Consultancy Agreement

This consultancy agreement is the contract between a self employed individual or service company and a client requiring their services for a project or period of time. It records the detail of the arrangement such as the service to be provided, payment, the length of the engagement, who will carry out the work and terms to protect both the consultant and client.

Using a consultant rather than engaging an employee for specific projects has advantages such as flexibility and avoids the legal obligations towards employees. However it is not possible to avoid the expenses and difficulties by simply labeling an employee a consultant. The true nature of the relationship could be scrutinised by HMRC giving you a tax liability or in the event of a falling out by an industrial tribunal. Using this clear and comprehensive consultancy agreement will avoid these problems.

Terms in the consultancy agreement include:

• the services to be provided by the consultant
• consultant substitution
• payment
• insurance and liability
• intellectual property, data protection and confidential information
• how to end the agreement