Contracting abroad: a legal guide for IT contractors

There are some ‘pre-flight’ legal checks that UK-based contractors who wish to work overseas should make in advance of signing on the dotted line, writes David Buckle, head of the employment practice at Cubism Law.

These checks can be applied by the contractor who will be working remotely, such as online from the UK, and are also recommended for the contractor who will be working in the end-user’s country in person.  At a minimum, the checks contractors should run are two-fold:

1.     Make sure any contract with the party that stipulates payment to you (the contractor) specifically identifies the law that applies and where any dispute would be heard

2.     Make sure that, if supplying services from the UK to another jurisdiction or actually working in another jurisdiction, obtain local advice on any regional regulations which may apply

For the extra diligent contractor, the checks are likely to be three-fold. Because as well as carrying out the above examination, also explore how your contract could be enforced should a dispute, or worse, arise. As this downloadable guide makes clear, for an independent contractor doing business overseas, being forewarned is to be forearmed. 

Download 'Contracting abroad: a legal guide for IT contractors', by David Buckle, here.