"IR35 Friendly" Contract

**Bluebird** · 17 December 2007, 16:19

Originally posted by syn View Post

Does anybody have an example of an "IR35 Friendly" contract? I know there's probably no such thing and each is a case-by-case basis, but what NEEDS to be in there? Basically, I've asked my agency to provide one and they've come back to me to put something down in writing and send it to them.

If you could write your own contract, what would you put in there? And on the legal side of things, how would it be worded?

I've got a list of the essentials, but was also interested to see the recent case with Severn Trent Water in which the court also took the 4 week notice period into account. Is this really something to be worried about as 4 weeks notice seems to be the norm with IT contracts?

The 3 main things most people say are:

MOO [ Mutuality of Obligation ]
ROS [ Right of Substitution ]
D&C [ Directon & Control ]

You want the first 2 and not the third....

**r0bly0ns** · 17 December 2007, 16:31

PCG Offer conhtract templates to their members.

If your Agency is asking you to suggest something, you could do far worse than send them a PCG template

**chicane** · 17 December 2007, 17:36

Originally posted by Bluebird View Post

MOO [ Mutuality of Obligation ]
ROS [ Right of Substitution ]
D&C [ Directon & Control ]

You want the first 2 and not the third....

Surely you mean "you want the second, but not the first and third"?

**syn** · 17 December 2007, 20:03

I thought you needed all 3?

**Qdos Contractor** · 17 December 2007, 21:16

You'd be looking to find clauses that relate to all three areas really:

(1) You need a right of substitution.

(2) You don't want mutuality of obligation, but there should ideally be a clause stating that there isn't any.

(3) You shouldn't be 'directed and controlled' by the client but, again, there should be a clause stating that this is the case and that you have autonomy.

**malvolio** · 17 December 2007, 23:03

I think Mr (Ms?) syn needs to read the guides. All this was defined about five years ago...

**Archangel** · 18 December 2007, 08:05

Originally posted by syn View Post

Does anybody have an example of an "IR35 Friendly" contract? I know there's probably no such thing and each is a case-by-case basis, but what NEEDS to be in there? Basically, I've asked my agency to provide one and they've come back to me to put something down in writing and send it to them.

If you could write your own contract, what would you put in there? And on the legal side of things, how would it be worded?

I've got a list of the essentials, but was also interested to see the recent case with Severn Trent Water in which the court also took the 4 week notice period into account. Is this really something to be worried about as 4 weeks notice seems to be the norm with IT contracts?

For about £150 you can join the PCG and get access to their contracts. You then get 1 years membership including IR35 investigation insurance, some other member benefits and some great forums full of useful info as a bonus! Sounds like good value to me. (but I would say that, being a member since 2000 ish and having had the benefit of them supporting me against the Gestapo during an investigation)

**malvolio** · 18 December 2007, 09:40

Originally posted by Archangel View Post

For about £150 you can join the PCG and get access to their contracts. You then get 1 years membership including IR35 investigation insurance, some other member benefits and some great forums full of useful info as a bonus! Sounds like good value to me. (but I would say that, being a member since 2000 ish and having had the benefit of them supporting me against the Gestapo during an investigation)

£120 for basic, £220 for PCGPlus, both plus VAT. The latter gives you earlier investigation representation cover to help avoid it turning into an IR35 case, Jury Service cover and agency failure insurance among other things.

"IR35 Friendly" Contract