Acceptance of the Terms and Conditions by the Client and agreement between the Freelance and the Client of the fee and the timescale for the work constitutes a legally binding contract.

The Terms and Conditions apply to any work done for the Client (you) by the Freelance (me).

Section 1: General

  • The Client is under no obligation to offer the Freelance work; neither is the Freelance under any obligation to accept work offered by the Client.

  • The Freelance will provide service(s) as mutually agreed, confirmed in writing by the Client.

  • The work will be carried out unsupervised at such times and places as determined by the Freelance, using her own equipment.

  • The Freelance confirms that she is self-employed, is responsible for her own income tax and National Insurance contributions, and for paying VAT (where applicable) and will not claim benefits granted to the Client's employees.

  • The Client will reimburse the Freelance for agreed reasonable expenses over and above usual expenses incurred in the process of editorial work.

  • The Client will pay the Freelance a fee per hour OR per printed page OR an agreed flat fee for the job, plus VAT where applicable.

  • The completed work will be delivered on or before the date agreed, for the agreed fee, which will be based on the description of the work required and the brief, both supplied by the Client.

  • If, however, on receipt of the item to be worked on or at an early stage, it becomes apparent that significantly more work is required than had been anticipated in the preliminary discussion/brief, the Freelance may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.

  • Similarly, if, during the term of the Freelance's work, additional tasks are requested by the Client, the Freelance may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.

  • If the project is lengthy, the Freelance may invoice periodically for completed stages.

  • Any content created by the Freelance as part of the copy-editing/proofreading/project management process will become the copyright of the Client, unless otherwise agreed.

  • The nature and content of the work will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than the Client and its contractors without prior written permission.

  • If the Freelance's work is unsatisfactory, the Freelance will rectify it in her own time and at her own expense.

  • Unless agreed otherwise at the outset, payment will be made within 30 days of receipt of the Freelance's invoice, according to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (amended 2002 and 2013).

  • Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Client and the Freelance may keep on record such information (e.g. contact details) as is necessary. Either may view the other's records to ensure that they are relevant, correct and up to date.

  • Either the Client or the Freelance has the right to terminate a contract for services if there is a serious breach of its terms.

  • If the Freelance has made a substantial contribution to the copy-editing/proofreading/project management of the work, she will be entitled to receive one free copy of the work.

  • The Freelance may use the Client's name in her promotional material.

  • This agreement is subject to the laws of England and Wales [or Scotland or Northern Ireland as appropriate], and both Freelance and Client agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts [or the courts of Scotland or Northern Ireland as appropriate].

     

Section 2: Payment

  • Payment is due within the specified time agreed between the Freelance and the Client in advance, from submission of the invoice or within 30 days, as set out in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 – Amended and Supplemented in 2002. 

  • Payment is required in GBP.

  • The Client will be responsible for all charges and fees incurred in payment.

Section 3: Cancellation

  • Once the Client has secured the services of the Freelance and has read and agreed to the Terms and Conditions herein, the terms of the Cancellation Policy apply.

  • Cancellation after the Freelance has begun the work:

    • At the point of cancellation, if up to or over half of the work agreed has been completed, the Freelance reserves the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed fee.

    • At the point of cancellation, if less than half the work agreed has been completed, the Freelance reserves the right to invoice for 50% of the agreed fee.

  • Cancellation before the Freelance has begun the work: At the point of cancellation, if the Client has formally booked the services of the Freelance and both parties have agreed to the Terms and Conditions, the Freelance reserves the right to invoice the Client as follows:

    • Up to one month before the date agreed for the Freelance to commence the work agreed, the Freelance reserves the right to invoice the Client for 100% of the agreed fee. 

    • More than one month but less than two months before the date agreed for the Freelance to commence the agreed work, the Freelance reserves the right to invoice the Client for 50% of the agreed fee.

Section 4: Students 

These additional terms and conditions apply to all work carried out by the Freelance to proofread dissertations and theses to be submitted for postgraduate degrees.

  • The Freelance requires written confirmation that the Client agrees in full to the Terms and Conditions.

  • The Freelance requires written confirmation that the Client’s supervisor or course leader approves the Client’s use of a third-party for proofreading their work.

  • It is the sole responsibility of the Client to check that their use of a third-party proofreader does not breech the guidelines provided by their institution for postgraduate degrees.

  • The Freelance will restrict herself to proofreading solely, including making suggestions to reword sentences that are not clear or incorrect grammatically.

  • The Freelance will not carry out extensive editing. 

  • The Freelance will not write or rewrite material for inclusion in the work.

  • The Freelance will not check facts or references.

  • The Freelance will not increase or reduce the word count.

  • The Freelance will not restructure the text to improve the flow of the text itself or the argument.

  • The Freelance will not carry out formatting.

  • The Freelance will not work on a thesis or dissertation in parts but will only work on the whole thesis or dissertation. This is to ensure your work is proofread consistently.

  • The Freelance does not give any guarantee of the grade the Client will achieve when the dissertation or thesis is formally assessed.

  • The Freelance will invoice the Client upon completion of the work.

  • Payment is due within 7 days.

  • Payment is subject to these Terms and Conditions, Section 2.