Contract & Terms advice

[MartinUK]

Hi,
I'm a freelance animator, and I'm thinking of sending out these terms when a job is confirmed and would like some advice on wording or just in general.
I want to send this out as an email, just so that what I am expecting is clear to the producer, rather than it being a legally binding document.

This is what I was going to send:

TO:
#######

FROM:
#######

JOB TITLE:
#######

DATES BOOKED:
09 Oct ’17 to 19 Nov ‘17

DAY RATE:
£### for 9 Hour day including 1 hour lunch.
After 10 hours I will charge £##.## per hour.
If required to travel onsite and stay in a hotel I will charge an extra £50 per day.

CANCELLATION:
If you cancel agreed dates with less then 7 days notice and I have turned down other work based on this agreement, I will charge £### for every day lost up to a maximum of £####.

INVOICES:
All invoices are payable within 1 month of receipt unless a different agreement is made which will be stated in the contract. A 10% monthly service charge is payable on all overdue payments. The grant of any licences and/or copyright is conditional to receipt of full payment.

RIGHTS:
I would like to be credited where appropriate and be able to use the final agreed work for promotion on my portfolio website.

Thanks

[WTFH]

Have you your own limited company?

[MartinUK]

Have you your own limited company?

no, I'm a sole trader

[northernladuk]

Surely you want it to be legally binding when you start work and they decide to pay you less than stated or don't honour the conditions?

[TheFaQQer]

Rather than "1 month" I would set it at "28 calendar days" just for additional clarity.

[MartinUK]

Surely you want it to be legally binding when you start work and they decide to pay you less than stated or don't honour the conditions?

Oh yes, but that's never happened in 15 years. Not to say it wouldn't but what I mean is this is more for clarity than legal.

[Scratch It]

Hi,
I'm a freelance animator, and I'm thinking of sending out these terms when a job is confirmed and would like some advice on wording or just in general.
I want to send this out as an email, just so that what I am expecting is clear to the producer, rather than it being a legally binding document.

This is what I was going to send:

TO:
#######

FROM:
#######

JOB TITLE:
#######

DATES BOOKED:
09 Oct ’17 to 19 Nov ‘17

DAY RATE:
£### for 9 Hour day including 1 hour lunch.
After 10 hours I will charge £##.## per hour.
If required to travel onsite and stay in a hotel I will charge an extra £50 per day.

CANCELLATION:
If you cancel agreed dates with less then 7 days notice and I have turned down other work based on this agreement, I will charge £### for every day lost up to a maximum of £####.

INVOICES:
All invoices are payable within 1 month of receipt unless a different agreement is made which will be stated in the contract. A 10% monthly service charge is payable on all overdue payments. The grant of any licences and/or copyright is conditional to receipt of full payment.

RIGHTS:
I would like to be credited where appropriate and be able to use the final agreed work for promotion on my portfolio website.

Thanks

Word to the wise, get this (or something else) on a pdf with your trading style on there, with numbered points. Looks a lot more professional, less likely to put client's backs up.

[Safe Collections]

We just wanted to say we applaud the OP's thinking in this respect, having something simple you can send out to a client to confirm the pertinent info (rates and payments specifically) in the absence of a formal contract is an excellent idea!

But as stated by NLUK if you are going to go to the bother of sending the document out, then you may as well try to have legally binding terms included on it. A good commercial solicitor should be able to help with these and we would strongly recommend you have these drafted/reviewed so as to be enforceable if the worst comes to the worst.

[MartinUK]

ok thanks, I'll see how much a professional T&C's costs.
Thanks for all the advice.

[northernladuk]

ok thanks, I'll see how much a professional T&C's costs.
Thanks for all the advice.

Just think how much they could save you.

If you are an IPSE member they have some contract templates I believe. You might work differently to most of us but many of the clauses you can lift I am sure.