This agreement comes handy when you or your organisation is planning to appoint an external consultant to work on a specific task or assignment for your company. A consultant is generally an expert in his own field who will assist in providing specialized solutions for a temporary period.
In the best interest of both of the company and the consultant, the agreement need to be secured by a written contract laying out basic and specific groundwork for future collaboration. The consultancy agreement will not only safeguard your interests in data protection and intellectual property matters but also serve as a proof if there is a dispute or litigation.
The consultant is an independent contractor and cannot be considered as an employee of the company thus making him ineligible to receive the same benefits as an employee on the rolls.
A consultant is hired on a set of exclusive terms and conditions.
You are hired to fulfill a specific long/short term task for the company. They may decide to let you go after the contract term is over or even extend it if the project demands.
You can always negotiate to check if there can be an opportunity to convert the contractor relationship to that of a permanent employee.
You can always include a clause that restricts the consultant from working with a competitor in the contract. Ensure, you discuss and stress on “why” this clause was included. It is very important you educate the consultant before bringing him on board.
In most cases you’ll not qualify as you’re not an employee of the company.This will be detailed in the agreement made by you with the employer. Even benefits like provident fund and E.S.I may not be in your reach.
During your stint at the company, you may have access to confidential information that includes access to patented information, sensitive data, trade secrets etc. They expect you to safeguard this information by not disclosing it to the outside world. This clause bars you from letting out any proprietary information.