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Freelance consultancy agreement (Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland · in English
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Made for use in Northern Ireland
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For a client and a self-employed consultant or freelancer in Northern Ireland, working on their own account or through their own limited company. The agreement covers the services, fees and invoices, expenses, the right to send a substitute, who owns the work, confidentiality, liability, ending the contract and the off-payroll working rules (IR35), which apply across the UK. Its wording does not decide employment or tax status, which follows how the work is actually done, so each party should take advice if the status is unclear.
- Made for use in Northern Ireland
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- You are taking on a freelance designer in Northern Ireland for a six-week project.
- You work through your own limited company and a client wants a contract before you start.
- A client asked whether the off-payroll rules cover your work and you want the terms clear.
- You want a consultancy agreement that sets fees, ownership of the work and notice.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Date
- Client's name (business or person)
- Client's company number, if a company
- Client's address (number and street)
- Town or city
- Client's postcode
- Consultant's full name, or their company's name
- Company number, if the consultant works through a company
- Consultant's address (number and street)
- Consultant's postcode
- Start date
- Payment term (days)
- Cap on each party's liability (for example the fees paid in the last 12 months)
- Insurance the consultant holds (professional indemnity, public liability)
- Notice period
- Services
- Deliverables, deadlines and timetable
- Fees (day rate or fixed price, in pounds)
- Person signing for the client (name and position)
- Consultant, or person signing for the consultant's company
Common questions
- Is a freelancer in Northern Ireland self-employed just because the contract says so?
- No. Employment status, and tax status under the off-payroll working rules, depend on how the work is actually done: who controls it, whether a substitute can be sent, and whether either side must offer or accept work. In an employment dispute an industrial tribunal looks at the facts, not the label, and HMRC’s free Check Employment Status for Tax tool gives a view for tax purposes.
- Which side decides IR35 status when the client is in Northern Ireland?
- The off-payroll rules are UK-wide. A medium or large client decides, and must give the worker, and any agency in the chain, a status determination statement with its reasons; if the client is small, the freelancer’s own company decides. The Companies Act size tests (turnover, balance sheet and employees) say whether a client is small; HMRC’s off-payroll guidance gives the current thresholds.
- Does a client in Northern Ireland own the copyright in work it paid a freelancer for?
- Not automatically: a freelancer who is not an employee usually owns the copyright in what they create unless the contract assigns it. An assignment must be in writing and signed by the person assigning it (section 90(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which applies across the UK), which is why this agreement contains one, taking effect on payment.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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