1. DEFINITIONS USED IN THIS AGREEMENT
“Additional
Working Hours” means such hours as may be agreed between Gateway and the
Contractor over and above Normal Working Hours, details of which Additional
Working Hours are set out in the Standard Letter of Engagement.
“The
Client” means an individual, firm, partnership or corporate body (and any
subsidiary associated company as defined by the Companies Act 1985 (as
amended).
“Assignment”
means work required by the Client during the period of the engagement [referred
to in the Standard Letter of Engagement –Schedule 3.1].
“Curriculum
Vitae” (C.V.) means a document setting out in a form approved by Gateway true
and exact details of the Worker’s educational and training qualifications and
work/assignment history.
“Employment
Rights Act” means the Act of 1996.
“Fee”
shall mean the hourly rate set out in the Standard Letter of Engagement less
tax and National Insurance Contributions.
“Normal
Working Hours” means the hours of work agreed between the Worker and Gateway
set out in the Standard Letter of Engagement.
“Services”
shall mean the particular services required by the Client as notified to
Gateway and referred to in the Standard Letter of Engagement.
“Standard
Letter of Engagement” means a letter in the form from time to time provided by
Gateway to the Worker providing details of the Assignment, its duration, the
Fee, Normal Working Hours, Additional Working Hours and the Services required
by the Client.
“Worker”
means the individual named in the agreement and engaged by Gateway.
All
the references to the singular shall include the plural and references to the
masculine gender shall include the feminine gender and vice versa.
Headings
to paragraphs or subparagraphs do not affect the interpretation of the
paragraph or subparagraph.
2. STANDARD LETTER OF ENGAGEMENT AND APPENDIX
Attached
to these Terms and Conditions of business at Schedule 3.1 is a Standard Letter
of Engagement with appendix both of which will be issued to the Worker for each
separate Assignment and will constitute a separate contract with the Worker
referred to.
3. FEES PAYABLE
Gateway
will pay the Worker in respect of each Assignment the Fee specified in the
Standard Letter of Engagement for the number of Normal Working Hours and
Additional Working Hours actually worked only.
4. ASSIGNMENTS
The
Worker will carry out the Assignment throughout the period of the Assignment to
the best of his/her ability.
5. HOURS OF WORK
a. You will work as
and when required by the company. Please
note that this is a zero hours contract and as such you have no fixed
contractual hours of work and these will vary from assignment to assignment and
furthermore be dependent on the requirements of the client.
b. You will normally
be given 24 hours notice of when you are required to work. However due to the
nature of the employment you may be given less notice, depending on the
circumstances.
c. You will have no
obligation to accept the work offered. However you must use your best
endeavours to inform the Company if you are unable to accept the work offered.
d. While on
Assignment you:
i) Must
devote your full time and attention to the Client’s business,
ii) Will be subject to instruction
from anyone authorised by the Client,
iii)
Will be required to
work under the Client’s direct supervision,
iv)
Are expected to
comply fully with the Clients Equal Opportunity Policy,
v)
Are expected to
conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times,
vi)
Should report any
issues to your recruitment consultant in a timely manner
e. At the end of
Assignment you must report back to your recruitment consultant at Gateway.
f. If you are
removed from an Assignment because of your conduct your position with Gateway
will be reviewed.
6. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
a. Information
Provisions relating to the Workers Contract
with Gateway are set out in Schedule 1 hereof:-
b.
Confidentiality
Where the Worker is on Assignment to a local
authority, the Worker agrees to sign and at all times adhere to the terms of
the confidentiality agreement in Schedule 2 of this agreement or such other
confidentiality agreement the client may require the Worker to sign and for the
sake of clarity the Worker agrees not to divulge any information of any kind
whatsoever to a third party concerning any assignment.
c. Intellectual
Property
i. The Worker
agrees that any plans, drawings, details, documents, handbooks, specification,
codes of practice, reports, calculations or other work and the designs
contained within them (hereinafter called the Documents) provided by a Client
shall at all time remain its property, and the worker further agrees not to
use, reproduce, disseminate, adapt, transmit in any form or by any means the
Documents or in part thereof or permit the same to be used, reproduced,
disseminated, adapted or transmitted as aforesaid or published other than for
the purposes of carrying out its obligations under the Assignment. At the end
of any Assignment the Worker shall ensure that all documents shall be returned
to the Client together with all copies thereof forthwith.
ii. The Worker
further agrees that all intellectual property rights in all drawings, details,
plans, specifications, schedules, reports, calculations and any other work
under any kind prepared by or on behalf of a Client during an Assignment, and
any document created by the Worker in connection with the Assignment shall be
owned by investing the Client and a Worker hereby agrees to sign any document
to vest such intellectual property rights in the Client as the Client may
reasonably require and the Worker agrees to waive any moral rights the Worker
has in such intellectual property rights.
d. Data Protection
Act 1998
The Worker agrees that Gateway may hold,
collect, retain, use and disclose information about the Worker obtained in the
course of its business in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The
Worker further consents to Gateway disclosing to third parties with whom it is
contractually bound to do so for audit and or compliance purposes only all or
any of the foregoing information.
e. Claims
In the event that the Worker is notified by
the Client (or any employee of the Client) whether verbally or in writing of
any claim or breach of contract by the Worker whilst on Assignment, then the
Worker shall immediately notify Gateway of the notification by the Client.
f. Environmental
The Worker will comply at all times with all
relevant environmental legislation and all client environmental policies and procedures
notified to the Worker from time to time.
g. Assignments with
Local Authorities
Prior to any Assignment with a client which
is also a local authority the Worker must sign all relevant declarations as
required by the client, including a National Fraud Initiative Declaration and a
declaration of the Workers outstanding indebtedness to the client, if any, and
financial and business interests.
h. Save as provided
in clause 6(i) below the schedules to this agreement form part of this
agreement. If at the time of signing this agreement all or any of the schedules
hereto are unavailable for the Worker’s signature the Worker agrees that this
agreement may be varied at any time so as to a) incorporate the schedules and
b) generally update, vary and or amend the terms of this agreement as Gateway’s
absolute discretion.
i. For the sake of
clarity Gateway has a disciplinary code, a copy of which is supplied with this
agreement but the disciplinary code does not form part of and is excluded from
the terms of this contract. A copy of the disciplinary code as updated and
amended from time to time is available upon request.
7. HOLIDAY
Your
holiday entitlement will begin to accrue from your first day at work with
Gateway. The details of your holiday entitlement appear in the Schedule 1.
8. TERMINATION OF THE CONTRACT
a. The Worker may
bring this contract to an end by serving written notice of not less than 1 day
upon Gateway.
b. Gateway may
terminate this agreement at any time without notice for any or for no reason
whatsoever, with or without cause.
c. For the sake of
clarity where the contract between Gateway and the Client is terminated for any
reason whatsoever then the Assignment will automatically cease with immediate
effect.
9. NOTICES
a. All notices shall
be in writing and signed by an authorised officer of the party giving notice
and may be served by letter, fax or email to the last known address of the
other party hereto.
b. Notice will be
deemed to be served by post within 48 hours and by email within 12 hours.
SCHEDULE 1
Welcome to Gateway
Gateway is an
Employment Business specialising in the supply of workers to hirers; it’s
Clients. It has been set up specifically to provide quality, reliable staff to
meet any opportunities for temporary work created within Greenwich Council and
within selected private sector organisations. To achieve this we will
continuously review the skills and experience of our staff and the services we
provide.
Gateway is committed
to supporting the community within which it operates. It will use surplus
profits to support worthwhile causes particularly in the areas of education,
and training in arts, culture and sport.
Assignments
Gateway will
endeavour to provide you with assignments with our Clients that will meet the
working times indicated during your initial interview, however this may not
always be possible.
You are only paid for
the hours actually worked during your assignment as certified by the Client on
your work record. This means you will not receive any pay if you do not
actually have an assignment and neither are you entitled to the payment of any
benefits contained in these terms and conditions in respect of periods when you
are not on assignment.
Gateway reserves the
right to offer you any available assignment as we may choose.
While on assignment
Unless you are ill,
or there are other reasons of authorised absence, agreed by the Client, you
will be expected, while on assignment, to devote your full time and attention
to the Client’s business.
While on assignment,
you will be subject to instruction from anyone authorised by the Client and
will be required to work under the Client’s direction and supervision. On
conclusion of your assignment you must report back to your Recruitment
Consultant at Gateway. If you are removed from an assignment because of your
conduct, your continued engagement with Gateway will be reviewed.
Work References
It is Gateway’s
policy to take up past work references. Therefore your engagement and
assignments are subject to our obtaining satisfactory references, verifying
your skills, qualifications and experience and any medical requirements. This
is an ongoing process, particularly your medical suitability for any assignment,
without prejudice to your rights under the Disability Discrimination Act.
For certain
assignments involving the handling of cash or sensitive information, or work
with children or the elderly, it is company policy that checks are carried out
by the Criminal Records Bureau prior to assignment and we may require your
permission to obtain further reference information.
Hours of work
Your hours of work
will vary from job to job, as will the length of assignments, and there may
also be occasions when no work is available.
Your working time is
the time you actually spend working for the Client. It must be recorded and
authorised on your work record. Travel to and from work, rest breaks and other
times spent on the Client’s premises but not actually working does not count as
working time.
Under the Working
Time Directive 1998 if your daily working time is more than 6 hours you will be
entitled to and must take a minimum of 20 minutes as a break. If you wish to
take a longer break you can negotiate this with the client. You will not be
paid for any breaks taken.
You may be asked to
work over the hours indicated on your assignment sheet. These hours will be
paid for in addition to your assigned hours and the rate negotiated and agreed
with GSS. Any variances from your original assignment hours and rates must be
shown clearly on your timesheet.
The Working Time Regulations 1998 impose a
limit on the working week of 48 hours (including overtime) averaged over 17
weeks. However, there is an opportunity to opt out of this by signing a waiver.
If you wish to exercise this right you must sign the agreement and return it to
your Recruitment Consultant at Gateway as soon as possible. If, after doing so,
you then decide that you no longer wish to be available to work more than 48
hours per week, you may give us 14 days notice in writing and the agreement
will end accordingly. In the event that these Regulations change you will be
required to comply with such Regulations as are in force from time to time.
Absence
If an unavoidable reason, such as illness or
care of a dependant, is going to prevent you from getting to an assignment,
please let your Recruitment Consultant have as much notice as possible. If it is unexpected,
you or somebody on your behalf must notify Gateway’s head office and your
assignment supervisor at least half an hour before your shift is due to start
on the first day of absence.
Once you are able to return to work you must
inform Gateway’s main office who will re-assign you if necessary, as soon as
possible.
Punctuality
At your assignment
briefing you will be told what time you are required to report for work. You
are expected to make all reasonable efforts to be punctual, because of our
commitment to the Client we always take a serious view of lateness, unless it
is caused by circumstances beyond your control; or there is an otherwise
satisfactory explanation.
Work Records
Your work record is
extremely important because it provides the only authority by which you can be
paid for your work. Work records will be issued during your assignment
interview. At the end of each day you are required to enter the number of
hours worked, to the nearest fifteen minutes. You do not include time taken
for breaks or other absences. At the end of the week or on conclusion of your
assignment if earlier, ensure that the total hours that you have actually
worked on each day, have been entered on your work record and authorised by
your supervisor. Your completed work record will be used to calculate your pay
and holiday entitlements.
Your completed work record must be returned
to Gateway’s main office by Friday of each week worked or by 12.00 noon on the
Monday following the week worked. You are responsible for ensuring that your
work record is received in Gateway’s main office by this time.
If you lose your work
record, contact your Recruitment Consultant at Gateway’s main office
immediately. Your supervisor must countersign any alterations to the figures on
your work record.
Preventing
delay in payment of wages
Payment of wages or holiday pay may
be delayed if we are not in receipt of an authorised timesheet or holiday
booking form. When completing the time sheet you must:
- Enter actual
hours worked each day and do not include time taken for any breaks or any
periods of absence;
- At the end of
each week you must obtain an authorisation signature from your assignment
supervisor;
- Any alterations
made to your timesheet must be countersigned by your supervisor;
- All authorised timesheets must reach our
payroll section by 12 noon on a Monday and holiday requests should be sent
with the appropriate notice or with a covering letter.
In the event that the person authorised to sign your timesheet or
holiday form is not available ie, absent from work and no other authorised
person is available; please ensure you forward your unsigned timesheet/holiday
form to the payroll department at the end of the working week. You must follow
up with a phone call to the payroll department for further advice, otherwise
delay in payment may occur.
Pay
Your pay will be
based on an hourly rate, which is related to the type of work performed on each
assignment. The rates will be confirmed during your assignment briefing and in
the Standard Letter of Engagement. Payment is always made to the nearest
quarter hour.
Over
Payments
You authorise Gateway
to deduct directly from your periodic pay/earnings any loans, advances,
over-payments or any other payments made available to you.
Methods of Payment
You will be paid
weekly for the number of hours worked during the previous week. Your
Recruitment Consultant will provide you with details of the pay arrangements.
In the interests of security, payment will be made by direct credit transfer
into your bank or building society account.
Expenses
Where authorised,
itemised and acceptable travel expenses incurred whilst on assignment will be
paid through payroll and subject to tax in accordance with Inland Revenue
Regulations.
Holiday Pay
You are entitled to
paid holiday in accordance with the Working Time Regulations 1998. Our holiday
year runs from 1st April to 31st March.
Holiday entitlement
may be taken in instalments after it has accrued due and is always subject to
(i) the giving of 14 days prior notice by the Worker to Gateway, and (ii) the
needs of the Client and Gateway.
Under certain
circumstances you may be required to take any holiday you have accrued at
particular times, for example if, during your assignment to a Client, they
operate a closure period during the summer or over the Christmas period.
All holiday
entitlements must be taken by year-end. You may not carry forward untaken
entitlements from one leave year to the next.
Gateway cannot pay
you in lieu of permitting you to take annual leave.
If at the date of
your termination you have taken more holidays than your accrued entitlement,
then you agree that appropriate deductions will be made from your final pay.
Where a bank holiday
or other public holiday falls during an assignment Gateway Employment may at its
discretion require you, upon giving one week’s notice, to take a bank holiday
or other public holiday as part of your paid holiday entitlements.
Industrial Relations
While working for
Gateway in any role, you have the right to join an appropriate trade union and
to participate in its activities. Gateway recommends that all Workers join an
appropriate union. It is Gateway’s policy that our Workers will not replace
striking workers, nor undertake duties normally carried out by striking
workers. If you encounter a picket line at your assigned place of work you must
contact Gateway’s main office and report the situation. You are not obliged to
cross the picket line and you will not be subject to any disciplinary action
for failing to do so.
However in most cases
our staff will not be directly involved in any industrial action and we would
generally recommend that you proceed to work as normal.
Mobile
Phone Policy
Legislation
introduced on the 1st December 2003 makes it illegal for anyone to
use a handheld mobile phone whilst undertaking any form of driving activity.
Gateway is fully
committed to ensuring that this legislative requirement is fully endorsed and
adhered to by all its Workers and to providing clear guidelines relating to the
general use of mobile phones whilst you are engaged on any form of assignment
with our clients.
Health
and Safety Statement
All Workers placed on
assignment and all clients hiring our Workers need to be aware of their
respective responsibilities under the Health and Safety legislation.
Gateway:
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Gateway is required to safeguard
so far as is reasonably practical the health, safety and welfare of people who
work for it. It is therefore our policy to provide our Workers with a safe and
healthy work environment and to ensure compliance with the relevant
legislation, regulations and codes of practice. We will provide our Workers
with any guidance, advice and information relating to Health and Safety
legislation and ensure we pass on any specific guidelines or requirements
specified by our client in relation to the proposed Assignment or area of work
to be undertaken.
The
Client: Is required to:
- Treat any Worker placed on Assignment as
though a Worker of the Client for all aspects of Health and Safety.
- Do whatever is reasonably practicable to
protect the health, safety and welfare of the Worker and any other persons
who may be affected by what the Worker does or does not do as part of
their Assignment duties.
- Make the Worker aware of all Health and
Safety policies and procedures relating to the Client’s premises and with
details of the authorised Health and Safety representative on site.
- Consult with the Worker, of the Health
and Safety representative, where appropriate.
- Control all risks and carry out required
Health and Safety risk assessments and make available any written results
of any assessments undertaken.
- Ensure that our Worker is where
appropriate, provided with and wearing any suitable protective clothing
and equipment required.
- Provide the Worker with the required
information, instruction, training and supervision as deemed necessary.
- Record all accidents or injuries
incurred by the Worker in the Client’s accident record book and notify
Gateway of any recorded incidents, and liaise with Gateway to ensure that
all relevant injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences are reported to
the Health and Safety Executive as required.
Our Workers: Have
a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to take reasonable care to
avoid injury to themselves and to others when undertaking their activities at
work. They are also required to:
- Continuously assess their area of work
and surrounding location and report any Health and Safety risks identified
to the Client and to Gateway.
- Inform the Client and Gateway of any
dangers, risks or hazards identified in order to help maintain a safe
working environment.
- Observe and comply with at all times the
Client’s Health and Safety policies and procedures.
- Co-operate with the Client on Health and
Safety issues and follow all instructions provided.
- Take all reasonable steps to ensure care
for their own health and safety and that of any other person who may be
affected by what they do or do not do.
- Report all injuries, accidents or
dangerous occurrences to the Client and to Gateway.
- Wear any protective clothing and
appropriately use any specialist equipment provided.
- Not to interfere with, misuse or abuse
any equipment provided or designated for Health and Safety use.
Appropriate
dress, conduct and use of equipment
Unless otherwise
stated by the Client or Gateway Employment, workers should dress in smart
business wear: smart trousers, skirt, shirt/blouse. Please remember that
workers are on hire to our clients we expect all our staff to present a
professional image. Jeans, shorts, cargo pants, or trainers are not considered
smart business wear and should not be worn whilst on assignment for Gateway
Employment.
All workers should conduct themselves in a
professional manner at all times throughout the duration of their assignment
and adhere to the clients’ code of conduct and working practices.
Any issue or grievance experienced in the
workplace should be reported in the first instance to your recruitment
consultant.
Workers are reminded that it is not
appropriate to:
1)
Use company or department telephones
or mobile phones for personal calls
2)
Use a hand held company or personal
mobile whilst employed on any driving assignment
3)
Receive or make personal calls on your
personal mobile during working hours
4)
Send personal letters or
correspondence through internal or external post systems
5)
Use stationery or equipment for
personal use
6)
Use email or internet provision for
personal use
7)
Use company vehicles for personal use
8)
Carry out any other activity or use
any other company property or resources, for which it can be deemed that a cost
is incurred
unless
they have the express permission of an authorised supervisor.
Gateway will not accept any liability for any costs arising from inappropriate
use and any request for payment or reimbursement by our clients as a result of
any proven cases of inappropriate use will be passed directly on to the worker.
Any inappropriate use of resources or behaviour may also result in the
termination of the assignment.
SCHEDULE 2
AGENCY WORKER – GENERAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
This (“Confidentiality Agreement”) is signed
by all Agency Workers as part of the Workers Contract for Services:
1. I understand that during the course of my
(“Assignment”) with any Local Authority (the “Council”) and/ or Private Sector
client and as part of my engagement [or employment] I may have access to
confidential information (“Information”) in verbal, written or electronic
form. In cases of doubt, all Information relating to the Client’s business,
whether or not marked as “Confidential” shall be treated as confidential. I
accordingly agree not to disclose any such Information unless the Client gives
its full written approval prior to such disclosure.
2. Information shall only be disclosed to
directors, officers and employees of Gateway Employment Ltd (“Gateway”) to the
extent necessary for it to deliver its services to the Client. .
3. I shall
keep all materials containing Information in a safe and secure place.
6.1 Information
that is already in the public domain;
6.2 Information
that is publicised or becomes part of the public domain otherwise than as a
result of a breach of this clause 6 by myself;
6.3 Information that I can demonstrate was
in my possession at the time of the disclosure and was not acquired directly or
indirectly from the Client on a confidential basis;
6.4 Information that becomes available to
myself on a non-confidential basis from a source other than the Client.
6.5 Information that I am required to disclose
by any Government Law, Rule or Regulation or by any applicable judgement, order
or decree or any Court or Government body or agency, but I agree to give to the
Client all reasonable notice of such disclosure pursuant to the foregoing
exception.
7. I
accordingly agree to adhere to the terms of this Confidentiality Agreement and
I understand that breach of this Confidentiality Agreement may lead to summary
dismissal, and such further action for reparation, as may be appropriate.