GDPR policy

The Terms and Conditions of Business set out below constitute an Agreement between Support to you Ltd (the Company) and the service users. Acceptance by the service user of the provision of care and associated services via the Company will constitute acceptance of these Terms and Conditions of Business (including any revised versions). A contractual agreement between the Company and the service user and these Terms and Conditions of Business will be binding whether or not signed by the service user. Copies of these Terms and Conditions of Business (including any revised versions) are available upon request from the Company. Company’s Obligations: The Company Shall: Take every reasonable precaution to ensure the suitability of all Care Workers, in accordance with the Company’s recruitment policies and procedures. Undertake full criminal record checks on all Care Workers in accordance with relevant local and national regulations to which the Company is subject. Carry out necessary health and safety checks and risk assessments on a service user’s property within 1 week of the service commencing. Endeavour to send the same Care Worker or team of Care Workers for visits. However, this is not a guarantee due to holidays, sickness and other staffing reasons outside of the Company’s control. The Company will use all reasonable efforts to inform the service user when a regular Care Worker cannot attend. Use all reasonable efforts to replace a Care Worker where the service user or Care Worker has requested a change. Please note, this may impact on the continuity of service provision in the Agreement. Reserve the right to inform appropriate authorities where a Care Worker has experienced harassment or discrimination of any type whilst providing services to the service user. Care Workers Obligations Care Workers will: Follow all of the Company’s policies and procedures whilst carrying out services for a service user; and act and conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times. Care Workers will NOT: Use the service user’s telephones (whether landlines or mobiles or the internet) other than on the service user’s behalf. The Company cannot accept any responsibility for any service user’s telephone bills. Accept gifts from service user’s over the value of £10; or Lend money to a service user family or borrow money from a service user. Smoke, take drugs or drink alcohol in the service users. Expectations of Service user We expect you to have high expectations from us as a Company and in the care you receive. Equally, our support workers will expect to be treated with respect, not to be exploited in any way. We value our employees and would respectfully request that they are treated as you would expect to be treated yourself. Any harassment or discrimination of any type will be treated very seriously. Supervision The Company will supervise the Care Worker during the period of the Care Worker’s assignment to ensure satisfaction with the standard of work provided by the Care Worker. In order for the Company to successfully supervise its Care Workers the Company asks that the service user allows the Company’s management staff to attend the care visits on occasion in order to see the support worker whilst they are providing support to the service user. Expenses All expenses for Care Workers accompanying the service user on days out or short trips out will be paid for by the service user. Mileage is to be paid by the service user to the support worker at a rate of 0.50p per mile. Fees and Invoices The Company’s fees for care and associated services provided by its employees (the “support workers”) will be agreed with the service user or Authorised Representative (or by any authorized representative of Social Services or NHS CCG where the service user is funded by Social Services or NHS CCG) before the commencement of such services. The Company’s fees are reviewed yearly, but The Company reserves the right to implement more regular reviews of charges. The results of any such review shall be notified to the service user in writing, as soon as practicable and with a minimum 28 days’ notice of any increase in charges. Payment of fees for care and associated services provided will be the responsibility of the service user or Authorised Representative (or Social Services & NHS CCG where the service user is funded by Social Services or NHS CCG). Invoices with a breakdown of services will be provided by the Company to the service user or Authorised Representative on a monthly basis. For service users who are funded by Social Services OR NHS CCG should funding from Social Services or NHS CCG cease the full responsibility for the payment of fees for care and associated services provided will revert to the service user or authorised representative in full. Invoices are payable in full within 14 days of the date of invoice. The Company reserves the right to charge interest, on a daily basis, at a rate of 5% above the Bank of England base rate, in the event of non-payment. The Company reserves the right to charge the service user, at the agreed rate as set out in the agreement, for additional hours worked by a support worker beyond that which has been documented in the agreement. Cancellation of visits The service user is entitled to cancel the agreement, at any point. However, to enable us to maintain our service, cancelled visits are chargeable unless cancelled with 2 weeks notice. Changes to the Agreement If the service user decides to terminate a Care Workers service at any time and for any reason during a single visit or to cancel a single visit with less than 48 hours notice, the Company reserves the right to charge the service user for the full single visit in accordance with the Agreement. If the service user requires hospitalisation or emergency respite care, then the Agreement can be placed on hold for up to 14 days or longer if mutually agreed between the service user and the Company. To ensure provision of care may recommence upon discharge from hospital / respite care (preferably on a date of the service user’s choice) a retainer will be required. This will be 50% of the current invoiced amount. After 14 it will be 25% of the current invoiced amount. A review of the service user’s care will be required prior to the service recommencing. Alternatively, the service user may terminate the contract with the Company and look to re-instate when discharged, however availability cannot be guaranteed. Complaints The Company aims to ensure that all service users are given the highest quality of care and service. However, if a service user feels aggrieved or unsatisfied with the service of a support worker or the Company, a clearly defined complaints procedure exists. This may be accessed via our website. Further copies of the procedure are available upon request. If the service user, or their Authorised Representative, is not satisfied with the standard of work performed by the support worker, then such dissatisfaction should be brought to the attention of the Company and if appropriate the Company should be asked to terminate the contract.The Company should be notified of any such occurrence and, whenever it is reasonable to do so, the Company will endeavour to replace the support worker as quickly as possible. The service user will, however, be responsible for paying the Company’s charges in respect of the hours worked by the support worker prior to any such termination of an assignment. Termination The Company and service user are entitled to terminate the Agreement by either giving 14 days written notice (including email) to the other party. The service user is liable for the company’s weekly fees for 2 weeks from the date of the company or service user giving notice. The Company is entitled to terminate the agreement by written notice to the service user if the service user commits a breach of the terms of business and fails to reach a resolution within 14 days after written notice providing details of the breach and the requirements for it to be remedied. The service user will be responsible for payment of all the charges up to the point at which the service is terminated. In circumstances where the Company reasonably perceives a significant risk of harm to a support worker or that the health and safety of those involved in the care and support is compromised, the Company may give immediate notice (0 days) terminating the service and the Agreement. Insurance The Company has a Public and Employers Liability insurance policy to indemnify it against costs incurred in respect of proven acts for which the Company can be held liable in law. Limits of Liability: The Company accepts no liability for the action of all persons in its direct employment save for where such actions relate to the duties of the Care Workers resulting from the course of such employment. Breakages and damages in service user’s homes The Company cannot accept any liability for any breakages/damages or other losses caused by Care Workers in the service user’s home. Service user’s possessions are not covered by the Company’s insurance policy and should therefore be covered by their own household or other insurance. It is the service user’s responsibility to ensure that the household insurance policy covers the service user for having a support worker in the service user’s property. It will be the responsibility of the service user and/or their Authorised Representative to give clear, proper and adequate instructions for the use of items or electrical equipment in the service user’s homes. The Company will not accept any liability for any damage (whether direct or indirect) done by the Care Worker to any goods, equipment or fixtures and fittings in the service user’s property and accepts no responsibility for wear and tear fixtures and fittings in the service user’s property Service user’s Vehicles Care Workers may only drive the service user’s vehicle if covered by adequate insurance, both their own insurance (this being the support worker’s responsibility) and the service user’s insurance. It is the service user’s responsibility to check their own vehicle insurance, so that it adequately covers a situation where the Care Worker is required to drive the service user’s vehicle. The service user will be responsible for checking that the Care Worker has a valid driving licence and that it meets the service user’s own insurance company’s policy and criteria. Neither the Company nor the Care Workers will be liable to pay any insurance excesses payable to the service user’s insurance company in the event of an accident or any other claim made. The Company reserves the right to ask the service user to provide a copy of their valid insurance policy or other proof that the relevant Care Worker is insured to drive the relevant vehicle. The Company accepts no liability in respect of parking costs and fines or other motoring penalties incurred by the Care Worker during the course of provision of the care service. Data Protection Personal information relating to the service user is held on file with the Company during the service user’s Agreement with the Company and for a statutory period required afterwards. This information is securely kept in line with all applicable laws concerning the protection of personal data, including the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and The General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR) together, and with other subsequent laws “Data Protection Laws”. Confidentiality The Company accepts that all information it holds regarding a service user’s state of health or personal affairs is held in confidence. No such information will be divulged to any third party without the express consent of the service user’s or their respective legal representatives. Exceptions to this rule include provision of relevant medical or other information, which would form the basis of a normal professional interchange between Care Workers and a qualified medical practitioner, district nurse or social worker. The professional references and other information obtained by the Company in respect of support workers are confidential and can only be divulged to the service user’s in exceptional circumstances. In the event of such disclosure, any such information provided to the service user is provided in strictest confidence and must not be transmitted, in any form, by the service user to any third party.