Terms and conditions of service

Effective from: 1 July 2026 · Review date: 1 July 2027

1. About The Careers Consultant

The Careers Consultant is a Gloucestershire-based coaching, consultancy and training business operated by Hazel Edwards RCDI. We provide online and in-person services locally and across the UK.

Email: info@thecareersconsultant.co.uk
Telephone: 07838 268544
Website: https://www.thecareersconsultant.co.uk/

Our ethos is:

“Together, we're building leadership, developing people and growing organisations.”

We support organisations and individuals through a blend of career development, coaching-led leadership support, learning and progression strategy, training, consultancy and practical delivery experience.

Our services may include:

• One-to-one career coaching
• Leadership and manager development
• Workshops, training and facilitation
• Progression and people-development consultancy
• Workforce-development support
• Associate delivery for education, training, charity and employability providers
• Career-reinvention, clarity and progression support for individual clients

2. Purpose of these Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions set out the basis on which The Careers Consultant provides services to individual and organisational clients.

In these Terms:

• “We”, “us” and “our” mean The Careers Consultant.
• “You” and “your” mean the individual client or the organisation commissioning services.
• “Services” means any coaching, consultancy, training, workshop, facilitation, associate delivery or related support that we agree to provide.
• “Statement of Work” means the written document setting out the scope, deliverables, fees and arrangements for a specific assignment.

By accepting a quotation, proposal, Statement of Work, booking confirmation or invoice, you agree to these Terms and Conditions.

Where a Statement of Work or signed contract has been agreed, it forms part of this agreement. If there is a conflict between these Terms and a specific Statement of Work, the Statement of Work will take priority for that assignment.

3. Professional and ethical practice

The Careers Consultant is committed to delivering services professionally, respectfully and ethically. Our approach is informed by the principles of the Career Development Institute (CDI) Code of Ethical Practice. This means we aim to:

• Act in the best interests of clients, participants and service users.
• Treat all people fairly, respectfully and without discrimination.
• Work within the limits of our competence, qualifications, experience and professional role.
• Maintain clear and appropriate professional boundaries.
• Provide information, coaching, training and consultancy honestly and accurately.
• Respect privacy and maintain confidentiality, subject to legal and safeguarding responsibilities.
• Identify, avoid and disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest.
• Keep our knowledge, skills and practice up to date through continuing professional development.
• Use supervision, peer support or specialist advice where appropriate.
• Ensure our work is inclusive, accessible and responsive to individual needs where reasonably possible.
• Raise concerns where we believe a client, participant or service user may be at risk of harm.
• Refer or signpost clients to an appropriate professional where a need is outside our competence or service scope.
• Respond to complaints fairly, promptly and constructively.

Nothing in this section guarantees a particular outcome, including employment, promotion, funding, organisational change, business growth or financial results.

4. Scope of services

The scope of services will be agreed in writing before work begins. This may be through:

• A proposal or quotation
• A booking confirmation
• A coaching agreement
• A Statement of Work
• A signed contract
• Written email acceptance

The agreed document will normally set out:

• The purpose and scope of the work
• Delivery format and location
• Dates and times
• Expected deliverables
• Fees and expenses
• Responsibilities of both parties
• Any specific confidentiality or data-protection arrangements
• Any agreed review or evaluation arrangements

We will not carry out substantial additional work outside the agreed scope without written agreement.

5. Coaching services

5.1 Nature of coaching

Coaching is a collaborative, client-led process that supports reflection, learning, goal-setting and action. Career coaching may explore areas such as career direction, confidence, leadership, progression, job search, professional development, workplace relationships and transition planning.

5.2 Client responsibility

Coaching clients remain responsible for their own decisions, actions and outcomes. We may ask reflective questions, offer frameworks, share relevant career-development information and support you to identify options, but we do not make decisions on your behalf.

5.3 Boundaries of coaching

Coaching is not:

• Counselling or psychotherapy
• Medical or mental-health treatment
• Legal, financial, HR or employment-law advice
• Recruitment or a guarantee of employment
• A substitute for specialist professional support

Where we believe you would benefit from specialist help, we may pause or end coaching and signpost you to an appropriate service or qualified professional.

6. Consultancy, workshops and training

For organisational clients, the nature and scope of consultancy, training, workshops, facilitation or associate delivery will be agreed in advance.

Our services do not include:

• Legal or employment-law advice
• Formal HR investigations
• Financial, tax or business-regulation advice
• Formal compliance audits
• Guaranteed organisational, funding, recruitment or performance outcomes
• Responsibility for implementing recommendations after the assignment ends

The client remains responsible for all decisions, actions and implementation following the delivery of our services.

7. Bookings and acceptance

A booking or assignment is considered confirmed when:

• You accept a quotation, proposal or Statement of Work in writing
• You sign a contract or agreement
• You confirm acceptance by email
• You issue a purchase order
• You pay an agreed deposit or the full fee

We reserve the right to decline, postpone or cancel a booking where:

• Payment arrangements have not been agreed or met
• The required information or access has not been provided
• The requested work is outside our competence, capacity or ethical scope
• There is a conflict of interest that cannot be managed appropriately
• We consider that the delivery environment is unsafe or unsuitable

8. Fees, invoices and payment

8.1 Fees

Fees will be agreed in writing before services begin. Fees may be quoted as:

• An hourly rate
• A daily rate
• A fixed project fee
• A workshop or training fee
• A coaching-package fee
• A retainer arrangement

8.2 VAT

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling (£). The Careers Consultant is not currently VAT registered.

8.3 Payment terms

Unless otherwise agreed in writing:

• Individual coaching sessions and packages must be paid in advance.
• Organisational work requires a deposit of 20% to secure dates, unless a different amount is specified in writing.
• Remaining balances must be paid within 30 days of the invoice date.
• Payment must be made by bank transfer or another agreed method.

8.4 Late payment

If payment is overdue, we may:

• Pause ongoing work
• Withhold materials, reports or deliverables
• Decline future bookings
• Charge reasonable administration costs or interest where permitted by law
• Take reasonable steps to recover unpaid sums

9. Expenses, travel and venues

Unless stated otherwise in writing, fees do not include additional expenses.

Where relevant, the client may be charged for pre-agreed costs including:

• Mileage at 45p per mile
• Public transport, parking, tolls or taxi costs
• Accommodation where overnight travel is necessary
• Venue hire
• Printing and specialist materials
• Associate, facilitator or supplier costs

All significant expenses will be discussed and agreed in advance where reasonably possible.

For in-person work, the commissioning organisation is responsible for ensuring that the venue is safe, accessible and suitable for the agreed activity.

10. Client responsibilities

To enable effective delivery, clients agree to:

• Provide accurate and timely information relevant to the service
• Attend agreed sessions or ensure relevant participants attend
• Complete preparation or actions that have been agreed
• Provide reasonable access to systems, people, documents or venues where required
• Ensure appropriate technology and connectivity for online sessions
• Identify a named contact with authority to make decisions for organisational assignments
• Raise concerns or changes as early as possible
• Treat The Careers Consultant, associates and participants respectfully and professionally

We may pause or reschedule services where these responsibilities are not met and this materially affects delivery.

11. Equality, inclusion and conduct

The Careers Consultant is committed to providing inclusive services and treating people fairly and with respect.

We will not tolerate behaviour that is abusive, threatening, discriminatory, harassing, unsafe or persistently disruptive. Where this occurs, we may end a session, remove a participant, pause delivery or terminate the agreement.

Where a service is ended because of a client's or participant's unacceptable conduct, fees may remain payable.

12. Confidentiality

Information shared during coaching, consultancy, workshops or training will be treated as confidential.

We will not share confidential information without permission except where:

• Disclosure is required by law
• There is a serious concern about the safety of an individual or others
• We are required to respond to a safeguarding concern
• Disclosure is necessary to defend a legal claim
• Limited information needs to be shared with an associate or professional adviser for the delivery of services, subject to appropriate confidentiality arrangements

For organisationally commissioned coaching, individual coaching discussions remain confidential. We may provide anonymised themes or high-level progress information only where this has been agreed in advance and does not compromise confidentiality.

Workshop and group-training participants are expected to respect the confidentiality of others. We cannot guarantee that participants will maintain confidentiality, but we will establish clear expectations at the start of group work.

13. Data protection

We will handle personal data in accordance with applicable UK data-protection law.

We will collect and use only the personal information reasonably required to:

• Deliver our services
• Manage bookings and payments
• Maintain professional and business records
• Meet legal, insurance or safeguarding responsibilities
• Communicate with clients about agreed services

Further information is set out in our privacy policy.

Clients are responsible for ensuring they have an appropriate lawful basis for sharing any employee, participant or service-user data with us.

14. Intellectual property

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all materials created by The Careers Consultant — including workshop materials, slides, workbooks, templates, frameworks, reports and resources — remain our intellectual property.

Clients may use materials supplied for their own agreed internal purposes. They must not, without prior written permission:

• Copy, reproduce or distribute them externally
• Adapt them for commercial use
• Sell or licence them
• Share them publicly
• Present them as their own work

Where a client provides materials, they confirm that they have the right to share them with us for the agreed purpose.

15. Changes to scope

Any material change to an agreed service must be confirmed in writing.

Material changes may include:

• Extra sessions, workshops or participants
• New deliverables or reports
• Additional preparation, design or follow-up
• A change in location, format or timetable
• Additional travel or expenses
• A significant change in the brief or intended outcomes

We will explain the likely impact on fees, timescales, availability and delivery before undertaking additional work.

16. Cancellation and rescheduling

Cancellations and rescheduling requests are subject to our Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy, which forms part of these Terms and Conditions.

The policy sets out notice periods, cancellation charges, refunds, credits, rescheduling arrangements and the process for cancellations made by either the client or The Careers Consultant.

17. Cancellation by The Careers Consultant

We may need to postpone or cancel delivery because of illness, emergency, travel disruption, unsafe conditions or other circumstances outside our reasonable control.

Where this happens, we will give as much notice as possible and will aim to offer:

• A mutually convenient alternative date
• A suitable alternative facilitator or associate, where appropriate and agreed
• A refund of fees paid for the affected service where no suitable alternative can be agreed

We will not be responsible for indirect losses, such as client staff costs, participant travel or venue costs, unless we have expressly agreed this in writing.

18. Liability

We will deliver services with reasonable care and skill.

However, we cannot accept responsibility for:

• Decisions made by clients or participants
• A client's implementation or non-implementation of recommendations
• Employment, promotion, recruitment, organisational, financial or business outcomes
• Loss of income, opportunity, reputation, data or business
• Technology failures, internet disruption or third-party platform issues
• Delays caused by circumstances outside our reasonable control

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so.

19. Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service, please tell us as soon as possible.

Complaints should be sent in writing to info@thecareersconsultant.co.uk.

We will:

• Acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days
• Review the matter fairly and confidentially
• Aim to provide a substantive response within 15 working days
• Explain any proposed resolution or next steps

If additional time is needed, we will let you know.

20. Termination

Either party may end an ongoing assignment by giving [insert notice period] written notice, subject to any specific terms in the relevant Statement of Work.

We may terminate an agreement immediately where:

• Fees remain unpaid after reasonable reminders
• There is serious misconduct, harassment, discrimination or unsafe behaviour
• There is a significant breach of confidentiality
• A conflict of interest arises that cannot be managed
• Continuing would be unethical, unlawful or outside our competence

Where an agreement ends, the client remains responsible for payment for work completed and non-refundable costs incurred up to the termination date.

21. Governing law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

22. Acceptance

By accepting a proposal, booking, Statement of Work, contract or invoice, you confirm that you have read, understood and accepted these Terms and Conditions.

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