Consultant contract

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Document overview

England & Wales
Scotland

- Length:14 pages (3910 words)
- Available in:
Microsoft Word DOCX
Apple Pages
RTF

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About this document
This is a template contract that any person who provides consultancy services can edit and present to a client as terms under which work will be done.
It provides a legal framework for the contractual arrangement. Although your industry sector will determine the work that you carry out, the nature of that work is not relevant to the suitability of this document. You can list the specification of work to be done in a schedule to the agreement.
A second advantage of keeping the legal terms separate from the work to be done is that the document can be used as an umbrella agreement for further work should there be any. Instead of preparing a new contract, all you need do is to prepare a new specification of work, and refer to the terms in the original contract. If you don't expect to work further for the same client, you do not have to delete anything on that account.
You may wish to negotiate the terms with the client in advance of preparing a final contract, or edit the document to produce standard non-negotiable terms. The agreement is drawn to protect you, but should also be acceptable to your clients.
We provide options in several areas, notably the main contractual terms, how you will be paid and working arrangements. The document emphasises the nature of your relationship with the client as a self-employed consultant for IR35 purposes.
Alternative choices of document
If your business is IT related, you may prefer the version with additional paragraphs relating to IP protection.
We also have a similar agreement for a consultant working in human resources.
If the services you provide relate to your appointment as a non-executive director, a service agreement will be more suitable.
Contents
- Definitions and interpretation
- Preliminary legal matters
- Consultant's status
- Contract summary and payment
- Work management procedure
- Consultant's requirements and obligations
- Option for use of sub-contractors
- Confidentiality
- Intellectual property
- Option for no competition (if your client insists)
- Limitation of your liability
- Duration and termination
- Other legal provisions
- Publicity and announcements
- Miscellaneous matters
There are over 2,000 words of helpful and informative drafting notes to help you edit the contract precisely.

Recent reviews
When I received the document, I found it was easy to adapt to my particular needs as the supporting documentation and explanatory notes were very comprehensive, going through the document paragraph by paragraph.
Thank you very much Net Lawman!
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