Introduction
There are a number of organisations offering to sell ‘IR35 proof ' contracts to
contractors.
This article explains why there is no point purchasing one of these contracts.
There is no such thing as a standard IR35 free contract
A contract between your company and the agency must be tailored exactly to
represent the working practices of your business. A standard contract does not
do this.
There are no set of standard clauses to be picked from
Each clause must be professionally drafted precisely to describe your business
practices and the scope of the project. Aside from the standard clauses for
example, termination, jurisdiction, confidentiality, etc., the main body of
clauses are not standard. With respect to the fact that they are not standard,
they cannot be one draft contract which clauses represent each and every
situation.
Use of precedents
Each clause needs to be written whilst taking into account case precedent. The
context of each precedent needs to be compared with the context within which
you work. There are many cases alluding to the difference between employment
and self-employment and these cases have different factual circumstances.
Use an expert to draft your contract
The best placed person to draft your contract is a lawyer who specialises in
employment law and has experience of fighting status disputes.
In addition, they will need to understand your market and the legal difference
between a contract of service, which is akin to employment, and a contract for
services, which is akin to self-employment, this being the basis for IR35.
Lawyers can cost anything from £50 to £200 per hour. Price is not always an
indication of quality.
Published: Thursday, March 23, 2000
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