Engineer Agreement (Trades Express Pro)

Draft for solicitor review. Effective from [date].

This agreement is between [Trades Express Ltd], company number [Company number], registered office [Address] ("we", "us") and you, the engineer or business joining Trades Express Pro ("you").

1. Our relationship

1.1 You are an independent business, not our employee, worker or partner. You decide whether to bid, when you work, and how you carry out the work, within the standards in this agreement and the law.

1.2 You're free to work for other customers and platforms, except as set out in section 10.

1.3 For each job you win, we act as your agent to arrange the installation with the customer and collect payment for it. [Lawyer to confirm, see Read me first, decisions 1 to 3.]

2. Eligibility and verification

2.1 To join and stay on Trades Express you must:

• be on the Gas Safe Register for the type of work you bid on;
• hold public liability insurance of at least £2 million;
• have the right to work in the UK;
• pass our identity check;
• set up a payout account with our payment provider, Stripe, and accept Stripe's Connected Account Agreement.

2.2 You must tell us within 24 hours if any of these change, including if your Gas Safe registration is suspended or your insurance lapses.

2.3 You can't bid on jobs while your insurance is expired or any check is incomplete.

2.4 When we add new trades (for example heat pumps, solar or air con), each will need its own qualifications, such as MCS or F-gas certification.

3. Using the platform

3.1 Your profile must be accurate. You must not create more than one account.

3.2 Keep the app installed with notifications on while you have active bids or jobs, and reply to customers and to us within 24 hours (12 hours where the customer has no heating).

3.3 All messages with customers about a job must go through the app.

4. Bidding

4.1 You bid a labour price for the job type shown, between the minimum and maximum we set. Bids are sealed: other engineers can't see your bid and you can't see theirs.

4.2 You can change your bid until the bidding window closes.

4.3 We choose the winner based on price, rating and availability, using the weights shown in the app.

4.4 A bid is a commitment. If you win, you must do the free survey and, if the customer accepts, the installation, at your bid price plus the set labour rates for any extras.

4.5 Your bid covers all labour for the standard job, including travel, the survey, removal of the old boiler and commissioning. The boiler and kit are supplied by us.

4.6 Requested jobs. Customers can request you directly. You set a direct rate for each job type, within the same limits as bids, and that is your labour price for requested jobs. Accept or decline within 24 hours (4 hours where the customer has no heating). Once you accept, sections 4.4 and 4.5 apply as if you had won a bid. If you don't respond in time, the customer may send the job to other engineers.

4.7 Where a requested engineer fee applies, you receive [50%] of it on top of your payout, without the platform fee being taken from it. No fee is charged to customers who reach you through your own share link.

5. Free surveys

5.1 Surveys are free to the customer and unpaid. You accept that not every survey becomes a job.

5.2 At the survey you must complete the survey form in the app accurately, with the photos it asks for, and submit it within 2 hours of finishing.

5.3 You must not discuss or agree prices with the customer. The customer's price comes only from Trades Express.

5.4 Only tick extras that are genuinely needed, with a clear photo. Ticking unnecessary extras is a serious breach.

6. Installation standards

6.1 You must carry out all work:

• safely and in line with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, Building Regulations and the manufacturer's instructions;
• with reasonable care and skill, to the standard of a competent Gas Safe registered engineer;
• on the agreed date, or tell the customer and us as early as possible if you can't.

6.2 You must notify the installation to Gas Safe (or the relevant building control body), complete the Benchmark checklist, and upload the paperwork and before and after photos in the app.

6.3 Check the kit on delivery and report anything missing or damaged in the app straight away.

6.4 Leave the work area clean and remove the old boiler unless agreed otherwise.

6.5 If you find a gas safety risk, follow Gas Safe procedures, including making the installation safe and issuing warning notices, and tell us.

7. Extras

7.1 Extras found at the survey or during the installation are paid at the labour rates set in our extras list, shown in the app.

7.2 During an installation, request any extra in the app with a photo. Extras under £50 are approved automatically. Extras of £50 or more need the customer's approval first. Don't do unapproved extra work and expect to be paid for it.

7.3 Anything not on the extras list is sent to us to price and approve.

8. Payment

8.1 For each completed job you're paid your bid plus the labour rates for any approved extras, less our platform fee of 1%.

8.2 The customer pays the full price before work starts. We hold it through Stripe and transfer your payment to your Stripe account the working day after the job is signed off. Sign-off happens when the customer approves the job, or automatically 72 hours after you mark it complete if the customer doesn't respond or raise a problem.

8.3 If the customer raises a problem, payment stays held until it's resolved under section 9 or our dispute process. We may then pay you in full, in part, or not at all, depending on the outcome.

8.4 We don't hold back any part of your payment for the guarantee period.

8.5 You're responsible for your own tax, National Insurance and, if you're registered, VAT. Any tax set-aside figure shown in the app is an estimate, not tax advice. [Lawyer and accountant to confirm invoicing and any self-billing arrangement for VAT-registered engineers.]

9. 12 month workmanship guarantee

9.1 For 12 months after sign-off, you must fix any problem caused by your workmanship at no cost to the customer or us.

9.2 When a customer raises a callback, respond in the app within 48 hours and agree a date to fix it.

9.3 If you refuse, ignore or fail to complete a valid callback, we'll send another engineer, and you will be permanently removed from Trades Express. You'll also owe us the reasonable cost of the repair, which we may recover from you. [Lawyer to confirm.]

10. No going direct

10.1 Customers you meet through Trades Express are introduced by us. For 12 months after you first see a customer's job, you must not offer or carry out work for that customer, or anyone at their address, outside the app, or encourage them to deal with you directly.

10.2 If you do, we'll remove you from Trades Express, and you agree to pay us an introduction fee of [£amount] per customer, which reflects our cost of finding and introducing that customer. [Lawyer to confirm, see Read me first, decision 4.]

10.3 This doesn't apply to customers you can show you already worked for before we introduced them.

11. Conduct and confidentiality

11.1 Be honest, polite and professional with customers and us. Carry ID and show it if asked.

11.2 Use customers' personal data only to do their job, keep it secure, and don't keep it longer than needed or share it with anyone else. [Lawyer to confirm data protection roles and whether a data sharing clause is needed.]

11.3 Don't share information about our platform, pricing or other engineers outside the app.

12. Strikes, suspension and removal

12.1 You get a strike for: missing a survey or installation without good reason, not responding within the required time, or a serious complaint upheld against you. Three strikes leads to suspension while we review your account.

12.2 We'll permanently remove you for: abandoning a job midway without a genuine emergency, refusing a guarantee callback, going direct (section 10), fake or manipulated reviews, dishonesty, unsafe work, or losing your Gas Safe registration or insurance.

12.3 We'll tell you why and give you a chance to respond, except where safety or the law means we must act straight away.

12.4 If you're removed, we'll still pay you for completed and signed-off work, less any amounts you owe us.

13. Reviews

13.1 Customers can review you after each job. You can reply once, publicly and politely, to each review.

13.2 You can invite past customers to review you through the app. Those reviews are labelled "Invited review".

13.3 You must not write, buy or swap reviews, offer anything in return for a review, pressure customers about reviews, or invite anyone who wasn't a genuine customer. Doing so means permanent removal.

14. Liability and insurance

14.1 You're responsible for your work and for any loss or damage it causes. You agree to cover our reasonable costs if a claim is made against us because of your work, your breach of this agreement, or your breach of the law.

14.2 Keep your public liability insurance in force for at least 12 months after your last job on Trades Express.

14.3 Our total liability to you under this agreement is limited to [the platform fees you've paid us in the previous 12 months]. Nothing limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or fraud. [Lawyer to confirm.]

15. Ending this agreement

15.1 You can leave at any time, but you must finish any jobs you've already won and honour your guarantee for completed jobs.

15.2 We can end this agreement with 30 days' notice, or straight away under section 12.

15.3 Sections 8 to 10, 14 and this section continue after the agreement ends.

16. General

16.1 We may update this agreement with 30 days' notice in the app. If you don't agree, you can leave before the change takes effect.

16.2 This agreement is governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction.