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Self-Employment Contracts

Freelancer Contracts

These Freelancer Contracts carefully regulate the relationship between a freelance worker and their business clients. These are templates under which the individual freelancer can personally/directly contract with a client as a sole trader, in their name or applying a trading name, rather than using a personal service company (PSC) or other intermediate company.

Where the freelancer operates within a personal service company (PSC) or other intermediary company, rather than individually as a sole trader, the appropriate selection of templates should be made from the Freelancer Agreements.  

The selection of Freelancer Contracts listed below can be applied by self-employed sole traders working as freelance contractors across many businesses and professions. In addition to a generic Freelance Contract Template there are a number of templates specific to publishing, digital marketing, graphic design and web/software/app development.

Each template aims to minimize the risk that HMRC (or employment law) will regard the freelancer as an employee of the client rather than as a self-employed sole trader.

The application of the templates alone cannot guarantee the status of the freelancer as self-employed, so professional advice should be sought in this respect. The advice will need to consider the content of the document together with all the circumstances and arrangements relating to the work, the freelancer and the client.

To assist with understanding the issues relating to employment, self-employment and IR35, Business subscribers can download the Guidance Note on Employment, Self-Employment and IR35. For additional information please click on IR35, Employment and Self-Employment.

Freelancer Contracts is part of Business . Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Business for 1 year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns the work I create as a freelancer, me or the client? +
By default you do. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 the person who creates a work owns the copyright, unless they are an employee creating it in the course of employment, in which case the employer owns it. As a self-employed freelancer you are not an employee, so you keep the copyright in what you produce unless your contract transfers it. Clients who need to own the work should be given a written assignment of copyright, which the freelancer templates provide for.
What should be in my contract with a freelance client? +
A freelance contract should fix the things that cause disputes: exactly what you will deliver, the fee and when it is paid, deadlines and how changes are handled, who owns the finished work, confidentiality and how either side can end the arrangement. It should also make clear you work as a self-employed sole trader. The Simply-Docs freelancer contracts cover these points, with a general template and versions for specific fields.
Is there a freelance contract for my specific field, like design or web development? +
Yes. Alongside a general freelance contract, Simply-Docs offers versions tailored to particular kinds of work, including publishing, digital marketing, graphic design and web, software or app development. A field-specific template already reflects the deliverables, revision rounds and ownership issues common to that work, so you tailor less and cover more. Pick the closest fit to what you actually do, then adjust the detail.
How do I make sure freelance clients pay me on time, and can I charge interest if they are late? +
Set clear payment terms in the contract, including the fee, the due date and what happens if payment is late. Where your client is another business and the contract is silent on interest, you have a statutory right to charge interest on late payment at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus a fixed sum in compensation, under the late payment rules for commercial debts. Building agreed payment and late payment terms into your freelancer contract makes this easier to enforce.
I work through my own limited company, not as a sole trader. Is this the right contract? +
No. These freelancer contracts are for individuals working as self-employed sole traders in their own name. If you provide your services through your own limited company, usually a personal service company, you should use the company version instead, which is drafted for that structure and takes account of the off-payroll working rules. Simply-Docs covers company arrangements in the Freelancer Agreements within the IR35 and Other Company Agreements group.
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All Self-Employment Contracts

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