Subcontract Business Terms

Subcontract provides a professional-to-professional construction workforce connection service for businesses and construction professionals in the Republic of Ireland.

Subcontract identifies and introduces businesses seeking additional construction trade capacity to suitable independent trade professionals and/or trade contracting businesses within the Subcontract network.

Subcontract is not intended for private household or domestic customers, and requests for private domestic or household work cannot be accepted.

Subcontract:

• receives professional trade and labour requirements from businesses;
• reviews those requirements;
• searches its professional network;
• considers appropriate factors such as trade, location, availability, qualifications, compliance information, site experience and capacity;
• contacts potentially suitable contractors;
• facilitates a professional introduction.

Registration and verification within the Subcontract network do not guarantee that any contractor is suitable for every project. Each requirement is assessed on its own facts.

“The Subcontract Introduction Fee is €79 plus VAT for each contractor connection.”

The fee applies per separate contractor connection and is not calculated according to:

• the number of workers supplied;
• hours worked;
• days or duration of the engagement;
• the contractor’s rate;
• project value; or
• the value of the underlying construction work.

One contractor supplying several workers remains one contractor connection. Separate contractors constitute separate connections, each carrying its own €79 + VAT Introduction Fee.

The Connection Fee is payment for the Subcontract connection service only. It is not payment toward the contractor’s underlying construction charges.

The applicable Subcontract Connection Fee is payable in advance, before Subcontract activates the request and begins the matching/search process for that paid contractor connection.

A request is not treated as active for matching until:

• the applicable Business Terms have been accepted; and
• the applicable Connection Fee payment has been confirmed.

Payment of the Subcontract Connection Fee is payment for the Subcontract connection service only. It is not payment toward the contractor’s underlying construction charges.

Where a requirement cannot reasonably be fulfilled through one contractor and the customer wishes Subcontract to make additional separate contractor connections, each additional connection carries another €79 + VAT Introduction Fee.

Subcontract must obtain the customer’s approval before charging or collecting any additional Connection Fee. Additional fees are never applied automatically or without the customer’s knowledge.

Subcontract considers the information supplied by the customer and the information available about professionals within the network. Relevant factors may include:

• trade/role;
• specialist skills;
• location;
• availability;
• workforce capacity;
• experience;
• qualifications;
• safety and compliance documentation;
• site-specific experience.

Suitability comes first. Subcontract does not simply put forward the first available individual. However, verification and document review carried out by Subcontract do not constitute accreditation, certification, or a guarantee of competence or of project performance.

For operational purposes, a suitable contractor connection means that Subcontract has identified a contractor reasonably matching the material requirements supplied by the customer and who has indicated relevant availability and capacity for that requirement.

A suitable connection does not guarantee:

• specific worker headcount;
• productivity;
• hours ultimately worked;
• duration or programme;
• completion of the underlying work;
• workmanship; or
• contractor pricing.

Subcontract may provide an appropriate Contractor Suitability Summary before completing the introduction. The summary may include appropriate professional information concerning:

• relevant trade;
• experience;
• location;
• qualifications and status;
• compliance verification status;
• site experience;
• capacity;
• availability.

Private documentation is not disclosed through the summary.

Once the connection is ready, Subcontract may provide the appropriate business and contact details required to complete the introduction.

Contractors set their own rates. Subcontract does not set contractor labour rates.

Contractor pricing, payment terms, working hours, programme, workforce arrangements and the underlying work are agreed directly between the customer and the contractor. The contractor’s charges are separate from the Subcontract Connection Fee.

If Subcontract is unable to make a suitable contractor connection for the paid requirement, the customer may request a refund of the applicable Subcontract Connection Fee. Refund requests are subject to reasonable administrative review by Subcontract.ie staff.

The following circumstances are not automatically treated as a failure to provide a connection:

• the customer changes the requirement after payment;
• the site or project is not ready;
• the customer cancels the requirement;
• the customer materially changes location, dates, trade, capacity or scope;
• the customer refuses a reasonably suitable connection for reasons outside the original material requirement;
• the parties subsequently disagree about contractor pricing;
• programme changes are mutually agreed;
• workforce arrangements change after introduction;
• the underlying construction work subsequently takes longer than expected.

Subcontract may exercise reasonable management discretion in exceptional circumstances.

If a contractor connected through Subcontract subsequently completely cancels or fails to attend, and no suitable alternative arrangement is agreed, the customer can contact Subcontract. Subject to these Business Terms, Subcontract may:

• make reasonable efforts to provide a replacement contractor connection for the same requirement without another Subcontract Connection Fee; or
• approve a refund of the applicable Connection Fee.

Ordinary workforce variation is not automatically classified as contractor failure.

The Subcontract Connection Fee is for making the professional contractor connection. It is not a guarantee of workforce numbers, productivity, hours worked, duration, or completion of the underlying work.

If a contractor attends with a different workforce number than anticipated, this does not automatically create a refund entitlement. The businesses may agree adjusted hours, duration, programme, sequencing or workforce arrangements directly between themselves.

Where the contractor remains willing and available but site access is unavailable, preceding works are incomplete, materials are unavailable, the customer delays or cancels, or project circumstances change, this does not automatically constitute a failed Subcontract connection or an automatic refund entitlement.

After the introduction, the customer and the contractor establish and manage their own commercial relationship for the underlying work.

“The first job creates the introduction. What happens after that is up to you.”

Subcontract does not charge an ongoing commission merely because the parties continue working together after the introduction.

“Subcontract makes the connection. The businesses manage the work.”

Subcontract is a connection service. It is not an employer, a construction contractor, a subcontractor, or a supplier of the underlying construction work. Subcontract does not, merely by providing its connection service:

• employ the trade professional;
• supervise the work;
• determine construction methods;
• provide tools or materials;
• certify the underlying work;
• set contractor rates;
• manage payroll; or
• collect underlying contractor charges.

Requesting businesses and subcontracting businesses are independent businesses contracting with each other. Nothing in the service creates an employment relationship between Subcontract.ie and any business or worker, or between the requesting business and the subcontracting business, or makes any business an employee, worker or agent of Subcontract.ie. Each business is solely responsible for determining and meeting its own obligations regarding employment status, PAYE, PRSI, USC, Revenue reporting and employment law compliance arising from the work it agrees to undertake or commission.

The requesting business is responsible for completing appropriate due diligence before appointing a subcontracting business, including obtaining and verifying insurance, safety, tax and qualification documentation and taking up references. Information shown as declared by a subcontracting business has been provided by that business and has not necessarily been independently verified by Subcontract.ie.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits any responsibility that may arise from the actual facts of the underlying engagement between the businesses.

The customer must provide accurate information about:

• the business;
• the project;
• location;
• trade required;
• dates and timing;
• capacity;
• material qualification and site requirements.

The customer remains responsible for appropriate project and site management and for satisfying itself regarding all matters required for the underlying engagement.

The Subcontract service is intended for bona fide businesses, professional organisations and construction professionals. It is not available for private domestic or householder requests.

Where the customer cancels, the outcome depends on how far the request has progressed:

• Before substantive matching begins: the customer can contact Subcontract; where no substantive search work has been carried out, Subcontract will review the cancellation and the applicable refund of the Connection Fee.
• After matching/search has begun: staff review the work already carried out and the applicable refund, if any, in accordance with these terms.
• After a suitable contractor has been identified: the search service has been delivered; a refund is not automatic, and Subcontract may instead offer a replacement connection for the same requirement.
• After introduction: the connection service for that connection has been delivered and the Connection Fee is no longer refundable.

Cancellation outcomes are applied subject to applicable law. Nothing in this section creates an automatic refund promise beyond these terms.

Repeated late cancellations, no-shows or serious reliability problems may be reviewed by Subcontract under the Subcontract Cancellation & Reliability Policy. No automatic financial penalties are applied against trade professionals.

Subcontract processes personal data in accordance with the Subcontract Privacy Notice. Relevant business and contact information may be processed and shared as necessary to operate the connection service. Private compliance documents are not exposed unnecessarily.

Operational communication may occur through email, telephone, or WhatsApp where the customer has consented to or selected it.

Consent to operational WhatsApp contact applies to the operation of the connection service only and is not consent to unrelated marketing.

These Business Terms, together with the Subcontract Cancellation & Reliability Policy and the Subcontract Privacy Notice, form the agreement between the customer and Subcontract in respect of the connection service. If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in force.

Subcontract may update these Business Terms from time to time. The version accepted with a request continues to govern that request, and historical requests always show which version was accepted. We will not change the terms associated with a historical transaction.

Questions about these terms: hello@subcontract.ie, Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm.