What is a smash and grab adjudication?

A smash and grab is an adjudication, the fast 28 day dispute process construction contracts must offer, in which the payee enforces the Notified Sum, the amount that legally must be paid, because the payer served neither a valid Payment Notice nor a valid Pay Less Notice in time, so the sum the payee applied for became payable in full. The adjudicator, the independent person who decides the dispute, is not asked what the work was worth, only whether the notices were served on time, which is why these are among the most common and quickest adjudications. The courts in England and Wales have settled the running order: the payer must first pay that Notified Sum, and only then start its own adjudication over what the work was really worth for that round. To stay off the wrong end of one, serve a valid notice every round, with workings shown.

A groundworks subcontractor applied for £110,000 on a warehouse job where a busy main contractor served neither a Payment Notice nor a Pay Less Notice in time. The subcontractor refers the dispute to adjudication, but need not prove the work was worth £110,000. It only has to show the application was valid and no notices came, so the adjudicator can order the full £110,000 paid within the short timetable, often on the paperwork alone. If the contractor thinks the work was worth only £85,000, its remedy is to pay the £110,000 first and then launch its own true value adjudication for that round. Serving a proper notice every month, with workings shown, keeps a contractor out of this position.