Freelancer Contracts UK: Key Terms & Clauses

What this document is

A freelancer contract is a commercial agreement between a self-employed worker and the business or individual engaging them for a specific piece of work. Unlike an employment contract, it reflects a business-to-business relationship: the freelancer is not an employee, does not receive holiday pay or sick pay, and is responsible for their own tax and National Insurance through self-assessment.

The contract sets out what is being done, for how much, on what timetable, and who ends up owning the finished work. It can be a one-off agreement for a single project, or a framework that covers ongoing work over months or years with individual jobs booked in through statements of work or purchase orders.

In England and Wales, these agreements are governed primarily by general contract law, with overlays from the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 for intellectual property, and sometimes the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 where invoices go unpaid. A well-drafted contract does not need to be long, but it does need to be clear on the points that tend to cause friction.

How to use this document

1. Agree the scope before you talk money. Write down exactly what the freelancer is delivering: the deliverables, the format, the revisions allowed, and anything explicitly out of scope. Vague scopes are the single biggest cause of disputes, so be specific about word counts, file formats, number of designs, meetings included, or hours committed.
2. Set fees and payment terms in plain numbers. State the total fee or day rate, whether VAT is added, what triggers each invoice, and how many days the client has to pay. Many freelancers use 14 or 30 day terms. If you want the right to charge interest on late payment, say so in the contract rather than relying on statute alone.
3. Nail down intellectual property. Decide whether copyright in the finished work transfers to the client on payment, or whether the freelancer keeps ownership and grants a licence. Under UK law, a freelancer owns the copyright in what they create unless there is a written assignment, so silence on this point usually favours the freelancer by default.
4. Cover confidentiality, data and termination. Add a confidentiality clause for anything sensitive the freelancer sees, a short data protection clause if personal data is involved, and a termination clause covering notice periods, payment for work done to date, and what happens to draft materials if either side walks away early.
5. Sign it before work begins. An unsigned draft sitting in a shared folder is not a contract either party can easily enforce. Both sides should sign, whether on paper or using an electronic signature platform, and keep a dated copy. Starting work first and papering it later is common, but it significantly weakens your position if something goes wrong.

Common questions