Delayed completion of a specific work and withdrawal from the contract

Not every delay satisfies the ground for withdrawal from a contract for a specific work described by Poland’s National Labour Inspectorate (PIP). Referring to Article 635 of the Civil Code, PIP links a delay in starting or finishing the work with the likelihood that the contractor will not complete it within the agreed time. Source: PIP.

The work and the parties’ roles

The party accepting the order, or contractor, undertakes to produce a specified work, while the ordering party undertakes to pay remuneration. The contract concerns a concrete, verifiable result meeting the ordering party’s requirements. This is how PIP describes a contract for a specific work.

What situation does Article 635 describe?

In PIP’s explanation, the ordering party may withdraw where both of the following conditions are met:

• the contractor is delayed in starting or finishing the work;
• the contractor is unlikely to complete the work within the agreed time.

Merely identifying a delay is therefore not enough. The ground described also includes the likelihood that the agreed completion time will not be met. PIP refers here to Article 635 of the Civil Code.

This guide addresses only this ground for withdrawal. It is neither a complete list of grounds nor an assessment of any particular delay.

Withdrawal is not termination on notice

PIP states that the Civil Code provisions governing contracts for a specific work do not provide for a notice period. The possibility discussed here concerns withdrawal by the ordering party, not termination subject to a notice period. Source: PIP.

This guide does not discuss the rules for terminating a contract of mandate or determining remuneration for a specific work.

What information can you gather for your records?

As an optional organizational aid, we suggest gathering the following in one place:

• the agreed deadline for completing the work;
• a description of the agreed result;
• available information about when work started and its progress.

This is an organizational recommendation, not a legal obligation or a test determining entitlement to withdraw. Gathering this information does not guarantee that withdrawal will be effective.