What should I do if the subcontract works are in arrears?

Subcontracting is a concept relative to general contracting. The general contract is signed by the employer (owner) and the general contractor. Subcontracting means that the general contractor subcontracts a part of the project to other contractors with the consent of the employer, and the general contractor signs a contract with the subcontractor for the construction content.

If the subcontracted project payment is in arrears, the subcontractor can claim the project payment, and the following points need to be considered:

First, from the perspective of the object of asking for arrears, subcontractors will generally ask the general contractor for the project payment. Based on the principle of privity of contract, there is no direct contractual relationship between the subcontractor and the employer, but the general contractor has established a contractual relationship with the subcontractor.

Whether there is illegal subcontracting, subcontracting, borrowing qualifications, contracting beyond qualifications, etc. If the subcontract is invalid, the actual constructor of the subcontracted project can sue the employer at the same time as the general contractor, requiring the employer to bear the payment responsibility to the actual constructor within the scope of unpaid construction project price. (For the legal basis, please refer to Article 1, paragraph 2, Article 43 and Article 44 of the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation on Applicable Legal Issues in the Trial of Construction Contract Disputes (I)).

Second, in terms of ways to recover the arrears, the subcontractor can send a lawyer's letter to the general contractor and the employer to collect the arrears, and declare that it reserves the right to recover the arrears through legal channels.

If the general contractor is a state-owned enterprise, you can check the "channels for accepting complaints and reports of debts owed by private enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises in China and all regions" through the Chinese government website, and report the problems related to debts according to the published channels. For example, national channels, including calling 1238 1, leaving a message to the Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or leaving a message through the National Internet Publishing Platform for SME Policy Information, all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government also have their own telephones, mailboxes or websites.

If the arrears are labor subcontracting fees or construction workers' wages, the workers who are in arrears can also leave a message or report to the labor inspection brigade where the project is located through the "National Radical Arrears Platform" in Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

In addition to the above means, the subcontractor can also go to court to sue the general contractor and the employer for default in the project payment.