Do You Really Need a Services Contract as a Freelancer?
If you’re a freelancer then having a freelance contract projects a sense of professionalism and encourages clients to take you seriously. Above all, it gives you security. So having a formal agreement in place is always good practice as a way of protecting yourself if something goes wrong.
What Does a Freelance Contract Look Like?
A Freelance contract is a legally binding document that is designed to protect both the freelancer and the person or company hiring them. It gives anyone hiring a freelancer the terms and conditions, timeline, and specifications by which their work will be delivered. For freelancers, a contract clarifies when and how they are going to get paid for the work they deliver. A freelancer contract does not need to be very complicated, it just needs to include all the fundamental terms of the agreement.
What Should a Freelance Contract Include?
Each freelancer contract will look different because there are many different types of freelancing services on offer. So a copywriting agreement will have different terms to a graphic design agreement for instance. However, each agreement will need to include fundamental core points including the following:
The Parties Involved: This establishes the parties who will be bound by the contract including the freelancer and the company hiring them. Additional information such as contact details, the freelancer’s tax number, and the company number can also be included.
Duration: Clearly setting out how long the project is going to take provides clarity to both parties as to when the work has to be completed and delivered. It is also important to describe what you’re being hired to do in the scope of work and what you’re expected to produce.
Termination: It is important to include a termination or cancellation clause in a freelance agreement so that each party knows how to formally end the agreement. Sometimes contracts may come to an end naturally if they were only in place for a fixed period, but on other occasions, it may be necessary for either side to end the contract prematurely. For instance, the clause could outline how much notice each party must be given to end the contract and detail how the final invoice will be settled.
Ownership of Intellectual Property: For freelancers, the majority of the work they do will belong to the client upon delivery. However, it is still a good idea to have this stated clearly in the contract as to who owns the intellectual property rights upon completion of the work. This can help put clients at ease and avoids any potential disputes later down the road.
Resolution of Disputes: Another way to protect yourself as a freelancer is to add terms in the contract on the resolution of any disputes that may arise. For instance, you may have a complaints process or information about how issues will be resolved such as if the client is not happy with the work, they may be entitled to a refund depending on the circumstances.
Payment Terms: Payment terms define the rates per hour or flat rate for each deliverable. This part should set out other details such as the payment method, schedule, and even the currency in which you will be paid.
Additional Freelancer Clauses
In addition to the terms above, it may be appropriate to include extra clauses or agreements depending on the type of work you offer.
Confidentiality Clause: This establishes a confidential agreement between you and the hiring company. This will give clients the confidence that any sensitive information shared in the project will not be compromised. For instance, the clause may state that you cannot disclose to any other parties that you are working with the company, or it could say that you will keep any passwords or sensitive information secure.
Non-Solicitation Clause: This clause can prevent freelancers from working with other clients on similar projects or indeed can prevent the clients from working with individuals the freelancer may have presented to the client during the agreement without engaging the freelancer. To be enforceable and fair, these clauses need to be carefully reviewed and drafted.
Do you need a Contract for Freelancing?
As a freelancer, it’s important to protect yourself with a formal contract, particularly if you’re working directly with the hiring company. Just like permanent employees sign contracts upon being hired, the same should apply to freelancers, even if they are usually part-time workers. As mentioned before, contracts clearly define what’s expected of both parties and establish a working relationship based on trust and transparency.
Automate Your Contract Drafting With Gerrish Legal
As a freelancer, having a reliable and legally binding contract in place will give you the peace of mind that you will be protected if something goes wrong. Gerrish Legal has created an automation tool to help you prepare your own bespoke Service Agreements and Confidentiality Agreements through our Contract Portal.
Generate your contracts with ease and efficiency by answering questions generated by our Gerrish Legal bot, your new digital lawyer. Our specialised contract lawyers have carefully pre-drafted contract clauses based on years of experience. The automated contract tool will use the pre-drafted terms, along with your specific answers to customise your unique contract. All you have to do is input the necessary information and then you will instantly receive the final contract straight to your inbox saving time, effort and minimising mistakes.
Using an automated contract tool like this is a completely risk-free approach to creating your contracts. You can be assured that your contract clauses can be relied upon as they have been drafted by expert contract lawyers. All you need to do is choose which clauses are relevant and important to your unique agreement.
If you want to benefit from our automated contract drafting tool, you can access our contract portal here. You can also book a 30-minute consultation with one of our human lawyers if you need any bespoke advice!
How Can Gerrish Legal Help?
Gerrish Legal is a dynamic digital law firm. We pride ourselves on giving high-quality and expert legal advice to our valued clients. We specialise in many aspects of digital law such as GDPR, data privacy, digital and technology law, commercial law, and intellectual property.
We give companies the support they need to successfully and confidently run their businesses whilst complying with legal regulations without the burdens of keeping up with ever-changing digital requirements.
We are here to help you, get in contact with us today for more information.