The Contract will usually define a class of event which give the Contractor relief from any rights of the Authority relating to termination. In the WIDP Contract these are known as Relief Events and a process is set out (Clause 40) by which the Contractor can claim the relevant relief. The key point relevant to under-performance of the services is that Relief Events do not provide the Contractor with any protection from the impact of the Payment Mechanism. Therefore even if a problem with Service delivery is directly attributable to a Relief Event the Payment Mechanism should be applied fully in the usual way.
The Contract Management Manual should highlight the definition of Relief Events and ensure that the staff responsible for checking claims for relief fully understand the definition and contractual provisions relating to Relief Events.