Terms and conditions

1. Introduction

Any work that I, Ingrid Lezar, undertake to deliver to you is conducted under the terms and conditions detailed in the sections that follow below. In the interest of readability, I generally refer to myself, the contractor, with first-person pronouns and to you, the client, with second-person pronouns.

We will confirm the details of specific projects via email and that written record will be taken as an addition to the general agreement.

2. General terms and conditions

The scope of each project or continual working agreement will be determined in writing. This will include the deliverables, the timeline, the budget, and payment procedures.

Deliverables. You will provide the initial files (e.g. documents to be copy-edited or translated) in an agreed-upon file format. I will return the completed work in an agreed-upon file format.

Timeline. The time I estimate for a project is always dependent on client response times. The estimated timeline can only be followed if you submit the initial files both in the correct format and on time and if you respond to queries in a timely manner.

Any delays caused by the client’s late submission of files or delayed response times in answering queries cannot be made up on the contractor’s end. This means that delays the client causes will affect the final delivery of work. Please note that once a timeline has been disrupted, other clients’ requests may be prioritised over yours. Therefore, once client-side delays disrupt a project, all delivery-time guarantees are null and void.

If client-side delays disrupt a timeline but the client still wants a project to be completed by a particular date, fees for urgent after-hours work will most likely be incurred. As a rule, urgent work is charged at double the regular rate. Please note that there is no guarantee that I will have the capacity to complete work on this basis.

Should illness, injury, or other circumstances beyond my control prevent me from delivering work on time, I will communicate this to you as soon as possible. I will do everything in my power to deliver the work as soon as possible or find another contractor for you.

Budget. Cost estimates will be provided with minimum and maximum amounts, because the exact nature of a piece of work can be hard to judge upfront. If any major hurdles to staying on budget become apparent, I will notify you as soon as possible.

Payment procedures. Please see Section 9: Payment.

3. Project scope

The scope of a project generally includes the main work, e.g. translation or copy-editing, and one revision round in which queries are resolved and the work is proofread. Other stages, detailed below, may be called for either before or after this work. This will be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Some projects may require separate rounds of work in the earlier stages. In the case of copy-editing, this may include structural editing or other content adjustments that precede language editing. In the case of translation, this may include sending the original source text to another service provider to be improved before translation commences.

A second round of proofreading for print-ready materials is generally recommended. This will be charged additionally.

An external proofreader is required for urgent work as well as high-stakes work, e.g. certain types of print materials or documents that concern legal matters. I will engage a sub-contractor in these cases; you will receive a single invoice in the end.

Document formatting or design services as well as checking of citations or references in academic work will be estimated in addition to language work and may constitute a separate stage of the project.

Any major changes in scope will be estimated separately. Should such a situation arise, I will communicate additional costs to you and await approval before work proceeds further.

4. Changes and revisions

If you wish to make changes after I’ve already started work, the work completed up to that point will be invoiced in full, regardless of what is used in the final product.

Minor changes, e.g. to one or two sentences on a page, are considered part of the regular revision round. If you make major changes and revisions after the initial work is complete, i.e. when we get to the revision round, I’ll estimate the additional charges and await your agreement before work is continued.

I recommend that you consult with all relevant stakeholders in your organisation before our work commences. If you are not the person with final sign-off on the project, it is best to make sure that person is on board with all developments and changes at all times.

5. Plagiarism and copyright

If the client includes any content in any version of the files worked on under this agreement without attributing sources and/or obtaining the relevant copyright permission, the client is solely liable for any resulting consequences. I check facts and sources as a matter of course, but I will not be held liable for any unattributed content or copyrighted content you have included in the work. See Wikipedia’s simple visual summary of plagiarism and copyright infringement or ask me any time if you are unsure of how to work with sources.

You will own the copyright for all the final products created under this agreement.

I will own any work product separate from the final products created under this agreement. This includes translation memories and glossaries. If you would like access to work product, this can be arranged for a fee.

If I would like to showcase any work we did together in a portfolio, I will ask for your consent and approval beforehand.

6. Privacy, information storage, and non-disclosure

Any information that you provide or that is generated while we work together will be securely saved for as long as it is useful to me. This includes your contact information and any files or other data you provide. (In the case of old work product, I sometimes find it instructive to refer back to previous solutions of technical language issues. In such a case, your content is not reused in any way; I am merely reviewing my technical decisions.) If you would like to have any of your files or details deleted, please contact me and I will comply as far as possible. I may need to retain some data, e.g. invoices, to fulfil my legal and tax obligations.

Once completed work has been sent to you, you are responsible for managing these files. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide them again at a later date.

None of your personal details will be shared with or disclosed to any third parties, unless agreed upon, as in the case of external proofreaders or other service providers. If documents contain sensitive information, please point this out for clarity. You are also welcome to anonymise information, e.g. by changing ‘Ms Smith’ to ‘Ms S’, before submitting a document. As a general rule, however, any information in documents that will not be made public will be treated as confidential and any information that has not yet been made public will also not be disclosed to anyone in any way.

To avoid loss of work in the event of hardware failure, your information is securely stored in the Microsoft Cloud and/or the Google Cloud. Should Google or Microsoft suffer any security breeches, I cannot be held liable for the consequences.

7. Exclusivity

Unless otherwise stipulated, I offer no exclusivity. I am free to work for any other clients of my choice.

8. Termination

You are free to terminate our agreement at any time, although it is preferable if you provide advance notice. If you should decide to do so, any work that has been done up to that time will be invoiced and is to be paid in full. Any deposits you have paid will not be refunded.

I am also free to terminate our agreement at any time, although I will endeavour to provide advance notice if possible.

9. Payment

If a project includes a deposit, the deposit must be paid before work starts. Any delays caused will be considered a client-side delay (see Section 2: General terms and conditions – Timeline). Deposits are non-refundable.

Invoices for single projects will be issued after the project has been completed. Payment is due 30 days after the invoice issue date.

Invoices for continual work will generally be issued monthly, at the end of the month. Payment is due 30 days after the invoice issue date.

For large projects, other payment terms may be negotiated.

10. Legal

Despite every effort to provide you with the highest quality work possible, I can’t guarantee that my work will be completely free of errors. I or any service providers I engage on your behalf cannot be held liable by you or any third party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental, consequential, or special damages, even if you’ve advised me of them.

If any provision of this contract shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this contract and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

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