Agreement to Provide Care

Terms

These are the arrangements that we have agreed with you, or your representative, for us to provide you with home care services. Please read carefully this agreement before you sign your service plan. You may also want to take the advice of your family, a friend or legal adviser first.

1. Agreeing your service

We will discuss your needs with you and agree what type of home care help you need, and when you would like it. We will write this down on an ëassessment and service planí and give you a copy. We will keep in touch with you to check that our service continues to meet your needs. If you ask for any changes, we will try and agree these with you.

2. Booking your service

We will provide your service on the days we have agreed with you. If you need to make a change, you must do this through your branch and not your care worker.

3. Charges

Our charges are set out on the rates sheet that came with this agreement.

Our charges do not include VAT. We will send you an invoice at the end of each week. You, or the person paying on your behalf, must pay these charges within two weeks of the date of the invoice.

When we increase our rates you will be given four weeks notice in writing.

If our invoice is still unpaid after 14 days we may charge interest on the amount you owe at a rate of 4% above the Bank of England base rate (or any other equivalent rate at the time), from the date of the invoice until it is paid.

4. Cancellations

You must give us at least 24 hours notice by contacting the branch, if you wish to cancel any booking. If you do not do so, we will charge you for the booking as, if it had taken place. If you cannot give us notice due to an emergency (for example, you have to go into hospital unexpectedly), we may decide not to charge you for the booking.

5. Changes to this agreement

The only change to this agreement which will be valid are the changes that you have agreed in writing with our manager, and which both of us have signed.

We will give you a copy of these changes.

6. Ending this agreement

You can end this agreement by giving us at least 48 hours notice in writing.

We may cancel this requirement if you have an emergency situation like the one described in section 4 above.

We can end this arrangement immediately:

If you have not paid your invoice after four weeks;

At the end of one monthís notice we have given in writing; or

If we cannot be certain of the safety of our staff while they are working at your home, because of something you do or fail to do (your actions or omissions)

7. Introduction fee

If you directly employ one of our care workers who has been providing services to you, and the care worker accepts, we will charge you an 'introduction fee' if you make this offer;

During the period of this agreement; or

Within six months of it finishing.

The fee will be equivalent to 70 times the hourly rate + VAT each weekday at the time.