egos® - Legal Services for Consultants, Contractors, and Developers in the IT industry

 

As many of our clients are Consultants and Contractors in the computer industry, we've developed a good understanding of their specific needs.

 

We've seen and advised on a vast number of agency contracts, and have also advised in a large number of instances where something has gone wrong.

 

It's probably true to say that, at least 90% of the time, it's less likely that things would have gone wrong if the Contractor or Consultant had fully understood the contract before signing it, and had taken the opportunity to try and negotiate changes at that stage.

 

Here are a few of the services we have evolved to meet the needs of Contractors and Consultants.

 

·       Agency regulations 2003

 

Services of other professionals of use to you – see links page

 

Online PI insurance quote from Caunce O'Hara

 

Other pages that may be of specific interest to you:

 

 

So if you think we may be able to help you in any of these ways, mail us with more details. In confidence, of course.

 

Or if you don't have such a problem right now, but think you might in the future, just add our webpage to your bookmark file, so you can return here quickly and easily - this website is frequently updated.

 

Egos Ltd is an affiliate member of the Professional Contractors Group Ltd   

 

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Advice on the terms of a New Contract - Fixed price service £352.50

 

 

This service is intended to cover the situation where you are presented with a contract drafted by someone else (eg an agency, or a client) to sign. Includes, where appropriate, consideration of IR35-angles.

 

·        Rule 1: Make sure you understand the contract and all its implications before you sign.

 

·        Rule 2: Treat everything in the contract as negotiable until you sign. And don't be afraid to negotiate!

 

·        Rule 3: Don't leave home without it - make sure all terms are agreed and signed before you start work.

 

The way in which we operate this service has been changed recently, in order to try and streamline the process (and thus absorb the additional costs resulting from dealing with the IR35 angles as well as the commercial ones, rather than significantly increase the price).

 

This is now how the Fixed Fee service works:

 

 

We offer this service for a fixed price of £352.50 (including any applicable VAT).

 

The fixed price service is intended to cover the basics, and does not cover eg incidental advice on offshore arrangements for overseas contracts.

 

You may have no difficulties in dealing with the Client/Agency, and be able to handle any negotiations yourself directly and without further input from us.  If however you do feel you need assistance, we can provide it.  There are two ways in which this can be approached:

 

1   you front the negotiations, and just come to us for advice as and when you feel you need it; most contractors choose to deal with it this way – and it is less time consuming for us, hence cheaper for you.

 

This is dealt with as an 'iteration' - which will generally consist of you sending us the document that has been returned;  we double check the differences between that and the document you had sent them;  we consider their further changes, and discuss with you, so you understand the meaning and impact on the overall position, both commercial and IR35, and are able to go back and discuss with them, knowing what is important what is not, and why.  Iterations are changed at a fixed £176.25 including any applicable VAT.

 

2   We front the negotiations, and take instructions from you as required.  This is charged at our normal rate for time-charged work, which at present is £293.75 per hour (prices include any applicable VAT).

 

 

A formal IR35 opinion can be provided on the end result, if required;  the cost of this is £176.25, including any applicable VAT.

 

 

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Advice and Negotiation of New Contract Terms

 

 

The second level of service is as above, but when it comes to the amendments, we take over the negotiations on your behalf, according to what we have agreed should be amended, and we deal direct with the agency or client, copying you in on all mails and correspondence. You are the one who takes the final decisions.

 

We can't give a fixed price for this level, because it can tend to become a 'how long is a piece of string' question, and depends on how protracted the negotiations become. We charge on a time basis, and our charges in the past for dealing with things in this way have varied from £250 to £500 - it all depends. Although we can't give a fixed price, we can accept a 'ceiling' - ie 'don't let the bill get to more than £x without my ok'. And we can keep you informed of the cost throughout.

 

Confidentiality applies, of course. We will acknowledge your right of confidentiality in connection with anything you disclose to us, and we will not disclose it to anyone else save to such extent as may be authorized by you or required by law.

 

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Contract drafting

 

 

This service is for when you make an arrangement with a client to work for them direct, without using an agency - and they say 'Have you got a form of contract to cover this that you can send us?'.

 

You need to be confident that the document you produce will:

 

Once we have sufficient information from you on a no-obligation basis, we will indicate the cost.  This will include:

 

The starting point would be to download, complete & email the attached questionnaire (please don’t use an old one, the content does change from time to time!)

 

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Advice on Contract Restriction

 

 

Very often, Contractors and Consultants find themselves in the position where they have signed a contract which contains a term restricting their rights to work for the Client, other than through the same agency, for some future period. This can often tie the Contractor's hands in an unsatisfactory way.

 

Sometimes such terms are enforceable, and sometimes they are not. The law will look closely at such terms before deciding whether or not they are enforceable.

 

To understand the effect such a term has in any particular situation, it is necessary to consider the real-world scenario into which the contract fits, and then to carefully review the whole situation, including:

 

 

We'll need to see a complete copy of the contract and of any extensions, together with any relevant correspondence (you can fax this on 01534-729988); and we'll need a summary of the real-world situation - we suggest by telephone (01534-729977) or email.

 

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Contract HELP!

 

 

This service is designed to assist:

 

 

If you think you need help here, mail us and we'll discuss it.

 

We'll charge on a time basis, and although we can't give a fixed price, we can accept a 'ceiling' - ie 'don't let the bill get to more than £x without my ok'. In most cases we can give initial advice and (if necessary) help to get things started for between 1 and 2.5 hours work. And we can keep you informed of the cost throughout.

 

Confidentiality applies, of course. We will acknowledge your right of confidentiality in connection with anything you disclose to us, and we will not disclose it to anyone else save to such extent as may be authorized by you or required by law.

 

Here's an extract from an unsolicited mail a client sent me after I'd recently helped him out:

*From:* [name & email available on request]
*To:* roger@egos.co.uk

 

Roger,

 

This message is to thank you for your help and advice regarding the difficulties I had recovering payment from my agency.

 

The agent was legally well represented and although their position was unfair and wrong, I suspected I would end up losing.

It was a desperately unsettling experience for me and one which I wish I had been better equipped to deal with. The best decision I made was to contact you.

 

I received the following invaluable assistance.

 

- A calm and authoritative voice of experience, which above all reduced my feelings of panic and allowed me to view the situation more rationally.

 

- Highly professional and prompt service. I was extremely impressed with the speed at which you reviewed and responded to the documentation I forwarded to you.

 

- Production of highly effective letters to my adversary. The bottom line is I would not have known what to say, and the letters you provided WORKED!

 

Thank you once again, I would (and will) highly recommend your services to anyone facing contractual legal problems.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

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This page was last updated on 2nd August 2008

 

© Egos Consultancy Ltd - ecl@egos.co.uk  1996 - 2008 - All rights reserved - see full copyright details

 

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