Friday, and the gang's number is higher
Your drainage gang and one of your foundation gangs work on price: so much per metre of pipe at each depth band, per manhole, per plot for foundations. On Friday the ganger phones in what they have done. Your contracts manager has his own idea from walking the site. The numbers differ. Somebody gives way, grudgingly, and next week it happens again.
Neither side is being dishonest. They are measuring different things, at different times, from memory.
Why price-work measures are disputed
Price work pays for quantities done, but the quantities are not recorded at the time. The gang measures what it thinks it finished. The contracts manager measures what he saw. Part-done items, such as a run laid but not backfilled, are treated differently by each side. And the rates themselves are sometimes on a piece of paper from months ago.
- Quantities are worked out at the end of the week, not as done.
- Part-complete items are counted differently by each side.
- Agreed rates are not written down clearly.
- Extras and dayworks for price gangs are agreed verbally.
- CIS deductions are calculated separately by the office.
What disputed measures cost
Overpaying for work not done, or underpaying and losing good gangs. Weekly arguments that damage relationships with gangs you rely on. Office time reworking payments and CIS. And no record to settle a disagreement later, or to show what a gang was paid for on a particular plot.
The price-work record we build
- Each price gang's agreed rates are recorded: per metre by depth band, per manhole, per plot stage, and any others, with the date agreed.
- As work is completed, the ganger logs it on a phone by plot or run, with a photo, choosing from the items the gang is on price for.
- Part-complete items are logged with a stage, such as laid not backfilled, and paid at the proportion you agree, or not until complete.
- The contracts manager checks and agrees items during the week on a phone, or queries them with a note.
- Extras and dayworks for the gang are logged with the instruction that authorised them.
- At the end of the week, the payment is the total of agreed items at agreed rates. CIS deductions are applied at each gang's recorded rate where CIS applies, and statements are produced.
- Payments go to your accounts or payroll system, and each gang can see its own record.
| Item | Logged by gang | Contracts manager | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run F4 to F5, deep band | Monday, with photo | Agreed | This week |
| Manhole F5 | Tuesday | Agreed | This week |
| Run F5 to F6 | Wednesday, laid not backfilled | Agreed at stage | Part this week |
| Plot 22 foundations | Thursday | Queried, depth | Next week once agreed |
The rates and terms you agree with gangs, and their employment or self-employed status, are matters for you and your advisers. We record and apply them.
Fridays without the argument
Items are agreed during the week, one at a time, while the work is visible. The weekly payment is a sum of things both sides already accepted. Gangs trust the process because they can see their own record. The office no longer reworks payments or CIS. And you can see what each gang produced, at what cost per unit, which is useful when pricing and when choosing gangs.
Is price-work pay a weekly argument?
- Price gangs and your contracts manager measure separately.
- Part-complete work causes disagreements.
- Rates are on old bits of paper.
- Extras for price gangs are agreed verbally.
- The office reworks payments and CIS by hand.