Terms
These general terms and conditions apply to any work undertaken by Daisy Editorial (as well as any specific terms agreed for each project). Clients are asked to agree these once at the start of our working relationship.
General
1. These terms and conditions apply to any work done for the Client (‘you’) by Daisy Editorial (‘me/I’). Additional or alternative terms may be agreed between us on a project-by-project basis. The person who agrees the project with me will be deemed authorised to do so and authorised to accept these terms and conditions.
2. This agreement is subject to the laws of Scotland, and both you and I agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the Scottish courts.
3. All documents sent to me by mail, courier or email will be sent at your own expense and risk.
4. Under the terms of data protection and GDPR legislation, you and I may keep on record such information (such as contact and payment details) as is necessary for record-keeping and to fulfil contracts between us. Either may ask to view the other’s records to ensure that they are relevant, correct and up to date.
Nature of contract
5. All work will be carried out on a freelance basis. You are under no obligation to offer me work; neither am I under any obligation to accept work offered by you. I will provide services as mutually agreed and confirmed in writing (by email) after initial discussions with you about the project.
6. The work will be carried out unsupervised at such times and places as determined by me, using my own equipment.
7. I confirm that I am self-employed, am responsible for my own income tax and National Insurance contributions, am not registered for VAT and will not claim benefits granted to your employees (if applicable).
Payment
8. I may request a representative sample of your project before giving an estimate of price.
9. You will provide your real name, billing address and phone number and let me know if these change.
10. You will pay me a fee per hour OR per number of words OR per printed page OR a flat fee for each project as agreed between us in pounds sterling. You will pay any additional bank or other charges in connection with transferring full payment to me in that currency.
11. You will reimburse me for reasonable normal expenses incurred in completing the project (such as copying/printing and postage) and any other reasonable necessary expenses if applicable (for example travel should you require me to attend a meeting at your premises).
12. Time for telephone calls and online meetings is not included in the project fee unless agreed in advance, and I will charge for such time as expenses at my hourly rate.
13. I may request payment in part or whole in advance of doing any work, particularly if you are a new client or are not based in the UK. This may include a deposit to secure a time slot in my schedule, which will usually be non-refundable should you cancel the project after the booking is confirmed.
14. If the project is lengthy, I may invoice you periodically for completed stages.
15. Unless agreed otherwise at the outset, you will make payment within 20 days of the date of each invoice. I will add interest at 8% above the Bank of Scotland base rate to any late payments for the period between the due date and the date of final payment. You will also be liable to pay any costs incurred by me connected directly or indirectly with the performance of the contract between us, including recovery of the costs of collection of unpaid invoices and court fees.
The work
16. You will provide as detailed a brief of the work required as you can and will be available to answer questions in sufficient time to meet the target date. Once I have given my professional assessment and we have agreed the work required you will accept that this fulfils the brief.
17. I will aim to deliver the completed work on or before the agreed target date. I will let you know without delay if I cannot meet this deadline. Delivery of the project will be deemed to have been made at the time of personal delivery or dispatch to you by mail or courier service. Electronic delivery will be deemed to have been made at the time I send the email(s) or upload the file(s).
18. If upon my receipt of the project item(s), or at an early stage, it becomes clear that significantly more work is required than anticipated in the preliminary discussion/brief, or the work is of an unexpected nature, I may renegotiate the brief, the fee and/or the deadline with you.
19. Similarly, if during the project you request additional tasks, I may renegotiate the brief, the fee and/or the deadline.
20. If you make changes to your work after we have agreed a project/fee, or after I have started work, or after delivery by me of any stage of the edited/proofed or designed work, I may consider each such addition and/or change made to be a separate project and may invoice accordingly or decline to accept the additional tasks. You must let me know in writing as soon as possible about any changes proposed by you after the project has been agreed.
21. If we cannot agree on new terms then I may cancel the project or state what work I can complete within the original brief, fee or timescale and may invoice you for work done to date.
22. Unless otherwise agreed between us, the work and fee will include taking in one round only of minor revisions and comments by you once you have reviewed my work.
Confidentiality and copyright
23. I will keep the work confidential, unless you give me permission to do otherwise.
24. If you confirm your consent (which I will obtain from you separately), I may use your name and feedback in my promotional material (for example in my website testimonials or portfolio).
25. If you wish to credit me in your work, please ask me for permission first.
26. The edited work and any content created by me as part of the copyediting, proofreading or design and layout process will become the copyright of you, unless otherwise agreed, but only after you have paid all project fees in full.
Liability and indemnity
27. 27. You are responsible for the legality, accuracy and completeness of your work and all information given to me in order to complete the project. I will accept no liability for consequential loss, damage of whatever nature, or claims by third parties, if the information provided to me is not your own original work, or is incorrect or incomplete, even if such information was provided in good faith.
28. You are ultimately responsible for the content of your work and how it is used or published. In particular, I am not responsible for any changes made after your work leaves me.
29. Although I can help you present a coherent and consistent version of your work, I cannot guarantee that it will be error free, nor that it will be accepted for publication or will sell.
30. You will indemnify me against all claims by third parties due to an alleged infringement of any copyright, property, patent or other intellectual property right associated with the project.
31. You will indemnify me against all claims by third parties ensuing from the use of the project work.
Cancellation
32. If you decide or need to cancel a project after it has been agreed, you will be liable to pay for that part of the project I have already completed, including any preparatory work. You agree that I may commence work at any time after we have agreed terms for a project.
33. If I have reserved a substantial block of time for a project that is cancelled by you and I cannot reasonably fill it with other paid projects, I reserve the right to keep any deposit paid by you and/or to charge 50% of the agreed project fee for hours not profitably used.
34. If I am unable to deliver the project within the agreed timescale because of circumstances that are outwith my control or are unforeseen (including fire, flood or other disruption), you will have the option to cancel the remainder of the project and pay only for work already carried out, or to renegotiate a new target date for the full project. I will have no obligation to compensate for any part I cannot complete.
35. I reserve the right to cancel a project after starting it if it becomes apparent that the nature of the work is not as expected or I think it is not ready for the services I have agreed to provide. I will invoice you only for work completed and useable by you.
What if things go wrong?
36. Either party can terminate our contract for services if there is a serious breach of its terms.
37. You must notify me in writing of any complaints relating to the work I have carried out within 10 days of final delivery of the project. The voicing of a complaint will not discharge you from obligation to pay the project fee due to me. If I take up your complaint, this does not mean that I consider the complaint justified or submitted in time.
38. If I agree my work is unsatisfactory, I will rectify or replace it within a reasonable time and at my own expense. This will not apply if you have made changes to the work or had it changed since my delivery of the final project to you. If I am unable to rectify or replace the work within a reasonable time, I will offer you a discount on the fee due.
39. If we cannot reach agreement on any matter, you may use the complaints procedure of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) to arbitrate on any complaints about projects completed by me.
Last updated February 2021