contract required to be IR35 compliant??

[mudskipper]

I've done a couple of very short gigs (< 2 weeks) with no contract, but they've been direct. I generally try and get a PO for that kind of stuff.

[tractor]

..

I've done a couple of very short gigs (< 2 weeks) with no contract, but they've been direct. I generally try and get a PO for that kind of stuff.

Equally valid and a PO will undoubtedly reference terms of business and payment terms which is absolutely fine

[fidot]

For such a short contract, it probably doesn't matter.

For such a short contract, it probably doesn't matter from an IR35 perspective, but it does for payment terms etc. as others have said.

e.g. assuming a four week contract @£2000/week = £8000.

As long as the salary you pay yourself over the full tax year is at least 95% of £8000 (i.e. £7600), you have met your IR35 responsibilities.

Obviously, if this contract extends to be more than 4 weeks or you have multiple inside-IR35 contracts, that becomes any issue.

[jamesbrown]

I've done a couple of very short gigs (< 2 weeks) with no contract, but they've been direct. I generally try and get a PO for that kind of stuff.

This is invariably the approach I adopt when doing short-term, fixed price, work. Ideally, attach your own T&C when returning the signed PO. For very small projects - certainly fixed price projects - it's probably not worth worrying about IR35 (although it certainly applies to all contracts).