Confidentiality Agreements

If you ever have used a subcontractor or a vendor, you may be familiar with the use of confidentiality agreements. This is an agreement which is usually part of an employment agreement and quite similar to an NDA. By signing a confidentiality agreement, the contractor agrees to not disclose any information about the employer. This can include trade secrets, operations, or customer lists that the contractor may have been given throughout their project. Whenever a subcontractor is hired, a confidentiality agreement should be signed and kept in a record. The consultant / independent contractor and employer should have signed and dated copies of the confidentiality agreements.

What confidentiality agreements allow are employers to hire a subcontract on a work-by-assignment basis. This means the independent contractor will not be used exclusively and does not have to accept any work they do not seem fit. Any work which is accepted by the independent contractor is by choice. The employer decides to hire the subcontractor for the project or not. Confidentiality agreements protect each party and are in place for usually one year during the project and one year after the project is completed. ContractEdge.com offers a work template which allows the consultant to use when deemed fit.

Confidentiality agreements help to ensure that any subcontractor you may hire performs the expected services that a client wants. This agreement helps clearly state what level of services must be complete, the price and payment terms, and remedies if the client is not satisfied with the level of services provided. With a confidentiality agreement, the intellectual property rights are protected as well as your confidential information is protected as well. A non-compete agreement is sometimes included in a confidentiality agreement. This means the subcontractor cannot work for a competitor in the same industry for a certain amount of time after leaving the first employer.

ContractEdge confidentiality agreements include: Scope of Services, Price and Payment Terms, Term and Termination, Intellectual Property Ownership, Confidential Information, Subcontractor Duties and Obligations, and a Statement of Work.