This document is a consultancy agreement, where the consultant is retained by the partnership.

This agreement includes the basic terms and conditions usually governing the relationship between a partnership and consultant engaged to provide services to a business.

What is the difference between consultant and employee?

Before engaging a consultant, it is important for the partnership to consider the merits of hiring a consultant, as opposed to an employee, to provide the services required.

It is of vital importance that a consultancy agreement sets out that the relationship between the parties is not one of employer and employee. The manner in which the consultancy services are to be provided, and the remuneration to be paid, must not be capable of being construed as an employer/employee relationship. Failure to set this out clearly will potentially result in the consultant being entitled to statutory employee entitlements such as superannuation, leave, etc.

This document has been authored for LexisNexis by Michael Heraghty, Partner, TressCox Lawyers, Rosemarie Ryan, Barrister and Elise Margow, Principal, Legally Speaking.

This document is prepared with the assistance of Specialist Editor Stephen Newman, Executive Counsel, Ponte Earle.