Freelancer agreement

Freelancer agreement

A freelancer agreement is a contract between a freelance, self-employed contractor and a client. The contractor is not part of the client’s work organisation, but performs the tasks without being an employee of the client. For this reason freelancers are also referred to as “freelance collaborators”. If the contractor owes a specific work result, the freelancer agreement may, in addition to contract law provisions pursuant to Art. 394 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR), also include works contract provisions according to Art. 363 et seq. OR.

In a freelancer agreement, it is important that the contractual relationship is clearly defined. The agreement should clearly indicate whether the law of agency or labour law is applicable in order to avoid questions of definition under employment and social security law. For the client it is particularly important that the contractor is qualified as a self-employed person with respect to social security law. Otherwise, there is a risk that the client may have to pay the contractor social security contributions in addition to the agreed compensation during or after the processing of the order.