward maintenance tasks.
Photographs should show the site as it is, not a staged puddle. A picture of standing water at the access gate is useful only if it is linked to the activity it stopped. Keep the file in one place and name documents consistently. If a claim is challenged, the firm that can produce a clean chronological bundle will usually spend less time arguing and more time recovering.
Valuing recoverable time without turning it into a fight
Time and money are separate conversations. An extension of time may be recoverable even where loss and expense is not. Where the contract allows both, the firm must show causation and mitigation. That means linking the weather event to the delay, showing what was done to reduce it, and avoiding a scattergun claim for every wet day. A measured approach often works better: identify the critical events, quantify the time lost, explain the programme effect and offer a practical resequencing proposal. If the client disputes entitlement, keep the discussion on the facts. A well-documented weather file is not a weapon. It is a shared record that lets both sides reach a sensible position.
A one-page weather-delay log
Use a single sheet per project or per weather event. The log should be completed daily while the impact is live, not reconstructed at final account.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Date and time | Start and end of the weather impact, including time lost. |
| Project and location | Site address, plot or zone affected. |
| Weather condition | Rain, snow, wind, frost, flooding or access restriction. |
| Source | Met Office station, on-site gauge or dated photographs. |
| Activity affected | Work package, trade and programme reference. |
| Programme effect | Critical path, float and expected delay. |
| Resources stood | Labour, plant and subcontractors unable to work. |
| Notice issued | Who was notified, when and by what reference. |
| Mitigation | Resequencing, internal works or other steps taken. |
| Photographs | File names or references for the image record. |
| Notes | Instructions, deliveries cancelled and follow-up actions. |
The log should be signed or initialled by the site manager and reviewed weekly. If the contract requires a specific form, use it. If not, this sheet is enough to prompt the right questions and keep the evidence together.
The habit that pays
Weather delays are ordinary. Poor records are optional. A firm that issues notice promptly, keeps a simple daily file and explains the programme effect clearly is in a stronger position at final account and a calmer position with its client. P.F. Lynch & Co. advises trade firms on contracts, records and commercial recovery. The rain will come. The file should be ready.
