Self-help templates
Independent Contractor Agreement
For hiring or working as an independent contractor: scope, fees, control, tax status and the line with employment.
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Licence: this document is for your personal use only. You may not resell, share, copy or republish it, or use its content, without the written permission of TheLawToKnow.
How to use it
- When: a business or person (the Client) engages a self-employed person or small company (the Contractor) to do work or provide services without becoming their employer: consulting, design, development, translation, installation, training and similar.
- Fill in everything in [square brackets] and delete the options you do not use. Describe the work and the result as precisely as you can in Annex 1.
- Keep the relationship real: a contractor decides how, when and where to work, may have other clients, uses their own tools and is paid for results or agreed time, not a salary. If the real relationship looks like employment, the contract name will not protect either side.
- Form: write it down and have both parties sign, one copy for each.
- Not for: a person who works fixed hours under your orders and only for you (that is usually employment), or for work that needs a licence neither side has.
What is inside
- Art. 1. The work
- Art. 2. Independent status
- Art. 3. Term
- Art. 4. Fees and payment
- Art. 5. Taxes and social contributions
- Art. 6. Tools, premises and staff
- Art. 7. Rights in the results
- Art. 8. Confidentiality
- Art. 9. Conflicts of interest
- Art. 10. Quality and liability
- Art. 11. Personal data
- Art. 12. Termination
- Art. 13. Governing law and disputes
- Art. 14. Final provisions
- Notes on the clauses and a checklist of what to check under your country's law
Also in the bundle: Freelancer's kit (19 €)
What these templates are not
- They are self-help templates, not legal advice, and they do not replace a lawyer.
- Laws differ from country to country, and some rules cannot be changed by contract. Each template ends with a checklist of what to check where you live.
- For a high-value or unusual situation, ask a local lawyer or notary to look at the final text.
TheLawToKnow Tools. Self-help template. Not legal advice. Check the law currently in force. Written with the help of AI tools and reviewed by a lawyer-author.