Contract for work (civil contract)

Published byDocMuse

The contract between a client and a contractor for a specific piece of work — a repair, a translation, a design, a course, anything given to a person rather than to a company. The weak point of most such contracts is vagueness: without a precise description of the work, a deadline and criteria for acceptance, there is no way to prove what was agreed. Here all three are separate fields rather than free text.

Preview

This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.

Common questions

Is a civil contract an employment contract?

No. Under a civil contract what is owed is a result, not hours, and there is no place of work, no leave and no notice period. If in practice you work to a rota and under instructions, the relationship may be recognised as employment despite what the document is called.

Who pays the tax and the social contributions?

Under a civil contract the client usually withholds and remits them, and the contractor declares the income annually. Agree expressly whether the figure stated is before or after deductions — that is the commonest misunderstanding at signing.

Why do I need acceptance criteria?

Because without them acceptance is a matter of taste. Written criteria turn an argument about quality into a check against a list; without them the contractor waits for payment while the client asks for one more revision.

Can I give part of the work to someone else?

If the contract does not forbid it, usually yes, but your responsibility to the client remains. Where the work was given to you for who you are, state expressly whether subcontractors are allowed.