Contract for services

About this document

If you are self employed yet you are in a business where you can not reasonably describe yourself as a consultant, this document is for you. If you are a consultant choose from the consultancy agreements. For thousands of self employed people some version of this document will be presented to a new client as “my contract”. For any business using self employed people it provides the essential starting point for the relationship.

This contract for services is suitable for a self employed person in any field or a “client” requiring a contract to set out trading terms with a consultant or self employed person.

A note on self employment:

Although this self employment agreement clothes the transaction with all the characteristics of sole trading, simply using one of these contracts will not necessarily avoid the relationship of employer and employed. Both Revenue and Customs, the ATO and any industrial tribunal will be entitled to look behind the agreement at the reality of the contract.

Some of the questions they might ask are:

• Is this the contractors only work or does he work for others too?
• Does the client control how the work is done?
• Are the hours fixed by the client or can the contractor choose when he works?
• Does the contractor work on the clients premises, using the client's equipment?
• To what extent is the contractor at risk as a self employed person?

Application and features

• May be used for a series of assignments or a single assignment;
• Very flexible to suit the requirements of either or both parties;
• Provides a complete framework;
• Protects both sides;
• Establishes as far as possible a self employed status for tax purposes and reduces the chances for employer obligations to arise;
• Drawn in plain English;
• Complete with explanatory guidance notes at every stage.

Contents

• Consultant's obligations;
• Consultant's status;
• Consultant's fees and expenses;
• Duration and termination;
• Matters after termination;
• Consultant's other work;
• Data protection;
• Insurance;
• Confidentiality;
• Intellectual property;
• Appropriate legal provisions to protect your interests.