A VA guide to using contracts
We’re thrilled to present a guest blog from Annabel Kaye of KoffeeKlatch, one of the sponsors from the UK VA Conference.
With nearly two decades of experience in creating contracts for Virtual Assistants, Annabel brings invaluable insights to our community. In this enlightening piece, she delves into the crucial topic of contracts for VAs, addressing common misconceptions and providing practical guidance. Whether you’re a seasoned VA or just starting your journey, Annabel’s expertise will help you navigate the often-confusing world of contracts with confidence.
When I first started creating contracts for Virtual Assistants (almost 20 years ago now) some VA ‘coaches’ said a VA doesn’t need a contract – just get going. That created problems for the VAs who followed that advice. But many VAs are still a bit confused about using contracts, changing them, and what they need to handle.
The UK is more than one country: England and Wales (joined from a legal point of view into one jurisdiction), Scotland and Northern Ireland. The rules are mostly the same for business contracts, but I am going to focus on England and Wales for the moment. I know many VAs are not based in the UK but the same principles apply in many other countries whose legal system is influenced by common law and EU law.
For centuries, there was no need for a written contract in England and Wales. It was just as well as most people couldn’t read or write. A verbal agreement was enough to make a contract if the contract was to do something that wasn’t against the law and both parties intended to make a binding agreement.
It is still possible to make or change a contract by having a conversation, provided the two of you are both intending to do so! The data sharing part now must be in writing – and I will write about that separately.
Who remembers exactly what was said?
The big problem with a verbal agreement is that usually there is no record of the agreement. It seems obvious, but unless you are in the habit of secretly recording all your conversations all there will be is your memory and the other person’s memory.
Human nature being what it is, we all tend to remember things differently. And the stage is set for disappointed expectations (I thought you were including this in the price – I thought it was extra), disputed bills and unhappy customers paying bills slowly if at all.
Society of Virtual Assistants (SVA)
One of the conditions for membership is that you have a written contract to offer your clients.
Changing the contract
Here at KoffeeKlatch, we don’t advise you to change your contracts in a conversation. The contracts we write limit how you can change your contract to updating your Booking form or exchange of emails or something in writing. That works for you and your client too. There should be a clear ‘paperwork trail’ of what was agreed.
If you are signing documents, you can ‘e sign’ them, which is perfectly valid in the UK. Ideally use something that dates and locks the documents when you sign them so that no one can change them afterwards.
Make sure you cover:
- what is changing, is it the type of work, deadlines, price, or hours?
- whether this is a temporary change (if so when the normal arrangements come back) or a permanent one
- when this new arrangement starts – immediately, in a week, first of the month
- what happens to work you are in the middle of, or unused hours etc when the change takes effect
This principle is so useful for changing arrangements once a contract is signed!
Sometimes clients are very happy to give you extra work, but when it comes to getting them to pay for it, they say “I didn’t realise it was extra”. It is always a good idea to have something they have seen (and acknowledged/agreed). We get one or two project-type clients a year at KoffeeKlatch who forget what was included in what they purchased (even though they agreed in writing at that point) and it is so helpful to be able to say – you agreed to this when we sent an email on x date and you replied on y date – here is a copy.
Be sure to check whether any variations in the contract mean a change in the type of personal information your client is sharing with you, as this may trigger the need to update the data processing agreement between you.
Annabel Kaye has been helping VAs with contracts and GDPR support for over 16 years. There have been a lot of changes in that time. Two years ago, year Jo Brianti joined the KoffeeKlatch team as a Director . Together the two of them provide a clear technical support system designed to help VAs create a profitable business that does not ignore the realities and legalities of the way you work today.
