Legislation in England and Wales usually favours employers where there is a doubt as to whether an employee or their employer owns IP rights for the employees work. There are multiple statutory provisions which automatically give an employer the ownership of patents, copyright, database rights, unregistered designs and registered designs for works created by their employees in certain circumstances. If you are a consultant however, the rights to the product of the consultancy work will belong to you as the consultant unless there is an express contractual agreement to the contrary.