A request for additional work after an Israeli tender award does not guarantee additional payment. Before committing, check whether the work is already included in the price, what the change procedure requires and who can approve the addition and its schedule. A decision to suspend performance because of a dispute also requires a review of the contract and circumstances.
The problem often arises during routine performance: a project manager requests another report, an additional site or a revised deliverable, and the supplier wants to maintain a constructive relationship. A quick agreement can create a gap between what the team delivers and what the public body is willing to pay for. Clarify that gap while the documents and correspondence still allow it to be addressed.
Compare the new request with the tender documents, specifications, clarification responses, submitted offer and signed agreement. Check any order of precedence between these documents. Calling something an “addition” in an email does not, by itself, determine whether it is a separate service or part of the promised deliverable.
For a lump-sum contract, examine the defined deliverable and what its completion includes. For a contract priced by quantities or hours, check the measurement units, caps and reporting approvals. A supplier’s pricing error is different from a change requested by the customer. Repeating work to remedy a defect should also be distinguished from expanding the original assignment.
One contract-specific illustration appears in the Government Housing Administration’s tender 06/2025 documents: the agreement distinguishes updates included in the work from certain changes affecting payment, and requires signed work orders and updated orders where a change affects the price. This illustrates why the particular contract matters; it is not a uniform rule for all Israeli tenders.
Start with the identity of the person requesting the work. Check whether that person can issue technical instructions, approve performance, change the price or commit the public body to additional expenditure. Do not assume that technical approval of a deliverable also authorizes additional payment.
Locate the change procedure, signature requirements and approvals in the agreement and procurement documents. Ask who has the necessary authority and which document records the approval. A government ministry, municipality, public corporation or other body may operate under a different framework. Where authority is unclear, the rules and procedures applicable to that particular customer must be examined.
If the request substantially changes the scope of the engagement, its implications under Israeli public procurement law also need review. Do not assume that agreement on a price between project personnel is sufficient to authorize every expansion.
Prepare a change record that makes it possible to compare the original commitment with the new request. Its purpose is to establish a common understanding of performance and payment. Preparing it does not replace an approval required by the contract or applicable law.
If the addition delays another task, record its effect on the schedule. A revised price does not necessarily revise the delivery date. Check whether insurance or security arrangements are affected, without assuming that every change requires the same adjustments.
A useful response records what was requested, when, by whom and how, in your view, it differs from the agreed documents. Attach an estimate, explain the effect on deliverables and deadlines, and request the necessary approval. Preserve the original instruction as well as your later summary.
Hypothetical example: a supplier engaged to prepare a report for one site is asked for another report covering a different site. Before treating it as additional work, check whether the agreement already covers other sites, how they are priced and who may order them. If a separate expansion is required, address its scope, price and appropriate approval. This example does not describe a client matter.
An email may help establish what was said, but its compliance with the procurement requirements and the sender’s authority still need to be checked. Wording such as “with rights reserved” is not a substitute for resolving authority and price. If an urgent answer is requested and the commitment is unclear, obtain advice before agreeing to perform.
Separate the questions: was the work performed, was it accepted, was it properly ordered and was its price approved? A delivery acknowledgement may support the fact of delivery without resolving the other issues. An invoice alone also does not explain why an obligation arose to pay the amount claimed.
Prepare a factual chronology and retain original files. Do not alter a document retrospectively to make it appear that prior approval was obtained. Where formal approval is missing, the possibility of recovering payment requires an individual legal assessment. Neither the conclusion that payment is lost nor that use of the deliverable guarantees recovery should be assumed.
Do not assume that a payment dispute permits an immediate halt to all services. Review the agreement’s provisions on continuing performance, notices, dispute resolution and remedies, together with applicable law. Distinguish refusing an unapproved new task from stopping existing contractual obligations.
Before suspending work, threatening termination or signing a release, assess the contractual and practical consequences. Depending on the case, options to examine may include a reasoned payment request, escalation to the authorized decision-maker or an interim arrangement. No single route fits every contract, and no fixed notice period should be stated without checking the documents.
Assemble the tender and annexes, clarifications, offer, agreement, orders, change request and correspondence. Add the original and revised schedules, identify completed work, explain what is now requested and flag any approaching decision date. Identify the public customer and the roles of the people who issued instructions or approvals.
If you have not yet signed, the guide to checks before signing after a tender award addresses that stage. Once performance is underway, the focus shifts to documenting changes, approval authority and the connection between the commitment and payment.
Asked to change the work, or refused payment for an addition? Contact Attorney Karin Amsalem for legal advice during public contract performance and a review of the agreement, approvals and correspondence before the next step.
This is general information, not legal advice for a particular matter. Scope, approval authority, entitlement to payment and responses to a dispute depend on the procurement documents, the customer’s identity, applicable law and the facts.
Not necessarily. Check whether it is already included in the price, the change procedure and the necessary approvals. Calling it an addition does not establish entitlement.
Check that person’s authority and the agreement’s requirements. Authority to give technical instructions or accept a deliverable does not necessarily authorize extra expenditure.
A missing written order requires a review of contractual requirements, authority and evidence. Neither an automatic bar to payment nor guaranteed recovery from performance alone should be assumed.
Preserve instructions, approvals, pricing, work logs and delivery records, and identify the reason for refusal. Assess the available options under the contract and the circumstances.
Do not assume an immediate right to suspend. Review obligations, notices and consequences, distinguishing an unapproved new task from work you have already committed to perform.
An article provides a framework. A sound decision requires reviewing the facts, documents and specific risks before moving forward.
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