Employment Contract Template for Agency Businesses (UK 2025)
Last updated: February 2025
Why Agency Businesses Need a Employment Contract
Creative and digital agencies face unique employment challenges stemming from client-facing work, tight deadlines, and intellectual property created for third parties. Agency employment contracts must carefully navigate who owns creative work - the employee, the agency, or the client - while addressing the demanding nature of agency culture including overtime expectations, flexible hours, and project-based performance bonuses. Restrictive covenants are especially important given the risk of employees leaving to join clients directly.
Key Clauses for Agency
- IP assignment for all client deliverables and internal work
- Client non-solicitation covenant for 6-12 months post-departure
- Overtime and flexible hours provisions with TOIL policy
- Portfolio usage rights after departure
Common Mistakes
- Not clarifying that creative work produced for clients belongs to the agency, not the employee
- Failing to include a client non-solicitation clause to prevent employees taking client relationships
Template Sections
- Client confidentiality and information handling obligations
- Overtime and time-off-in-lieu policy
- Portfolio and attribution rights clause
FAQ
Can agency employees use client work in their personal portfolio?
Only if the employment contract explicitly permits it. Best practice is to include a portfolio clause allowing sanitised or already-published work samples after a specified period, subject to client confidentiality requirements. Without such a clause, all work belongs to the agency and sharing it could breach confidentiality obligations.
How do I prevent agency staff from poaching clients when they leave?
Include a client non-solicitation clause restricting the employee from soliciting or servicing agency clients for 6-12 months after leaving. UK courts will uphold these if they are reasonable in scope and duration. Pair this with a garden leave clause for senior client-facing staff who have deep client relationships.
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Get Started FreeThis is guidance for UK businesses, not legal advice. Templates are illustrative. Consult a solicitor for complex matters.
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