PSC Contractors Agreements
Designed for use for a range of trades and professions, these PSC Contractors Agreements carefully regulate the relationship between a contractor’s Service Company and his clients. This collection of up-to-date, solicitor drafted templates provides for the self-employed contractor to contract with a client through the contractor’s intermediary company (either a Personal Service Company (PSC) or other intermediary company), not personally and directly as a sole trader.
How to determine whether these PSC Contractor Agreements are Suitable?
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. This is supported by Employment, Self-employment and IR35 Checklists which will help determine the legal relationship between an individual worker and their client. The IR35 Status Determination Statement is designed to help a client comply with IR35 legislation where clients are required to issue a Status Determination Statement (SDS) in respect of a "medium" or "large" company.
If unsure or undecided please seek professional advice.
Self-employed sole trader versions can be downloaded at Self-Employed Agreements.
What Contracts Are Provided within PSC Contractors Agreements?
The listed contracts combine a selection of service company "standard" agreements and chair rental agreements for use in salons.
The service company templates include a Contractor (Service Company) 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 Clerical & Administrative Contractor (Service Company) Agreement 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 Sales Contractor (Service Company) 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.
Please view the full list of PSC Contractor Agreements below:
PSC Contractors Agreements is part of Employment. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
I want to engage a contractor who works through their own limited company. Which agreement should I use? +
Because the contract is made with the contractor's Personal Service Company (PSC) or intermediary rather than the individual, use one of the Contractor (Service Company) Agreements, not a standard self-employed agreement. Choose the core version for professional or technical roles (IT, engineering, design) where IP protection and formal structure matter; the Clerical and Administrative version for simpler, shorter engagements with lower data-sensitivity; or the Sales version where the fee includes commission. If the contractor trades personally as a sole trader, use the Generic Self-Employed Agreement Templates instead.
Before I sign a PSC contractor agreement, how do I check whether IR35 applies to my engagement? +
IR35, the off-payroll working rules, determines whether a worker supplying services through a PSC would be treated as an employee for tax purposes if engaged directly. IR35 is the informal name for these rules, not an official form or code. To check whether they apply to an engagement, use HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool on GOV.UK and read the GOV.UK guidance 'Understanding off-payroll working (IR35)'. If you are a medium or large private-sector client, or a public-sector client, you make the determination; if you are a small company, the PSC's own intermediary assesses it. Seek professional advice if the position is unclear.
My client is a medium or large company. Do they have to give me a Status Determination Statement before we sign? +
Usually, but not necessarily before you sign. Under the off-payroll working rules (which apply to medium and large private-sector clients and all public-sector clients), the client must determine your IR35 status and provide a Status Determination Statement (SDS) setting out its conclusion and reasons. The duty falls on whichever party is the client for that engagement, so where a service is genuinely contracted out the SDS duty may rest with the party most akin to the employer rather than the company you have in mind. For the client, or any subsequent party in the chain, to discharge its liability the SDS should be issued on or before the date any payment is made. So the SDS does not have to come before the contract is signed, but it must reach you and the party the client contracts with, and be passed down the chain, before any payment is made for your services. Until the client tells the worker and the person or organisation it contracts with of its determination and the reasons for it, the client remains responsible for deducting Income Tax, employee National Insurance contributions, and paying employer National Insurance contributions. The IR35 Status Determination Statement template helps clients comply. If you disagree, you can formally challenge it and the client must respond within 45 days.
What is the difference between the three service company contractor agreements in this collection? +
Choose by scope and complexity, since all three contract with the contractor's intermediary company not the individual. The Contractor (Service Company) Agreement is the most comprehensive, covering IP ownership, detailed data protection and subcontracting, best for professional and technical freelancers. The Clerical and Administrative Contractor (Service Company) Agreement is simpler, allowing substitution subject to client consultation but with no detailed IP or data protection clauses, suiting straightforward shorter-term administrative roles. The Sales Contractor (Service Company) Agreement covers fee-plus-commission remuneration (including post-termination commission for sales arising from pre-termination activities) and exclusivity protection, for sales agents and field representatives.
My contractor wants to contract personally as a sole trader, not through a company. Can I still use these templates? +
No. The PSC Contractors Agreements in this collection are designed for use where the contractor's intermediary company (a PSC or other limited company) is the contracting party, not the individual personally. If your contractor trades as a sole trader, you need a self-employed agreement that names the individual as the contractor. The Generic Self-Employed Agreement Templates collection on Simply-Docs covers that situation.
Does using a PSC contractor agreement guarantee the arrangement is outside IR35? +
No. A well-drafted contract is only one factor: HMRC and tribunals look at the actual working practices of the engagement, not just the written terms. Key factors include whether the contractor has a genuine right of substitution, the degree of control the client exercises and whether there is mutuality of obligation. If the day-to-day reality resembles employment, an 'outside IR35' label will not protect either party. Use the Guidance Note and Checklists in this collection to assess the relationship before contracting, and take professional advice if in doubt.
