Terms of business

These terms apply whenever Vergo Ltd ("VERGO", "we", "us") supplies or introduces staff to a client ("you", "the hirer"). Vergo Ltd is an employment business under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. See our company and regulatory details.

1. Enquiries and bookings

The running total shown on our quote form is an estimate, not a binding quote. A booking is only confirmed once we send you written confirmation (email or WhatsApp) naming the staff, roles, date and times.

Enquire by 6pm, get confirmed names the same day. After 6pm, by 10am.

2. Rates and charges

• Standard: £19.00 per hour, per person, for waiting staff, bar staff, kitchen porters, runners, and hosts and front of house
• Premium: £24.00 per hour, per person. 2+ years' event experience. Silver service, cocktails, weddings, high-end corporate. The service level is agreed for the whole booking
• Themed hospitality staff, character performers and makeup artists: £21, £26 and £35 per hour, per person, as published on our special events pages
• 4-hour minimum charge per person, per booking
• Time beyond the confirmed end is billed in 30-minute blocks
• Hours worked after midnight are charged at +25%
• Chefs, cooks, managers, supervisors, cleaners and security are quoted and agreed individually before booking
• Full events (food, bar and staff) are quoted individually, and the quote sets out what's included
• There are no booking fees or uniform charges

3. Payment

First booking paid upfront, then 14 days. Your first booking is paid in advance once we have confirmed it; after that, invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date.

For business clients we may charge interest and compensation on late payments under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

4. Changes and cancellation

Free 48h+ before. 10% within 48h, 25% within 24h. The percentage is of the confirmed booking charge, and the time is counted back from when the booking starts.

These tiers apply to the booking as a whole. If you need to reduce staff numbers rather than cancel entirely, tell us as early as possible and we'll agree a fair adjustment.

5. Our guarantees

Names the same day. Enquire by 6pm, get confirmed names the same day. After 6pm, by 10am.

Replacement within the hour. Replacement on site within an hour. You never pay for time nobody worked. No replacement, no charge for that shift.

6. Employment status, right to work and insurance

• Our hospitality staff are employed by us on PAYE, with payslips, holiday pay and a pension where it applies. Some specialist roles (chefs, cooks, performers and makeup artists) may be self-employed, and we confirm this in writing when you book.
• Right to work is checked and documented for every worker before their first assignment with you
• We hold employers' liability and public liability insurance. Certificates are available on request

7. Your responsibilities as the hirer

• Tell us about any health and safety risks at the venue, and what's needed to manage them, before the booking
• Give staff a safe place to work, and access to breaks, water and toilets
• Direct staff only within the roles booked
• Confirm the hours worked at the end of each shift (a message is fine)

8. Taking on a worker directly (temp-to-perm)

If you want to take on a worker we've introduced or supplied to you directly (whether you employ them yourself or they're supplied to you by another agency after an introduction from us), tell us first. This section explains what happens next, in line with regulation 10 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.

You will always have a choice. Instead of paying a transfer fee, you can keep hiring that worker through VERGO for a further extended-hire period of 8 weeks, on the same rates as before, at the end of which they transfer to you free of charge. That choice is yours to make, not ours.

If you'd rather pay a fee than take the extended-hire option, the fee is 15% of the worker's gross pay for their first year with you.

This only applies if direct employment begins within the "relevant period" defined by the regulations: broadly, within 8 weeks of the worker's last assignment with you through VERGO, or 14 weeks from their first assignment with you, whichever ends later. Outside that period, no fee applies at all.

No fee is ever charged to the worker in connection with this: not for taking up work with you, and not for taking up work found through any other agency. That's a legal requirement (regulation 5 of the same regulations), not just our policy.

9. Liability

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or anything else that can't be limited by law. Beyond that, our liability to you in connection with a booking is limited to the total charges for the booking concerned.

10. If you're booking as a private individual

If you're booking for yourself rather than for a business, the cancellation charges in section 4 still apply, because we commit staff to your date as soon as we confirm it. Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The version published here on the date a booking is confirmed applies to that booking.

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute.

13. Contact

Questions about these terms: call 07944 505783 or email booking@vergoltd.com.