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Sub-contractor agreement (Scotland)

Where a main contractor has promised its client a job, a sub-contractor agreement is how it hands part of that job to a sub-contractor. The agreement fixes the work, the price, the programme and the required standards, and will normally pass the relevant obligations under the main contract down the chain. For construction work in Scotland, it also has to satisfy the Construction Act's rules on payment and adjudication.

Prepared by a retired English qualified solicitor (LLB, LLM) · reviewed 24 September 2026 · Scots law · how we draft · recent changes

When you need one

You need one each time another business takes on a share of work for which you carry responsibility, whether that is a trade on a building site, specialist IT work or any other service you delegate.

What it should contain

Scope and main contract

The sub-contract work, and where it sits within the main contract.

Back-to-back obligations

Flowing down what the main contract requires for that work.

Programme

When work starts and ends, and extending time.

Payment

For construction work, interim payments plus payment and pay less notices.

Adjudication

Statutory adjudication rights for construction disputes.

Defects and insurance

Remedying defects, and what insurance each party has to carry.

Points specific to Scotland

The Construction Act also applies in Scotland, with the Scheme for Construction Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 1998 filling any gaps. Adjudication is widely used in Scottish construction disputes, and decisions are enforced in the Court of Session or the sheriff court.

Different rules can apply elsewhere in the UK: see the England and Wales version of this guide.

Common mistakes

Including a pay-when-paid term, which will generally have no effect in a construction contract.
No payment or pay less notice mechanism.
Key main contract obligations not passed down the chain.

View a specimen sub-contractor agreement: a brief example of the structure and principal clauses, set out in the form the app generates.

Quick answers

Can a main contractor pay the sub-contractor only when it is paid in Scotland?

Not under a construction contract. The Construction Act generally makes pay-when-paid clauses ineffective, the exception being where a third party higher up the contractual chain is insolvent.

What does back-to-back mean in a Scottish sub-contract?

It describes a sub-contract drafted to match the main contract, so that, for its share of the work, the sub-contractor accepts the same obligations that the client is owed by the main contractor.

Draft your sub-contractor agreement now

Be Contract Wise (Scotland)'s powerful, carefully prepared drafting tools turn a short set of plain-English questions into a sub-contractor agreement under Scots law, laid out to a professional standard, with an explanation of every clause. Simple or complex, export to Word or PDF.

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Reviewed 2026-09-24. General legal information about Scots law, not legal advice.