Client Agreement

Helpd Ltd, trading as, The Live in Care Company Terms and Conditions: For our clients

About Us

We are The Live in Care Company. The Live in Care Company provides an online platform which connects Carers (self-employed individuals offering care and support services to others) with clients (people seeking the support or services from Carers). Through our online platform (www.theliveincarecompany.co.uk), Carers and clients are able to connect with one another, agree care contracts, and start working together.

At the client’s request we may also introduce Carers to clients. Our service enables clients to:

Search an online database to find self-employed Carers who can provide the desired service(s);
Have the assurance that all Carers have been vetted for suitability, are insured and have received recent DBS clearance;
Easily pay for the services provided by Carers, throughout our inbuilt and secure payment system;
Communicate directly with Carers to ensure a “best fit” is achieved pre service commencement; and
Provide feedback and comments on our service, and that provided by the self-employed Carers.

The Live in Care Company is classified as an ‘introductory agency’, as per the Care Quality Commission (CQC) guidance. We therefore link clients with Carers via our website. We are not an employment agency or a care or home care agency. We do not have the right to make changes to the care plan(s) of clients, arrange rotas, or to change or influence the provision of care delivery.

Limitations of liability

The Live in Care Company services are used at the client’s own risk.
Our website,www.theliveincarecompany.co.uk, is available free of charge. We provide no guarantee that the site will work optimally, or that it won’t be subject to downtime, or removed from service at any point in time. The Live in Care Company does not accept any liability for losses or damages caused by the temporary unavailability of the service or technical errors.

You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to our site. You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our site through your internet connection are aware of these terms of use and other applicable terms and conditions, and that they comply with them.
Our site is directed to people residing in the United Kingdom. We do not represent that content available on or through our site is appropriate or available in other locations. We may limit the availability of our site or any service or product described on our site to any person or geographic area at any time. If you choose to access our site from outside the United Kingdom, you do so at your own risk.

The Live in Care Company cannot be held liable for injury, controversies, losses, accidents, claims or damages arising out of the use of its services including the online platform, as well as the provision and delivery of services by individual Carers.

We ask that all clients recognise that their decision to enter into a contract with a Carer is their sole responsibility and that The Live in Care Company gives no warranty as to the suitability, experience, history or character of any Carer, nor does The Live in Care Company give any warranty as to the completeness, truthfulness or accuracy of any information or documentation provided by the Carer.

We ask that you understand and agree to the risks inherent in participating in an Introduction and that you hereby waive all rights to any claim for damages from any person or organisation involved in creating, producing or distributing the The Live in Care Company service or information pertaining to the The Live in Care Company service.

To the extent permitted by law, The Live in Care Company will not be liable for any loss, damages, misrepresentation, injury, accident, claim, cost, charge, expense, action, demand or consequential losses whatsoever in any jurisdiction arising out of or in connection with the use of our website and/or the service provided by Carers.

We ask that clients acknowledge that The Live in Care Company’s total liability, whether in respect of services or whether based on negligence, breach of contract, misrepresentation or otherwise shall not exceed the value of the total commission income for the current billing cycle that The Live in Care Company may have derived from you via our service.

Our site, www.theliveincarecompany.co.uk, is provided for domestic and private use only. Clients are asked not to use our site for any commercial or business purpose, other than identifying an appropriate Carer.

The Live in Care Company will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a virus, distributed denial-of-service attack, or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of our site or to your downloading of any content on it, or from any website linked to it.

The Live in Care Company assume no responsibility for the content of websites that are linked from our site. Such links should not be interpreted as endorsement by us of those linked websites. We will not be liable for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

Carer selection and our vetting process

The Live in Care Company checks the identity and information provided by Carers. This includes visual checks of;
Passports or other appropriate photgraphic ID to confirm identity and right to live and work in the UK
stated qualifications and training certificates where available
existing DBS checks

Where Carers cannot provide visual confirmation of having passed a DBS check within the past 3 years, The Live in Care Company performs DBS checks via an external provider, the cost of which will be borne by the Carer. Although The Live in Care Company interviews every Carer face to face, we are not responsible for nor do we have control over the quality, timing, legality, reliability, responsibility, integrity or suitability of the carers listed on the The Live in Care Company website.

We recommend that clients carry out their own assessment of a Carer’s suitability before engaging into a contract with them by:
Meeting Carers
Verifying a Carers identity via photographic ID
Requesting proof of experience, training, qualifications, authorisations and suitability for the position they are applying for
Following up on references

Permitted Use

You are not permitted to use the The Live in Care Company website for any reason other than for the following, private, non-commercial purposes: (1) viewing and browsing the website; (2) sending genuine enquiries to Carers regarding the use of their services; (3) making/reviewing/changing bookings; (4) checking Carer feedback; (5) changing billing information and generating invoices where relevant, and (6) communicating with The Live in Care Company representatives. (Carers may generate their own invoices if they wish to do so.)

We expect clients using our introductory service to recognise and respect the following code of conduct and service use when working with Carers:
You should not discriminate against a carer on the basis of skin colour, nationality, disability, gender or any other potential source of discrimination.
You should be 18 years of age or above, and have the right to form legally binding contracts under UK law. You should have the appropriate insurance in place to be able to accept Carers into your home, and take responsibility for ensuring that any Carer working with you has the correct insurances in place.
You must ensure that all information provided by yourself via our website is correct and accurate.

By registering with The Live in Care Company we expect you to accept and abide by all terms and conditions set out in this document. We also expect that you recognise the role of The Live in Care Company as an introductory service, and that you do not create contractual agreements outside this service with any Carers introduced to you via The Live in Care Company, or carers that are introduced to you by a Carer, with or without the deliberate intention of avoiding The Live in Care Company fees.

Once a contract has been set up between yourself and a Carer, you are bound by the terms of that established contract. This includes; payment upfront of all required monetary amounts. It is your responsibility to agree any deviations from the contract terms. Agreements created are legally binding and remain effective between Carer and client. The Live in Care Company are not party to such agreements and we cannot arbitrate or mediate if there is an alleged breach of contract unless the dispute resolution process is activated.

The Live in Care Company or the Client shall have no right to, nor shall seek to, exercise any direction, control, or supervision over the Carer in the provision of the services. The Carer shall endeavour to co-operate with The Live in Care Company and the Client’s reasonable requests within the scope of the services, however it is acknowledged that the Carer shall have autonomy over their working methods whilst adhering to the necessary care delivery Acts.
The Carer shall provide the services using suitably qualified personnel of their own choosing.

The Carer reserves the right to substitute any personnel, provided the Client is reasonably satisfied that any proposed substitute possesses the necessary skills and qualifications for the satisfactory completion of the services. The Carer will remain liable for the services completed by substitute personnel and will bear any costs. As a self-employed person, your Carer, has a right to find a suitable substitute for their absences. We ask that, where possible, the Carer involves the client in the identification of any required substitutes, and keeps the client’s need at the very centre of all decision-making.

Dispute resolution process

Overview

The Live in Care Company provides a dispute resolution process to support the management of any disagreement between client and self-employed Carer. Either client or self-employed Carer can dispute a contract. We ask that in either case, The Live in Care Company is informed of the need for arbitration within 24 hours of the relevant event. When this happens, The Live in Care Company will examine the contract, compliance with terms, user data analytics including but not limited to visit logging, messaging, geoverification, user feedback and previous self-employed Carer behaviour and any submissions by either party. The Live in Care Company reserves the right at its sole discretion to defer payment, reimburse or cease contractual payments at any time.

Release of liability for user conduct and disputes

Agreements entered into are legally binding and exist between client and Carer. The Live in Care Company is not party to such agreement and we cannot arbitrate or mediate if there is an alleged breach of contract unless the dispute resolution process is activated.
Where possible issues identified should be resolved directly between client and Carer. The Live in Care Company does not accept any liability for claims, demands or direct or indirect damages arising from disputes between clients and Carers, however we do offer a dispute resolution process which should be followed in the case of disagreement.

Disputed funds

The unpaid monies for a contract are held in an escrow account and The Live in Care Company offers no guarantee to either care seeker or self-employed Carer that there will be either reimbursement or full payment if the dispute resolution policy is activated. The Live in Care Company will endeavour to come to an equitable outcome based upon the evidence available.

Payments, Cancellations and Refunds

Payments

Contracts for work are made between the client and the Carer. By entering a contract as a client you agree that you have the funds available to pay for the contract value.

If a client is not available to agree to the release of funds to pay for work already completed by a Carer, The Live in Care Company will release funds to the Carer on the client’s behalf, after a reasonable effort to contact the client has been made.
When a Carer does not accept a contract from a client, and that contract has been paid for by the client, The Live in Care Company will refund the client fully within 3 working days, and the contract will be cancelled.

All payments for work completed must be made via The Live in Care Company; attempts to pay outside of The Live in Care Company will lead to sanctions not limited to immediate account suspension. Any offers to pay outside of The Live in Care Company made by either party must be reported to The Live in Care Company immediately.

If a client chooses to engage a Carer directly and thus stop using the services provided by The Live in Care Company, the client will be required to pay The Live in Care Company an upfront, non-refundable fee equivalent to 4 weeks of care and commission fees.

Our current payment provider is Sage and all credit and debit card information is held securely and is PCI compliant. For customers wishing to pay by BACS, this will be determined on a case by case basis.

Hourly and Daily Carer rates

It is the responsibility to the Carer and the client to set and agree upon an hourly or daily rate for the services provided. Rates should not be changed during a contract agreement. Any change in hourly rates that are made before the end of a contract must result in the termination of the current contract and a new contract must be agreed.

The Live in Care Company fees

The Live in Care Company charges an introductory commission fee of 20% of the hourly Carers rate. This commission is already included in the rate stated on each Carer’s profile on The Live in Care Company. The Live in Care Company reserves the right to alter the terms of its commission structure at any time.

Direct Payments and Personal Budgets

If you are paying via Direct Payments or Personal Budgets, you must setup a contract on the The Live in Care Company platform. Payment can be made a week in advance following provision of an Invoice for hours completed.

Refunds

The Live in Care Company does not normally provide refunds or credits for purchase cancellations. However, The Live in Care Company may at its sole discretion issue refunds or credits when it believes they are warranted.

Cancellations

A contractor has the absolute right to terminate a contract when they see fit. Ideally, a “short term hire” (i.e. a short term contract), should not be cancelled unless there are exceptional circumstances.

A “regular hire” (i.e. a regular or standard contract) can be cancelled by the client or Carer, but ideally there is to be a 14 day notice period from the date that the Carer uses the system to cancel the contract or from the start of the contract – whichever is the later. If the contract has less than 14 days to run or is shorter than 14 days, the contract should not be cancelled. (In practice, the original contract will be cancelled and a replacement contract will be generated to honour the remaining 14 days).

The Live in Care Company strongly discourages cancellations of contracts unless exceptional circumstances occur. Carers rely on dependable income and cancellations of contracts without sufficient warning or reason can cause undue inconvenience.

Governing policies

Safeguarding Policy: The Live in Care Company have a range of policies in place which we, as an introductory agency, abide by. We recognise that the Safeguarding Policy is important for ourselves, clients and Carers. We comply with all relevant legislation including the Care Act 2010, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults Act.

In instances where we deem a “vulnerable” adult is at risk of exploitation or any type of harm and we have received evidence to indicate that this is the case, we will comply with this legislation and refer the relevant parties to the nearest Local Authority’s Adult Safeguarding Team. Although The Live in Care Company does not directly provide care, we take our duties as a responsible organisation seriously and work continuously to ensure a duty of care to all of our users and stakeholders.

Complaints Policy: The Live in Care Company takes all customer complaints seriously and is committed to learning from mistakes and improving our service accordingly. We have a complaints policy in place which outlines in detail the referral process for complaints, and our complaints management framework. In summary; if you have a complaint, please send this by email to hello@theliveincarecompany.co.uk We will normally respond within one business day. We will investigate any matter referred and take appropriate action where necessary.

If the complaint is regarding a contract dispute, you will need to activate the dispute resolution pathway. If you have concerns regarding the performance, behaviour or competence of a Carer, we will investigate the matter and take proportionate action ranging from verbal and written feedback to account deletion and suspension.

Data Protection and confidentiality Policy: By utilising The Live in Care Company you consent to us processing any collected personal data, in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We always seek consent prior to processing your data for any reason that is in no way directly related to your care.

Background checks

By using the introductory service provided by The Live in Care Company, you authorise us to carry out certain background checks and intermittent audits. We reserve the right but not the obligation to use a third party to scan your personal information on an ongoing basis against a variety of sources which may include amongst others; sex offender registries, social media, criminal registries and other legally available databases and resources. The Live in Care Company has no obligation to perform such checks and releases all liability associated with the results of such checks.

Breach of terms and conditions

The Live in Care Company ask that you recognise the terms and conditions set out in this document and that you abide by them. You are to agree to indemnify and hold The Live in Care Company harmless from any claim or demand brought against us as a result of you breaching these stated terms and conditions.

Helpd Ltd, Registered in England, Company number 10549608, Office 5, Unit R1,, Penfold Works, Imperial Way, Herts, Watford, England, WD24 4YY