The label on a consultancy contract does not decide the legal reality.
If the arrangement operates like employment, HMRC can pursue the tax and the individual can claim employment rights, and both tend to surface at the worst moment.
A well-drafted contract that matches genuine working practices is your first line of defence. But, a well-drafted contract that describes a fiction is not a defence at all.
A consultancy contract engages someone on a self-employed basis rather than as an employee.
We help with:
- consultancy and contractor agreements drafted around the status tests;
- engagements through personal service companies and agencies;
- IP assignment and confidentiality, so you keep what you pay for;
- substitution, control and financial risk provisions that reflect reality; and
- restructuring arrangements that will not hold up.
We cover deliverables, fees, insurance, and sensible protections at the end of the engagement, and we tell you honestly where an arrangement is vulnerable.
Status and IR35 are a wider question than the contract alone, and for medium and large businesses the responsibility for the determination sits with you: see Employment Status & IR35.
Our Approach
Legal advice that makes running and growing your business easier.
We start with your business, not the law.
Before we open a document, we want to understand what you are trying to do commercially. The legal answer is only useful if it serves that.
We get to the point.
You get a clear view of what matters and what does not, in plain English, with the real risks separated from the noise.
We give you an answer.
Not a menu of options and a shrug. We tell you what we would do, why, and where there is a genuine judgment call for you to make.
We stay available.
Whether you work with us on a single project or on a subscription, we are here for the follow-up question. We would always rather you asked.
Ways of working together
Fixed-fee projects
A single, defined piece of work for an agreed fixed fee, communicated before we engage. Reviewing a contract, drafting your terms, handling a negotiation.
No surprises and no hidden fees
Flagship Subscription
Ares Access
Ongoing support on a fixed monthly subscription, for businesses that need commercial legal input regularly rather than as the occasional one-off.
- Dedicated lawyer
- Fixed monthly fees
- Commercial advice on demand
From £500 plus VAT per month
Legal Health Check
Fixed fee of £2,000 plus VAT
Any questions?
Phone: 02382 420035
