At some point in your freelance career you’ll find yourself wanting to end a contract early. Common reasons freelancers wish to terminate their contract are down to:
- scope changes. The work you’re now doing doesn’t reflect what you signed up for
- the relationship with your client becomes strained
- work impacts your mental health. The stress of the project can leave you feeling like you’re unable to bring your best self
The problem with prematurely ending your involvement is that it can cause roadblocks for your client. They may have rights to recover damages from you as a result.
Roadblocks that could happen if ending a contract early
Onboarding a new freelancer and getting them up to speed takes time and is an additional, likely unexpected cost for your client. There might be a deadline looming that your client is now going to miss. Or perhaps there are other ramifications from the work being unfinished.
It’s not difficult to see how quitting a project early could cause issues for your client. For this reason, the most important thing to consider is that we’re not breaching the contract terms and we make the transition as smooth as possible.
This is why it’s so important to have a termination clause in contracts—whether it’s your own contract or one you’re entering into.
What to include in your termination clause
At a minimum the termination clause will outline the notice period each party has to give. Is it 7 days? 1 month?
Depending on the nature of your services, it’s also a good idea to touch upon the procedure of handover at the point of termination and anything else to ensure your exit can be wrapped up smoothly. Who owns the copyright to the work that’s been done? What will happen with any data or deliverables?
A freelancer’s reputation is everything. We know you want to avoid burning bridges with clients. Having a blueprint to follow ensures both parties know what to expect in the event either of you want to stop working together.
If there is an express clause for you to follow, you are reducing the likelihood of a fallout with your client.
What to do if your contract doesn’t have a termination clause
It’s best you speak to a legal expert to obtain advice about ending a contract early without explicit terms. You can use the legal advice helpline included with your legal expenses insurance. The number is on your insured schedule.
Not having a termination clause isn’t ideal, but there are still best practices to follow if quitting early. We suggest the following.
Have a frank conversation with your client. If you feel unable to continue, it’s best to broach this subject as soon as possible. The worst thing you can do is pretend everything is under control but gradually fall further behind with your work. This can lead to bigger problems between you and your client. Good communication can prevent a lot of headaches.
Have measures in place to ensure a smooth transition. If the deliverables are organised and ready for handover, or there’s detailed documentation available for the next hire, communicate this with your client. The simpler you can make the onboarding of the next freelancer, the easier and quicker your exit will be.
Compromise on an end date. Since there’s no official notice period, you can agree on a time you’ll continue to work that enables you to wrap up any small tasks and ensure the transition is smooth.
Of course, having reasonable conversations with a difficult client isn’t always possible. One of the common reasons we see freelancers wanting to end a contract is that their relationship with the client is suffering.
This is where having professional indemnity insurance will come in handy. It can help if your client does pick a fight, whether that means they’re trying to recover damages as a result of the project ending or they’re threatening legal action.
Tl;dr
It’s best to have a termination clause written into your contract. If it’s a fixed term contract without any termination rights then you can find yourself stuck.
If you need to end a project prematurely without a termination clause, use the legal advice helpline included in your legal expenses insurance to obtain legal advice.
There are best practices to follow if you don’t have a termination clause. Being open and frank with your client, documenting a handover phase and compromising on an end date.
Having professional indemnity insurance can help where difficult clients are concerned. It gives you some protection around a client recovering monetary damages or pursuing legal action.
