Free Consultancy Terms and Conditions: Cover
Free Consultancy Terms and Conditions: Cover
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Consultancy terms and conditions
Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully. All contracts that the Consultant
may enter into from time to time for the provision of [consultancy services] shall be
governed by these Terms and Conditions, and the Consultant will ask the Client for
the Client's express written acceptance of these Terms and Conditions before
providing any [consultancy services] to the Client.
1. Definitions
1.1 In these Terms and Conditions[, except to the extent expressly provided
otherwise]:
(b) [such amounts as may be agreed in writing by the parties from time to
time]; and
"Third Party Materials" means the works and/or materials comprised in the
Deliverables (excluding the Client Materials), the Intellectual Property Rights
in which are owned by a third party[, and which are specified in Section 4 of
the Statement of Work or which the parties agree in writing shall be
incorporated into the Deliverables].
2. Credit
2.1 This document was created using a template from SEQ Legal
([Link]
You must retain the above credit. Use of this document without the credit is an
infringement of copyright. However, you can purchase from us an equivalent
document that does not include the credit.
3. Term
3.1 The Contract shall come into force upon the Effective Date.
3.3 Unless the parties expressly agree otherwise in writing, each Statement of
Work shall create a distinct contract under these Terms and Conditions.
4. Services
4.1 The Consultant shall provide the Services to the Client in accordance with
these Terms and Conditions.
4.2 The Consultant shall provide the Services [with reasonable skill and care] OR
[in accordance with the standards of skill and care reasonably expected from
a leading service provider in the Consultant's industry] OR [[specify
standard(s)]].
5. Deliverables
5.2 The Client must promptly, following receipt of a written request from the
Consultant to do so, provide written feedback to the Consultant concerning
the Consultant's proposals, plans, designs and/or preparatory materials
relating to the Deliverables and made available to the Client with that written
request.
5.3 The Consultant shall [ensure] OR [use its best endeavours to ensure] OR [use
reasonable endeavours to ensure] that the Deliverables are delivered to the
Client in accordance with the timetable set out in Section 5 of the Statement
of Work.
(a) [the Deliverables will conform with the requirements of Section 4 of the
Statement of Work[ as at the date of delivery of the Deliverables]];
6. Licence
7.1 The Client shall pay the Charges to the Consultant in accordance with these
Terms and Conditions.
7.2 All amounts stated in or in relation to these Terms and Conditions are, unless
the context requires otherwise, stated [inclusive of any applicable value
added taxes] OR [exclusive of any applicable value added taxes, which will be
added to those amounts and payable by the Client to the Consultant].
8. Payments
8.1 The Consultant shall issue invoices for the Charges to the Client [from time to
time during the Term] OR [on or after the invoicing dates set out in Section 7
of the Statement of Work] OR [at any time after the relevant Services have
been delivered to the Client] OR [in advance of the delivery of the relevant
Services to the Client].
8.2 The Client must pay the Charges to the Consultant within the period of [30
days] following [the issue of an invoice in accordance with this Clause 8] OR
[the receipt of an invoice issued in accordance with this Clause 8].
8.3 The Client must pay the Charges by [debit card, credit card, direct debit,
bank transfer or cheque] (using such payment details as are notified by the
Consultant to the Client from time to time).
8.4 If the Client does not pay any amount properly due to the Consultant under
these Terms and Conditions, the Consultant may:
(a) charge the Client interest on the overdue amount at the rate of [8% per
annum above the Bank of England base rate from time to time] (which
interest will accrue daily until the date of actual payment and be
compounded at the end of each calendar month); or
(b) claim interest and statutory compensation from the Client pursuant to
the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
9. Warranties
(a) [the Consultant has the legal right and authority to enter into the
Contract and to perform its obligations under these Terms and
Conditions];
(b) [the Consultant will comply with all applicable legal and regulatory
requirements applying to the exercise of the Consultant's rights and the
fulfilment of the Consultant's obligations under these Terms and
Conditions]; and
(c) [the Consultant has or has access to all necessary know-how, expertise
and experience to perform its obligations under these Terms and
Conditions].
[additional list items]
9.2 The Client warrants to the Consultant that it has the legal right and authority
to enter into the Contract and to perform its obligations under these Terms
and Conditions.
9.3 All of the parties' warranties and representations in respect of the subject
matter of the Contract are expressly set out in these Terms and Conditions
and the applicable Statement of Work. Subject to Clause 10.1, no other
warranties or representations will be implied into the Contract and no other
warranties or representations relating to the subject matter of the Contract
will be implied into any other contract.
(a) limit or exclude any liability for death or personal injury resulting from
negligence;
(c) limit any liabilities in any way that is not permitted under applicable
law; or
(d) exclude any liabilities that may not be excluded under applicable law.
10.2 The limitations and exclusions of liability set out in this Clause 10 and
elsewhere in these Terms and Conditions:
(b) govern all liabilities arising under these Terms and Conditions or
relating to the subject matter of these Terms and Conditions, including
liabilities arising in contract, in tort (including negligence) and for
breach of statutory duty, except to the extent expressly provided
otherwise in these Terms and Conditions.
10.3 [Neither party shall be liable to the other party] OR [The Consultant shall not
be liable to the Client] OR [The Client shall not be liable to the Consultant] in
respect of any loss of profits or anticipated savings.
10.4 [Neither party shall be liable to the other party] OR [The Consultant shall not
be liable to the Client] OR [The Client shall not be liable to the Consultant] in
respect of any loss of revenue or income.
10.5 [Neither party shall be liable to the other party] OR [The Consultant shall not
be liable to the Client] OR [The Client shall not be liable to the Consultant] in
respect of any loss of use or production.
10.6 [Neither party shall be liable to the other party] OR [The Consultant shall not
be liable to the Client] OR [The Client shall not be liable to the Consultant] in
respect of any loss of business, contracts or opportunities.
10.7 [Neither party shall be liable to the other party] OR [The Consultant shall not
be liable to the Client] OR [The Client shall not be liable to the Consultant] in
respect of any loss or corruption of any data, database or software.
10.8 [Neither party shall be liable to the other party] OR [The Consultant shall not
be liable to the Client] OR [The Client shall not be liable to the Consultant] in
respect of any special, indirect or consequential loss or damage.
11. Termination
11.1 The Consultant may terminate the Contract by giving to the Client [not less
than 30 days'] written notice of termination[, expiring [at the end of any
[calendar month]] OR [after the end of the Minimum Term]]. The Client may
terminate the Contract by giving to the Consultant [not less than 30 days']
written notice of termination[, expiring [at the end of any [calendar month]]
OR [after the end of the Minimum Term]].
OR
11.1 Either party may terminate the Contract by giving to the other party [not less
than 30 days'] written notice of termination[, expiring [at the end of any
[calendar month]] OR [after the end of the Minimum Term]].
11.2 Either party may terminate the Contract immediately by giving written notice
of termination to the other party if:
(a) the other party commits any [breach] OR [material breach] of the
Contract[, and the breach is not remediable];
11.3 Either party may terminate the Contract immediately by giving written notice
of termination to the other party if:
(i) is dissolved;
(c) an order is made for the winding up of the other party, or the other
party passes a resolution for its winding up[ (other than for the purpose
of a solvent company reorganisation where the resulting entity will
assume all the obligations of the other party under the Contract)]; or
11.4 The Consultant may terminate the Contract immediately by giving written
notice to the Client if:
(a) any amount due to be paid by the Client to the Consultant under the
Contract is unpaid by the due date and remains unpaid upon the date
that that written notice of termination is given; and
(b) the Consultant has given to the Client at least [30 days'] written notice,
following the failure to pay, of its intention to terminate the Contract in
accordance with this Clause 11.4.
12.1 Upon the termination of the Contract, all of the provisions of these Terms and
Conditions shall cease to have effect, save that the following provisions of
these Terms and Conditions shall survive and continue to have effect (in
accordance with their express terms or otherwise indefinitely): [Clauses 1, 6,
8.2, 8.4, 10, 12, 13.2 and 15].
12.2 Except to the extent that these Terms and Conditions expressly provides
otherwise, the termination of the Contract shall not affect the accrued rights
of either party.
13.2 The termination of the Contract will not constitute unfair dismissal; nor will
the Consultant be entitled to any compensation payments, redundancy
payments or similar payments upon the termination of the Contract.
14. Subcontracting
14.1 The Consultant must not subcontract any of its obligations under the Contract
without the prior written consent of the Client[, providing that the Client must
not unreasonably withhold or delay the giving of such consent].
OR
14.1 Subject to any express restrictions elsewhere in these Terms and Conditions,
the Consultant may subcontract any of its obligations under the Contract[,
providing that the Consultant must give to the Client, promptly following the
appointment of a subcontractor, a written notice specifying the subcontracted
obligations and identifying the subcontractor in question].
14.2 The Consultant shall remain responsible to the Client for the performance of
any subcontracted obligations.
15. General
15.1 No breach of any provision of the Contract shall be waived except with the
express written consent of the party not in breach.
15.3 The Contract may not be varied except by a written document signed by or
on behalf of each of the parties.
15.4 Neither party may without the prior written consent of the other party assign,
transfer, charge, license or otherwise deal in or dispose of any contractual
rights or obligations under these Terms and Conditions.
15.5 The Contract is made for the benefit of the parties, and is not intended to
benefit any third party or be enforceable by any third party. The rights of the
parties to terminate, rescind, or agree any amendment, waiver, variation or
settlement under or relating to the Contract are not subject to the consent of
any third party.
15.6 Subject to Clause 10.1, these Terms and Conditions shall constitute the entire
agreement between the parties in relation to the subject matter of these
Terms and Conditions, and shall supersede all previous agreements,
arrangements and understandings between the parties in respect of that
subject matter.
15.7 The Contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with [English
law].
15.8 The courts of [England] shall have exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate any
dispute arising under or in connection with the Contract.
STATEMENT OF WORK
1. Client details
2. Minimum Term
3. Specification of Services
[Specify Services]
4. Specification of Deliverables
[Specify Deliverables]
5. Timetable
[Insert timetable]
6. Client Materials
7. Financial provisions
8. Contractual notices
By signing below the parties have indicated their acceptance of this Statement of
Work together with the terms and conditions attached to this Statement of Work[,
providing that if there are no terms and conditions attached to this Statement of
Work, the parties agree that this Statement of Work shall be governed by [the
terms and conditions most recently agreed by the parties in writing]].
........................................
The template includes provisions relating to the services to be provided, the supply
of deliverables, the licensing of rights in the deliverables to the client, the charges
payable by the client, the status of the consultant, subcontracting, and much else
besides.
The particulars of each contract should be set out in a distinct statement of work,
and a skeleton for this document is provided with the template.
This T&Cs document contains the same substantive provisions as the free
consultancy agreement document; only the form is different.
If you wish to use this document without the SEQ Legal credit, you can purchase a
licence to do so; credit aside, the document is identical to the consultancy terms
and conditions (basic) that we publish.
Clause 1: Definitions
Clause 1.1
Definition of Charges
Will all the services be subject to time-based charging, or only some of the
services?
Definition of Consultant
Definition of Deliverables
What type of thing are the deliverables (e.g. written reports, software
programs, graphical works)?
Definition of Term
Define "Term", the period during which the contract will subsist.
Clause 2: Credit
Optional element. Although you need to retain the credit, you should remove the
inline copyright warning from this document before use.
Clause 3: Term
Clause 3.2
Clause 4: Services
Clause 4.2
Clause 5: Deliverables
Optional element.
Clause 5.2
Optional element.
Clause 5.3
Optional element.
Clause 5.4
Optional element.
What warranties will the Consultant give to the Client in relation to the
deliverables?
Should the warranty of conformity only apply at the date of delivery of the
deliverables?
What sort of defects does the Consultant warrant the deliverables will be
free from?
Will this warranty extend to legal rights other than intellectual property
rights?
What (if any) jurisdictional limitations and applicable law limitations should
apply to these warranties?
Clause 6: Licence
Optional element.
Clause 6.1
Do any rights in the deliverables need to be carved out from the licence
(e.g. rights in third party materials)?
Will the licence be limited by reference to the purposes for which the
deliverables may be used?
The rights in which elements of the deliverables should be carved out from
the licence?
For what purposes may the deliverables be used?
Clause 7: Charges
Clause 7.2
Optional element.
Clause 8: Payments
Clause 8.1
Clause 8.2
Clause 8.3
Optional element.
Clause 8.4
Optional element.
Clause 9: Warranties
Optional element.
Clause 9.1
Optional element.
Clause 9.2
Optional element.
The courts are particularly likely to intervene where a party is seeking to rely on a
limitation or exclusion of liability in its standard terms and conditions, but will also
sometimes intervene where a term has been individually negotiated.
The courts may be more likely to rule that provisions excluding liability, as opposed
to those merely limiting liability, are unenforceable.
If there is a risk that any particular limitation or exclusion of liability will be found to
be unenforceable by the courts, that provision should be drafted as an independent
term, and be numbered separately from the other provisions.
Contracts regulated by UCTA cannot exclude or restrict a party's liability for death
or personal injury resulting from negligence (Section 2(1), UCTA).
UCTA includes various other restrictions, particularly in the case of contracts for the
sale of goods and contracts under which possession or ownership of goods passes.
These guidance notes provide a very incomplete and basic overview of a complex
subject. Accordingly, you should take legal advice if you may wish to rely upon a
limitation or exclusion of liability.
Clause 10.1
Do not delete this provision (except upon legal advice). Without this provision, the
specific limitations and exclusions of liability in the document are more likely to be
unenforceable.
Clause 10.3
Optional element.
Clause 10.4
Optional element.
Clause 10.5
Optional element.
Clause 10.6
Optional element.
Clause 10.7
Optional element.
Clause 10.8
Optional element.
"Consequential loss" has a special meaning in English law: it means any loss that,
whilst not arising naturally from the breach, was specifically in the contemplation of
the parties when the contract was made.
Clause 11.1
What is the notice period when the Client is giving the Consultant written
notice of termination?
Clause 11.1
How will the limitation on the expiry of the termination notice period
operate?
Clause 11.2
Should each party have a right to terminate if the other party is persistently
in breach of contract, even where there has been no material breach?
Clause 11.3
Clause 11.4
Optional element.
Optional element.
Clause 13.2
Optional element.
Clause 14.1
Clause 14.1
Clause 15.1
Optional element.
Clause 15.2
Optional element.
Clause 15.3
Optional element.
This is intended to prevent, for example, one party wrongfully claiming that a term
of the contract was changed in a telephone call.
Clause 15.4
Optional element.
Clause 15.5
Optional element.
This provision is designed to exclude any rights a third party may have under the
Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
Clause 15.6
Optional element.
Clause 15.7
This template has been drafted to work in the English law context. If you plan to
change the governing law, you should have the document reviewed by someone
with expertise in the law of the relevant jurisdiction.
Clause 15.8
Optional element.
As a practical matter, it makes sense for the courts with expertise in the relevant
law to have the right to adjudicate disputes. Where one of the parties is outside
England (or at least the UK), you may want to grant the courts of their home
jurisdiction the right to adjudicate disputes, as this could ease enforcement in some
circumstances.
The courts of which jurisdiction will have the exclusive right to adjudicate
disputes relating to the document (subject to applicable law)?
STATEMENT OF WORK
Optional element.
Optional element.
Section 5: Timetable
Optional element.
Optional element.
Add the full name of the person who will sign the document on behalf of the
first party.
On what date is the contract being signed on behalf of the first party?
Add the full name of the person who will sign the document on behalf of the
second party.
On what date is the contract being signed on behalf of the second party?