Float Ownership

Float (or schedule slack) represents the difference between the earliest and latest that a non-critical activity can happen without delaying the overall project. Float ownership is the contentious question of who can consume that float: if an Employer-caused delay pushes an activity deeper into its float, but the activity still finishes by the overall completion date, has the Contractor been delayed? If the Contractor causes delay that eats into their own float, can the Client claim the float back through a compensation event or change instruction?

Different contracts handle float ownership differently. NEC4 treats float in the Accepted Programme as being available for the Project Manager to consume when assessing compensation events — meaning the Contractor's float is effectively shared. JCT contracts tend to be more Contractor-friendly on float ownership in silent cases, though this is increasingly addressed expressly. The SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol takes a principled view that neither party should benefit from float to the detriment of the other unless the contract says so explicitly, and recommends express contract drafting to avoid disputes.

For project controls practitioners, the implication is that float is not a purely technical concept but a commercial one. A schedule with large amounts of concealed float — hidden through constraints, activity duration padding, or split activities — becomes a contractual exposure as much as a planning issue, because float ownership disputes depend on what float exists in the Accepted Programme at the relevant time. Transparent, properly-justified float is defensible; concealed float is an invitation to dispute.