Terms and conditions

As a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), I abide by its Code of Practice, which includes the following commitments:

• to keep up to date with changes in publication practice and in the law as it affects editorial services;
• to give a true and fair representation of my qualifications, experience and skills;
• to only accept jobs that I believe I can carry out to an acceptable standard, and to inform the client immediately if I discover that this will be difficult;
• to keep clients informed of my availability during a job or a series of jobs;
• not to subcontract work without the knowledge and consent of the client;
• to make my self-employed status known to clients and take responsibility for my business and for tax and other obligations that this involves;
• to ensure that the terms of a job are clearly defined at the outset, preferably in writing;
• to keep confidential information confidential.

The Code of Practice includes the following clauses that affect you as the client:

• 4.2.3 Changes in circumstances: The client should inform the supplier of any changes to schedules and may negotiate further (in terms of budgets or schedules) in the light of material changes in the circumstances of the job.
• 4.2.4 Prompt payment: The supplier shall expect to receive payment within a specified time, agreed in advance, from submission of the invoice or within 30 days, as set out in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 and associated/subsequent legislation. The client should be aware that the supplier has a statutory right to interest and compensation in the event of late payment.
• 4.2.5 Indemnity: It is the responsibility of the client to insure against all loss of or damage to all artwork, photographs, manuscripts, disks and marked proofs while in transit between client and supplier and while in the supplier's keeping. Where appropriate (e.g. in the case of manuscripts and disks), the client will keep copies for at least six months after publication. It is the supplier's responsibility to keep copies of electronic files, author queries and correspondence relating to the work, also for at least six months after publication.
• 4.2.6 Legal issues: The client bears ultimate responsibility for matters relating to libel, obscenity, blasphemy, incitement to racial hatred, plagiarism and the reproduction of copyright material belonging to third parties.