Workers / Professionals Terms of Service:
Definitions of terms:
- “Oasis Home Services” means the online marketplace for care provided via our website.
- “Professionals or worker” means individuals working on a self-employed basis and delivering care services via our platform.
- “Clients” means individuals using our website and marketplace service to search for care, engage with carers and enter a contractual relationship with carers
- “Patients” means the person receiving the care. They may also be a client, however, in most cases tends to be a family member or guardian
1- Introduction:
1.1 About Oasis Home Services
Oasis Homecare Services Limited is the registered name for ‘Oasis Home Services. We are a one-stop introductory company that offers you an all-round home concierge services from care at home, beauty and makeup, gardening, pet sitting, cleaning, live-in care, companionship, etc. It also provides tools that allow them to work together, which include, but are not limited to:
- A database of self-employed carers, filtered by skill, area and time availability
- Online payments system to enable transactions between self-employed carers and clients
- A standard contract, executed at the agreement to provide services, valid for the service arranged and inclusive of agreements made between the carer and the client
- Communication tools to facilitate interaction
- Care plans and scheduling tools
- Monitoring tools for customers to monitor care activity
- Feedback tools on care provision
1.2 Introductory agency service
In accordance with CQC guidance, Oasis Home Services is classified as an ‘introductory agency’. Oasis Home Services runs an online marketplace to facilitate the process of finding services at home. Oasis Home Services does not:
- Supply carers to clients
- Employ carers, professionals or any workers
- Act as an employment or care agency
- Make changes to the care plan, work schedule
- Exercise control over the pricing or delivery of care
1.3 Limitations of service
All the tools provided by Oasis Home Services are used at the client’s and carer’s own risk. Oasis Home Services provides no guarantee over the functioning of the tools provided and reserves the right to withdraw any of them at any time for a short or prolonged period. Oasis Home Services does not accept any liability for losses or damages caused by the unavailability or functionality of the service.
Oasis Home Services disclaims any liability for any losses or controversies, injury or accidents, claims or damages arising from the use of its tools, as well as the engagement or the provision of services and tasks by professionals/workers.
2- General Terms of Service:
2.1 Eligibility to use the service; representations and warranties
- By registering and using the service you confirm that:
- All the information provided by you is correct and accurate
- You accept and will abide by our terms and conditions you have the right to form legally binding contracts under UK law and are over 18 years old
- You are eligible to legally work in the UK
- You will be working on a self-employed basis and will fulfil all responsibilities and duties of a self-employed worker including paying all tax and National Insurance due to HMRC
2.2 Account Creation &Registration
To use this service, clients and professionals must create an account on the Oasis Home Services website. Each account must be a personal account and only one account is allowed per person. All professionals must provide accurate and up to date information. You confirm you will keep passwords safe and secure and not allow anyone else to access your account. Oasis Home Services reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of the site at any time and with immediate effect. Oasis Home Services undertakes a level of due diligence to ensure each account belongs to one person.
By applying to Oasis Home Services, clients and professionals give Oasis Home Services permission to use the information they provide to undertake their due diligence. This includes, but is not limited to, referencing that information during the interview, ensuring that any displayed is accurate and the checking of the carer’s Identity and background information. This includes, but is not limited to, their DBS certificate and information made available via the DBS update service.
2.3 Profile & Client Profile/ Registration
Clients and professionals are responsible for the content that they upload to the Oasis Home Services platform. Content must not be defamatory, offensive or inaccurate, false or misleading. Oasis Home Services reserves the right to remove any content that does not meet these standards at our absolute discretion. By using this service, you agree only to use Oasis Home Services for its intended and lawful purposes. Oasis Home Services reserves the right to amend and edit the content for accuracy, correct grammar and general presentation in accordance with creating a positive user experience for clients.
2.4 Compliance with Contract
Once a professional has “accepted” a contract, they are bound to deliver the terms of that contract. The self-employed professionals must negotiate with the client regarding any deviation from the contract, e.g. for time off or changes of contracted hours for leave, illness or personal circumstances. Oasis Home Services can offer no mediation or intervention regarding perceived non-compliance unless asked.
2.5 Quality of Care delivery
In your capacity as a self-employed professional, you agree to provide a professional, punctual, safe, compassionate, well communicated and diligent service for the customer and/ or care recipient always. You must not accept a contract that involves duties beyond your level of competence. You always agree to act honestly and with absolute integrity. You should not sub-contract or offer work to any colleague or any associate unless you have agreed on this with the client. Any change to contract terms must be expressly communicated to the client in writing. As a self-employed person, you have a right to find a substitute for your absences. Oasis Home Services encourages you to contact and liaise with other carers registered on Oasis Home Services to this end.
2.6 Compliance with Statutory Regulations
All professionals must ensure they are in compliance with the Care Standards Act 2006, the Care Act 2015, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 and all other legislation and Governmental Authority guidance applicable to the care of vulnerable adults in force in the UK. In addition, you represent and warrant that you and each member of your household (i) have never been the subject of a complaint, restraining order or any other legal action involving being arrested for, charged with, or convicted of any criminal offense involving violence, abuse, neglect, theft or fraud, or any offense that involves endangering the safety of others, dishonesty, negligence or drugs, and you are not nor have you ever been on the sex offenders register or other similar list.
3- Release of liability for user conduct and disputes:
All agreements between clients and workers are legally binding. Where Oasis Home Services is not a party to this agreement Oasis Home Services cannot arbitrate or mediate unless the issue is raised directly with Oasis Home Services.
Oasis Home Services does not accept any liability for claims, demands or direct and indirect damages arising from disputes between clients and carers, however, Oasis Home Services does offer resolution services where an issue is raised to us.
4- Issue Management Policy:
Where there is a disagreement between the client and the worker they may raise it with Oasis Home Services. This will trigger our issue management process, where Oasis Home Services will examine the evidence provided by both sides and the data contained within our own systems to attempt to come to as fair a resolution as possible. This data includes, but is not limited to, chat logs, visit reports and client and carer behaviour history.
Oasis Home Services reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to defer payment in escrow, reimburse or cease contractual payments at any time. We offer no guarantee that when an issue is raised that clients or carers will be reimbursed or paid.
Oasis Home Services reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to refer the matter onto the correct authorities, where they are better placed to arbitrated and manage the outcomes of any interaction and complaint.
To start the issue management process, an issue must be raised to Oasis Home Services within 10 working days of the incident.
5- Payments and Cancellations:
5.1 Payments
Contracts for work are agreed between clients and carers, however, all payments for work completed must be made via Oasis Home Services; attempts to pay outside of Oasis Home Services will lead to sanctions not limited to account suspension. Offers to pay outside of Oasis Home Services, made by either party, must be reported to Oasis Home Services immediately.
All credit and debit card information is held in compliance with PCI and is secure.
5.2 Rates and fees
It is your responsibility to set your hourly rate for the services you wish to provide. Hourly rates should not be changed during a contract agreement. Any changes in hourly rates that are made before the end of a contract must result in the termination of the current contract and a new contract must be agreed with the client. When setting your rate and negotiating with the client, you should account for Oasis Home Services charging a service fee of 20% inc VAT which is deducted from your hourly rate.
5.3 Income Tax and National Insurance
By using this service as a self-employed worker you agree that you have made and will make all required legal and tax filings to HMRC. This includes making national insurance contributions and paying income tax.
5.4 Cancellations and absences
Oasis Home Services accepts that cancellations are inevitable however we discourage them. Where an emergency arises and absence is unavoidable, you must inform the client immediately with as much notice as possible. When cancelling any agreed hours with a client, we ask you to notify Oasis Home Services of your cancellation at the same time so that we can assist in finding a replacement.
If you fail to inform your client of any absences or changes in contracted hours and this results in a complaint from the client, we reserve the right to withhold your pay for the week where the unexcused absence occurred. Please bear in mind that cancellations and unexcused absences may also affect your rating on the platform.
In cases of a planned holiday or leave, you must inform the client of your wish to arrange cover at least 2 weeks in advance of such absence and make best efforts to arrange cover with other carers registered on Oasis Home Services. Any cover with Oasis Home Services carer must be agreed with the client beforehand and be registered through the platform as they would when accepting any other booking.
5.5 Unaccepted visits
Once a visit has been agreed and scheduled, it is incumbent on the carer to confirm their attendance by accepting the visit. Attending unaccepted visits is strictly prohibited. Oasis Home Services does not accept any liability arising from the attendance of unaccepted visits and this visit may not be insured. Carers that do attend an unaccepted visit will be removed from the platform immediately.
6- Limitation of liability:
6.1 Responsibility for contract acceptance
You acknowledge that the decision to enter into a contract with a client is your sole responsibility and that Oasis Home Services makes no warranty as to the suitability of any work assignment you accept via Oasis Home Services, nor does Oasis Home Services provide any warranty as to the character or honesty of any customer or the truthfulness or accuracy of information provided by a customer.
However, Oasis Home Services does encourage you to make Oasis Home Services aware of concerning client behaviour. Oasis Home Services reserves the right to take any action it sees fit, on the basis of this information including, but not limited to, account suspension and complete removal from the platform. This is to safeguard carers working via the platform.
6.2 Risks of introduction service
You agree that you understand the risks involved in participating in an introductory agency service and you hereby waive any rights to claims for damages from Oasis Home Services in relation to the service.
6.3 Breach of terms and conditions
You agree to indemnify and not hold Oasis Home Services responsible or make any claim or demand against Oasis Home Services as a result of you breaching these terms and conditions.
7- Contractual Obligations:
By using Oasis Home Services, you agree to use the service for all current and future work that takes place as a result of an introduction made through Oasis Home Services. If you have been introduced to a potential client through Oasis Home Services, you must not create contractual agreements outside of this service, with the deliberate intention of circumventing Oasis Home Services’s fees.
8- Termination of profile:
You shall immediately notify Oasis Home Services should your circumstances change and you are no longer able to accept client work via Oasis Home Services. You are expected to carry out a high-quality service at all times. Oasis Home Services reserves the right to terminate your profile if it comes to our attention that your service is not up to standard, as determined by Oasis Home Services, or the terms and conditions have been breached or in the case that jobs have been frequently turned down. This decision is at the sole discretion of Oasis Home Services and no justification needs to be provided for the termination of a profile. Any severe offences will result in but are not limited to, the immediate termination of a carer’s profile.
9- Quality assurance and background checks:
By using this site or service you authorize Oasis Home Services to carry out certain background checks and audits at a time of their choosing. Oasis Home Services reserves the right, but not the obligation, to use a third party to scan your personal information on an ongoing basis against a variety of sources which may include, but are not limited to, sex offender registers, social media, criminal registers, and other legally available databases and resources. Oasis Home Services has no obligation to perform checks and releases all liability associated which results from checks. However, Oasis Home Services endeavours to review or carry out enhanced DBS checks on all carers registered on Oasis Home Services. Oasis Home Services the right to exclude a carer from the Oasis Home Services carer directory on the basis of findings in the DBS check. You also warrant that you have not been the subject of a restraining order or any other civil action.
10- Feedback, marketing, and customer reviews:
We ask clients to feedback on the experience they had with you. The feedback will contribute towards the review section on your Oasis Home Services profile. Customer feedback should be honest and you must not offer incentives in exchange for better feedback or try to influence a customer to deviate from their true and honest view. We reserve the right to remove any defamatory, abusive or offensive feedback at our discretion but are not obliged to do so. You agree to provide an exclusive and perpetual right for Oasis Home Services to publish customer reviews on your profile, and you must not attempt to delete customer reviews or create a new profile to delete poor feedback. Your profile data including biography and photograph (without identifying details) may be used from time to time in print and online marketing initiatives with the intention of generating more demand for your services. You also give Oasis Home Services a perpetual and non-exclusive right to share your information with third parties. If you wish to opt-out of this activity, please contact info@www.oasishomeservices.co.uk
We also ask that you raise any issues you have had with clients to Oasis Home Services, so that they may be reviewed. This includes any instance where you see issues involving vulnerable people in accordance with Oasis Home Services safeguarding policy.
11- The Care Miles Programme:
At Oasis Home Services we offer “Care Miles”. Once earned, Care Miles reduces the amount paid to Oasis Home Services in commission.
The earnings of Care Miles is at our complete discretion, Care Miles has no external value, they cannot be traded, and the value of care miles can be changed at any time.
Oasis Home Services reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to withdraw an individual’s Care Miles, to end the program, to change the rewards stemming from care miles, and to otherwise alter the program in any way, at any time, without warning
12- Privacy Statement:
By using the Oasis Home Services services you consent that Oasis Home Services may process the personal data that Oasis Home Services collects from you in accordance with Oasis Home Services Privacy Policy.
13- Confidentiality:
You agree to keep strictly confidential any information you receive in any medium or format about potential, existing and past clients from either Oasis Home Services or the clients themselves. This includes but is not limited to personal information and medical information.
14- Governing Law:
The terms and conditions and any dispute arising out of the site and/or the services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with these terms and conditions or in connection with this site and/ or service.
15- Contact Information:
If you have any questions about the terms and conditions or the services provided by Oasis Home Services please contact us at info@www.oasishomeservices.co.uk