Interesting news from the UK this week - a case in the high court - where a client agreed to something in an whatsapp message, then tried to change their mind down the line - the judge upheld the original agreement is binding.
I have, for YEARS been saying freelancers should never work without a contract, and a text message here and there, even emails, where a client agrees to something isn't sufficient - a proper written contract is essential for your protection.
I've said this because I've seen to many clients try to wiggle out of things which they casually agree to, and then later claim they didn't - and having something formally signed felt a much stronger protection.
But this ruling upholds that a whatsapp message, or other casual conversations such as a slack DM or teams chat - can be upheld as a contract, providing all of the criteria which make a contract are in place (a clear offer, an acceptance of that offer, price or scope and intent).
This is a positive for freelancers, if you've had a conversation where your client has said you've got the work over a text, and then they walk that back or claim otherwise, you are more likely to have a contract in place which you could hold them accountable.
However, contracts work both ways - if you've said you'll do something over a text too, that means you might be held to that agreement as well.
The court also upheld that "we'll send a contract later" doesn't necessarily allow you to walk back what was agreed earlier in a later formalised agreement either, and that loose ambiguous wording can trip you up too.
What does this mean for freelancers?
Good thing: If a client has agreed to something in a whatsapp, email, DM or similar, and it looks like a contract, it probably is a contract, and can be legally binding - giving you more protection if they try and get out of it later.
Bad thing: If you agree to something in a whatsapp, that's a contract, and might be harder to get out of later! And also, in some ways, I worry that this means more freelancers will be okay "working without a formalised contract", assuming a whatsapp is sufficient.
However, if you do have a situation where there was no contract, but you do have a conversation where things are being agreed to - you may have a better chance at having that agreement defended in court.
Of course, this only really means if you're willing to take these sort of disputes to adjudication, take legal action or similar. If you're just having an argument with a client who refuses to accept that they've agreed to something, you might still have a hard time.
So, our recommendations lie unchanged - don't work without a formalised contract, which clearly outlines:
Who’s contracting (legal names)
Scope & outputs (clear deliverables, what’s excluded)
Fees & cadence (day rate or fixed, one invoice per month, expenses)
Payment terms (net 30 days from invoice, interest on late)
IP & usage (when rights transfer; portfolio use)
Confidentiality & data (especially if handling client/customer data)
Change control (how extras are approved and priced)
Kill fee / termination (and what’s payable)
Notices (where official notices/invoices must be sent)
If a client is pushing to agree things in Whatsapp, encourage them to move over to email and sign things via a document, not chat, and certainly not a phonecall! If you must negotiate in DMs, prefix with ‘subject to contract’ and move swiftly to a signed document.
Get into the habit of getting contracts in place for every project - a couple of hours of effort can save many days of headache down the line.
Check out our longer resource on contracts over here, for signposting to what you should be including in a contract, and examples of boilerplate or templates you can build upon.
