Terms and Conditions
1. Introduction
1.1. These terms and conditions shall supersede all previous service information, agreements and terms and conditions.
1.2. These Terms and Conditions (“Terms of business”) constitute the contract between Busy Hands Cleaners (“We” “Us” or “the Agency”) and the household, employer, client, firm, or corporate body, as the case may be (“You” or “the Client”) that seeks the service (the “Service”) provided by the agency to the client as specified in this agreement. We enter into this agreement (“Agreement”) with You, intending that all the terms of the Agreement between us are included in these terms and conditions (“Terms”) as well as in writing on the front of, or at the beginning of this Agreement to which these Terms are behind, or attached/annexed.
1.3. By ordering the agency’s services by telephone, e-mail, fax or its website the Client agrees to be bound by Busy Hands Cleaners’ terms of business.
1.4. Busy Hands Cleaners shall introduce a Cleaner or candidate to the Client subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, to provide the hours of work specified overleaf as may be varied from time to time by prior agreement between the client and the Cleaner subject to the client agreeing to payment of Busy Hands Cleaners monthly agency fees. The Agency acts as an employment agency when Introducing Cleaners and Candidates to the Client for direct Engagement by that Client. Note that changes to the number of hours shall affect payment to Busy Hands Cleaners.
2. Agency’s Obligations
2.1. The Agency will make every effort to select a suitable Cleaner before making an introduction, by closely vetting Cleaners through interviewing procedures, and checking references.
2.2. We will use our reasonable endeavours to obtain a suitable Cleaner from our database and introduce such a Cleaner to You. You will be able to interview the Cleaner and, as appropriate, either approve such Cleaner whom You will contract directly, to carry out interior domestic cleaning and ironing or office cleaning. You can request the Agency to allocate another Cleaner.
2.3. While the Agency takes great care in selecting the right Cleaner for the Client, the Client shall be solely responsible for satisfying themselves as to the suitability of the Cleaner.
2.4. The Agency endeavours to ensure that a high standard of work, integrity and reliability is always maintained by the Cleaner.
2.5. We will utilise reasonable Endeavour; and try to provide a prompt reply service to issues or questions raised by the Customer when required.
2.6. The agency will endeavour to find you a suitable replacement cleaner should your current cleaner become unavailable to work for you due to a holiday or illness.
2.7. The agency will make an effort to resolve any issues that you may have with your current cleaner by liaising with you and the cleaner to come to an amicable solution. While we may attempt to assist with the resolution of any complaint or dispute, you acknowledge that any legal recourse against the cleaner arising from the services for breach of contract or otherwise is against the cleaner or cleaners and not against us, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this agreement.
2.8. We act as a booking agency for self-employed cleaners and service providers. Our contract with you is limited to the provision of the use of our Website and booking of the service. Your cleaner or service provider is responsible for providing the services to you and you have a direct contract between you and the cleaner or service provider concerning the provision of services. This contract does not include us.
3. Client’s Obligation
3.1. The Client shall provide a safe working environment for the Cleaner at all times. The cleaner cannot lift heavy furniture or work at heights, all cleaning materials and equipment should be safe and in good working order. Clients should provide safe and non-volatile, non-abrasive or corrosive cleaning chemicals to the cleaners. 3.1a Inform the cleaner of any potential hazards in your home to minimize the risk of accidents, such as loose shelves, worktops, animals, broken items, etc. 3.1b All pets should be secured for the safety of the cleaning team and any animal waste removed before the cleaner’s arrival. 3.1c The cleaner cannot clean human or animal waste, as these are classified as biohazards and require specialized cleaning.
3.2. It is important, that the Cleaner has an accurate idea of the work you would like her to perform. You should discuss that directly with the Cleaner.
3.3. All cleaning materials and equipment should be provided by the client unless it has been agreed differently prior to commencement.
3.4. You will employ any cleaner supplied or use them directly as a self-employed cleaner and will be responsible for contracting with the cleaner directly.
3.5. The Client MUST settle their account with the Agency promptly once the Agency has provided the service.
3.6. The Client will be responsible for arranging cleaning times, giving instructions, supervision and making correct and punctual payments at the agreed hourly rate, directly to the Cleaner.
3.7. The client shall notify us of any amendments or changes to the times, days or schedules that the introduced cleaner attends.
3.8. If a replacement cleaner is required due to the regular cleaner’s illness or holidays please contact us directly. Replacement cleaners are not automatically supplied, as not all clients require them. When requesting a replacement cleaner client shall be flexible regarding the day the replacement cleaner will be needed
3.9. The client agrees they will not solicit to engage or engage the cleaner to work for them directly or indirectly in any capacity during the life of this agreement and after the termination of this agreement unless a period of 12 months has come to pass. The client agrees to be personally liable for any loss or cost incurred by the agency during this period including any fees due to the agency as if they have employed the cleaner through the agency for the duration the cleaner has worked for them.
4. The Service
4.1. In consideration of the remittance of the monthly agency fees by You in accordance with our terms of business, We will introduce a vetted and professional domestic cleaner.
4.2. If the cleaner leaves or the client is not happy with the standard of service provided by the cleaner, we will endeavour to find a replacement cleaner as soon as possible.
4.3. Cleaners must provide us with a copy of their passport or UK driver’s license as well as proof of permanent address and eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.
4.4. We will have vetted each Cleaner, of whose details are provided to You by the Agency, to such extent as We may deem desirable or necessary.
4.5. We will interview and check references for every cleaner introduced by the Agency.
4.6. We reserve the right to vary the Service including the terms of the insurance as we deem desirable or necessary to improve the Service.
5. Price and Payment
5.1. The Client is responsible at all times for paying the Cleaner directly.
5.2. The Cleaner is paid by the Client the agreed hourly rate on each day that he/she provides cleaning service to the Client or as otherwise agreed between the Client and the Cleaner.
5.3. The Client shall pay the Agency an hourly administrative fee as specified in the service information for the Service provided (“Agency Fee”) which becomes payable monthly in advance under the terms of this agreement.
5.4. The client will be invoiced in advance on a monthly basis for the Agency fee. This will be paid in advance by standing order, bank transfers or as otherwise agreed in writing between the client and the Agency.
5.5. The Agreement and monthly fees shall continue irrespective of whether the client is using a Cleaner introduced by Busy Hands Cleaners, such payments will continue until the agreement is terminated in accordance with clause 7.1 of this Terms and Conditions.
5.6. An invoice is payable immediately upon receipt and must be paid within 7 days, Standing Order Mandate must be returned or set up online within 7 days of the client’s agreement to Busy Hands Cleaners Introducing a cleaner.
5.7. Where the client has used Busy Hands Cleaners services and failed to pay the agency or set up a Standing Order Mandate for immediate payment within 7 days period or has failed to make his payment on the due date via Bank transfer or instant payment, Busy Hands Cleaners reserves the right to charge the client a late payment fee of £10 plus interest. Interest will accrue on all debts over 7 days until the time they are paid at the rate of 8% above the Bank of England’s Base Rate. Any debts that have to be chased will incur a handling charge of £40.
5.8. No service will be provided after the first 28 days of service if the client has failed to pay the agency fees on the due date. The Agency reserves the right to terminate this agreement with the Client without prior notice and will not be liable to the Client for whatsoever reason.
5.9. The Client agrees and will be liable to pay the cost of recovering the outstanding amounts and all reasonable costs incurred in doing so.
5.10. If you employ or use the Cleaner for more hours than You have paid for, You are liable to pay an additional fee according to the cleaner’ additional hours worked. We reserve the right to claim the additional fee due, plus interest, for any period that the additional fee became payable but remained unpaid.
5.11. If the agency fees remain unpaid after 30 days the account will be passed to a debt collection agency, after which a charge of 20% on top of the invoice due, will be added to the debt plus all costs incurred in collecting the debt.
5.12. The monthly agency fees are non-refundable monthly subscriptions and are payable at all times to retain the cleaners available for the clients and to maintain our services.
5.11. Complaints and Claims
5.12. In the unlikely event that you are not happy with the services, you received from your cleaner. Please speak to the cleaner in the first instance regards the issue. If you cannot resolve the issue with the cleaner. We ask that you give us a call as soon as possible so we can use our reasonable endeavours to try to resolve the dispute. The client agrees to give us a reasonable time to resolve the issue following our standard complaint procedure.
5.13. If the issue relates to the standard of work carried out we will speak to the cleaner and if things do not improve. We will allocate you another cleaner from our database. You may choose to have another cleaner.
5.14. All complaints and claims must be received in writing, by post or by email within 24 hours of occurrence.
5.15. The client agrees to give us a reasonable time or at least 30 days to investigate and resolve the issue following our standard complaint/claim procedure.
5.16. The Client agrees to allow the cleaner back to inspect and re-clean any disputed areas/items before arranging for a third party to carry out any services in the area.
5.17 No claims shall be entertained if the Client has an outstanding balance on any payment or monthly agency fees due to Busy Hands Cleaners.
5.18 All insurance claims are subject to an insurance excess of £250 which is payable by the client on each and every claim made.
6. Insurance
6.1. As a benefit to our clients, each cleaner employed by You or contracted by You from the Busy Hands Cleaners database, will be covered by an insurance policy which includes Public Liability cover providing for a maximum payment of £1,000,000 in the event of injury or accidental damage to the client’s property, provided that this damage is caused by the cleaner introduced by Busy Hands Cleaners while working on your property.
6.2. Our Public and Employer’s liability insurance policy will cover any accidental damages caused by the cleaner, reported within 24 hours of the service date.
6.3. The Insurance cover is only valid once we have received a signed Standing Order form for Busy Hands Cleaner’s monthly fees in advance unless otherwise agreed in writing between Busy Hands Cleaners and the client. No liability for loss or damage to property can be accepted by Busy Hands Cleaners unless the monthly Agency Fee is paid in advance and no outstanding balance on payments owed to us.
6.4. All complaints or damages must be reported within 24 hours by phone or e-mail. Failure to do so will entitle the Client to no refund or recovery claims.
6.5. The insurance policy will only cover damage to property if and to the extent that the damage is of a value in excess of £250. Where any claim is a value exceeding £250, you shall be liable to pay the first £250 of any such claim. For any damages below this amount, we recommend clients have their own home insurance to cover for such eventuality.
6.6. The insurance policy does not cover theft of property and possessions, accidental damages to personal items and property or damage or loss caused by bleach or any substances containing bleach. This also applies to corrosive/abrasive cleaning materials as domestic cleaners are not trained to work with such substances. Any damages as a result of the use of such chemicals or damages to personal property will be at the client’s own risk.
6.7. The insurance policy is subject to the terms and conditions, and any exclusions, set out in the policy, a copy of which is available from the Agency upon request, and You shall be bound by such terms and conditions, and exclusions. However, the main conditions for making an insurance claim are as follows:
6.7.1. The Client must make a statement in writing, concerning damage, how it was caused and the value. The Client must also provide receipts or quotes from firms approved by the Agency in respect of such damage;
6.7.2. The Cleaner must issue a statement as above and admit that the damage was caused by accident during the cause of his or her cleaning at your property;
6.7.3. The claim form will then be completed by the Agency, following which, if the insurance broker appointed to handle the claim needs further information, You will supply it;
6.8. We will not arrange for the insurance referred to in this clause if the Agency fee has not been paid in advance by the Client in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement paragraph 5. Price and Payments.
6.9. We recommend that clients have their own separate insurance, and not just the insurance mentioned in this section as We will not be liable for anything that falls outside the scope of our insurance covers or anything excluded from the policy. (This may be in the form of a general household insurance policy).
6.10. If the Customer has alternative insurance this may invalidate the Busy Hands Cleaners contingency insurance to the extent that all damage & loss may only be recoverable from the Client’s insurers.
6.11. The Insurance cover does not include anything that may break down or stop working at any time such as the dishwasher, washing machine, oven, cookers, extractor fans, fridge, freezer, iron, vacuum cleaner etc. any other items, instability of which the Client is already aware of, such as bathroom appliances or any fixtures, doors, keys, blinds etc. The Client is obliged to warn the agency or the cleaner about appliances and fixtures that are poorly fixed or not in full working order. The agency will not be liable for such a claim.
6.12. The insurance is not designed to cover general wear and tear that might occur on the everyday use of items.
6.13. The insurance mentioned above does not cover items of sentimental value or irreplaceable items. Highly valuable personal property like coins, art, jewellery, collectables, antiques/antique furniture, computer equipment/data, speciality tools and all forms of Heirloom like family silver or gold ornaments including China and highly fragile items are excluded from the policy. Clients should have their own insurance to cover such items.
We ask that clients put highly valuable personal property away and do not allow the cleaner to clean them. The cleaner must be made aware of such items, where it is not possible to move the item away from the areas to be cleaned.
7. Termination, Cancellation, Missed cleans and Referral
7.1. The Client may terminate the Agreement by giving the Agency four weeks’ notice in writing specifying the last cleaning date. In such circumstances, the balance (if any) for the period after the expiry of the notice shall be refunded to the client.
7.2. The Agency may terminate the Agreement by giving the Client four weeks’ notice. In such circumstances, the balance (if any) for the period after the expiry of the notice shall be refunded to the client.
7.3. The Agency may terminate this Agreement without notice if the Agency has reasonable grounds to suspect the Client has provided information that is untrue, inaccurate, out of date, incomplete or in breach of the agreement. In such circumstances, the agency will take action to recover any money owed by the client in accordance with these terms.
7.4. The Client may terminate the agreement where we are unable to provide a cleaner for a consecutive period of one month in such circumstances, the balance (if any) for the period after expiry of the notice shall be refunded to the client. All termination must be in writing with appropriate notices and the agency must agree in writing, if not the agency fees will still be payable.
7.5. The Client may cancel/skip a cleaning session or sessions by giving at least 24 hours notice directly to the cleaner or the agency. You do not have to pay the cleaner for this period. However, the agency fees are still payable to retain the cleaner available and maintain our services.
If your cleaner goes on holiday or cannot come in for any reason, please inform us immediately, so we can provide you with a replacement cleaner during this period. You can choose to wait for your regular cleaner to come back or reschedule the cleaning visit. The agency fees are still payable to maintain our services to you.
7.6. You must inform us of a missed cleaning session or cleaners’ absence within 24 hours to enable us to find a replacement cleaner for you. If we cannot provide you with a replacement cleaner within one week or before your next cleaning is due, you can ask us to apply a service credit which the agency has to agree to.
7.6.1 Service credit can only be applied where the agency has been informed about a missed session in good time and the agency is unable to provide a replacement cleaner within one week or before your next cleaning is due.
7.7 If you go away on holidays, vacation etc. and the cleaner is not required, please inform your cleaner and let us know as soon as possible. You do not have to pay the cleaner for this period. However, the agency fees are still payable. If your holidays will be for more than four weeks, please get in touch with us to discuss your absence, we may be able to freeze your account for this period, but the agency fees are still payable during this period to keep your account open, upon your return, we will credit your account. Freezing of accounts must be discussed and agreed prior to client departure to be effective.
7.7.1 The monthly agency fees are payable at all times to retain the cleaners available for the clients and to maintain our services including the day-to-day administration of your account /insurance and much more.
7.7.2 The monthly agency fees are a subscription to the agency. They are non-refundable should a client choose not to receive the cleaning service including replacements, as with any other services. A missed cleaning session does not affect the payment of your monthly agency payments or payment amount.
7.7.3 The Client must give us a 4-week notice to stop using the service, failure to provide the required notice will result in £50 cancellation fee or the full month’s agency fee whichever one is greater.
7.7.4 If the client chooses to cancel the services for whatever reason, before the expiry of the initial one-month term. The client will be charged the One-Off cleaning rate for the period they have used the service plus an administration fee of £20. There will be no refunds for the agency fees.
7.7.5 The monthly agency fees are not refundable where the customer has not cancelled the agreement with us in accordance with clauses 7.1-7.3. If the customer continues to pay the agency fees to Busy Hands Cleaners while not receiving the cleaning from the cleaner and has not informed the Agency about it. Any agency fees paid for the period are not refundable and will continue until the client cancels the agreement following the terms. No refunds are issued.
7.8. If for any reason the Customer continues to pay Busy Hands Cleaners following termination according to clause 7.1-7.3 Busy Hands Cleaners reserves the right to charge a reasonable administration fee of £5 to return each and every overpayment.
7.9 The Client will not refer any cleaner introduced by Busy Hands Cleaners to any other person except through the agency, and if you do refer any Cleaner, you will be liable to pay Agency fees as if you employed or contracted the Cleaner for those hours.
7.10. The agency invests a lot of resources and time in sourcing, screening, vetting and recruiting cleaners in view of providing them to our clients, therefore during the life of this agreement and after the termination of this agreement or our services, you agree not to hire or use any domestic/office Cleaner introduced to you by Busy Hands Cleaners for the period of 12 months, after you stop using our services. We reserve the right to charge an introduction/referral fee of £2000 and you will be personally liable for any loss of fees and any other associated costs suffered by Busy Hands Cleaners. You are welcome to re-hire the Cleaner through the agency if she is available.
7.11. The introductory fee/compensation for the breach of 7.10 is payable within 14 days of a written request to you by us. All cleaners introduced by Busy Hands Cleaners sign a non-solicitation agreement to this effect. The cleaner will not work for you directly or indirectly during the life of this agreement or after its termination unless a period of 12 months has passed after the termination of this agreement. You may re-hire the cleaner only through the agency.
8. Liability
8.1. The Agency is fully insured for legal liabilities and claim costs in respect of accidental injury and damage to material property.
8.2. This also covers compensation to members of the public in the event of accidental injury, damage to property or obstruction, trespass, nuisance or interference with any right of way, air, light or water.
8.3. The Agency may decide not to allocate the Client a Cleaner if it believes that the Client is acting unlawfully, or is an unsuitable or unreasonable employer or contractor. The Agency’s decision being final in this matter.
8.4.The Cleaner is introduced to the client as a self-employed cleaner and the Client shall retain the Cleaner under a “Contract for Services”, which for the avoidance of doubt shall be a separate contractual arrangement between the Client and the Cleaner only. The Agency will not be liable for any act, default or omission of the Cleaner to comply with his or her contractual obligations under this Contract for Services.
8.5. The Client is fundamentally responsible for the control and supervision of the Cleaner. The Cleaner is not the employee of the Agency and the Agency has no vicarious responsibility for the Cleaner.
8.6. The Agency is not responsible for any accident, injury loss or expense suffered by the Cleaner. Nor does the Agency accept any liability for any damages or injury suffered or incurred by the Client whether directly or indirectly caused by the Cleaner.
8.7. To the extent permitted by law, the Agency hereby excludes liability, for any loss or damage whatsoever, including breach of contract, breach of any statutory provisions or implied terms, and/or as a result of the negligence of its employees or agents, or that of any cleaner sourced through the Agency.
8.8. If the Agency is held liable by the courts to the Client for any reason whatsoever, including for its negligence, the Agency will only be responsible for any losses that the Client suffers which are a reasonably foreseeable consequence, up to a maximum of the aggregate Agency fee charged to the client and received by the Agency.
8.9. In any event, the Agency does not accept liability for any business loss (including, without limitation, any loss of contracts or business opportunity, loss of revenue, loss of profits or loss of anticipated savings in expenditure).
8.10. The Agency shall not be liable for any failure of, or delay in, the performance of all or any part of any contract in accordance with these Terms which is due wholly or partially to any cause or occurrence beyond the Agency’s reasonable control. (Force majeure).
8.11. The Agency shall not be required to perform or complete performance, nor shall it incur any liability for failure to carry out the terms of this Agreement, if, at the relevant time, the Client is in breach of any obligation to the Agency under any contract with the Agency. The Agency shall have a reasonable time, after such a breach is remedied, to carry out its obligations under this Agreement. If such a breach is not remedied within a reasonable time, the Agency may, on giving reasonable notice to the Client, end this Agreement and shall have the same rights against the Client as if the Agency had ended this Agreement due to a breach of a term of this Agreement by the Client.
8.12. The Agency is not responsible for the failure of any Cleaner to return keys or for any loss whatsoever that may arise as a result. In such circumstances, the Cleaner shall be liable. This responsibility remains between the client and the cleaner.
8.12. If the agency or the cleaner agrees to compensate the client for items of sentimental value or irreplaceable items the maximum payout will be £500.00 for each item or a replacement for their functional value. (ie- a heavy wood table can be replaced by any heavy wood table). The total sum is less than the insurance access.
8.13. All warranties in respect of the Service, whether implied by statute or common law, made expressly or otherwise, are hereby excluded to the extent permitted by law.
8.14. Nothing in these terms of conditions: excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by English law; or is intended to affect your statutory rights.
9. General
9.1. If any provision of this Agreement shall be found to be void, invalid or unenforceable, whether, by a court of law, agreement of the parties or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding any such invalidity.
9.2. The Client agrees to Busy Hands Cleaner using its data for administrative purposes only. Such data shall not be used by Busy Hands Cleaners for marketing purposes nor shall it be passed to any third party unless required to do so by law.
9.3. Any notice under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be effective on actual or deemed receipt. A notice shall be given by personal service or by first class prepaid mail or by e-mail and shall be addressed to Busy Hands Cleaners or the Householder, as appropriate, at one of the addresses stated overleaf. Either party may, by written notice to the other, change the address to which notices to it may be sent. A deemed receipt shall occur in the case of personal service or e-mail on delivery and in the case of first-class prepaid mail on the second working day after posting.
9.4. Busy Hands Cleaners reserves the right to make any changes to any part of this terms and conditions or the whole of it without prior notice and shall inform the Client of such changes by posting them to the website, sending them by post or otherwise providing them to the client before implementation of such changes. You may stop using the services if you are not happy with such changes.
9.5. These Terms and Conditions supersede any previous agreements, arrangements, documents or other undertakings either written or oral.
9.6. These Terms and Conditions are governed by and interpreted by the laws of England and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
10. Miscellaneous
10.1. Busy Hands Cleaners will not be responsible for triggering any alarm systems. The Client should give any special instructions for the deactivation/activation of any household alarm systems
10.2. If the cleaner has a wasted journey to the client’s property, the client must pay the cleaners reasonable travel expenses.
10.3. Client shall be able to accept a replacement cleaner on a ‘non-preferred day’ if a permanent cleaner is being sought by the agency or during holiday and sickness periods, to catch up with the cleaning.
10.4. We make every effort to make sure the quality of the cleaners that we introduce. However, no responsibility will be accepted by the Agency as a result of a failure, in any part of the selection procedure irrespective of the reason.
10.5. Cleaners will not perform any deep clean or specialized cleaning of any antique, delicate or valuable items. Cleaners are not allowed to clean items of sentimental value. Damages occurring as a result of the client instructing the cleaner to carry out such a task will be at the client’s own risk.
10.6. The Agency acts solely as an introductory agency for the Cleaners. The agency does not accept any legal responsibility for any act or omission of the cleaners or cleaners.
10.7. Any incidental costs incurred by the Busy Hands Cleaners/cleaners as a result of a client’s action will be fully reimbursed by the client immediately
11. Contact Information
11.1. We can be contacted by phone at 02087684102, by email at admin@busyhandscleaners.co.uk and by post at Suite 103, 15 Colman House, Empire Square, High Street
SE20 7EX London.
We are registered in England and Wales under company number 08505171.
Our registered office address is 27 Old Gloucester Street WC1N 3AX London, United Kingdom.
We may update these terms and conditions from time to time by posting a new version on our website. You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes.
