Contract: templates and forms

The first document a client sees, and the last one they come back to when there is an argument about what was promised. The quotation sets out the scope, the price and the timescale — and also how long it stays valid, without which old prices get produced months later. It states plainly what the price does not include, which heads off the most common falling-out at the start of a job.

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.

For a household in Italy hiring a domestic helper, carer or nanny on an open-ended contract. It follows the Italian national collective agreement for domestic work (CCNL lavoro domestico) renewed on 28 October 2025: grade, duties, live-in or not, hours, pay, board and lodging, trial, holidays, notice and severance pay (TFR), with the CCNL figures the employer fills in. The hiring must be reported free of charge to INPS by the day before work starts. Domestic workers do not use the online resignation procedure. In Italian.

An open-ended contract of employment (Dienstvertrag) for salaried employees or workers in Austria, in German, carrying every item the Dienstzettel must state under the Austrian Employment Contract Law Adaptation Act (§ 2 AVRAG) as amended on 28 March 2024: seat, job and a short description of the work, collective agreement and pay group, probation month, working time and overtime, pay, leave under the Leave Act (UrlG), notice periods under § 20 AngG and § 1159 ABGB, the termination procedure, the severance fund (Abfertigung neu) and the social insurer.

For an employer in Spain that needs to cover an employee entitled to return to the job (sick leave, unpaid leave, birth leave), make up hours another employee has reduced, or fill a post while the permanent holder is chosen. It makes you state the cause, the specific circumstances and, where it applies, the name of the person replaced (art. 15.3 of the Spanish Workers' Statute). It sets the term, trial period, hours and pay; no severance is due at the end. Signed before work starts. In Spanish.

For an employer and employee in Italy agreeing smart working within an existing job. The written agreement required by articles 18–23 of Italian Law 81/2017 sets the days and places of agile work, equipment provided, disconnection hours, monitoring, disciplinary conduct, the risk notice, duration and withdrawal on thirty days' notice (ninety for a disabled worker). A private employer then reports it online to the Ministry of Labour, free of charge, within five days of the start. In Italian.

For an employer and employee in Italy who want confidential information protected after the job ends, when the duty of loyalty under art. 2105 of the Italian Civil Code lapses. The agreement defines the confidential information, how long the duty lasts after the job ends, the exceptions (public information, legal duties, whistleblowing reports) and the return of documents. It is not a non-compete clause: it does not restrict future work and sets no penalty. In Italian.

A permanent employment contract for full- or part-time work in Germany, in German, with every essential term the German Evidence Act (Nachweisgesetz, NachwG) requires: start, job, place of work, probation, hours and breaks, overtime, pay and when it is due, the minimum wage, leave, notice periods under § 622 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the written form of a dismissal and the deadline to sue, collective agreements, training and pension. Its time limit for claims leaves the minimum wage untouched and asks only for text form.

For a business or professional engaging a self-employed person in Spain (design, programming, translation, training, consulting): a Spanish civil contract with the scope, the professional's independence over hours, place and means, the fee in words and figures, invoicing and the payment term under Spain's Law 3/2004, confidentiality, a statement that the professional is not economically dependent on the client (TRADE) and the attempt to negotiate before court (Organic Law 1/2025). In Spanish.

For a business engaging another for a continuing service in Spain (cleaning, maintenance, IT support, marketing, consulting): a Spanish contract with scope, term and renewal, the price in words and figures, invoicing and the payment term within the 60-day limit of Spain's Law 3/2004, late-payment interest, confidentiality, personal data, termination for breach and the attempt to negotiate before going to court (Organic Law 1/2025). Signed in two copies. In Spanish.