Additional Works: Can You Prove the Employer Ordered Them?

Illustrative photograph by Jonathan Borba Unsplash

An inspection may show works beyond the original drawings, and an expert may calculate their cost accurately. A question still comes before the figure: why must the employer pay? Managing additional works starts with proof of instruction, authority and agreement on financial consequences, followed by evidence of execution and calculation of entitlement.

Is the work genuinely additional?

Compare it with the contract, bills of quantities, approved drawings and amendments. Determine whether it falls within the original scope, is a requested change or corrects defective execution. A change in quantity or method alone does not prove a payable variation. Lump-sum rules differ from unit pricing, so identify the contract model and the document establishing the boundary before preparing a claim.

Prove the instruction and financial consequences

Article 471 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law addresses agreed-design work for a lump sum and conditions for additional remuneration when the design changes or work is added, including employer fault, or authorization together with agreement on increased remuneration. Check who requested the change, their authority and the agreed price and time effects. A consultant’s technical approval does not automatically establish authority to bind the owner financially.

Expertise answers questions within its scope

An expert may assess quantity, value or conformity, while instruction and financial liability still require proof. In a published commercial judgment, an additional-works claim failed because documents did not adequately prove approval through the contractual process and the expert’s conclusion depended on proof of instruction. This is an individual judicial illustration, not a rule rejecting every similar claim. The current Law of Evidence preserves the court’s assessment of expert opinion, subject to parties agreeing to accept the result where it does not conflict with public order.

Build a file another person can review

Organize the change request, approval date, scope, pricing, time effects, execution and acceptance. Link each amount to its supporting document. If urgent necessity requires work to start, record the reason, instructions and reservations, and seek appropriate approval without fabricating retrospective consent. Assess written or digital documents and available evidence according to the transaction and dispute.

• Identify work outside scope and the source of its instruction
• Verify the change approver’s authority
• Separate proof of authorization from quantity and price calculations

Before performing a variation, create a clear record of scope, authority, price and time. If a dispute arises, assess the basis of entitlement before relying only on an expert valuation.

General educational content, not a substitute for advice on your facts and documents, and not a guarantee of any outcome.

Translations refer to Saudi law, consult the official legal text when applying it.