Self Employed Worker Help

[virtuald]

HI,

I work self employed for many clients, all of these clients have signed my terms and conditions before starting work with me however one company I work for i had to sign their terms and conditions.

The owner of this company has recently sold the company and the new owner has now took over and has started making changes verbally and via email but there hasn't, been any consultation on this nor have we been asked to sign a new set of terms and conditions.

Do the old terms and conditions still stand?

Do I have to agree to the new terms and conditions?

Should he issue us with a new set of terms and conditions?

Any help would be greatly received.

Many thanks,

 

[james_firmsites]

What type of business are they? You mention them being a company, if they are LTD/PLC then they would have signed contracts on behalf of the company and when the company was purchased that would not effect you as the entity (the company) you have a contract with is still the same.

If they are a sole trader then they may have signed something in the purchase of the business to state they took on all existing contracts but I would advise you ask them to sign a new one.

NB: Not a legal expert in any way, just have had similar contract issues before with clients

 

[virtuald]

Hi,

Thanks for your quick reply.

This particular company that I work for on a Self Employed basis is not Ltd or a PLC just a sole trader and the person who as purchased the company is a Ltd company.

They haven't asked me to sign a new contract with the new owners and I want to know if the one I previously signed is still valid.

Many Thanks,

 

[james_firmsites]

That gets more complex, as I understand it, it might depend on if your contract with the previous owner has assignment clauses (specifying what happens on either sides transfer) and if their contract of purchase required them to acquire previous contracts.

If the business that you signed with (his sole trader one) no longer exists I would suggest the safest option is to ask this new company to re-sign.

 

[Newchodge]

If you had a contract with a sole trader it cannot just be transferred to a new owner, another sole trader or a limited company. They and you need to agree a new contract, unless the old contract has a clause about transferring. That would change things.

 

[paulears]

I'm a little surprised that as a service provider to them, they want to have you sign their terms and conditions? I suppose it depends what is in them, but being self-employed means you have the right to this, and the right to that - as in times, who does it, who instigates etc etc, and for them to set terms could easily mean you become an employee, which isn't what you want. Normally as self-employed, you're just a contractor, so the only terms I agree to from people I work for tend to be safety or legal ones - the kinds of terms that try to keep things safe and legal.

If you are working for a 'new' company, with new name, payment info and staff, then treat it like any new client and see if it fits what you do? The old one would seem to have ceased with the company.