What is an Extension of Time (EOT) claim in construction?

An EOT claim is a contractual request by the Contractor to extend the completion date when delays occur due to excusable events such as late approvals, unforeseen conditions, or variations. It protects the Contractor from liquidated damages.

What documents are needed to support an EOT claim?

Key documents include the Contract, approved programme, site diaries, weather records, correspondence, and meeting minutes. Tribunals place the greatest weight on contemporaneous records.

What happens if an EOT claim is submitted late?

If an EOT claim is submitted late, it may be time-barred under clauses such as FIDIC Sub-Clause 20.1. Tribunals often enforce these deadlines strictly, extinguishing entitlement even if the delay was genuine.

Extension of Time (EOT) Claims in Construction: Nine Key Points Every Contractor Must Master

Q: Why are EOT claims important?

EOT claims are important because they safeguard Contractors from liquidated damages and ensure project timelines remain fair and realistic when delays are outside their control.

Jinoy Viswan
Sep 21
3 min read

Nine Key Points Every Contractor Must Master in EOT Submission

Nine Key Points Every Contractor Must Master in EOT Submission — Nine Key Points Every Contractor Must Master in EOT Submission

Every contract begins with a promise: a start date, a finish date, and a programme in between. Yet construction projects rarely follow the script.

Weather turns. Designs arrive late. Variations creep in. Progress slows.

The contract date stays fixed. Reality does not.

Extension of Time (EOT) claims exist to bridge that gap. They shield contractors from liquidated damages when delays are beyond their control. But many claims collapse, not because the delay was unreal, but because the claim was poorly framed.

An EOT claim is not a plea for sympathy. It is a structured submission, tested clause by clause, and supported by contemporaneous records.

1. What Is an EOT Claim?

At its simplest, an EOT claim is the contractor’s request for more time when events outside their control delay progress. The claim adjusts the contractual completion date to reflect reality.

Without an EOT, the contractor may be penalised for delays they did not cause.

2. Why Are EOT Claims Important?

EOT claims serve one critical purpose: they suspend or reduce the risk of liquidated damages (LDs). Under most contracts, LDs apply automatically if completion is late. A successful EOT claim extends the completion date and protects the contractor’s position.

In tribunal language: LDs cannot run during a period when the employer is responsible for delay.

Tribunals do not ask whether delay was inconvenient. They ask three questions:

Was the delay notified in time?
Was it proven with records?
Was entitlement clearly linked to the contract clause?

Contractors who answer yes succeed. Those who do not, pay LDs.

3. When to Submit an EOT Claim

Cause: Delay event occurs: late drawing, unforeseen condition, or weather.

Effect: Critical path is disrupted.

Entitlement: Under FIDIC Sub-Clause 20.1, notice must be given within 28 days. NEC contracts often require 14 days.

Substantiation: Copy of the drawing register, site log, or weather data showing the date of disruption.

Tribunals enforce these deadlines strictly (Obrascon v Gibraltar [2014] EWHC 1028).

4. Key Elements of an EOT Claim

An EOT claim must contain:

Description of the delaying event.
Evidence of causation.
Demonstration of critical path impact.
Revised completion date.

Each element aligns with the CEES sequence. Without them, entitlement fails.

5. Supporting Documentation

Contracts protect the contractor who protects themselves with records. Required evidence includes:

Contract agreements (entitlement baseline).
Approved programme (critical path reference).
Site diaries, logs, weather records.
Correspondence (RFIs, instructions, minutes).

Tribunals consistently give greater weight to contemporaneous records than to reconstructed narratives.

6. Benefits of EOT Claims

When properly submitted, EOT claims:

Protect against wrongful LD deductions.
Maintain programmes that reflect reality.
Keep employer–contractor relationships commercially balanced.
Provide defensible positions in adjudication, arbitration, or litigation.

7. Common Challenges in EOT Claims

Proving causation between event and critical path.
Maintaining contemporaneous records.
Meeting notice deadlines.

Failure on any of these points weakens entitlement, even where the delay is genuine.

Example (Bad vs. Good)

❌ “Our project is delayed because of the Employer. We expect more time and compensation.”

Vague, emotional, unsubstantiated.

✅ “On 17 January, the Employer’s revised IFC drawings for structural steel were received 21 days late. This delayed mobilisation of Activity S12 on the critical path by 21 days. Pursuant to Sub-Clause 20.1, the Contractor gives Notice and seeks a corresponding EOT.”

Calm, factual, clause-based, and enforceable.

Tribunal Perspective

EOT claims are not tested on fairness. They are tested on compliance. Tribunals examine whether the contractor gave timely notice, maintained records, and demonstrated causation. Contractors who treat the claim as a forensic submission succeed. Those who treat it as an afterthought fail.

Tailpiece

Delays are certain. Entitlement is not.

Some contractors arrive at tribunal with excuses, vague letters, and missing logs. Others arrive with timely Notices, precise records, and contract-based arguments. One pays liquidated damages. The other secures time.

Because an EOT claim is not just paperwork. It is the contractor’s shield.

Handle it carelessly and it fails.

Handle it with discipline and it holds.