Introduction Construction is one of the riskiest activities that any individual might be involved in. With the urge to make a living, a person ends up being in the same environment. Risks are many but the main objective is to get the daily bread. The people involved, are allocated different responsibilities and roles, to make them more efficient. The hierarchy of tasks is also very important. There are set standards that govern the roles and responsibilities between the employer and the subcontractor. 1 Duplication of tasks carried out by these individuals should be avoided. With the proper relationship guidelines, fewer conflicts arise, and handling them becomes an easy task. When tasks are duplicated, they slow the working system and sometimes confuse the course of the work. The duplication also leads to the wastage of money and resources. It also wastes time, leading to a project taking longer than the original time frame for its completion. When proper guidelines regarding the work relationships are provided, very few conflicts arise and even if they arise, they are easily solved because there are proper guidelines. 2 Construction work that is handled by the construction law covers almost all types of work, including building and engineering work. The laws and contracts in our attention are of much importance in the current industrial environment. The laws involving construction have played a big role in merging lawyers and construction professionals. There is a need for these interactions because they aim at finding resolutions to problems arising from the construction industry. This paper tries to explain the variation in roles and responsibilities of these individuals, with the modification from domestic to nominated subcontractors. It also lays down the differences under law as viewed by the UAE civil code and under common English law. The paper will also clarify the working of the employer and the subcontractor. Finally, the correlation between the different views is then used to give a common conclusion about these variations. Changes in roles and responsibilities between the employer and the subcontractor In any construction setting, the whole work is assigned to the main contractor. It is in the mandate of the main contractor to let a portion of the initially assigned task be performed by a sub-contractor. This case is common in situations whereby, the need for additional special skills is a key requirement. Subletting a contract is wise but it must be given consent by the employer. The employer works for hand in hand with the contractor, to avoid any disputes that may arise in their dealings. In the whole dealing, the sub-contractor remains under the command of the contractor. 3 Though there is subletting a contract, there are some standards set to restrict this action in the construction industry. For instance, the JCT relates to the action without the consent of the architect. However, in some cases, subletting is allowed without consent. All this is laid down in the clauses involved. Without proper adherence to the standards, subletting has proven to be the best method, though dangerous in cases of conflicts. It may give rise to sever