Why you should use Contractor Agreements

So why would you enter into a working relationship with someone without spelling out the ground rules in writing?

Don’t risk the project or your business. When entering into a relationship a relationship with a contractor or consultant – put your arrangement in writing.

Why risk it, when there are ways to document your arrangements with contractors or consultants without spending a fortune on legal fees?

Of course,  there are no laws that say your contractor agreements must be in writing. Your agreement can be made verbally or on a handshake. But arrangements like this often lead to costly arguments because there is nothing to clearly define the terms of the relationship.

Without a written document you are forced to rely on memory alone and you won’t have a framework to rely upon if you have to deal with issues like confidentiality breaches, delays or non performance.

Whether you employ contractors or you provide services to others, its always a good idea to ensure your agreement is properly documented before the commencement of the project.

To this end RP Emery offer several contractor agreements, individually or as a Pack, that provide a basic framework for the relationship with your client or your independent contractor.

We’ve tried to cover the full spectrum of contractor agreements on the following pages:

Incorporated Contractor Agreement – Use this agreement when hiring a specialist independent consultant or contractor who is employed by a Pty Ltd company.

Sole Trader Contractor Agreement – specifies that the payer agrees to engage the contractor as a sole trader on an independent contractor basis. There may be specific taxation and superannuation liabilities that apply when contracting a sole trader.

Sales Agency Agreement – Used when a ‘Sales agent’ is hired to find customers for, and sell the products or services of a ‘principal’ party. The Sales agent is appointed to facilitate or negotiate a transaction on behalf of the principal in return for a commission. The agreement kit includes two versions of the agreement – Exclusive and Non-Exclusive area.

Referral Services Agreement – Many businesses would struggle to survive without the recommendation of others. You may be providing leads by referring clients to a favoured business or reliant upon introductions from others. Whatever the case a referral agreement will define how much is paid for the lead and under what circumstances.

Consulting Services Agreement – Drafted in Favour of the consultant we recommend this universal document for all service engagements.

Recruitment Agency Agreement – is ideal for use by recruitment or employment agencies or where you are in the position of recruiting staff for another firm or business.

Each of the above documents are available individually at a cost of $647.80, or you can grab them all together in this value pack Only $397.00 – at a saving of over $250.

Each contract comes to you as an easily edited and reusable Word document template.

These Consultant and Contractors Agreements are 

• Professionally drafted by Australian lawyers
• 100% tax deductible
• Come with easy to follow instruction.
• Easily downloaded in MS word format

By using just one of the documents in the kit, you’ll save a bundle on legal fees and with no loss of security.

Use one or more of the documents multiple times, and the savings can easily run into the thousands.

Unsure whether you are hiring a contractor / consultant or an employee?

An independent contractor is not an employee and the Fair Work Act and Australian Tax Office have gone to great lengths to ensure that the distinction is well understood by employers. Get this wrong and you may find yourself on the receiving end of expensive legal proceedings. To learn more about the differences between a contractor and employee go here.