Putting the contracts back into contracting

[yusefkerr]

Hello,

I work with small-medium sized clients on IT contracts, usually anywhere between two weeks and six months, and its often tricky to get clients to sign any sort of agreement before work starts (beyond their own NDA). What I want to do is to put together a document containing my own terms for a given contracting period and get the client to sign it before I start.

The main points I want to agree before a job are:

- day rate (agreed as 8-hr day/5 days a week)
- overtime rate (anything beyond 40hrs/week)
- contract length (requiring the client to give a period of notice if they want me to finish a job early, instead of the usual "don't come in tomorrow" after a week of late nights :P)
- protection for myself so I still get paid for days completed if I can't complete the job due to unexpected circumstances

These all sound like reasonable things to agree to before starting a job, but I'm interested to know if there's anything else I should include, or if you think there's anything here that clients might be unwilling to sign. Am I right to think that most contractors will have something like this, and are there any good resources out there for best practices?

[northernladuk]

A large majority of us work through agents who have their own contracts so we are stuck with them. Occasionally they will bend on some aspects but not often.

QDOS and IPSE do sample contracts that are IR35 friendly. Head over and have a look.

I don't think tying a client in to notice when they don't want or need you is going to work and isn't IR35 friendly.

[TheBA]

I've used the IPSE templates when going direct. It's a good base and certainly makes you think it through.
Just make sure the terms you want are included and don't conflict with other sections of the contract.

If you really want advice on it, your probably best asking a professional.