chandana jayalath | University of Vocational Technology (original) (raw)
Papers by chandana jayalath
South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics
Effective tax money collection is crucial for any modern sphere of economic development. This res... more Effective tax money collection is crucial for any modern sphere of economic development. This research explores the unique challenges faced by construction contractors in meeting tax obligations and the factors that drive their compliance behavior. The study investigates the reasons behind noncompliance, including factors such as complex tax codes, financial constraints, inadequate knowledge and understanding of tax requirements, and perceived unfairness in the tax system. Additionally, the research explores factors that can encourage contractors to voluntarily comply with tax obligations, such as the benefits of maintaining a good reputation, avoiding penalties, and accessing government incentives. A literature survey was undertaken to identify drivers and barriers behind voluntary tax compliance. A questionnaire was piloted on five (5) senior construction practitioners those who have more than 25 years working experience to establish the appropriateness of the questions and allevi...
Proceedings of the 9th World Construction Symposium 2021 on Reshaping construction: Strategic, Structural and Cultural Transformations towards the 'Next Normal', 2021
Scope creep has been a day-to-day occurrence in almost every major road project causing a conside... more Scope creep has been a day-to-day occurrence in almost every major road project causing a considerable cost overrun with no early dimple. This paper offers a critical appraisal on the dominant causes behind scope creep in the road projects. A comprehensive literature survey was undertaken to explore the factors specifically contributing scope creep and various control measures that are adopted, among other purposes, in at least reducing the impact due to scope creep in the final delivery of road projects. The study included interviews with 15 experts to identify major issues and add their hands-on experience. A questionnaire survey was subsequently administered among 100 industrial personnel having a cost management background in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the key performance indicators (KPIs) in terms of taming scope creep. Results from the study showed that concomitant client instructions on additional features, unclear scope and incremental changes cause scope creep t...
The Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA) Act of 2013 in Sri Lanka came into force w... more The Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA) Act of 2013 in Sri Lanka came into force with provisions for adjudication to be available to the required parties to seek recourse in a dispute. Consequently, CIDA launched a pool of construction adjudicators and a code of conduct with the ground rules applicable for adjudication. Standard Bidding Documents also mandate adjudication as a form of dispute resolution. These altogether provide an initial benchmark for a formal non-adhoc adjudication practice in Sri Lanka. Its’ perceived success has not however been researched in detail for further improvements. Therefore, a desk review was carried out to identify the benchmarks established 5 years ago. A questionnaire survey was conducted to gauge the individual perception of the contractors and employers on CIDA adjudication. Mann Whitney Utest was used to measure differences of opinion. It was found that many of the criticisms within the literature review are not ill-founded. The ...
Cost overrun appears to be a common occurrence especially in projects that involve high investmen... more Cost overrun appears to be a common occurrence especially in projects that involve high investments. This study investigated the cost performance in construction projects in Sri Lanka in order to identify the causes of cost overrun and their implications. A quantitative survey was performed for the targeted respondents namely employer, contractor and consultant involved in road projects in Sri Lanka. A total of 44 responses were collected from 50 sets of a questionnaire distributed. The respondents were asked to rate the listed causes on the basis of probability of occurrence and severity of the impact. The causes were ranked according to the degree of importance as responded by the target population. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of cost overrun factors with rating 6 out of 10 lie in medium severity impact zone. Results indicated that the major contributors to poor cost performance include external and material issues that have been elaborately discussed in t...
Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) is a prerequisite for offering chartered qualificatio... more Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) is a prerequisite for offering chartered qualification of many professions. APC is to test the candidate‟s overall competency against a set criterion. However, a common perception is that the panel members hold different views leading to judgments unfair by the candidates. A research related to a recently completed APC was carried out to objectively test this perception using Kendall‟s coefficient of concordance. The underlying principles of assessment approaches used to determine competence were discussed in the literature survey. A panel of 5 assessors had been appointed to interview 18 candidates. Results indicate that a high consensus exists among the panel members in arriving at decisions on the candidates and had no significant deviation in their judgments.
International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management, 2022
Although contingency allocation management is widely accepted as a proactive concept rich in theo... more Although contingency allocation management is widely accepted as a proactive concept rich in theories, its applications do not seem to be well embraced in many countries due to many factors. This study aims to broadly investigate this theory-practice gap concerning contingency allocation in building projects in Sri Lanka. Twelve case studies with a desk review on seven local projects were carried out to explore the contingency allocation practice at the site level. Fifteen independent consultants were interviewed to share an understanding of the practical relevance of this research while largely eliminating the need for further justification. Code-based content analysis was used to analyze data. Nearly 44 incremental approaches were found to have theoretically evolved in a history of 35 years. It was revealed that the practice of ascertaining contingency sums is ad-hoc, informal, and subjective. More than 25 gaps were detected, while nearly 50 strategies were introduced. An impressi...
Proceedings of the 9th World Construction Symposium 2021 on Reshaping construction: Strategic, Structural and Cultural Transformations towards the 'Next Normal', 2021
Many countries after a remarkable spike in COVID-19 cases, opted to lockdown and quarantine curfe... more Many countries after a remarkable spike in COVID-19 cases, opted to lockdown and quarantine curfew that restricted the movement of people. Construction is one of the main sectors experiencing a clear impact due to COVID-19. As a significant growth driver of the economy, the domestic construction industry employs nearly one million of the population directly in various trades. Unfortunately, almost every project has been severely hampered. It is, therefore, prudent to address the impact of the pandemic on construction labour at the outset and end of the crisis to prepare for any future challenges or opportunities that it may undergo. This study aims to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on the construction industry's survival and possible measures to be taken in both the short and the long run. This paper summarizes using a narrative analysis of the key takeaways of 15 webinar discussions on the COVID-19 impact and outlook of the construction sector in Sri Lanka. The impacts and ...
Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 2021
With all teaching and learning activities online and academic staff having to capacitate themselv... more With all teaching and learning activities online and academic staff having to capacitate themselves in navigating the crisis of Covid 19, this article reflects on how the Sri Lankan universities dealt with pandemic scenario while exploring domestic experience over a period of one year commencing March 2020. A literature survey was carried out to gain an understanding of the existing debates surrounding the topic of challenges and opportunities availed in the crisis. 100 invitee academics representing each university participated in a questionnaire survey administered via Google forms and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in order to gauge the perception among the academics towards the discharge of the university functions and the opportunities exploitable under new normal context. Human Resource Management departments and Learning Management Systems have functioned well despite the crisis persisting so long. In addition, the respondents were satisfied with the data pro...
Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 2020
With the spread of COVID 19, almost every higher educational entity initiated online delivery whe... more With the spread of COVID 19, almost every higher educational entity initiated online delivery whereby teaching is undertaken remotely on digital platform. A massive shift like this arises an onslaught of questions. A case study was conducted in March and April 2020 to determine the challenges affecting the adoption of e-learning in 6 university colleges in Sri Lanka. A comprehensive literature survey was carried out. A questionnaire survey was administered to 90 teachers and 650 students and analyzed through the use of simple descriptive statistics. Besides, a narrative analysis was undertaken to identify shared views expressed in a series of telephonic inquiries. It was found that data as it is a survey based paper. The paper concludes with some solutions implementable in three stages. The findings of the study will help work out a digital policy, revisit the existing educational taxonomies and enhance the effectiveness of online delivery particularly in a future context similar to...
Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 2020
Lateral entry schemes are intended to admit meritorious Diploma holders to the second year/third ... more Lateral entry schemes are intended to admit meritorious Diploma holders to the second year/third semester of various Bachelor degrees in a given discipline. Lateral entry has been accepted as a mode of admission in principle by the Sri Lankan qualification framework. Lateral entry schemes have been basically introduced at medical faculties and agriculture faculties in a couple of universities in Sri Lanka. However, there was no proper review so far undertaken to assess the criterion adopted in admitting students. Thus, this study is to contextualize the meaning of lateral entry at the outset and reveal the level of emphasis given to lateral entry schemes in both local and international arena. A literature survey, desk review and an expert interview were conducted to expose a normative criterion of admission with a future direction.
International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, Jun 30, 2018
Design and build are widely considered as giving a single point of responsibility for delivering ... more Design and build are widely considered as giving a single point of responsibility for delivering the entire project. However, the level of trust is deterred when design changes are taken place. Various design changes can increase the total cost of a specific project eventually resulting in an adjustment to the contract sum. This has been tested in a road project in Qatar, by closely reviewing the contract documents, claims and defenses, additional questionnaires. Collected data was analyzed and prioritized by multi-criteria decision-making model (AHP). The potential of claim for additional costs is as much as 30 percent of the contract sum. Key words; design changes, abortive design inputs, contract price adjustment, lump sum fix price, design obligations I.
Mediation Theory and Practice, 2018
In mediation, disputants often tend to walk off at will. This inspired the author to evaluate the... more In mediation, disputants often tend to walk off at will. This inspired the author to evaluate the degree of fitness as a form of dispute resolution in construction. Fifty cases mediated in the recent past in the State of Qatar were analysed in terms of their approach and the net resultant effect. The tendency will be to fail mediation in construction unless the mediator actively intervenes in changing the dynamic of the conflict by contractual, financial and technical evaluation. The mediator in doing so acts beyond what is truly expected in mediation so that the outcome is arbitral to some extent rather than consensual. The author recommends this is not necessarily the case in the exception of construction and contends that the key elements of mediation such as neutrality and impartiality can still be secured as long as the mediator does not step over the line into judgement.
International Journal of Scientific Research and Management, 2018
Certain political sanctions have been recently imposed against Qatar by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Ara... more Certain political sanctions have been recently imposed against Qatar by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Given the fact that Qatar is very busy constructing a number of projects in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in 2022, it’s unsurprising that the Quantity Surveyors have had some requests for advice from contractors whose operations in Qatar have been affected by the sanctions and who are looking for a means of claiming extension of time and/or damages. Equitable principles codified in the Qatar Civil Law include the requirement for parties to a contract to conduct themselves…
International Journal of Construction Management, 2019
Abstract Construction delays are a common phenomenon in construction projects that adversely affe... more Abstract Construction delays are a common phenomenon in construction projects that adversely affecting the time and cost targets of those projects. When there are delays, contractors tend to submit delay claims seeking time and cost adjustments to their contracts. Quite often, these claims are denied upfront due to deficiencies in the delay notification process itself. The vagueness of and ambiguities in contractual provisions too protract the notification process. This study was aimed to improve the level of success of delay claims submitted by the contractors working in the Sri Lankan construction projects that are administered in accordance with FIDIC 1999. The data required for the study were collected from a total of 248 projects, using a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study reveals that the effectiveness of the delay notification process can be improved by identifying the delay events well in advance. To overcome the flaws of the delay notification process, it is also equally important for the contractors to be aware of contractual provisions.
International Journal of Construction Management, 2019
Abstract With the rapid development in Sri Lanka, a number of highway projects are on the increas... more Abstract With the rapid development in Sri Lanka, a number of highway projects are on the increase. Quite often, these projects suffer cost and time overruns predominantly because of variations. Although many studies have done on the root causes of variations, they have not been focused on proximate factors of variations that lead to disputes in Sri Lankan road projects. This study while taking a qualitative approach included a literature survey, a document review and 15 semi structured interviews with the use of three case studies on Grade 3 Road Projects administered by ICTAD Publication No. ICTAD/SBD/02, Second Edition January 2007, Standard Bidding Document for Procurement of Works. Findings were validated via three expert interviews. By analyzing data using content analysis, 16 root causes, 23 proximate causes and 10 major effects of variations were identified. Although disputes are inevitable, there are measures that can be employed to manage the disputes. The study recommends a best practice guideline with 15 approaches so as to reduce the number of variations which inter-alia include the preparation of proper documentation, reviewing of design and establishment of a proper mechanism itself for processing and evaluating variations.
International Journal of Construction Management
The topicality of concurrent delays has been accentuated by the fact that contractors use it as a... more The topicality of concurrent delays has been accentuated by the fact that contractors use it as a sword to claim extension of time while employers use it as a shield to refrain from paying prolonga...
South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics
Effective tax money collection is crucial for any modern sphere of economic development. This res... more Effective tax money collection is crucial for any modern sphere of economic development. This research explores the unique challenges faced by construction contractors in meeting tax obligations and the factors that drive their compliance behavior. The study investigates the reasons behind noncompliance, including factors such as complex tax codes, financial constraints, inadequate knowledge and understanding of tax requirements, and perceived unfairness in the tax system. Additionally, the research explores factors that can encourage contractors to voluntarily comply with tax obligations, such as the benefits of maintaining a good reputation, avoiding penalties, and accessing government incentives. A literature survey was undertaken to identify drivers and barriers behind voluntary tax compliance. A questionnaire was piloted on five (5) senior construction practitioners those who have more than 25 years working experience to establish the appropriateness of the questions and allevi...
Proceedings of the 9th World Construction Symposium 2021 on Reshaping construction: Strategic, Structural and Cultural Transformations towards the 'Next Normal', 2021
Scope creep has been a day-to-day occurrence in almost every major road project causing a conside... more Scope creep has been a day-to-day occurrence in almost every major road project causing a considerable cost overrun with no early dimple. This paper offers a critical appraisal on the dominant causes behind scope creep in the road projects. A comprehensive literature survey was undertaken to explore the factors specifically contributing scope creep and various control measures that are adopted, among other purposes, in at least reducing the impact due to scope creep in the final delivery of road projects. The study included interviews with 15 experts to identify major issues and add their hands-on experience. A questionnaire survey was subsequently administered among 100 industrial personnel having a cost management background in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the key performance indicators (KPIs) in terms of taming scope creep. Results from the study showed that concomitant client instructions on additional features, unclear scope and incremental changes cause scope creep t...
The Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA) Act of 2013 in Sri Lanka came into force w... more The Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA) Act of 2013 in Sri Lanka came into force with provisions for adjudication to be available to the required parties to seek recourse in a dispute. Consequently, CIDA launched a pool of construction adjudicators and a code of conduct with the ground rules applicable for adjudication. Standard Bidding Documents also mandate adjudication as a form of dispute resolution. These altogether provide an initial benchmark for a formal non-adhoc adjudication practice in Sri Lanka. Its’ perceived success has not however been researched in detail for further improvements. Therefore, a desk review was carried out to identify the benchmarks established 5 years ago. A questionnaire survey was conducted to gauge the individual perception of the contractors and employers on CIDA adjudication. Mann Whitney Utest was used to measure differences of opinion. It was found that many of the criticisms within the literature review are not ill-founded. The ...
Cost overrun appears to be a common occurrence especially in projects that involve high investmen... more Cost overrun appears to be a common occurrence especially in projects that involve high investments. This study investigated the cost performance in construction projects in Sri Lanka in order to identify the causes of cost overrun and their implications. A quantitative survey was performed for the targeted respondents namely employer, contractor and consultant involved in road projects in Sri Lanka. A total of 44 responses were collected from 50 sets of a questionnaire distributed. The respondents were asked to rate the listed causes on the basis of probability of occurrence and severity of the impact. The causes were ranked according to the degree of importance as responded by the target population. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of cost overrun factors with rating 6 out of 10 lie in medium severity impact zone. Results indicated that the major contributors to poor cost performance include external and material issues that have been elaborately discussed in t...
Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) is a prerequisite for offering chartered qualificatio... more Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) is a prerequisite for offering chartered qualification of many professions. APC is to test the candidate‟s overall competency against a set criterion. However, a common perception is that the panel members hold different views leading to judgments unfair by the candidates. A research related to a recently completed APC was carried out to objectively test this perception using Kendall‟s coefficient of concordance. The underlying principles of assessment approaches used to determine competence were discussed in the literature survey. A panel of 5 assessors had been appointed to interview 18 candidates. Results indicate that a high consensus exists among the panel members in arriving at decisions on the candidates and had no significant deviation in their judgments.
International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management, 2022
Although contingency allocation management is widely accepted as a proactive concept rich in theo... more Although contingency allocation management is widely accepted as a proactive concept rich in theories, its applications do not seem to be well embraced in many countries due to many factors. This study aims to broadly investigate this theory-practice gap concerning contingency allocation in building projects in Sri Lanka. Twelve case studies with a desk review on seven local projects were carried out to explore the contingency allocation practice at the site level. Fifteen independent consultants were interviewed to share an understanding of the practical relevance of this research while largely eliminating the need for further justification. Code-based content analysis was used to analyze data. Nearly 44 incremental approaches were found to have theoretically evolved in a history of 35 years. It was revealed that the practice of ascertaining contingency sums is ad-hoc, informal, and subjective. More than 25 gaps were detected, while nearly 50 strategies were introduced. An impressi...
Proceedings of the 9th World Construction Symposium 2021 on Reshaping construction: Strategic, Structural and Cultural Transformations towards the 'Next Normal', 2021
Many countries after a remarkable spike in COVID-19 cases, opted to lockdown and quarantine curfe... more Many countries after a remarkable spike in COVID-19 cases, opted to lockdown and quarantine curfew that restricted the movement of people. Construction is one of the main sectors experiencing a clear impact due to COVID-19. As a significant growth driver of the economy, the domestic construction industry employs nearly one million of the population directly in various trades. Unfortunately, almost every project has been severely hampered. It is, therefore, prudent to address the impact of the pandemic on construction labour at the outset and end of the crisis to prepare for any future challenges or opportunities that it may undergo. This study aims to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on the construction industry's survival and possible measures to be taken in both the short and the long run. This paper summarizes using a narrative analysis of the key takeaways of 15 webinar discussions on the COVID-19 impact and outlook of the construction sector in Sri Lanka. The impacts and ...
Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 2021
With all teaching and learning activities online and academic staff having to capacitate themselv... more With all teaching and learning activities online and academic staff having to capacitate themselves in navigating the crisis of Covid 19, this article reflects on how the Sri Lankan universities dealt with pandemic scenario while exploring domestic experience over a period of one year commencing March 2020. A literature survey was carried out to gain an understanding of the existing debates surrounding the topic of challenges and opportunities availed in the crisis. 100 invitee academics representing each university participated in a questionnaire survey administered via Google forms and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in order to gauge the perception among the academics towards the discharge of the university functions and the opportunities exploitable under new normal context. Human Resource Management departments and Learning Management Systems have functioned well despite the crisis persisting so long. In addition, the respondents were satisfied with the data pro...
Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 2020
With the spread of COVID 19, almost every higher educational entity initiated online delivery whe... more With the spread of COVID 19, almost every higher educational entity initiated online delivery whereby teaching is undertaken remotely on digital platform. A massive shift like this arises an onslaught of questions. A case study was conducted in March and April 2020 to determine the challenges affecting the adoption of e-learning in 6 university colleges in Sri Lanka. A comprehensive literature survey was carried out. A questionnaire survey was administered to 90 teachers and 650 students and analyzed through the use of simple descriptive statistics. Besides, a narrative analysis was undertaken to identify shared views expressed in a series of telephonic inquiries. It was found that data as it is a survey based paper. The paper concludes with some solutions implementable in three stages. The findings of the study will help work out a digital policy, revisit the existing educational taxonomies and enhance the effectiveness of online delivery particularly in a future context similar to...
Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 2020
Lateral entry schemes are intended to admit meritorious Diploma holders to the second year/third ... more Lateral entry schemes are intended to admit meritorious Diploma holders to the second year/third semester of various Bachelor degrees in a given discipline. Lateral entry has been accepted as a mode of admission in principle by the Sri Lankan qualification framework. Lateral entry schemes have been basically introduced at medical faculties and agriculture faculties in a couple of universities in Sri Lanka. However, there was no proper review so far undertaken to assess the criterion adopted in admitting students. Thus, this study is to contextualize the meaning of lateral entry at the outset and reveal the level of emphasis given to lateral entry schemes in both local and international arena. A literature survey, desk review and an expert interview were conducted to expose a normative criterion of admission with a future direction.
International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, Jun 30, 2018
Design and build are widely considered as giving a single point of responsibility for delivering ... more Design and build are widely considered as giving a single point of responsibility for delivering the entire project. However, the level of trust is deterred when design changes are taken place. Various design changes can increase the total cost of a specific project eventually resulting in an adjustment to the contract sum. This has been tested in a road project in Qatar, by closely reviewing the contract documents, claims and defenses, additional questionnaires. Collected data was analyzed and prioritized by multi-criteria decision-making model (AHP). The potential of claim for additional costs is as much as 30 percent of the contract sum. Key words; design changes, abortive design inputs, contract price adjustment, lump sum fix price, design obligations I.
Mediation Theory and Practice, 2018
In mediation, disputants often tend to walk off at will. This inspired the author to evaluate the... more In mediation, disputants often tend to walk off at will. This inspired the author to evaluate the degree of fitness as a form of dispute resolution in construction. Fifty cases mediated in the recent past in the State of Qatar were analysed in terms of their approach and the net resultant effect. The tendency will be to fail mediation in construction unless the mediator actively intervenes in changing the dynamic of the conflict by contractual, financial and technical evaluation. The mediator in doing so acts beyond what is truly expected in mediation so that the outcome is arbitral to some extent rather than consensual. The author recommends this is not necessarily the case in the exception of construction and contends that the key elements of mediation such as neutrality and impartiality can still be secured as long as the mediator does not step over the line into judgement.
International Journal of Scientific Research and Management, 2018
Certain political sanctions have been recently imposed against Qatar by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Ara... more Certain political sanctions have been recently imposed against Qatar by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Given the fact that Qatar is very busy constructing a number of projects in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in 2022, it’s unsurprising that the Quantity Surveyors have had some requests for advice from contractors whose operations in Qatar have been affected by the sanctions and who are looking for a means of claiming extension of time and/or damages. Equitable principles codified in the Qatar Civil Law include the requirement for parties to a contract to conduct themselves…
International Journal of Construction Management, 2019
Abstract Construction delays are a common phenomenon in construction projects that adversely affe... more Abstract Construction delays are a common phenomenon in construction projects that adversely affecting the time and cost targets of those projects. When there are delays, contractors tend to submit delay claims seeking time and cost adjustments to their contracts. Quite often, these claims are denied upfront due to deficiencies in the delay notification process itself. The vagueness of and ambiguities in contractual provisions too protract the notification process. This study was aimed to improve the level of success of delay claims submitted by the contractors working in the Sri Lankan construction projects that are administered in accordance with FIDIC 1999. The data required for the study were collected from a total of 248 projects, using a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study reveals that the effectiveness of the delay notification process can be improved by identifying the delay events well in advance. To overcome the flaws of the delay notification process, it is also equally important for the contractors to be aware of contractual provisions.
International Journal of Construction Management, 2019
Abstract With the rapid development in Sri Lanka, a number of highway projects are on the increas... more Abstract With the rapid development in Sri Lanka, a number of highway projects are on the increase. Quite often, these projects suffer cost and time overruns predominantly because of variations. Although many studies have done on the root causes of variations, they have not been focused on proximate factors of variations that lead to disputes in Sri Lankan road projects. This study while taking a qualitative approach included a literature survey, a document review and 15 semi structured interviews with the use of three case studies on Grade 3 Road Projects administered by ICTAD Publication No. ICTAD/SBD/02, Second Edition January 2007, Standard Bidding Document for Procurement of Works. Findings were validated via three expert interviews. By analyzing data using content analysis, 16 root causes, 23 proximate causes and 10 major effects of variations were identified. Although disputes are inevitable, there are measures that can be employed to manage the disputes. The study recommends a best practice guideline with 15 approaches so as to reduce the number of variations which inter-alia include the preparation of proper documentation, reviewing of design and establishment of a proper mechanism itself for processing and evaluating variations.
International Journal of Construction Management
The topicality of concurrent delays has been accentuated by the fact that contractors use it as a... more The topicality of concurrent delays has been accentuated by the fact that contractors use it as a sword to claim extension of time while employers use it as a shield to refrain from paying prolonga...