Contract of Services -Temporary Workers

KEY INFORMATION DOCUMENT – Please Read

This document sets out key information about your relationship with us; including details about your pay, holiday entitlement and other benefits

  • Key Fact & What this means 
    Name of worker – Your name as completed on your registration form will be used in your contract of employment. Your name will also appear on your pay slip.
  • Contract type – You are engaged under a Contract of Services for Employment. However assignments may be offered and the contract type may vary by Client. Where you change Client assignment, you will be provided with the Key Facts.
  • Identity of the employment business – Kovacs Group Ltd is the Employment Business & the entity engaging or employing the worker where a Contract of Employment is used.
  • Who will pay the worker – Kovacs Group Ltd will pay the worker
  • Rate of pay – Rates of pay will vary with assignment, however you will always be paid at least the National Minimum Wage.
  • Pay intervals – Pay is calculated & paid weekly in arrears on a Friday.
  • Statutory Deductions – You will see in your pay slip all statutory deductions are listed clearly and each will be itemised. Ie; Tax, National Insurance, Holiday pay & Pension where applicable
  • Non-statutory deductions – Any non statutory deductions will be clearly itemised.  This will be made clear in the application process depending on the client & job role.
  • Any fees for goods or services – Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks may be required by the Client for certain types of work, this includes work where you may be handling parcels. Where a DBS check is required, fees for the check will not exceed £28.00. Deductions for a DBS Check will be made from your 1st weeks pay.
  • Travel Fares – Some of our Clients offer work in difficult to reach locations, on these occasions we provide an optional transport service. Where you choose to use our transport services – Travel fares will not exceed £10 per return trip, per days’ work. Our transport service allows you to “do or secure work” where you would not otherwise have access to transport. When you request transport you are authorising us to deduct the cost from your weekly pay, it will be itemised on your payslip.
  • Uniforms – are required by certain Clients. The 1st set of uniform will be issued by us & a deposit of £25 may be deducted from your payslip. It is a requirement of your contract for services of employment that uniform is returned to us as the end of your assignment. The uniform items issued must be returned to us, in a freshly laundered, damage free condition. Please return to us using signed for royal mail delivery. Once we have received your uniform in the correct condition, we will issue a refund of your deposit. We may issue additional sets of uniform from time to time without charge, only items as per the original issue need to be returned. Safety boots are critical for your personal safety. If you are unable to obtain Safety Boots for yourself,  you may request that we arrange the supply boots for you from a 3rd party & deduct the cost from your wages. You will be asked to sign a request form to authorise the supply & deduction, and to confirm that the safety boots are required by you to “do or secure the work” Boots are not required to be returned & you will keep them at the end of your assignment.

You will be provided with a Payslip that details your pay rate, hours worked, PAYE deductions as required by law & any deductions agreed to by you.

  1. YOUR EMPLOYMENT

  Intentions; Commencement and continuity of employment

  • You have applied for employment with us, and you have represented to us that in the course of that employment, you are willing and intending to carry out successive Assignments for various clients and at various locations.
  • In reliance on those representations, we offer and you hereby accept employment on the terms of this Employment Contract.
  • Your period of continuity of employment commenced on the date you first attend work on assignment
  • Where there is no preceding continuity of employment, this contract of employment is conditional on actual commencement of your first Client Assignment.
  1. AGENCY WORKERS REGULATIONS
    • You will promptly notify us in writing immediately upon it coming to your notice that you may have grounds for complaint concerning any aspects of such entitlements as you may have under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, in order that we may have a proper opportunity to investigate and make any necessary changes.
    • When assessing your pay entitlement under regulation 5 of the Agency Worker Regulations 2010, regard shall be had to any official Guidance to the Agency Worker Regulations 2010, and discretionary profit-sharing bonuses (DPSB), to the extent that such bonuses are in fact paid, will be taken into account as forming part of your pay.
    • If, in relation to any Client Assignment,
      • you have completed the Qualifying Period under regulation 7 of the Agency Worker Regulations 2010, and
      • the amount you receive in pay under that Client Assignment (calculated as set out in clause 2.2 above) exceeds that which you would have been paid if you had been engaged by the hirer for the position other than by using the services of a temporary work agency (the ‘Excess’), and
      • had you been engaged directly by the hirer, you would have received either or both of (a) a greater entitlement to paid holiday than that to which you are entitled under this employment contract, or (b) some other benefit which falls to be treated as pay under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (together, ‘Shortfall’), Then credit shall be given for the amount of the Excess against the Shortfall, and the amount of the Excess shall be considered to have been received by you on account of any entitlements you may have to receive the Shortfall.
  1. PAYMENT
    • Salary: We will pay you as a minimum, at the applicable National Minimum Wage rate, to commence when the first Client Assignment commences, for all hours actually worked on Assignment, subject in all cases to you complying with all applicable company procedures and requirements. You are responsible for daily clocking on & off each shift of each assignment to record time attended – not following this process may delay your payment whilst we establish the hours you did attend & work.
    • You will be paid weekly in arrears, unless otherwise indicated in your current Employee Assignment Schedule.
    • Deductions: As laid out in the key facts document, if any money becomes lawfully due from you to us or a statutory body (including money that may have been overpaid to you in error), we may deduct all or part of such money from salary, expenses, or any other payments due from us to you. We may recoup that deduction or set-off against any payment due to you for paid leave as and when you actually become entitled to receive such payment. If you are in breach of contract we may withhold the whole or part of any monies otherwise due to you in full or partial compensation for our losses resulting from your breach, provided that we may not withhold more than would be reasonable compensation for such breach.
  2. HOLIDAYS
    • Your annual paid leave entitlement accrues at 5.6/12 = 0.4667 working weeks per month (5.6/52 = 0.1077 working weeks per week).
    • You may take any accrued paid leave entitlement at any time, subject only to the requirements of any current Client Assignment.
    • The holiday year runs from 1st January in each year or any part thereof.
    • Accrued paid leave entitlements may not be carried forwards from year to year, and it is your responsibility to ensure that you take any accrued paid leave entitlement before the end of the holiday year.
    • For the purposes of calculating a week’s pay in relation to paid leave:
      • your basic weekly hours of work will be taken as 35 hours per week (7 hours per day), or (if less) the average number of hours worked per week; and
      • Paid leave taken by the day will be paid at the rate of one fifth of a week for each day’s leave.                                                                                                                                       
  3. SICKNESS AND INJURY
    • We will make payments of such statutory sick pay as may be due to you in respect of any period of absence. Should you recover damages from any third party in respect of any period of absence you will repay any sums paid to you under this clause. We do not make any payment for sickness and injury beyond statutory sick pay as required by law. For Statutory Sick pay purposes qualifying days are Monday to Friday.
    • If you are absent from work for any reason and absence has not previously been authorised by us you must inform us and the End Client as early as possible. Any absence not previously authorised must be properly explained and in the case of an absence of uncertain duration you must keep us regularly informed of its expected duration.
    • If you are absent from work due to sickness or injury which continues for more than five working days (excluding weekends) you must provide us with a medical certificate from your doctor on the sixth day of sickness or injury. Thereafter medical certificates must be provided to us on a weekly basis.
    • Immediately following return to work after a period of absence which has not previously been authorised you are required to complete a Self-Certification form stating the dates of and the reason for absence, including details of sickness on non-working days (this information is required by us for calculating Statutory Sick Pay entitlement).
  4. HOURS OF WORK
    • Client Assignments: Your normal working hours are such hours as we may specify from time to time to be required for the current Client Assignment, subject to variation as reasonably required from time to time.
    • Sourcing Assignments: You may be required to spend up to one week (35 hours), during the week following the end of the immediately preceding Client Assignment, as specified in clause 1.2.7.
    • You will cooperate and comply with such means of recording working time and expenses as we may reasonably specify from time to time.
    • Flexible hours may be required from time to time. It is your responsibility to maintain records of hours and days worked, to produce such records to us whenever required to do so, and to ensure that you do not work for more than 46.4 weeks in any year.
    • You hereby agree that the 48 hour limit specified in the Working Time Regulations 1998 shall not apply to your employment, provided that you have the right to give us three months’ notice in writing to withdraw such agreement.
    • IMPORTANT – WORKING HOURS ON A STUDENT VISA Please note if you are in the United Kingdom on a student visa, it is a requirement of your VISA & your entitlement to remain in the UK that you DO NOT exceed 20 hours of paid work in any one week period – regardless of how many jobs/employers you may have. Kovacs Group (and all other employers) report your working hours to HMRC weekly. Failure to remain within 20 hours weekly, may result in your VISA being revoked.
  5. PENSIONS
    • The statutory Pension Auto-Enrolment provisions will apply, in accordance with Part 1 of the Pensions Act 2008,
    • The Company’s chosen Auto-Enrolment pension scheme provider is National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). The Company reserves the right to change its chosen Auto-Enrolment pension scheme provider from time to time, and you will be notified of any such changes.
    • Subject thereto, there is no company pension scheme.
    • Your Pay Reference Period for the purpose of Pensions Auto-Enrolment will be Monday to Sunday when Weekly paid (or when paid by reference to multiples of a week) and each Calendar Month when Monthly Paid.
    • No contracting-out certificate issued by the Occupational Pensions Board is in force in relation to your employment.
  6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
    • All rights in the nature of Intellectual Property Rights (including, but not limited to, copyright) arising in any work created by you whilst this Contract subsists which relate to or are capable of being used in any business of ours with which you are (at the time of creation) or have been (within two years before that time) concerned to a material degree must be disclosed promptly to us, and shall vest in us. It is our responsibility to pass on to any third party such rights as we have agreed. You will cooperate fully in any formal steps reasonably required by us so as to put this term into effect. If we so require, you will sign any reasonable form of assurance of Intellectual Property rights which may be required.
    • You will indemnify us against any liability we may incur as a result of any alleged infringement of any third party’s intellectual property rights as a result of any act by you, other than to the extent that any such infringement results from compliance with any Specifications issued by us
    • You agree to participate directly or indirectly in any promotional film, photography or video that the company may from time to time take, you acknowledge & agree that all intellectual property rights, howsoever arising, relating to this promotional material belongs to the Company.
      • CONFIDENTIALITY
    • You may not disclose or use for your own purposes or for any purposes (other than ours) any information of a private, confidential, or secret nature which you have obtained by virtue of your employment with us and either relating to us or to our business, or in respect of which we owe an obligation of confidence to any third party:
      • during the employment, except in the proper course of the employment, or
      • at all, after the termination of the employment.
    • You will sign any reasonable form of non-disclosure, secrecy, or confidentiality agreement that may be required from time to time.
    • Your obligations under this clause shall survive the termination of this Agreement, for whatever reason.
  1. DATA PROTECTION

The Company will act as a Data Processor as defined by data protection legislation being the General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 1998 and any successor legislation, including without limitation in relation to Clients and Special Categories of Personal Data (terms which are defined by data protection legislation). The Company collects and processes certain types of data about the employee and does so in line with data protection legislation. Please read the Company’s Privacy Notice which is displayed on the Company’s website for more information about the types of data processed and the reasons for the processing, including special categories of data and criminal convictions. Clients may operate CCTV & Video for security & validation purposes on site. The Company has CCTV & Video for security purposes installed on our vehicle fleet. The Company reserves the right from time to time to take video footage, photographs & film for promotional material purposes, these may be used in press, website, online & social media; including but not limited to LinkedIn, You Tube, Instagram & Facebook.

  1. DECLARATION FOR GDPR;
  • For the purposes of this contract the Employee expressly grants permission for the Company to pass personal data to a client for the sole purposes of verification & validation of identity, confirmation of legal right to work, establish qualifications and eligibility to carry out skilled work in line with Assignment criteria; included but not limited to the Client requesting spot checks & audits on demand of records securely held by the Company in line with data protection legislation.
  • The Employee also agrees to data being passed to the Company’s Payroll provider for the sole purposes of processing payments owed to the Employee.
  • The Employee expressly grants permission to the Company for a work reference to be requested from the previous Client or Employer, contact details as provided in the application form.

12. TELEPHONES, COMPUTERS, EMAIL, AND INTERNET

  • We may provide you with a computer and ancillary equipment, high speed internet access and a telephone for use at your home solely in connection with our business; it is your responsibility to ensure that this and any other equipment belonging to us and kept at your home is adequately insured, and we will reimburse you with any additional premium in respect thereof.
  • We may provide a mobile telephone in our name for use by you solely in connection with our business, and if we do so provide we shall pay all bills in connection therewith
  • You will comply with all applicable policies (both ours, and those of any Client for whom you may be engaged on an Assignment) in relation to social media and the use of computer and telecommunications equipment.

13. DISCIPLINARY AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

  • Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures based on those recommended by ACAS will generally be followed. These procedures are not contractual, and the Company reserves the right to depart from them at its discretion. A copy of the procedures currently in force will be provided on request.
  • Any grievance should be brought to the attention of your account manager in the first instance. If your account manager is unable to resolve it, you may refer it to a Director.
  • Appeals in relation to disciplinary matters may be made to a Director.

14. TERMINATION

  • Termination of a Client Assignment does not terminate your contract of employment.
  • You may not terminate your employment until any current Client Assignment can also be lawfully terminated by us. You may not terminate a Client Assignment without also terminating your contract of employment, without our written agreement. Subject thereto, this employment may be terminated by written notice as follows:
    • During the first month, either by you or by us with immediate effect
    • Until you have achieved two years continuous employment, either (a) by you giving us one week’s notice, or (b) by us giving you three weeks’ notice
    • Thereafter, either (a) by you giving us one week’s notice, or (b) by us giving you notice of two weeks, plus one additional week for each year of continuous employment, up to a maximum of twelve (maximum notice fourteen weeks);
  • Your employment will automatically terminate, without any requirement for notice, on the day on which the following conditions are satisfied:
    • you are not working on Client Assignment, and have not worked on Client Assignment for the last 3 months; and
    • the total number of hours during the most recent period of employment totalling 12 months or less and commencing on the Start Date or on an anniversary thereof, during or in respect of which you have carried out work and/or been offered work and/or been paid, is 336 or more.
  • Your employment will automatically terminate, without any requirement for notice, if continuation of your employment would become unlawful, whether by reason of the expiry of any required work permit, or otherwise.
  • Nothing in this section shall prevent us from terminating the employment without notice and without making payment in lieu of notice, where we are justified in so doing.
  • If on termination
    • You have taken more than the amount of paid leave to which you are entitled (calculated to the date of termination) there shall be deducted from your final salary payment such sum as represents the amount you were paid for that excess period.
    • as regards any duty imposed on us or on any other person by or under any relevant Requirement, cooperate with us or such other person so far as is necessary to enable that duty or requirement to be performed or complied with; 
    • not intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety, or welfare in pursuance of any relevant statutory provisions. 
    • Failure to comply with Health and Safety requirements is a serious matter, and may result in disciplinary action, including dismissal.

15. OTHER OBLIGATIONS OF EMPLOYEE

  • Vehicles

If you use your vehicle for use in connection with your work, you must ensure that your motor insurance includes the use of the vehicle for commuting and (where applicable) for business purposes, and you must on request provide us with a copy of your insurance certificate.

  • Policies and Procedures

You must maintain the highest standards of honesty and fair dealing in your work for us. The utmost importance is attached to the observance of our policies and procedures.

  • Warranty

You warrant that you are not subject to any restriction (whether contractual or otherwise) which might restrict you from fully performing any of the duties of your employment.

  • Criminal charges

If you at any time have a Criminal Charge laid against you, or if you receive a summons to appear in the Magistrates Court (other than as a witness, in domestic proceedings, or for a Road Traffic offence where the Court has no power to order endorsement of your driving licence) you must disclose it to us immediately. If you have had such a conviction in the past (other than a conviction which is ‘spent’ within the meaning of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act) you must do likewise;

  • Other work
    • You must devote the whole of your time, attention and abilities during your normal working hours on a Client Assignment to your duties under this Contract of Employment, and you may not under any circumstances during those hours whether directly or indirectly, undertake any other duties, of whatever kind;
    • If you identify an opportunity of new business for us in the form of a suitable Client Assignment for you to perform, you will refer it to us, in accordance with clause 1.2.6.
    • We do not seek to restrict what you do outside your normal working hours. However, to ensure we at all times have accurate up to date information as to your ongoing availability for work, you must notify us before taking any employment with a third party, or engaging in any way in any other business activity, and keep us informed on an ongoing basis of any periods during which you are committed to such other employment or business activity.                                 
  • Working Clothing

The company may provide you with suitable work clothing and you must wear the uniform provided to ensure that your personal presentation is always excellent when attending assignments, you may come into contact with Clients of ours at any time; 

  • You agree that you will wear the uniform at all times whilst on assignment. The 1st set of uniform will be provided by the company & the cost will not be re-charged to you. On leaving the company you must return the items in the original issue in a freshly laundered & undamaged condition, failure to do so may be regarded as misconduct & the uniform will be recharged in your final salary calculation. Uniform items that are lost or stolen may be re-ordered from us at your own cost, these do not need to be returned & will not be refunded. You may request to purchase additional items of uniform from us, these will be ordered by us on your behalf from the manufacturer. We will request you sign for each item & agree for these items to be recharged to you at the prevailing rate. 
  • Property
    • If any property is issued to you by us or by a client in connection with the performance of your duties under this Agreement, you will use it for no other purpose, take all proper care of it, ensure that at all times it is adequately insured,
    • under no circumstances seek to exercise any lien on such property and return it at the end of your employment (earlier, if so required) in good serviceable condition, fair wear and tear only excepted.
    • All property of yours shall be at your risk at all times and we shall not be liable for any loss or damage to it, however such loss or damage may be caused.
  • Travel Fares
    • Some of our Clients offer work in difficult to reach locations, on these occasions we provide an optional transport service. Where you choose to use our transport services – Travel fares will not exceed £10 per return trip, per days’ work. Our transport service allows you to “do or secure work” where you would not otherwise have access to transport. When you request transport you are authorising us to deduct the cost from your weekly pay, it will be itemised on your payslip.                                             

16. GENERAL

  • Status

it is not the intention of either of us that you should be or become an employee of any Client for whom you may perform a Client Assignment.

  • Retirement

We are obliged to give you notice of at least six months and no more than one year of any retirement date we may intend for you. If we do so, you have the statutory right to request that you do not retire on that date. We will comply with any then prevailing legislative requirements.

  • Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment businesses Regulations 2003

Where these regulations apply to us in relation to an Assignment, our capacity will be that of an employment business. If we contract at your request with an employment business for the provision of your services, you confirm that you wish to Opt Out of the regulations where it is legally permissible to do so3, unless you specifically instruct us otherwise in relation to any particular engagement; and you authorise us to notify the employment business of such agreement between us.

  • Governing Law

This contract is governed by the law of England and any questions arising shall be dealt with by the English courts.

  • Severance

If any term of this Agreement is held by any court or other competent authority to be wholly or partially void, invalid, or unenforceable, such term shall be severed from the body of these terms (which shall continue to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by Law).

  • Our right to change these conditions

We reserve the right to make reasonable changes to any of these terms and conditions of employment. Not less than one month’s written notice of any significant changes may be given by way of an individual notice or a general notice to all employees. Such changes will be deemed to be accepted unless you notify us of any objection in writing before the expiry of the notice period.

  • Notices

Any notice pursuant to this contract shall be given in writing (excluding email), provided that notices

  • from us to you may be given by email to the most recent email address provided to us by you, and shall be deemed received forthwith upon sending unless notice of rejection is received from your email provider
  • from you to us may be given by email, the address can be found on our website and shall be deemed received forthwith upon sending unless you are notified of nonacceptance or notice failure by the email address used.
  • Electronic signatures
    • This Agreement and/or your Employee Assignment Schedule may be signed by electronic signature (whatever the form the electronic signature takes), and that such method of signature shall be equally conclusive of the intention of each of us to be bound by its terms and conditions as if signed with manuscript signatures.
    • Notwithstanding that this Agreement and/or your Employee Assignment Schedule may have been signed by a form of electronic signature, and save in case of changes pursuant to clause 16.6 above, no addition, amendment to, or modification or discharge of, this Agreement and/or your Employee Assignment Schedule shall be effective otherwise than in writing on paper and signed with the manuscript signature of each party (in our case, by a director on our behalf).                                                                                                                                              
  • Definitions
    • ‘Assignment’ includes any Client Assignment detailed in your Employee Assignment Schedule, and Sourcing Assignments as detailed in this Agreement
    • ‘Client’ includes any End Client specified in your Employee Assignment Schedule.
  • Entire Agreement

This Agreement and your current Employee Assignment Schedule together contain and constitute the entire understanding between us, and supersede any prior arrangements relating to your employment (which shall be deemed to have been discharged by mutual consent). In case of conflict, this Agreement has priority over your Employee Assignment Schedule.

Testimonials
Kovacs have been ultra reliable – supplying circa 50 warehouse staff a day, never missed a beat on the numbers. Fully uniformed every time, all the way through COVID.

– Sarah, YODEL Southampton

100% supply every time, always in uniform, always arrive well in advance of the shift. The great flexibility that Kovacs Group bring is the ability to always provide extra numbers at short notice. Others just can’t get near this service.

– UK’s Largest National Parcel Distributor - Hinckley

Kovacs group have systematically removed our transport costs and slashed our overtime bill – they clearly work hard to maintain a large pool of workers.

– UK’s Largest National Parcel Distributor - Hinckley

The team at Kovacs group are really responsive – always available & easy to deal with.

– Simon Yodel Belfast

Since adding Kovacs to the Panel, we haven’t looked back – Great team, who are able to manage exceptionally large volumes easily. Own transport service. Just good all round.

– Mark Fletcher OT Paragon Group Manchester

Kovacs Group Took on the most difficult shift to fill - our midnight starts in Crick. With their own double decker busses this wasn’t a problem – highly recommended.

– Darren (Crick GRI)

Reliable Service – Never Let Me Down. Supported Our Daventry Site With 65 temporary workers a day during covid.

– Peter Fletcher Wincanton Daventry

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