Our Direct Contract Template

At Contract Spy we have been aware for some time that many direct contractors and happy to sign up to whatever contract their direct client puts in front of them, however this could be a big mistake and have significant repercussions on your status under IR35. Signing up with your client is your big chance to demonstrate, both to HMRC and to your client, that you are “in business on your own account” a strong pointer away from IR35. It is therefore vital to have professionally drafted Terms of Business that are unique to your company and signed up to by your clients. Historically this has been difficult for Contractors to achieve, as some have cobbled together something based on previous agency contracts, others have signed one-page agreements found on the web, or signed whatever the client has decided to put in front of them.

To overcome these obstacles, Contract Spy has prepared a contract template which has, from the ground up, been drafted with direct contractors in mind and with specific reference to their IR35 status. Use this document as a basis for your specific client and contract situation, and you are well placed to demonstrate your credentials outside of IR35 compared to your agency contractor colleagues. The template comprises both an agreement and schedule in a 15 page document with relevant clauses around substitution, payment terms, invoicing frequency and more, that can be discussed and agreed with your client and signed onto together.

Having a suitably drafted contract with your clients will assume even more importance with the impending rollout of the new IR35 regulations from April 2020. From April 2020, Medium and Large Enterprises (as defined by the proposals) will be responsible for determining the IR35 status of contractors that they hire, and having suitably drafted Terms of Business for your client to sign up to will demonstrate to them that you are indeed in business on your own account and on a par with the more established and larger consultancies.

The Direct Contract Template is available free on request to all Contract Spy annual members who have joined on a 12 month business subscription.

For details and to join up see https://www.contractspy.co.uk/subscribe-contract-spy