Policies
UK Terms & Conditions
About our Agreement
This document sets out the basic terms that apply to all the work that we do - it is called our TERMS.
Our agreement is made up of these terms, the booking, and the data processing form.
Starting our Agreement
This agreement begins when you sign and return our booking or you tell us to start work, preferably in writing
The Work
What is included
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Please see the booking form for full details of what is included in the work covered by this agreement.Minor changes to be agreed in writing. Major changes will require a new booking form
A. Quality Standards
The Proficient PA works to a high professional standard
If you have specific KPIs or SLAs please make them known to us
B. Communication Standards
Preferred methods of communication will be agreed at time of booking.
Emergency contact methods will also be made known.
Use of different methods may result in messages being missed
C. What we need from you
At time of booking we will agree one person to be our main contact for the work who should have authority to agree payment and sign the contract
In order for work to be carried out in a timely fashion we need you to send us any required information by an agreed date.
Work may be delayed if this information is not received in time.
D. Resolving problems
If the work provided does not meet with your requirements or expectations you should inform us as soon as possible so we can address any problems and get back on track in a timely manner.
Similarly, we will do the same for you.
E. Breaking the agreement
If you (the customer) or we (the supplier) fail to comply with any part of this agreement it is called a breach.
In this case the unsatisfied party should send an email identifying which part of the agreement they believe has been breached and what needs to be done.
If the breach can be resolved and remedied within 14 days the agreement can continue.
If the breach cannot be resolved and remedied within 14 days the unsatisfied party can write to terminate the agreement.
How the Proficient PA works
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Our business model
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The Proficient PA operates as a freelance, independent VA service and is not under your direction or control.
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While working with you we can continue to market our services and work with other clients
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Unless specified otherwise we will provide the tools and equipment required to deliver the services.
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2. Where we work
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The Proficient PA works from our own premises
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Should you wish us to travel elsewhere to work (eg to manage an event) then expenses and travel time will be added to the booking
3. How we work
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We work a set number of hours for you on a weekly or monthly basis or we are paid for a specific project.
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How we assign the hours to each client may vary but you will only be billed for the hours agreed and worked.
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We will provide at least 14 days notice of any planned holiday and office closures.
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If work needs to be paused due to illness we will advise of this as soon as possible.
4. Timelines/deadlines
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When briefing us please advise of any deadlines so we can plan the work appropriately
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If we are not able to meet any deadlines we will advise you as soon as possible.
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If we are not supplied with the required information when we need it; we will not be able to meet your deadlines.
5. Intellectual Property and Copyright
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The Proficient PA retains ownership and copyright for all information and documents we create for you.
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Once you have paid in full; ownership will transfer to you for any unique materials we have created for you and won’t use any of this for other clients.
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We retain ownership of our own templates, structures and methodologies.
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You must not send us anything that will breach anyone else’s rights.
6. Confidentiality
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We will only use your confidential information to perform contracted services or if required to disclose it by law.
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We may keep some confidential information to maintain a record of the work we have done for you.
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We will handle personal data in accordance with our data privacy policy and the data processing form.
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The Proficient PA is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a Data Controller.
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You agree not to disclose or use our confidential information except to support and administer our agreement.
7. Marketing
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We are proud to work with our clients, unless you tell us not to in writing, you grant us permission to mention your name, logo and a general description of what we have done for you in our marketing.
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This may include our portfolio, website and social media.
8. Insurance
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The Proficient PA is insured for Professional Indemnity and Public Liability as stated on the booking form.
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If you wish to see the certificates and policy terms please ask.
Payment Arrangements
1. Payment terms
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There are different ways to use our services.
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The arrangement that applies to you is stated on the booking form.
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Payment is due within 14 days of the invoice date unless otherwise stated
2. Deposits, pre-payments and payment by instalment
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Deposits and pre-payments are due before work commences and are not refundable.
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Payment by instalments are due on the dates laid out in the booking
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If you do not pay on time it may delay any future work even if you have accepted the terms and asked us to start.
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If you pay in advance, we will apply the amounts to your invoices in the order issued.
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These payments must be used within the time specified on the booking and are not transferable or refundable.
3. Retainers
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The Proficient PA does not charge retainer fees at the current time.
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This is subject to change with 30 days’ notice for existing clients
4. Extras
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In certain circumstances we have the right to charge additional fees.
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These include working outside the scope of the booking
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If you ask us to do:
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Extra work
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Out of hours work
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Urgent work (less than 24 hours notice)
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Work that is both out of hours and urgent will incur more than one surcharge
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Expenses incurred while working with you
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If you ask us to travel to another site we will add travel time and expenses to your invoice
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If we incur expenses on your behalf
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If you pay via PayPal or credit card
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Costs or losses we incur due to how you want to work with us
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If you want us to agree a higher level of liability or require us to increase our level of insurance cover
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Deduct or withhold tax or National Insurance from our fees
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Ask us to work under an umbrella company
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Other things that take time outside the scope of the booking
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If you
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Make additional requests after the work is completed, such as asking us to arrange a handover or responding to email enquiries
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Ask us to provide you with information because you are being audited
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Ask us to provide receipts or other paperwork because you need to prove our tax status to HMRC as one of your suppliers.
5. Late Payment and non-payment
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If you pay late, your work will be put on hold and we have the right to charge interest at the daily compounding rate of 8%
6. Tax
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We are entitled to be paid our fees without withholdings or deductions
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We pay our own Tax and National Insurance.
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To ensure we receive the fee quoted in the booking we will change you extra to recover any shortfall in the following circumstances
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If you bring the agreement within the scope of IR35 (or any other tax obligation that means you have to withhold tax from our invoices because of something you do or fail to do
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​​If you deduct PAYE or NI from our invoices
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And/or
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If you insist, we work under an umbrella company
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If you are involved in a dispute with your tax authorities over our agreement, we will assist you on request by producing receipts and other existing paperwork
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Ending the Agreement
There are various ways our agreement can end.
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Automatically on the completion date stated in the booking or when the work is finished
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If either party gives 30 days notice in writing
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If either party gives notice in writing in line with clause 1g that the agreement has ended
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All existing rights established by the agreement continue unaffected after termination
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Once the work is complete, please remove us from ongoing email groups, WhatsApp chats and other communication channels and don’t copy us into further correspondence or we may charge for the time taken to respond.
Definitions
AGREEMENT means the legally binding contract made up of the BOOKING, the TERMS and the DATA PROCESSING FORM.
BOOKING means the Booking Form (setting out the details of our two organisations; the work we will do for you; and other terms and conditions about the arrangements specifically between us). The Booking Form may be amended or updated through our agreed project management channels by us both agreeing in writing to the change;
BREACH A breach occurs when one of us fails to comply with any of their obligations under the AGREEMENT.
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CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION means all information that one of us discovers about the other through our connection and which is about or relates to the other’s business (including financial information, products, services, service levels, customer satisfaction, proposed services and products, pricing, and margins) or people (including directors or partners, investors, staff, suppliers, customers, clients, prospects and contractors).
However CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION does not include information that is openly published by the party, nor information that is publicly available without breach of our respective confidentiality obligations.
DATA PRIVACY LAW means the Data Protection Act 2018 incorporating the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 into English law, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, as amended or replaced from time to time.
DATA PROCESSING FORM means either the data processing agreement issued by you and agreed by us, or our Data Processing Form completed by you, setting out the framework of the processing of personal and other data required by the BOOKING, and any collateral Data Processing Agreements that we decide to implement after discussion between us.
MATERIALS means written, audio and visual materials used or produced in the course of or to support delivery of SERVICES, including handouts, videos, questionnaires, games, case studies, explanatory material, notes, calculations, specifications, reports, designs, drawings, flow charts, plans, reference material, prototypes.
PAY, PAYMENT payment has only occurred when we have received cleared funds in our account.
PERSONAL DATA means information about identifiable living individuals.
RIGHTS means intellectual property rights including (but not limited to) copyrights, patents, registered designs, design rights, trademarks, service marks, and the right to apply for or register any such protection, and all rights relating to trade secrets and other unpublished information.
SERVICES means the work to be supplied or the outcomes to be achieved by us, as set out in a BOOKING.
TERMS means this document.
“you” refers to the person, firm or organisation for whom we will provide SERVICES.
“we” and “us” Whether a solopreneur or a group of connected individuals, “we” and “us” refers to the person, firm or organisation agreeing to provide SERVICES.
Other Important Information
A. Data privacy
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·We can’t process third party PERSONAL DATA for you until you have given us written data processing instructions, either by using your own data processing agreement or our data processing form (provided with this AGREEMENT).
·We will handle and process third party PERSONAL DATA in line with the DATA PROCESSING FORM.
·If we have to transfer third party PERSONAL DATA overseas, you agree to enter into appropriate additional agreements as needed for UK GDPR compliance.
·Where we are acting as the DATA CONTROLLER, we handle and process your PERSONAL DATA in line with our DATA PRIVACY POLICY.
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B. Limit/Exclusion of liability
Our fee rates are based on the following liability limits.
·Nothing in these TERMS will exclude or restrict liability that cannot legally be excluded or restricted.
·Force majeure: we will not be liable for failure or delay in providing SERVICES due to circumstances beyond our control.
·We are not liable for any indirect or consequential losses or expenses you may suffer, including (but not limited to): your anticipated profits, goodwill, reputation, business receipts or contracts, and any third-party claims against you.
·There shall be no personal liability of any of our principals, directors, partners, employees, agents or sub-contractors for the performance or non-performance of any goods and services we supply.
·In any event our maximum financial liability to you will be the fees you paid us for the action/s that gave rise to the liability.
You can have different liability limits provided you pay the insurance premiums necessary for us to get you the cover you want.
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C. Indemnity
You agree to compensate us fully for any fines, costs, expenses, losses or other harms that we suffer because we used material you provided or because we followed your unlawful instruction or your request for us to act in an unlawful way.
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D. Waiver
If we choose not to enforce any part of this AGREEMENT at any time, it doesn’t prevent it from being enforced another time.
E.Severability
If it is necessary to remove a word or words from the AGREEMENT to make a provision enforceable, then that shall be done to the minimum extent necessary to achieve the effect of that provision, and this shall not affect the enforceability of the other provisions of the AGREEMENT.
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F. Law and jurisdiction
Where there is a dispute which we cannot resolve amicably, this AGREEMENT is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of our country (as set out in BOOKING) applying our local laws.