What does the contract chain look like?
Usually two contracts. Between the client and the agency: a framework agreement, with an order or a statement of work for each assignment. Between the agency and you, or your company: a subcontracting agreement for that assignment, which sets your day rate and the rules that apply to you.
You do not sign with the client. You invoice the agency for the days worked, often on the basis of timesheets approved by the client, and the agency invoices the client at its own rate. The difference is the agency’s margin.
When do you get paid?
When your contract says, within legal limits. Since 1 February 2022, the default payment term between businesses is 30 days, and a contract cannot set more than 60 calendar days. If payment is late, interest is due automatically, without formal notice, plus a €40 lump sum for recovery costs, as Credendo summarises.
Some contracts make your payment depend on the client paying the agency first. Read that clause closely: it shifts the client’s payment risk onto you. Ask for a fixed term counted from your invoice instead.
What should you check in your contract?
- The day rate, what counts as a day, and how overtime or weekend work is handled
- The payment term and the timesheet approval process
- The notice period on both sides, and what happens if the client ends the assignment early
- Liability caps and the insurance you are asked to hold
- Non-solicitation clauses that limit working for the client directly after the assignment
- Intellectual property and confidentiality
How these terms affect a later move to a permanent job is covered in how the switch from contract to permanent works.
Is this the same as staff augmentation?
Close, but not the same. Staff augmentation usually refers to employees of a supplier working in a client’s team, and the law of 24 July 1987 limits the authority a client can exercise over them. As a freelancer, the question is different: you must keep the freedom of a self-employed person.
If the client sets your hours, approves your holidays and gives you an employee’s instructions, the relationship can be requalified, as explained in what false self-employment is. To see the assignments currently open through agencies and direct clients, browse the current contract and permanent roles.
