Subcontractors under a contract of employment: mine or yours?

Whether it is a customer who wants to erect one of your typical models on his land or a customer who asks you to erect a residential building according to his own plans, it is possible that this will happen: your customer will ardently want to impose a subcontractor or a supplier on you. Of course, using all these “brothers-in-law electricians” and “uncles who have a plumbing store” should theoretically reduce costs for your customers, but is it a good idea for you?

At the outset, you should know that we usually answer this question in the negative, both for the workforce and for the supply of materials. Let's explain why with a few examples.

The workforce

This is a classic case: a customer wants to impose a person or a company on you for a particular profession. Although they have the required competency cards and licenses to do the work, you have never hired them before. Obviously, the unwavering trust that your customer places in him and the savings he intends to achieve by imposing it on you perfectly justify his position. So why not? For a number of reasons.

First of all, this person or company imposed will not be subordinate to you in the same way as your usual subcontractors. What are you going to do if she falls behind schedule in her tasks, delaying your entire project? How are you going to explain to your client that their work does not meet your standards? Who do you think your customer will support if a conflict arises between you and the person or business being recommended?

Second, what will happen if intervention or correction is required in a few years? Your long-time subcontractor will probably come and correct their mistakes at their own expense to maintain a good business relationship with you, but can the same be said about this person or company? Will she still be on good terms with your customer? Will it still be in business? Will it still have the required licenses?

In short, knowing that the contractor is responsible for the entire building delivered facing the customer, you should recommend retaining the services of qualified people, but especially people you know.

The materials

Another classic case: a customer wants to buy from a supplier unknown to you, who pays him a friend price. Why not?

First of all because under the Regulation on the guarantee plan for new residential buildings, only repairs of defects in materials and equipment supplied and installed by the beneficiary are excluded¹, such as that you may be required to correct defects arising from materials that you did not provide, but that you installed.

Then, the same problems as with the workforce can occur: what to do when materials are delivered late? Will your employees be able to install what is provided to them? Have the materials been proven on the market?

So what should we do?

Two solutions are necessary when your customer asks you to use a certain workforce or offers to provide certain materials.

The first is simply to politely refuse. After all, you were chosen for your reputation, and that's what's at stake. Of course, you wouldn't dare impose ingredients or personnel on a reputable chef. It's the same in construction: you don't change a winning formula.

Obviously, under penalty of seeing the contract slip through your fingers, you can turn to the second option which consists in accepting, but taking care to exclude your liability entirely. Feel free to credit the installation in addition to the materials provided by your customer. This way, you will avoid being responsible for a faulty item, whether the defect is the result of the item or its installation.

Finally, if your client insists on interfering in all the choices of subcontractors and suppliers, it is up to you to question your role and perhaps consider a construction site management contract...

DID YOU KNOW THAT?
According to articles 16 and 32 of the Regulation on the guarantee plan for new residential buildings, the guarantee of a plan benefits any subsequent purchaser for the term that remains to run under the guarantee, which means that it is not only the first buyers who can benefit from it.

¹ Articles 12 (1) and 29 (1) of Regulation on the guarantee plan for new residential buildings

‍

Consult the source publication