If you’ve been freelancing for more than about five minutes, you’ve probably met this scenario:
You send your beautifully clear KoffeeKlatch terms.
Your client signs.
You breathe out.
And then — just as you’re about to get on with the actual work — they email:
“Here’s our contract. Please sign and return.”
At which point your stomach sinks, because this is the moment when many freelancers think the wrong thing:
“Well… maybe both contracts can run together? Mine protects me. Theirs protects them. Belt and braces?”
No.
Not belt and braces.
More like wearing two seatbelts attached to two different cars.
Signing two contracts for the same work creates conflicting legal obligations, overridden protections, and an almighty mess if there’s ever a dispute. It is never the professional thing to do — even when the client genuinely thinks it’s normal.
Let’s pull this apart so you can handle it confidently.
Why two contracts can’t apply at the same time
A contract isn’t a friendly preference sheet. It’s the legal backbone of your working relationship. When you sign two contracts covering the same work, same period, same services, you create a situation the law cannot apply cleanly.
Here’s what actually happens:
1. Conflicting clauses collide
Payment terms, notice periods, IP ownership, confidentiality, liability, GDPR duties — if the two contracts say different things (and they nearly always do), they can’t both be true.
2. One contract usually overrides the other
In practice, the later contract often takes precedence, especially where terms contradict.
So if your client signs your contract first… and then convinces you to sign theirs… guess which one you’re now stuck with?
3. In a dispute, you lose clarity
A judge doesn’t merge two contracts into a smoothie. They select the document that appears to govern the relationship — often the one signed most recently or the one with broader scope.
That means your carefully crafted KoffeeKlatch protections — the ones tailored to freelancers, scope creep, payment, intellectual property, and GDPR — can vanish without anyone noticing until it’s too late.
Why clients do this
Clients have often not read the contracts you sent them and just signed them. They don’t know what they have already agreed.
Sometimes someone tells them you need to issue a contract to be protected.
Clients think more documents = more protection.
They often assume they“need” their own contract in place, or someone has told them that.
And many freelancers panic-sign because they think refusing makes them look awkward or unprofessional.
What makes you look professional is knowing how contracts actually work (which is why we spend so much time at KoffeeKlatch helping you to understand what your documents actually mean in the real world you operate in).
What to do when a client sends their contract after signing yours
Rather than just sign, or refuse to sign or panic (we see all of those options in our customer support group) here are some options for an initial response, which keeps you in control.:
1. Reassure and reset the frame
“Thanks — I’ll take a look.”
You’re not refusing to engage. You’re refusing to create a contradictory legal situation.
2. Explain the issue briefly
“Two contracts covering the same services create conflicting obligations. It’s safer and clearer for both of us to work from one agreement.”
Clients respond well to “safer for both of us.”
3. Invite specifics
“What parts of your document were you looking to include?”
Nine times out of ten, what they want is already in your contract — they simply haven’t read it.
4. If something genuinely needs adding
No problem.
They can request a change to your contract, and you can agree a variation.
One role. One agreement.
That’s what keeps everything enforceable.
5. If what they really need is a data processing agreement
Great.
It’s the clients job as a Data Controller to issue a data processing agreement. It is not necessary to issue an entire contract to do this. You can both jointly complete the Data Processing form and documents in your pack to create one, or use theirs. But you need to read theirs carefully (and understand it) before you sign it as it is not unusual for one or more points in that agreement to contradict your main contract.
These things need to be identified and sorted out.
When you absolutely should not sign up for
If you’re tempted to just “sign and crack on,” look out for these clauses that can destroy your business model:
- Unlimited liability (no freelancer should ever agree to this and you can’t insure for this)
- IP grab clauses that assign all copyright to the client
- Payment terms of 45–90 days
- Termination rights that let them cancel instantly while you cannot
- Clauses requiring data handling that breaches UK GDPR
These are not “tweakable.” They’re structural problems.
This is often large organisations putting all the risk of the contract onto sole traders! This is not a fair practise – and certainly at the type of rates you’d normally be charging.
How this connects to understanding client contracts
If you want help reading a client’s contract — before you decide what to accept or reject — start with our companion guide:
Top Tips on understanding the contracts your client want you to sign
https://www.koffeeklatch.co.uk/top-tips-on-understnding-the-contracts-your-client-want-you-to-sign/
That post walks through the jargon, red-flag clauses, and the terms that matter.
Visit the customer support group to discuss the specific clauses and explore your options.
Thing of it this way
Your contract is your seatbelt.
A second contract strapped over the top doesn’t make you twice as safe — it just tangles you up.
One service.
One relationship.
One contract.
That’s how you protect your boundaries, your income, your time… and keep all your ducks lined up in a row.
