Reply to: Working without a contract

[WTFH]

All great points - thanks!

I still stand by my statement that I don't care if my accountant is happy, I'd prefer it if they were but so long as what the company does is legal the accountant's state of mind is inconsequential

And I stand by mine...

You pay them to give you advice. If their advice is "that's not a clever thing to do, you are opening yourself up to risks that I think you should not open yourself up to", that comment could be summarised as "your accountant might not be happy"

Your state of mind is inconsequential if what you are doing is fraudulent and the accountant has clearly warned you about it.

[oilboil]

Unless of course your company's activities are fraudulent, misrepresent the actuality or break some other accounting practice rules in which case your accountant would be obliged to point it out both to you and the authorities.

HTH. BIDI...

All great points - thanks!

I still stand by my statement that I don't care if my accountant is happy, I'd prefer it if they were but so long as what the company does is legal the accountant's state of mind is inconsequential

[radish2008]

Are there any IR35 implications if you work without a contract?

I've worked without a contract before after having an original contract in place. So extensions were agreed and the guy was slow to get a contract in place etc. etc. At some point contracts were all signed to cover the whole period.

I would never start work without a contract. As for IR35, if you start working without a contract I would imagine that would be the least of your worries. Although IR35, as you will hear many, many , many times is all about actual working practices so the contract is not that important.

[WTFH]

I don't particularly give a "fig" whether my accountant is happy or not, I pay them to give advice (which I can decide to take or not take) and then to correctly record the financial transactions the company undertakes. Whether they are happy with what the company does or how it does it is frankly irrelevant

You pay them to give you advice. If their advice is "that's not a clever thing to do, you are opening yourself up to risks that I think you should not open yourself up to", that comment could be summarised as "your accountant might not be happy"

[malvolio]

I don't particularly give a "fig" whether my accountant is happy or not, I pay them to give advice (which I can decide to take or not take) and then to correctly record the financial transactions the company undertakes. Whether they are happy with what the company does or how it does it is frankly irrelevant

Unless of course your company's activities are fraudulent, misrepresent the actuality or break some other accounting practice rules in which case your accountant would be obliged to point it out both to you and the authorities.

HTH. BIDI...

[oilboil]

Your accountant will not be happy.

I don't particularly give a "fig" whether my accountant is happy or not, I pay them to give advice (which I can decide to take or not take) and then to correctly record the financial transactions the company undertakes. Whether they are happy with what the company does or how it does it is frankly irrelevant

[WTFH]

It would be nice if the OP came back and actually gave us some more info. Based on the other thread they started a couple of weeks ago, I'm wondering if they have an accountant and an Ltd set up already or are hoping to do it all cash in hand.

[BlasterBates]

My first 4 month contract involved no paperwork, just quoted a rate down the phone and on numerous occasions the paperwork was late for renewals.

I don't really see a major problem if you are working for a reputable client but it is a good idea to get things in writing.

[NotAllThere]

If there's an email saying "We'll pay you £5 a day in return for clicking the spacebar once an hour", then, in the absence of anything else, that's your contract.

I've worked without contract, but where there was a clear email discussion on what was required and the payment terms - and a purchase order.

A formal contract is a good thing, but it's by no means essential. Of course the OP hasn't shared what he means by "no contract".

[northernladuk]

Well coming up to 4 years for a US company and no contract and pay me within 1 day of receiving the invoice. Prior to that I was 7 years with a US company and no contract, they took a week to pay the invoice.

So it works when it works. Nice to know, but that's not really the point of a contract.

[darmstadt]

If there's no business contract between two businesses, then you're not contracting to them as a business.

They don't have to pay your invoices
Your company insurance while working for the client is most likely invalid
Your accountant will not be happy.

Why would you do work as a contractor without a contract?

Well coming up to 4 years for a US company and no contract and pay me within 1 day of receiving the invoice. Prior to that I was 7 years with a US company and no contract, they took a week to pay the invoice.

[BR14]

Quite, just harder to prove a verbal contract than one with a paper trail IMHO

Having said that, - one timesheet and one remittance against said timesheet ....

[BR14]

Just because there is no written contract, doesn't mean that there is no contract.

Quite, just harder to prove a verbal contract than one with a paper trail IMHO

[TheFaQQer]

If there's no business contract between two businesses, then you're not contracting to them as a business.

Just because there is no written contract, doesn't mean that there is no contract.

[Kitten1978]

Plus if you want to get a mortgage or re-mortgage you will need a contract