Generic Self-Employed Agreement Templates
Designed for use for a range of trades and professions, these Self-Employed Agreements carefully regulate the relationship between individual freelance contractors (sole traders) and their clients. This collection of up-to-date, solicitor drafted templates provides for the self-employed individual to contract personally and directly with a client, not via any Personal Service Company (PSC) or other intermediary company or other entity.
The first download, Guidance Note on Employment, Self-employment, and IR35, is a detailed explanation of the distinction between employment and self-employment and the impact of IR35 rules in respect of PSCs (or other intermediary company/entity), covering the use of a PSC including when, why, and how an individual might decide to use such an intermediary. Also download Employment, Self-employment and IR35 Checklists to help navigate the complex area of self-employment/ employment/use of an intermediary company.
When a self-employed individual decides to operate through a PSC (or other intermediary company), the documents in PSC Contractors Agreements should be used instead of these Self-Employed Agreements.
Which is the Most Suitable Self-Employed Contract?
The Self-employed Contractor Agreement which is highly customisable, flexible and broadly applicable to a variety of trades, services and roles. It is best suited to professional and/or technical freelancers (including IT consultants, engineers, designers), situations requiring formal structure and IP protection and contractors who might subcontract or use support staff.
The Self-employed Clerical & Administrative Contractor has narrower scope, fewer clauses, and simpler language; substitution is allowed subject to client consultation; has no data protection clauses or detailed IP arrangements (assuming low sensitivity of data). As its title implies it is best for clerical and administrative roles with minimal complexity or risk, and short-term engagements.
The Self-employed Sales Contractor Agreement is designed for sales-focused roles providing for remuneration comprising a fee plus commission (including commission for post-termination sales resulting from the contractor's pre-termination activities), and conflict of interest and exclusivity protection (during term of the contract). It is best suited to sales agents, business development freelancers and field representatives.
All these templates take into account relevant legal and recent industry developments, including case law, employment law, IR35 tax rules, and VAT law, and ensure that the "self-employed" is independent and that they are free to take on other clients.
Please view the full list of Generic Self-Employed Agreements below:
Generic Self-Employed Agreement Templates is part of Employment. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am a freelancer working as a sole trader. Do I need to worry about IR35? +
No, IR35 does not directly apply to sole traders, because IR35 (the off-payroll working rules) targets contractors delivering services through an intermediary such as a personal service company (PSC) and a sole trader contracts directly with the client. Employment status still matters: HMRC can challenge whether your relationship is genuinely self-employed regardless of structure, looking at control, substitution and mutuality of obligation. A well-drafted self-employed contractor agreement, supported by working practices reflecting genuine independence, is your first line of evidence. Simply-Docs provides a detailed Guidance Note on Employment, Self-employment and IR35 and a set of checklists to help you.
I want to hire a freelancer directly. Should I use a self-employed contractor agreement or a PSC agreement? +
Choose by how the freelancer contracts with you. Use a self-employed contractor agreement (from this sub-folder) only if they contract personally as a sole trader, with no personal service company or other intermediary in the chain. If they operate through their own limited company (a PSC), use the Simply-Docs PSC Contractors Agreements instead. Using the wrong template for the structure creates legal and tax risk for both parties, so ask the freelancer which structure they use before you draft. The Simply-Docs Guidance Note on Employment, Self-employment and IR35 explains the distinction in detail.
Which self-employed contractor agreement template is right for the work I need done? +
Choose by the nature of the work, and all three account for IR35 tax rules, case law, VAT law and employment law developments. Use the Self Employed Contractor Agreement for professional or technical freelancers (IT consultants, engineers, designers), formal intellectual property protection and contractors who may subcontract or use support staff. Use the Self Employed Clerical and Administrative Contractor Agreement for simpler clerical or administrative roles with minimal complexity or data sensitivity, allowing substitution subject to client consultation. Use the Self Employed Sales Contractor Agreement for sales roles, with a fee plus commission structure (including post-termination commission) and conflict of interest and exclusivity protection during the term.
Can a written contract actually protect me if HMRC questions whether my contractor is genuinely self-employed? +
A well-drafted written contract is important evidence of the intended relationship, but it is not the whole picture. HMRC assesses employment status from both the contract terms and how the arrangement works in practice: who controls how and when work is done, whether the contractor has a genuine right to send a substitute and whether there is mutuality of obligation between engagements. Where actual working practices contradict the contract, HMRC and tribunals give greater weight to what happens, and no contract can guarantee a tax outcome. The Simply-Docs self-employed agreement templates are drafted to reflect genuine independence, with a guidance note and checklists to help you align your working practices with the contract.
My freelancer has just decided to start using their own limited company. Does that change which agreement I should use? +
Yes, but whether IR35 becomes your responsibility as the engager depends on your size. Once a freelancer engages through a personal service company (PSC) or other limited company intermediary rather than as a sole trader, the legal and tax framework changes and a PSC-specific agreement is appropriate. If you are a small-sized client in the private and voluntary sectors you will not have to determine the employment status of workers you engage through their own intermediaries, and this remains the responsibility of the worker's intermediary, although you must confirm your size if asked. The off-payroll working rules only become your responsibility, including issuing a Status Determination Statement, if you are a public authority or a medium or large-sized private or voluntary sector client. Use the documents in the Simply-Docs PSC Contractors Agreements sub-folder, not the generic self-employed agreements on this page, which cover direct engagements with individual sole traders. Relabelling or inserting a company name into a sole-trader agreement is not sufficient. Incorporating does not automatically make the engagement outside IR35: HMRC asks whether the relationship would be employment if the company were not there.
What guidance does Simply-Docs provide to help me understand whether someone should be self-employed or employed? +
To work through whether an engagement is genuinely self-employed or risks being treated as employment, use the two supporting documents in this sub-folder. The Guidance Note on Employment, Self-employment and IR35 explains the distinction between employment and self-employment, the IR35 rules as they apply to PSCs and intermediary companies and when and why a freelancer might operate through a PSC rather than as a sole trader. The Employment, Self-employment and IR35 Checklists are practical tools for that assessment. Both are recommended downloads before you choose or finalise any agreement in this collection.
