20 day initial term, one month in arrears....?

[BlasterBates]

It's normal to get these poor payment terms when contracting direct. The positive aspect is that large clients are highly unlikely to go under, unlike agencies so it matters much less. The poor payment terms should be compensated by a higher rate than through an agency.

[northernladuk]

It would probably be difficult to get it revised after you start.

But in a market like this do what you need to do to hold onto any opportunity that comes up.

It takes less than 24 hours with QDOS. Costs a bit more but peanuts if the OP thinks starting without a contract is a good idea.

[rootsnall]

It would probably be difficult to get it revised after you start.

But in a market like this do what you need to do to hold onto any opportunity that comes up.

WHS. Weigh up the risk of losing the contract by continued wrangling. You are looking at 5 months IR35 risk before April 2021, I personally wouldn't worry about it but.......

[northernladuk]

Should I really get my contract reviewed before I start work? Would there be consequences if I signed it and got it reviewed later.

I get if you are a little unsure about how contracting works but you've also got to apply a bit of common sense as well. This is a legal agreement between two parties about a piece of work get could amount to 100s of thousands of pounds. Do you really think its acceptable to sign it and change it later? What other legal document allows you to do that.

It also exists to set out the agreed terms which you then sign. If you dont like something, say you are paid 30 days in arrears do you really think they will change that in your favour, and likely at detriment to them afterwards?

Also on the IR35 side, the contract exists to show thst the agree terms are IR35 friendly and the gig is outside. Do you think it is acceptable to sign a contract thst states you can't use a substitute and then later change it to say you can. How do you think that is going to stand up in court when you need it?

You really need to get a better grip of this and quick. You are a contractor now. The clue is in your title. Get the contract right and everything should go pretty smoothly. Get it wrong and you'll be facing legal and ir35 issues.

[jayn200]

Should I really get my contract reviewed before I start work? Would there be consequences if I signed it and got it reviewed later.

It would probably be difficult to get it revised after you start.

But in a market like this do what you need to do to hold onto any opportunity that comes up.

[ApeShape]

It's your responsibility until April...

Should I really get my contract reviewed before I start work? Would there be consequences if I signed it and got it reviewed later.

[eek]

Forgot to mention, I have received a contract. However, should I get that IR35 checked or is that their companies responsibility?

It's your responsibility until April...

[ApeShape]

Forgot to mention, I have received a contract. However, should I get that IR35 checked or is that their companies responsibility?

[ApeShape]

Wise words here. Thank you.

[Lance]

Make sure you have the holy trinity.

- intention to buy (PO or contract)
- proof of delivery
- invoice

Best bet is to get a statement of work that the client will sign off.
If it’s just time and materials with no delivery of a product then get timesheets signed weekly. If they don’t have a timesheet use your own.

[ladymuck]

It feels counter inutitive for it to take longer to be paid than the job lasts for. But, as long as they pay, where's the issue?

There's no harm trying to get the payment terms down but it's not worth walking away from if there's no other work on the horizon.

[cojak]

So after some wrangling, I've finally had sight of something resembling a contract. Any thoughts here about going on initial 20 day term which is paid a month in arrears? Is this madness? This is direct (no recruiter)

Also, this is a big multinational and Covid isn't hurting them much.

That's not bad actually, I've known big companies to stuff minnows for 90 day terms.

[ApeShape]

So after some wrangling, I've finally had sight of something resembling a contract. Any thoughts here about going on initial 20 day term which is paid a month in arrears? Is this madness? This is direct (no recruiter)

Also, this is a big multinational and Covid isn't hurting them much.