The employer’s voice, in the room.
Friel Welch acts as Employer's Agent on JCT Design and Build projects across the residential, fit-out, super-prime and turnkey sectors.
The Employer's Agent is more than a contractual appointment. It is the role that brings together commercial leadership, contractual administration and design oversight, giving the Employer one experienced team responsible for protecting the project's objectives throughout delivery.
We administer the full suite of JCT Design and Build contracts, including bespoke amendments that we prepare, negotiate and review. From contract execution through to Final Account, we manage change, certify payments and completion, administer the contract proactively and ensure the Employer's Requirements remain the benchmark against which delivery is measured.
Clients appoint Friel Welch because they want an Employer's Agent who is actively involved in delivery, coordinating consultants, challenging contractor proposals where necessary and making timely decisions that maintain momentum while protecting the Employer's commercial and design objectives.
Representing the Employer throughout delivery
Under Design and Build procurement, the Employer appoints an Employer's Agent to represent their contractual position throughout the project. Every instruction, certification and contractual decision should support the objectives established before the contract was signed.
Friel Welch acts as the Employer's representative from contract execution through to Final Account. We administer the contract, manage change, certify payments and completion, assess extensions of time and ensure contractual decisions remain aligned with the Employer's commercial, programme and quality objectives.
We are not observers to the delivery process. We are an active member of the project team, providing the contractual leadership that keeps Design and Build projects moving.
Protecting design intent
The success of a Design and Build project depends on the quality of the Employer's Requirements and the discipline with which they are managed during delivery.
Our team combines contractual expertise with technical and design understanding, allowing us to review contractor proposals against the Employer's Requirements rather than simply accepting design development as inevitable.
Where proposals improve the project, we help facilitate them. Where they dilute quality, functionality or the Employer's objectives, we challenge them early and work with the design team and contractor to achieve compliant, commercially robust solutions.
Protecting design intent is not about preventing change. It is about ensuring every change delivers value without compromising what the Employer set out to achieve.
Employer's Requirements written to deliver
The Employer's Requirements establish the technical, commercial and contractual benchmark for the project. They are one of the most important documents within any Design and Build procurement and should be written with delivery in mind, not simply tender issue.
Friel Welch prepares and reviews Employer's Requirements that are coordinated, practical and capable of being administered throughout construction. We remove ambiguity, align design and contractual obligations and ensure the document provides a robust foundation for procurement, contract administration and successful project delivery.
One appointment. Complete delivery oversight.
The Employer's Agent appointment brings together contractual administration, commercial management and design oversight within a single leadership role.
Clients benefit from one experienced team coordinating contractual matters, commercial performance, programme, design development and project reporting throughout delivery. This integrated approach reduces duplication, improves communication and enables decisions to be made with a full understanding of their impact across the wider project.
Our reporting is concise, forward looking and written for decisions rather than records. Clients receive a clear understanding of project performance, emerging risks and the actions required to maintain programme, cost and quality.
The result is stronger governance, better commercial control and a Design and Build project delivered with confidence from contract execution through to Final Account.
Pre-Contract
Procurement Strategy
D&B vs alternative routes, advice on contract form.
Employer’s Requirements
Drafting and review.
Contract Drafting & Amendments
Reviewed with the employer’s legal advisor.
Contractor Selection Support
Tender preparation, evaluation, recommendation.
Pre-Construction Information
Collation and coordination.
During Construction
Contract Administration
Instructions, variations, certificates.
Design Submission Review
Against the Employer’s Requirements.
Payment Certificates
Monthly valuations and interim certificates.
Extensions of Time / Loss and Expense
Assessment and determination.
Change Management
Cost, programme, and design implications reported.
Single Point of Contact —
With the contractor on commercial and contractual matters.
Periodic Reporting
To the employer, in plain language.
Close-Out
Practical Completion Certification
Issued against the contract.
Defects Liability Period
Tracked and managed through to close-out.
Final Account
Negotiation and sign-off.
Collateral Warranty & Bond Management
Collation and review.
Post-Completion Close-Out
Handover documentation and records.
Similarities to Contract Administration
Employer’s Agent and Contract Administrator share several duties, and both become active once the contract is in place. They are often confused. The procurement route is what separates them. On traditional procurement, where the design responsibility sits with the Employer and the design team, the role is Contract Administration, performed impartially between the parties. On JCT Design and Build, where design responsibility transfers to the contractor, the role consolidates with the Employer’s commercial representation into a single Employer’s Agent appointment, performed for the Employer. Our team carries both.