Terms & Conditions

This website is owned and operated by Ability Squared Limited trading as The Ability People, its successors and assignees, (“The Ability People”, ”we” or “us”). It is available at: www.theabilitypeople.com (“Site”). These Terms of Use (Terms) govern your use of our Site and form a contract between you and us if you use the Site. Please ensure that you read these Terms carefully. Please contact us if you have any questions using the contact details below. Your use of the Site indicates that you have had sufficient opportunity to access the Terms and that you have read and accepted the Terms.

The Site is a marketplace where Clients and Freelancers (collectively referred to as Users) can identify each other and advertise, buy, and sell Freelancer Services online. You can only register as a Freelancer if you are classified to have an impairment under the Equality Act 2010. As a Client you acknowledge and agree that the Freelancers on the Site have impairments and disabilities and you agree that you will abide by the Equality Act 2010.

By registering for an account to use the Site or Site Services (an “Account”), by using the Site or Site Services after the Effective Date if you had an Account on the Effective Date, or by clicking to accept the Terms when prompted on the Site, you agree to abide by these Terms.

To access and use certain portions of the Site and the Site Services, you shall register for an Account. Subject to the Site Terms of Use, certain portions of the Site are available to Site Visitors, including those portions before your Account registration is accepted. The Ability People reserves the right to decline a registration to join The Ability People or to add an Account of any type (i.e., as a Client or Freelancer), for any lawful reason, including supply and demand, cost to maintain data, or other business considerations.

REGISTRATION

To register for an Account to join the Site, you shall complete a User profile (“Profile”), which you consent to be shown to other Users and, unless you change your privacy settings, to be shown to the public. You agree to provide true, accurate, and complete information on your Profile and all registration and other forms you access on the Site or provide to us and to update your information to maintain its truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness. You agree not to provide any false or misleading information about your identity or location, your business, your skills, or the services your business provides and to correct any such information that is or becomes false or misleading.

As described in this section, there are a number of different Account types. Once you register for one Account type, you can add the other Account types under the same username and password. For example, if you already have a Freelancer Account (defined below), you can add a Client Account (defined below) as a separate account type in settings without re-registering. We reserve the right to revoke the privileges of the Account or access to or use of the Site or Site Services, and those of any and all linked Accounts without warning if, in our sole discretion, false or misleading information has been provided in creating, marketing, or maintaining your Profile or Account.

CLIENT ACCOUNT

You can register for an Account or add an Account type to use the Site and Site Services as a Client (a “Client Account”). Each User under a Client Account (“Team Member”) can be given different permissions to act on behalf of the Client Account.

FREELANCER ACCOUNT

You can register for an Account or add an Account type to use the Site and Site Services as a Freelancer if you have any impairment in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 (a “Freelancer Account”).

When you register for an Account and from time to time thereafter, your Account will be subject to verification, including, but not limited to, validation against third-party databases or the verification of one or more official government or legal documents that confirm your identity, your location, and your ability to act on behalf of your business on The Ability People. You authorize The Ability People, directly or through third parties, to make any inquiries necessary to validate your identity, your location, and confirm your ownership of your email address or financial accounts, subject to applicable law. When requested, you shall timely provide us with complete information about yourself and your business, which includes, but is not limited to, providing official government or legal documents. During verification some Account features may be temporarily limited. When a verification is successfully completed, Account features will be restored.

USERNAMES AND PASSWORDS

When you register for an Account, you will be asked to choose a username and password for the Account. You are entirely responsible for safeguarding and maintaining the confidentiality of your username and password and agree not to share your username or password with any person who is not authorized to use your Account. You authorize The Ability People to assume that any person using the Site with your username and password, either is you or is authorized to act for you. You agree to notify us immediately if you suspect or become aware of any unauthorized use of your Account or any unauthorized access to the password for any Account. You further agree not to use the Account or log in with the username and password of another User of the Site if (a) you are not authorized to use both or (b) the use would violate the Terms.

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ABILITY PEOPLE

The Ability People merely makes the Site and Site Services available to enable Freelancers and Clients to find and transact directly with each other. The Ability People does not introduce Freelancers to Clients, find Projects for Freelancers, or find Freelancers for Clients. Through the Site and Site Services, Freelancers may be notified of Clients that may be seeking the services they offer, and Clients may be notified of Freelancers that may offer the services they seek; at all times, however, Users are responsible for evaluating and determining the suitability of any Project, Client or Freelancer on their own. If Users decide to enter into a Service Contract (a defined below), the Service Contract is directly between the Users and The Ability People is not a party to that Service Contract.

You acknowledge, agree, and understand that The Ability People is not a party to the relationship or any dealings between Client and Freelancer. Without limitation, Users are solely responsible for: (a) ensuring the accuracy and legality of any User Content; (b) determining the suitability of other Users for a Service Contract; (c) negotiating, agreeing to, and executing any terms or conditions of Service Contracts; (d) performing Freelancer Services; or (e) paying for Freelancer Services. You further acknowledge, agree, and understand that you are solely responsible for assessing whether to enter into a Service Contract with another User and for verifying any information about another User, including Composite Information (defined below). The Ability People does not make any representations about or guarantee the truth or accuracy of any Freelancer’s or Client’s listings or other User Content on the Site; does not verify any feedback or information provided by Users about Freelancers or Clients; and does not vet or otherwise perform background checks on Freelancers or Clients. You acknowledge, agree, and understand that The Ability People does not, in any way, supervise, direct, control, or evaluate Freelancers or their work and is not responsible for any Project, Project terms or Work Product. The Ability People makes no representations about and does not guarantee, and you agree not to hold The Ability People responsible for, the quality, safety, or legality of Freelancer Services; the qualifications, background, or identities of Users; the ability of Freelancers to deliver Freelancer Services; the ability of Clients to pay for Freelancer Services; User Content and statements or posts made by Users; or the ability or willingness of a Client or Freelancer to actually complete a transaction.

You also acknowledge, agree, and understand that Freelancers are solely responsible for determining, and have the sole right to determine, which Projects to accept; the time, place, manner, and means of providing any Freelancer Services; the type of services they provide; and the price they charge for their services or how that pricing is determined or set. You further acknowledge, agree, and understand that: (i) you are not an employee of The Ability People, and you are not eligible for any of the rights or benefits of employment (including unemployment and/or workers compensation insurance); (ii) The Ability People will not have any liability or obligations, including under or related to Service Contracts and/or Freelancer Services for any acts or omissions by you or other Users; (iii) The Ability People does not, in any way, supervise, direct, or control any Freelancer or Freelancer Services; does not impose quality standards or a deadline for completion of any Freelancer Services; and does not dictate the performance, methods or process Freelancer uses to perform services; (iv) Freelancer is free to determine when and if to perform Freelancer Services, including the days worked and time periods of work, and The Ability People does not set or have any control over Freelancer’s pricing, work hours, work schedules, or work location, nor is The Ability People involved in any other way in determining the nature and amount of any compensation that may be charged by or paid to Freelancer for a Project; (v) Freelancer will be paid at such times and amounts as agreed with a Client in a given Service Contract, and The Ability People does not, in any way, provide or guarantee Freelancer a regular salary or any minimum, regular payment; (vi) The Ability People does not provide Freelancers with training or any equipment, labour, tools, or materials related to any Service Contract; (vii) The Ability People does not provide the premises at which Freelancers will perform the work. Freelancers are free to use subcontractors or employees to perform Freelancer Services and may delegate work on fixed-price contracts or by agreeing with their Clients to have hourly contracts for Freelancer’s subcontractor(s) or employee(s); and (viii) The Ability People does not provide shipping services for any physical work product. If a Freelancer uses subcontractors or employees, Freelancer further agrees and acknowledges that this Section applies to The Ability People’s relationship, if any, with Freelancer’s subcontractors and employees as well and Freelancer is solely responsible for Freelancer’s subcontractors and employees.

Nothing in this Agreement is intended to prohibit or discourage (nor should be construed as prohibiting or discouraging) any User from engaging in any other business activities or providing any services through any other channels they choose. Users are free at all times to engage in such other business activities and services and are encouraged to do so.

TAXES AND BENEFITS

Freelancer acknowledges and agrees that Freelancer is solely responsible (a) for all tax liability associated with payments received from Freelancer’s Clients and through The Ability People, and that The Ability People will not withhold any taxes from payments to Freelancer; (b) to obtain any liability, health, workers’ compensation, disability, unemployment, or other insurance needed, desired, or required by law, and that Freelancer is not covered by or eligible for any insurance from The Ability People; (c) for determining whether Freelancer is required by applicable law to issue any particular invoices for the Freelancer Fees and for issuing any invoices so required; (d) for determining whether Freelancer is required by applicable law to remit to the appropriate authorities any value added tax or any other taxes or similar charges applicable to the Freelancer Fees and remitting any such taxes or charges to the appropriate authorities, as appropriate; and (e) if outside of the United Kingdom, for determining if The Ability People is required by applicable law to withhold any amount of the Freelancer Fees and for notifying The Ability People of any such requirement and indemnifying The Ability People for any requirement to pay any withholding amount to the appropriate authorities (including penalties and interest).

MARKETPLACE FEEDBACK AND USER CONTENT

You hereby acknowledge and agree that Users publish and request The Ability People to publish on their behalf information on the Site about the User, such as feedback, composite feedback, geographical location, or verification of identity or credentials. However, such information is based solely on unverified data that Freelancers or Clients voluntarily submit to The Ability People and does not constitute and will not be construed as an introduction, endorsement, or recommendation by The Ability People; The Ability People provides such information solely for the convenience of Users. The Ability People shall reserve all rights to delete any content which is discriminatory in any way and that breaches the Equality Act 2010. We may suspend or delete your Account should you fail to abide by the Terms.

You acknowledge and agree that User feedback benefits the marketplace, all Users, and the efficiency of the Site and you specifically request that The Ability People post composite or compiled feedback about Users, including yourself, on User Profiles and elsewhere on the Site. You acknowledge and agree that feedback results for you, and other User Content highlighted by The Ability People on the Site or otherwise (“Composite Information”), if any, may include User comments, User ratings, indicators of User satisfaction, and other feedback left exclusively by other Users. You further acknowledge and agree that The Ability People will make Composite Information available to other Users, including composite or compiled feedback. The Ability People provides its feedback system as a means through which Users can share their opinions of other Users publicly, and The Ability People does not monitor, influence, contribute to or censor these opinions. You acknowledge and agree that posted composite or compiled feedback and any other Composite Information relates only to the business advertised in the Profile and not to any individual person. You agree not to use the Composite Information to make any employment, credit, credit valuation, underwriting, or other similar decision about any other User.

The Ability People does not generally investigate any remarks posted by Users or other User Content for accuracy or reliability and does not guarantee that User Content is accurate. You are solely responsible for your User Content, including the accuracy of any User Content, and are solely responsible for any legal action that may be instituted by other Users or third parties as a result of or in connection with your User Content. The Ability People is not legally responsible for any feedback or comments posted or made available on the Site by any Users or third parties, even if that information is defamatory or otherwise legally actionable. In order to protect the integrity of the feedback system and protect Users from abuse, The Ability People reserves the right (but is under no obligation) to remove posted feedback or information that, in The Ability People’s sole judgment, violates the Terms of Service or negatively affects our marketplace, diminishes the integrity of the feedback system or otherwise is inconsistent with the business interests of The Ability People. You acknowledge and agree that you will notify The Ability People of any error or inaccurate statement in your feedback results, including the Composite Information, and that if you do not do so, The Ability People may rely on the accuracy of such information.

CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CLIENT AND FREELANCER

Service contracts

If a Client and Freelancer decide to enter into a Service Contract, the Service Contract is a contractual relationship directly between the Client and Freelancer. Client and Freelancer have complete discretion both with regard to whether to enter into a Service Contract with each other and with regard to the terms of any Service Contract. You acknowledge, agree, and understand that The Ability People is not a party to any Service Contract, that the formation of a Service Contract between Users will not, under any circumstance, create an employment or other service relationship between The Ability People and any User or a partnership or joint venture between The Ability People and any User.

With respect to any Service Contract, Clients and Freelancers may enter into any written agreements that they deem appropriate (e.g., confidentiality agreements, invention assignment agreements, assignment of rights, etc.) provided that any such agreements do not conflict with, narrow, or expand The Ability People’s rights and obligations under the Terms.

Users are responsible for complying with any local requirements, including applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

Disputes among users

For disputes arising between Clients and Freelancers, you agree to abide by the dispute process outlined below. If the dispute process does not resolve your dispute, you may pursue your dispute independently, but you acknowledge and agree that The Ability People will not and is not obligated to provide any dispute assistance beyond these Terms.

The Dispute Process shall follow a course as outline here. You agree to use your best endeavours to use mediation and negotiation to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms, prior to resorting to an external dispute resolution process. Please notify us in writing of any dispute you may have. We will notify the other party of the dispute occurrence however we do not have any further duty or responsibility in relation to a resolution.

Confidential information

To the extent a User provides Confidential Information to the other, the recipient will protect the secrecy of the discloser’s Confidential Information with the same degree of care as it uses to protect its own Confidential Information, but in no event with less than due care. On a User’s written request, the party that received Confidential Information will promptly destroy or return the disclosing party’s Confidential Information and any copies thereof contained in or on its premises, systems, or any other equipment otherwise under its control.

GENERAL TERMS

Information

The information, including statements, opinions and documents, contained in this Site (Information) is for general information purposes only. It does not take into account your specific needs, objectives or circumstances, and it is not advice. Any reliance you place on the Information is at your own risk. Before acting on any Information, we recommend that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances, carry out your own research and seek professional advice, where necessary.

Amendment

The Information and Terms may be amended without notice from time to time in our sole discretion. Your use of our Site following any amendments indicates that you accept the amendments. You should check the Terms regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes, and only proceed to use the Site if you accept and will comply with the new Terms.

Your warranties

You warrant to us that you have the legal capacity to enter these Terms and form a contract, and that you have read and understood the Terms, before using the Site.

Licence to use the site

We grant you a non-exclusive, royalty-free, revocable, worldwide, non-transferable right and licence to use the Site for your personal, non-commercial use, in accordance with the Terms. All other uses are prohibited without our prior written consent.

Prohibited Conduct

You shall not:

• Use the Site for any activities, or to post or transmit any material from the Site:
• unless you hold all necessary rights, licences and consents to do so;
• that infringes the intellectual property or other rights of any person;
• that would cause you or us to breach any law, regulation, rule, code or other legal obligation;
• that defames, harasses, threatens, menaces, offends or restricts any person;
• that is or could reasonably be considered to be obscene, inappropriate, defamatory, disparaging, indecent, seditious, offensive, pornographic, threatening, abusive, liable to incite racial hatred, discriminatory, blasphemous, in breach of confidence or in breach of privacy; or
• that would bring us, or the Site, into disrepute.
• Interfere with or inhibit any user from using the Site;
• Use the Site to send unsolicited email messages;
• Attempt to or tamper with, hinder or modify the Site, knowingly transmit viruses or other disabling features, or damage or interfere with the Site, including but not limited to the use of trojan horses, viruses, or piracy or programming routines that may damage or interfere with the Site; or
• Facilitate or assist another person to do any of the above acts.

Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights:

Our Site contains material which is owned by or licensed to us and is protected by copyright laws, including but not limited to the trademarks, trade names, software, content, design, images, graphics, layout, appearance, layout and look of our Site. We own the copyright which subsists in all creative and literary works displayed on the Site. You agree that, as between you and us, we own all intellectual property rights in the Site, and that nothing in these Terms constitutes a transfer of any intellectual property ownership rights. Your use of the Site does not grant you a licence, or act as a right of use, of any of the intellectual property, whether registered or unregistered, displayed on the Site without the express written permission of the owner.

You shall not breach any copyright or intellectual property rights connected with this Site. This includes but is not limited to:

• altering or modifying any of the code or the material on the Site;
• causing any of the material on the Site to be framed or embedded in another website;
• creating derivative works from the content of the Site; or
• using our Site for commercial purposes.

Republishing

You may republish, copy, distribute, transmit, or publicly display (in hard copy, soft copy or online) material on the Site on the following grounds:

• you shall make no alterations to the material;
• you shall attribute the material to our Site, including linking back to our Site where possible; and
• you shall not do so in a way that could reasonably be considered to be obscene, inappropriate, defamatory, disparaging, indecent, seditious, offensive, pornographic, threatening, abusive, liable to incite racial hatred, discriminatory, blasphemous, in breach of confidence or in breach of privacy, or that would bring us, or the Site, into disrepute.

Privacy

We are committed to protecting your privacy. Please read our Privacy Policy, available on our Site. By agreeing to the Terms, you agree to accept our Privacy Policy.

Your content

If you choose to add any content on the Site, you:

• warrant to us that you have all necessary rights to post the content;
• grant us a perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable, worldwide and transferable right and licence to use that content in any way (including but not limited to, by reproducing, changing, and communicating the content to the public) and permit us to authorise any other person to do the same thing; and
• you consent to any act or omission which would otherwise constitute an infringement of your moral rights, and if you add any content in which any third party has moral rights, you shall ensure that the third party consents in the same manner.

Third party information

The Site may contain third party information, including but not limited to user comments, guest articles and advertisements (Third Party Information). We do not control, recommend, endorse, sponsor or approve Third Party Information, including any information, products or services mentioned in Third Party Information. You should make your own investigations with respect to the suitability of Third Party Information for you.

Third Party links and websites

This Site may contain links to websites owned by third parties (Third Party Sites). We do not control, recommend, endorse, sponsor or approve Third Party Sites, including any information, products or services mentioned on Third Party Sites. You should make your own investigations with respect to the suitability of Third Party Sites for you.

Reservation of Rights

We reserve the right to amend or delete any and all of your content, Third Party Information and/or Third Party Sites, and to block any user, if we believe that there is a violation of these Terms, or for any other reason, in our sole discretion.

Delays and outages

We are not responsible for any delays or interruptions to the Site. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to minimise delays and interruptions. We cannot warrant that the Site will be available at all times or at any given time. We may at any time and without notice to you, discontinue the Site in whole or in part. We are not responsible for any loss, cost, damage or liability that may result from our discontinuance of the Site.

Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all liability for any loss, damage, costs or expense, whether direct, indirect, incidental, special and/or consequential including loss of profits, suffered by you or any third party, or claims made against you or any third party which result from any use or access of, or any inability to use or access the Site. To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all representations, guarantees, warranties or terms (whether express or implied) other than those expressly set out in these Terms.

Disclaimer

The Site is provided to you without warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. We do not warrant that the functions contained in any material on the Site or your access to the Site will be error free, that any defects will be corrected, that the Site or the server which stores and transmits material to you are free of viruses or any other harmful components, or that the Site will operate on a continuous basis or be available at any time. While we endeavour to keep the Site and information up to date and correct, we make no representations, warranties or guarantee, express or implied, about:

• the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability of any Information, images, products, services, or related graphics contained on the Site for any purpose;
• Third Party Information; or
• Third Party Sites.

You read, use, and act on information contained on the Site, Third Party Information and/or Third Party Sites, strictly at your own risk. Any information contained on the Site is supplied for information purposes only and does not constitute advice including legal, financial or business advice.

Indemnity

By using the Site, you agree to defend and fully indemnify and hold us (and our officers, directors, employees and agents) harmless from and against all claims, actions, suits, demands, damages, liabilities, costs or expenses (including legal costs and expenses on a full indemnity basis), including in tort, contract or negligence, arising out of or connected to:

• your use of or access to the Site;
• any breach by you of these Terms; or
• any wilful, unlawful or negligent act or omission by you.

This defence and indemnification obligation will survive these Terms and your use of the Site. These Terms, and any rights and licences granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by us without restriction.

Breach

You may only use the Site for lawful purposes and in a manner consistent with the nature and purpose of the Site. By using this Site, you agree that the exclusions and limitations of liability set out in these Terms are reasonable. If you do not think they are reasonable you shall not use this Site. We reserve the right to remove any and all content found to be in breach of copyright, or which in our opinion is deemed inappropriate and/or illegal. If you breach the Terms, we reserve the right to block you from the Site and to enforce our rights against you. If we do not act in relation to a breach of the Terms by you, this does not waive our rights to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches of the Terms by you. All rights not expressly granted in the Terms are reserved.

Exclusion of competitors

You are prohibited from using our Site, including our information, in any way that competes with our business. If you breach this term, we will hold you responsible for any loss that we may sustain, and hold you accountable for any profits that you may make from non-permitted use. We reserve the right to exclude any person from using our Site and Information, in our sole discretion.

Enforceability

If any provision of the Terms is found to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable by a court of law, then the provision will not apply in that jurisdiction and is deemed not to have been included in the Terms in that jurisdiction. This will not affect the remainder of the Terms, which continue in full force and effect.

Termination

The Terms are effective until terminated by us, which we may do at any time and without notice to you. In the event of termination, all restrictions imposed on you by the Terms and limitations of liability set out in the Terms will survive.

Jurisdiction

Your use of this Site and any dispute arising out of your use of it is subject to the laws of England. These Terms are governed by the laws of England and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts operating in England. The Site may be accessed throughout United Kingdom and overseas. We make no representation that the Site complies with the laws (including intellectual property laws) of any country outside England. If you access the Site from outside England, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for complying with the laws in the place where you access the Site.