Nominated Subcontractor

A client may care who supplies a complex lift, facade or control system, so rather than letting the main contractor choose freely, the contract may provide for a specialist to be nominated. The contractor then coordinates that firm's work with the rest of the project, and the nomination process and obligations should be read in the chosen contract form.

FIDIC's discussion of nominated subcontractors explains different approaches to allocating risk on international projects, while JCT's subcontract guide shows that other standard forms use distinct categories and documents. These are references, not one global rule, so a project should not copy a statement about FIDIC into a different contract without checking its terms.

The client or its consultant may select a preferred specialist for technical quality or continuity with a design, which can reduce the contractor's freedom to negotiate price, programme or warranties. The main contractor still needs workable terms with the specialist, because nomination should not replace due diligence.

A nomination instruction should identify the work, price basis, design responsibility, schedule and required subcontract terms, and if the specialist's offer excludes testing or maintenance documents, the gap must be addressed before award. Ambiguous interfaces are a common source of delay and claims.

Some contracts allow the contractor to object on specified grounds, such as inadequate capacity or unwillingness to accept required liabilities, with notice periods and evidence requirements, so a contractor should raise an objection promptly and precisely because silence can have consequences under a particular form. Risk does not always sit in one place: the main contractor may remain responsible to the client for coordination and some subcontract performance, while nomination can create special relief or indemnity mechanisms.

The actual balance depends on the contract wording and facts, and "the client chose them" is not a full legal defence. Payment flows should be clear, as the client may certify an amount for the specialist through the main contract while the contractor pays under its subcontract, and some forms include provisions addressing proof of payment or direct payment in limited circumstances, so do not assume the client automatically pays the specialist or that the contractor has no cash-flow exposure.

Programme coordination is essential, since a nominated lift installer may need a finished shaft, power supply and site access by specific dates, and the main contractor should integrate those dependencies into the main programme. Delays caused by the specialist, client instruction or other trades can have different contractual treatment.

Design responsibility also needs a boundary, as a facade specialist might design fixings while the client's architect designs the overall concept, so record who approves calculations and who is responsible for performance, because an approval stamp from a consultant does not necessarily transfer all design risk. Compare a nominated subcontractor with a domestic subcontractor chosen by the main contractor, where the contractor usually has more choice and control over procurement.

In a nominated case the selection route can affect objections and risk allocation, yet both still require a functioning subcontract and coordinated site management, and neither should be confused with a direct contract between client and specialist, since a separately appointed specialist may be a direct contractor, not a subcontractor at all. A nominated subcontractor can give the client influence over specialist selection, but responsibilities do not vanish, so check the nomination procedure, objection grounds, subcontract terms, payment and design interfaces, show the contractual chain on a simple diagram before work begins, and keep written records of instructions and approvals, because the contract, not the label alone, decides the risk allocation.