Terms of business — Saltbrook Staffing

These terms apply to every booking a venue makes with Saltbrook Staffing. We send them to you before your first booking and ask you to confirm you accept them. Your agreed rates are set out in your rate confirmation.

1. Definitions

We, us, Saltbrook: Saltbrook Staffing, an employment business within the meaning of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.
You, the Hirer: The venue or business that books a Worker from us, including any associated business.
Worker: A chef, kitchen porter or other person we supply to you. Workers are engaged by us, not by you.
Assignment: A period of work, made up of one or more shifts, that a Worker carries out for you.
Charge Rate: The hourly rate you pay us for a Worker, as set out in your rate confirmation.
Conduct Regulations: The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.
AWR: The Agency Workers Regulations 2010.

2. About these terms

2.1These terms, together with your rate confirmation, are the whole agreement between you and us for the supply of Workers. They apply in place of any terms you send us, including terms on purchase orders.
2.2You accept these terms when you confirm acceptance in writing (including by email or WhatsApp), or when you accept a Worker after receiving a copy of them, whichever happens first.
2.3We act as an employment business. Workers are engaged by us, and we are responsible for paying them, including holiday pay, and for deducting tax and National Insurance through PAYE.
2.4We may update these terms by giving you at least 30 days' written notice. Bookings already confirmed stay on the terms in place when they were confirmed.

3. Bookings

3.1You can book by phone, WhatsApp or email. Please tell us the role, date, start and finish times, venue address, who the Worker should report to, and anything they need to know about dress, equipment or the kitchen.
3.2A booking is confirmed when we give you the Worker's name and arrival time. Until then, it is a request and nothing is payable.
3.3Before a Worker starts, we will tell you their name, that they have the experience and any qualifications needed for the role, and that they are willing to work for you, as the Conduct Regulations require. If we cannot confirm this in writing before they start, we will do so within three working days.
3.4Before a booking, you must tell us about any health and safety risks in the role and the steps you have taken to control them, and whether the role involves working with children or vulnerable adults.
3.5If we cannot fill a booking, we will tell you as soon as possible. There is no charge for bookings we do not fill.

4. Charges

4.1You pay the Charge Rate for every hour a Worker works, as recorded on the approved timesheet. The Charge Rate covers the Worker's pay, holiday pay, employer's National Insurance, pension contributions and our fee.
4.2Each shift is charged for a minimum of 4 hours, even if you finish it earlier.
4.3Hours worked on bank holidays, and between midnight and 6am, are charged at 1.5 times the Charge Rate unless your rate confirmation says otherwise.
4.4Unpaid breaks are not charged. Breaks must be recorded on the timesheet.
4.5Charges are exclusive of VAT, which will be added at the applicable rate if we are VAT registered.
4.6We may review Charge Rates by giving you 30 days' written notice, or sooner if a change in law increases our costs, for example the National Minimum Wage or employer's National Insurance.

5. Timesheets

5.1At the end of each shift, or at the end of each week, you must confirm the hours the Worker worked, by signing a timesheet or approving it by message or through our shift board.
5.2If you have not approved or disputed a timesheet within 48 hours of it being sent to you, it will be treated as approved.
5.3If you refuse to approve a timesheet because you say the Worker did not work the hours, you must tell us why within 48 hours. Refusing to approve a timesheet does not stop us having to pay the Worker for hours they worked, and you remain liable for hours they actually worked.

6. Invoicing and payment

6.1We invoice weekly for the previous week's hours.
6.2Invoices are due within 14 days of the invoice date, by bank transfer to the account shown on the invoice.
6.3If you pay late, we may charge interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and we may pause supplying Workers until overdue invoices are paid.
6.4If you dispute part of an invoice, tell us within 7 days and pay the undisputed part on time.

7. Cancellations

7.1You can cancel a confirmed shift free of charge if you give us at least 24 hours' notice before it is due to start.
7.2If you cancel with less than 24 hours' notice, or the Worker arrives and is sent home because the work is no longer needed, we will charge 4 hours at the Charge Rate.
7.3If a Worker cannot attend, we will tell you as soon as we know and try to send a replacement. You will not be charged for a shift that no one attends.

8. If a worker isn't right

8.1If you are not satisfied with a Worker, tell us within the first 2 hours of their first shift with you. You will not be charged for those hours, and we will try to send a replacement.
8.2After that, you can ask us to end an Assignment at any time, and we will do so. You will be charged for the hours worked.
8.3Please tell us promptly about any concern with a Worker's conduct, so we can deal with it properly. You must not discipline or dismiss a Worker yourself, but you may ask them to leave your premises if necessary.

9. Your responsibilities

9.1Workers work under your direction, supervision and control while on your premises. You are responsible for their day-to-day tasks and for the safety of the kitchen.
9.2You must give each Worker a safety induction on their first shift, including fire exits, first aid, equipment, allergen procedures and any personal protective equipment they need, and comply with all health and safety law as if the Worker were your employee.
9.3You must make sure Workers get the rest breaks they are entitled to under the Working Time Regulations 1998, and tell us if a Worker reports feeling unwell or is injured at work.
9.4You must give Workers the same access to your collective facilities as your own staff, such as staff meals, changing rooms and drinking water, from their first day, as the AWR requires.
9.5You must not ask a Worker to do work that differs materially from the booking, or to work at a different site, without agreeing it with us first.
9.6You must not pay Workers directly or ask them to work for you other than through us, except as set out in section 11.

10. Agency Workers Regulations

10.1After 12 weeks in the same role with you, a Worker is entitled to the same basic pay and conditions as if you had employed them directly.
10.2When we ask, you must give us accurate information about the pay, hours, holidays and other basic conditions of comparable staff, so we can meet this obligation. You must also tell Workers about relevant vacancies at your business.
10.3If a Worker becomes entitled to equal treatment, we will adjust the Charge Rate to reflect the extra cost, and will tell you in advance.
10.4You will cover any compensation, costs or awards we have to pay because of information you gave us that was wrong or late, or because you did not provide access to collective facilities or information about vacancies.

11. Taking on our workers directly

11.1If you, or anyone connected with your business, employ or engage a Worker we introduced, other than through us, within the later of 14 weeks from the first day of their first Assignment with you, or 8 weeks from the last day of their most recent Assignment with you, you must pay us a transfer fee.
11.2The transfer fee is 20% of the Worker's gross annual pay in their new role, including any guaranteed bonus or service charge. If the role is not salaried, the fee is based on the expected annual earnings. No VAT is due on the fee unless we are VAT registered.
11.3Instead of paying the transfer fee, you can choose to extend the Worker's hire through us for a further 8 weeks, on the same terms as their most recent Assignment, after which you may take them on directly without a fee. You must tell us in writing that you wish to do this before you take them on.
11.4The same fee applies if you pass a Worker's details to another business that then takes them on within the same period.
11.5These terms do not stop a Worker from taking a job with you. They only set out the fee payable to us.

12. Liability and insurance

12.1We check each Worker's identity, right to work, experience and food safety qualifications before we supply them, and we take care to supply suitable people. Because Workers work under your control, we are not responsible for any loss or damage caused by a Worker's acts or omissions while working for you, unless it was caused by our own negligence in selecting them.
12.2We are not liable for any loss of profit, business or goodwill, or any indirect loss.
12.3Our total liability to you in any 12-month period is limited to the charges you paid us in that period.
12.4Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law.
12.5You must have appropriate public liability and employer's liability insurance that covers Workers while they are working for you and under your control.

13. Data protection

13.1Each of us is a separate controller of the personal information we share, and must comply with UK data protection law.
13.2You may use the information we give you about Workers only to manage their Assignments with you, and must keep it secure and delete it when you no longer need it.
13.3Our privacy notice explains how we use personal information about you and your staff.

14. General

14.1Either of us may end this agreement by giving the other written notice. Sections 4 to 6, 11, 12 and 13 continue to apply to Assignments that took place before it ended.
14.2We are not responsible for failing to supply a Worker because of events outside our reasonable control.
14.3Notices must be in writing and can be sent by email. Our email address for notices is hello@saltbrook.co.uk.
14.4If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest remains in force.
14.5These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. If a problem arises, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it.