Virtual assistant contract template: what to include
Settle employment status first: it decides which virtual assistant contract you need. Then cover services, notice, payment, confidentiality, who owns the work and UK GDPR data-processing terms.
Tools our VAs use for this
A virtual assistant contract should name the parties and cover the services, term and notice, fees and payment, confidentiality, data protection, ownership of the work, and liability and governing law. In the UK, settle employment status first, because it decides which contract you need. If the VA will see personal data, the agreement needs data-processing terms under UK GDPR Article 28.
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What is a virtual assistant contract?
A virtual assistant contract is the written agreement between your business and whoever provides your VA: what the VA will do, for how long, for what fee, and on what terms about confidentiality, data and ownership. "Contract", "agreement" and "terms" mean the same thing here.
Freelancer contract versus agency service agreement
With a freelancer, you contract directly with one self-employed person. With a managed agency, you contract with the agency, which recruits and supervises the VA, so the agreement also covers cover and replacement. Most templates assume the first. If you are comparing agencies, read each provider's virtual assistant agreement against the checklist below; our virtual assistant agreement page shows what a managed admin service includes.
Why a written contract matters
Without one, you and the VA can remember the scope, fee or notice differently, with nothing to settle it. The usual mistakes are a template that does not match the set-up, no data protection terms, and no word on who owns the work.
Employment status and IR35 in the UK
A UK VA can be an employee, a worker or self-employed, and IR35 applies if they work through their own limited company, so check status before you choose a contract. This is general information, not legal advice.
Employee, worker or self-employed
GOV.UK's employment status guidance lists the main types, including worker, employee and self-employed and contractor, and says a person can have a different status for employment law and for tax. The label in the contract does not decide status on its own: if you control the hours, supervise the method and provide the equipment, the relationship may look like employment.
An employee needs an employment contract, not a services agreement. GOV.UK's guidance on the written statement of employment particulars says the principal statement is due on the first day and the wider statement within 2 months of the start. Our virtual assistant job description covers what the role description implies.
IR35 and off-payroll working
HMRC's guidance on off-payroll working (IR35) says the rules apply where a worker provides services through an intermediary, such as their own limited company. In most cases the client decides the worker's status; where the client is small and outside the public sector, the worker's intermediary decides. If your VA works through a limited company, read that guidance before you sign.
Status under a managed agency
With an agency, you buy a service from a company that employs or engages the VA, so recruitment, supervision and the VA's own terms sit with the agency. The clauses below still apply, plus cover and replacement.
What a virtual assistant contract should include
Parties and scope of services
Name both parties in full, with addresses and company numbers. Describe the work in a schedule: the tasks, systems, hours or outcomes, what is out of scope, and how new work is added by written agreement. Our guide to admin tasks to delegate can help you list what goes in the schedule.
Term, notice and termination
State the start date, the first term, how it renews and the notice each side must give, plus the right to end it at once for a serious breach. We have not found an official source that sets a standard notice period for a contractor or agency agreement, so agree one that suits both sides.
Fees, invoicing and late payment
Set the rate, what it includes, how hours are recorded, and when invoices are issued and due. GOV.UK's guidance on charging interest on late commercial payments says statutory interest on business-to-business debts is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, and that it cannot be claimed if the contract sets a different rate.
Confidentiality
Require the VA to keep your business and customer information confidential during the agreement and after it ends, with an exception for disclosure required by law. With an agency, check its own staff sign confidentiality agreements too.
Intellectual property: who owns the work
Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 11(2), an employer is first owner of copyright in work an employee makes in the course of employment, subject to any agreement. A freelancer or agency is not your employee, and section 90(3) says an assignment of copyright is not effective unless it is in writing and signed by or on behalf of the assignor. So the contract should assign ownership of everything made for you to your business, in writing, signed.
Restrictions, liability and governing law
We have not found an official source on whether non-compete or non-solicitation clauses are enforceable in a services agreement, so keep any restriction narrow and take advice. Set any liability cap, the insurance each side holds, the governing law (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) and which courts handle disputes.
Cover and replacement (agency agreements)
Say what happens when your VA is on holiday, ill or leaves, how quickly a replacement arrives, and whether it costs extra. Freelancer contracts rarely cover this.
Clauses at a glance
| Clause | What it should say |
|---|---|
| Parties and scope | Full legal names; tasks, systems and hours in a schedule; what is out of scope |
| Term and termination | Start date, first term, renewal, notice for each side, ending for serious breach |
| Fees and payment | Rate, what it includes, invoicing, due dates, late payment |
| Confidentiality | What is confidential, for how long, permitted disclosure |
| Data protection | Article 28 terms, sub-processors, return or deletion at the end |
| Intellectual property | Written, signed assignment of the work to your business |
| Restrictions and law | Any narrow restriction, liability cap, insurance, governing law |
| Cover and replacement | Holiday and sickness cover, replacement terms (agency) |
Data protection clauses and system access
UK GDPR data-processing agreement
When a VA handles personal data for you, your business is usually the controller and the VA or agency the processor. UK GDPR Article 28(3) says the processing must be governed by a contract that binds the processor and sets out the subject-matter, duration, nature and purpose of the processing; Article 28(3)(b) requires the people processing the data to be committed to confidentiality, and Article 28(2) bars another processor without your written authorisation. The ICO's guidance on contracts between controllers and processors explains what the contract must include.
Access, overseas VAs and offboarding
Write in how access is given and removed: logins through a password manager, never by email, at the lowest level that does the job. If the VA works outside the UK, personal data may leave the country, which has its own rules set out in the ICO's guidance on international transfers; ask the provider how it handles this and get the answer in writing. At the end, the VA should return or delete your data and confirm it in writing, and you should remove every login and change shared passwords. If the VA will run your calendar, see our guide to diary management for a virtual assistant.
Contract checklist to copy
Paste this into your draft and tick each line, or use it to read a provider's terms before you sign.
Word checklist of what a UK VA contract should cover, with tick boxes and a clauses table (.docx, Word, 39 KB)
- [ ] Parties named in full, with addresses and company numbers
- [ ] Employment status decided, and the right kind of contract chosen
- [ ] IR35 checked if the VA works through a limited company
- [ ] Services in a schedule, with what is out of scope
- [ ] Start date, first term, renewal and notice for each side
- [ ] Rate, invoicing, due dates and late payment terms
- [ ] Confidentiality during and after the agreement
- [ ] Data-processing terms under UK GDPR Article 28, sub-processors only with your written authorisation
- [ ] Access through a password manager, and how it is removed
- [ ] Data returned or deleted at the end, confirmed in writing
- [ ] Written, signed assignment of ownership of the work
- [ ] Liability, insurance, governing law and courts
- [ ] Cover and replacement terms (agency)
Using a template or a lawyer
A template, worked through against the checklist, is a sound start for a simple arrangement: one VA, routine admin, limited personal data. Take advice when status or IR35 is unclear, the VA will handle sensitive data, you want restrictive clauses, or the spend is large. One template can cover several VAs on the same terms: keep the main terms in one agreement and put each VA's tasks, hours and fee in a schedule.
Using a virtual assistant agency's agreement
Ant Assist provides a dedicated admin VA. The initial term is 12 months, including a 3-month probation in which you can end the engagement without penalty. After 12 months it continues monthly with 30 days' notice. The full terms are in our terms and conditions.
- Dedicated, UK-managed VA, never shared, recruited, managed and supervised from our own managed office in Cairo, working full time from there, not a freelancer and not AI.
- From 20 hours a week up to a full 40-hour VA, on UK business hours, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
- NDAs and data-processing agreements, password managers and revocable access.
- Replacement without restart cost.
To see the cost for your hours, use the calculator or read virtual assistant cost in the UK.
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