A contractor is entitled to payment for work including variations and may also be entitled to claim

for additional time and money (Murdoch and Hughes, 2008). Contractors‟ claims may be described
as requests for the reimbursement for additional costs resulting from certain employer or
employer‟s agents‟ acts, which delay or disrupt the contractor‟s progress, and which otherwise
would not be recoverable under the contract. They typically arise due to administrators‟
instructions, late information, postponement, employer interference and/or other employer‟s
default. Claims are an almost inevitable consequence where construction projects are procured
through competitive tendering procedures based on less than perfect tender documentation. The
word „claim‟ captures the adversarial nature of the construction industry. March (2009) comments
on the emotive impact of „contractors „claiming‟ for everything possible and exploiting every
opportunity and loophole in the contract. … [and] that much of the disquiet between developers and
contractors has resulted from excessive use of these procedures.‟ In practice, however, claims often
display failings by both parties, such as where a delay is initially caused by the employer‟s team, and
is then complicated by some misunderstanding, shortcoming or mismanagement by the contractor,
sub-contractors, or both. Claims are usually resolved during the final accounting process, but where
negotiations fail, they frequently become disputes, with the parties adopting a legal route to resolve
their differences. During „normal‟ and buoyant periods of the construction cycle claims may, at best,
be viewed as an inconvenience, during difficult economic periods they may present serious
difficulties and result in an increase in expensive legal disputes. Anecdotal evidence suggests that
the incidence of claims and disputes rose during the recent recession, as many contractors
attempted to claw back money on underpriced and uneconomic tenders. Opinions regarding the
perception that contractors had become more claims conscious have been reported by McCaul
(2011) who quotes an architect‟s view: 3 Even guys that you could have relied on in the past, [are
submitting more claims] …clients are becoming much more aware of the cut and thrust of the
Industry and clients don‟t really appreciate getting taken advantage of all the times on claims and
extras. There are legitimate contractors who submit legitimate claims, that is about 10% of the
Industry. There are others who would have been that way, but have been forced not to be like that.
Otherwise they will not be at the table to get the