Building Surveyor Salary Index

Payment notice calculator

Last reviewed September 2026

Work out a year of interim payment dates under the JCT contracts or the Scheme for Construction Contracts: the due date, the latest date for the certificate or payment notice, the last day for a pay less notice and the final date for payment. Bank holidays are allowed for, as the Construction Act requires.

Contract and dates

Payment periods (standard for this contract)

These are the periods in the unamended contract. Many contracts are amended, so check yours and change any that differ.

If no Interim Certificate is issued in time, an Interim Application the contractor made by the Interim Valuation Date becomes the payment notice. Otherwise the contractor can give its own Interim Payment Notice, which delays the final date for payment.

Enter the first interim valuation date to see the payment dates.

How the dates are worked out

  • A period of days starts the day after the date it runs from. Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays are left out, but weekends count. That’s the rule in section 116 of the Construction Act, and the JCT contracts use the same one.
  • Bank holidays come from GOV.UK’s published list, last updated Sun, 27 Sept 2026. Scotland’s differ from England and Wales: 2 January and St Andrew’s Day are bank holidays there, and Easter Monday isn’t.
  • Under the SBC and DB contracts, valuation dates after the first fall on the same date each month, or the nearest Business Day in that month. Where a month is too short, the calculator uses its last day, and it picks the earlier day if two are equally near. The contracts don’t spell out either case.
  • A pay less notice must reach the payee no later than the last day shown. Allow for how it’s served: the contract may say when a posted or emailed notice counts as received.

Getting payment notices right

  • A payment notice or pay less notice must state the sum considered due and the basis on which it’s calculated. A notice that doesn’t can leave the payer having to pay the full notified sum.
  • Liquidated damages are deducted by pay less notice, so the deadline above applies to them too. The contract also needs a non-completion certificate or notice and the employer’s notice of its intention to deduct.
  • If the notified sum isn’t paid by the final date, the payee can suspend work after giving at least 7 days’ notice. Under the JCT contracts, late payment carries simple interest at 5% over Bank Rate.

Before you rely on a date

This calculator is a guide to the standard periods, not legal advice. The periods apply to the unamended JCT 2016 and 2024 contracts; the 2024 editions kept the 2016 payment periods. Check your contract, including any amendments and its rules on serving notices. For further reading, the books list includes guides to the JCT contracts.

Sources

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