Terms & Conditions

CONFIDENTIALITY & RIGHTS

Lorraine Issott, Virtual Executive Assistant (VEA) of Lorraine Issott Virtual Executive Assistance (the Company), shall keep any work undertaken confidential and not use it for personal gain or promotion without the written consent of the Client.
The business affairs of the Client shall not be discussed or disclosed to any third parties.
The Client will be the legal owner and will hold the intellectual copyright of all work undertaken by Lorraine Issott, Virtual Executive Assistance
All images supplied by the client remain their responsibility, with regards to obtaining rights for use. All images supplied by Lorraine Issott Virtual Executive Assistance will be sourced with permission.

Terms:

Consultations and quotations are complimentary and are carried out by email. Alternatively, face to face meetings can be arranged subject to availability and may incur an additional cost for travel and time spent. This is at the discretion of the company owner.
By using the services provided by the VA/Company, you are agreeing to these terms and conditions and our privacy policy.
Work can be accepted from the client by email, Google Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer.
All work carried out by the VA/Company will be proof-read and checked, however final proof-reading of the work lies with the client.
For larger projects, a time frame will be negotiated with the client.
Whilst the VEA/Company, endeavour to provide the highest level of service, the VA/Company does not accept any liability or financial/business responsibility for any work produced by our team, or for the end use of any documents or materials produced or edited by us on behalf of the client. The VEA/Company aims to provide professional business support, but do not accept responsibility for the success or failure of clients’ businesses.
The VEA/Company reserve the right to reject any work, including work which is believed to be unlawful or immoral.
If the Client cancels the contract at any point within their contracted terms, full payment to the end of that contract is required.
There is no minimum contract length for any of our packages.
Payment is required in advance for monthly retainers unless agreed with the Company.
The VEA/Company time worked for the Client will be charged and rounded up to the nearest 15 minutes.
A complete time breakdown will be emailed to you at the end of each month.
Any additional hours on a monthly retainer package will be charged at the additional hourly rate price for your package (as agreed in your contract).
Any unused hours can not be carried over to the following month or any consecutive month.
A minimum of 3-months is recommended for you to be able to review your progress. The VEA/Company shall advise if a change of package is recommended, or the client may change their package at any time.
For ad-hoc projects – Extra costs may occur for urgent one-off jobs, depending on the turnaround required.
Initial 30-minute consultation by Google Meet, Teams or telephone is complimentary. Any additional discussions regarding additional projects not initially discussed will be charged at the agreed rate. Any catch-up calls and business meetings are charged and time will be deducted from your retained hours.
Final proofreading and checking of all work supplied is the responsibility of the client.
The Client understands the VEA/Company time and cost for completing the Work is an informal calculation and that any adjustments to the amount of work, schedule and/or the number of hours and fees are subject to review and renegotiation with the Client when necessary.
Any errors must be reported within one (1) day of receipt of completed work. Amendments or alterations requested by the client to any work undertaken will be charged at the standard hourly rate.
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 VEA/Company may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.
Similarly, if, during the term of the work, additional tasks are requested by the Client, the VEA/Company may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.
Should ongoing project work be suspended or delayed through any default of the client, the VEA/Company shall be entitled to immediate payment for work already carried out and expenses incurred.
If the project is based on an hourly rate, then a minimum invoice amount is for 4 hours and the hourly rate is then billed in increments of 15 minutes, with time rounded up to the nearest 15 minutes
Clients will be invoiced either after an individual assignment is completed or on an ongoing monthly basis.
First time clients will initially be invoiced in advance of work commencing then all subsequent invoices will be at the end of every calendar month.
Invoices are to be settled within three (3) days of the delivery unless otherwise agreed. The final invoice shall include billable time, reimbursable expenses, and any other fees related to the Work.
Unpaid bills will incur interest, as per government guidelines. It is at the Company's discretion whether work continues after a bill remains unpaid beyond the 3-day payment period.
Billable time includes meetings and calls outside of contracted hours, and includes the writing and/or reading of correspondence sent by mail or email.
A time report will be provided with the invoice unless the client requests otherwise.
All postage, printing and other stationery expenses bought on behalf of the client’s business will be added to the invoice for reimbursement.
Payment is to be made by bank transfer.
Once an invoice becomes overdue, no further work will be undertaken.
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 / GDPR, the Client and Lorraine Issott Virtual Executive Assistance 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 VEA/Company has the right to terminate a contract for services if there is a serious breach of its terms or if it is in the client or the VEA/Company, or both, best interest to terminate with immediate effect.
The EVA/Company may increase their rates and charges at any time however, a reasonable amount of notice will be given to clients.

I AGREE

to conduct your business affairs in a professional manner and avoid behaviour that could bring your business and reputation into disrepute.
to conduct my business affairs based on sound, ethical principles and will communicate fairly and honestly with your clients, associates, employees and suppliers.
to make an honest representation of my skills, experience and qualifications at all times.
to respect the confidentiality of your personal and business practices and recognise your ownership of any intellectual copyright pertaining to your business activities.
to strive to maintain my high professional standards by staying abreast of advances within my industry and to strive for excellence through professional improvement.
to keep all acquired personal data safe and secure and ensure it is only used for its intended purpose, in accordance with GDPR and all regulations set by the ICO.

GDPR

While I take every step known to me and in accordance with guidance on the ICO website to keep data safe and secure I will never be fully immune to hacks, no one is.

NOTICE PERIOD

The notice period is ideally one month and in writing, but I appreciate this isn’t always possible. If cancellation is made whilst working within a contracted period, monies due for the remainder of the month shall still be required.

WORKING WEEK

I am contactable from 9.30am until 4pm Monday - Friday UK time.
Any communication outside of these hours will normally be dealt with on the next working day unless agreed in advance.
If I do not respond to requests immediately I will respond as soon as I can.
I support flexible working, therefore, I may before or after the contactable times. This will in no way affect the service provided or the work delivered.
From time to time, I will take time out to be with my family, including sickness, holidays, school half term, and reasonable notice will be given unless caused by extenuating circumstances.

HOLIDAYS

Notification will be given to clients in a reasonable amount of time. If required, necessary work required by the Client shall be delegated to an Associate of the Company.

COMMUNICATION

I prefer to receive all communication and instructions via email or Voxer/WhatsApp.

DELIVERY

My retained clients get priority. If you know you’ll be needing a set amount of hours every month, a specific task completed every month, or there’s a possibility any of your tasks will need my attention within three working days then a retainer package is your best option.

My terms and conditions may be updated at any time to suit the demands of the business. If you have any questions do not hesitate to let me know: lorraine@lorraineissott.co.uk

We guarantee the highest level of confidentiality at all times. We do not pass or sell client information on to 3rd parties unless requested to do so by the client and as long as the request meets current legislation. If required we are happy to sign a confidentiality agreement and can provide one upon request. Visit our Privacy Policy.