For the purpose of these terms and conditions (“Terms and Conditions“), “Employee Rights Consultants“, “we” or “us” are used interchangeably to refer to us.  The Privacy Policy is incorporated into these Terms and Conditions in its entirety and references to these Terms and Conditions shall be deemed to include a reference to the Privacy Policy.

Please carefully read these Terms and Conditions which governs the relationship between you and us in relation to: (1) your use of this web site (this website, its gateway and pages are collectively referred as the “Site“), (2) the communications (by e-mail, phone, fax, mail or other correspondence) between you and us (the “Communications“), and (3) the provision of services by us to you (the “Services“).

By accessing the Site, engaging in Communications with us or requesting and/or accepting Services from us, you indicate that you have read and understood these Terms and Conditions, and agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

You also confirm that you are more than 18 years of age, and are fully able and competent to enter into and be bound by the terms, conditions, obligations, affirmations, representations and warranties set out in these Terms and Conditions.

If you do not agree with these Terms and Conditions, or if you are not 18 or older or do not possess the requisite ability to enter into these Terms and Conditions, please do not use our website.

These Terms and Conditions may limit the remedies available to you and our liabilities to you.  In particular, the Sections titled “Limitation of Liability” contains important information about your rights and remedies against us, while the Section titled “No provision of legal advice” contains important information about the type of advice we are able to provide to you, and your ability to rely on such advice.  The Sections below may limit the options available to you in the event of a dispute and requires the use of arbitration to resolve disputes, rather than court proceedings or litigation.

Interpretation

  1. “including” shall be construed as “including without limitation” (and cognate expressions shall be construed similarly);
  2. a “regulation” includes any regulation, rule, official directive, request or guideline (whether or not having the force of law) of any governmental, intergovernmental or supranational body, agency, department or regulatory, self-regulatory or other authority or organisation;
  3.  The section titles in the Terms and Conditions are for reference and convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

No provision of legal advice

We do not offer or provide, nor do we purport to offer or provide or engage in the business of offering or providing, legal advice to you through the operation of this Site, in our Communications to you or in the provision and delivery of Services to you.  Our Services to you, the making available of information on our Site, and the provision to you of advice of a commercial and practical nature in our Communications, do not constitute the provision by us to you of legal advice in the capacity as a solicitor or barrister to you.  WE ARE NOT A LAW FIRM, and NEITHER WE, OUR OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS NOR SUB-CONTRACTORS ARE ACTING IN THE CAPACITY AS YOUR SOLICITOR.  WE DO NOT PRACTICE LAW.  YOU ARE USING THIS SITE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

No implied solicitor and client relationship: Your use of this website or our services, or the receipt of any information from us or from this website, is not intended to create, nor does it create by implication, a solicitor and client relationship between you and us or any employees, officers, agents or representatives of, or associated with, Employee Rights Consultants. No solicitor and client relationship will come into existence as a result of the provision of our services to you, and you do not have any of the rights, privileges and protections of a solicitor and client relationship with us. We are not responsible to you or anyone else, and we do not accept any liability, for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss or damage (including any loss of business profits) which may suffered or incurred in connection with the use of this website, or any of the content or services provided by us to you.

Our Services and the information provided on this Site is not intended for provision or distribution to, or use by, any person in any jurisdiction where such provision, distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation.

In accessing this Site, engaging in Communications with us and requesting and accepting our Services, you acknowledge and agree that:

  1. you are not engaging us (or any of our officers, employees, agents or sub-contractors) in the capacity as a solicitor or barrister, nor can we be engaged by you in the capacity as your solicitor or barrister;
  2. we do not owe you any duties which a solicitor or barrister owes its client (and we have not formed any solicitor-client relationship as a result of you engaging us for our Services);
  3. we can provide you with information of a practical and commercial nature which may be applicable to your particular circumstances, but we cannot guarantee (nor do we warrant) that our advice will achieve your specific aims or goals nor that our advice will be uncontested as a matter of law;
  4. you will be representing yourself in any legal matter you undertake as a result of our Services.  Our Services are intended to be used by you for self-help purposes only.  We do not guarantee positive results for you from using our Services;
  5. we are not able to provide you with legal advice, but should you require legal advice, we can direct you to a third party unrelated to us who is a solicitor or barrister who can act on your behalf (although no agency relationship is established as a result of us referring you to a solicitor or barrister);
  6. you responsible for informing yourself of and observing any applicable laws and regulations of any relevant jurisdiction, including Hong Kong.
  7. you have disclosed to us all relevant information for us to accurately assess your situation and to provide you with relevant and accurate practical and commercial advice, and that where certain information is withheld or redacted, we cannot make a full assessment of your situation nor can we guarantee that our advice (given on the basis only of the information you have provided to us) will necessarily still apply had we known of the additional information which you have withheld or redacted.

Our Services may not necessarily be, and should therefore not be taken to be, authorised by any governmental or regulatory authority in Hong Kong or in your place of residence, and that we may not necessarily be regulated in the same manner (and to the same extent) as a law firm operating in Hong Kong or a Hong Kong solicitor or barrister.

We do not represent that our Services are suitable for you or any particular person or for your particular circumstances. You are advised to obtain specific legal advice before taking any legal action as appropriate.

Our Services are intended to be use to assist you in understanding your commercial position and to provide you with commercial and practical suggestions to assist in protecting your rights as an employee or an independent contractor.

Intellectual property

We own the trademarks, trade names, logos and service marks (“Trademarks“) that are used or displayed on this Site or on Communications. You are not allowed to use any such Trademark without our prior written consent.  The information and materials on this Site and in our Communications (the “Content“) are protected by copyright . You are not allowed to modify, reproduce, store in a retrieval system, transmit, copy, distribute, sell, publish or commercially exploit the Content (or any part of them), or use them for creating derivative works or in any other way for commercial or public purposes without our prior written consent.

Subject to the above, you may access and view the Content and may retrieve and display Content on a computer screen and/or print individual pages on paper and/or make a reasonable number of photocopies and/or store such Content in electronic form for your personal, non-commercial use only.

Limitation of Liability

Whilst we have taken reasonable care in preparing the content and information contained on this Site, such content and information are provided “as is” basis.  We take reasonable care to check the accuracy and completeness of the Content on this Site and in our Communications. However, due to the nature of electronic distribution of the Content through the internet, we make no representations and give no warranties as to the accuracy, availability, completeness, merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose of the Content.

WE DO NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY MISTAKES, ERRORS OR OTHER DEFICIENCIES IN THE SITE AND THE CONTENT AND DISCLAIM ALL LIABILITY IN RESPECT OF YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND THE CONTENT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT POSSIBLE IN EACH APPLICABLE JURISDICTION.

We are not responsible in any way for direct, indirect, special or consequential damages arising from or in connection with your use of this Site, our Communications or the Services provided to you.

Notwithstanding this Section, our liability is not limited in the case of death or personal injury directly caused by our negligence.

We do not, and our directors, officers, employees, affiliates and agents do not, have any duties, responsibilities or obligations to you other than as expressly set out in these Terms and Conditions.  In no event shall we or our directors, officers, employees, affiliates and agents have any liability or obligation to you as a result of any act or omission or be liable for any loss incurred by you, except where such loss results directly from our gross negligence or wilful default (but excluding in any case liability for special, indirect, consequential or punitive losses or damages).

You shall indemnify us from and against all liabilities, losses, damages, claims, proceedings, costs (including legal costs on a full indemnity basis), expenses and charges (whether on account of taxes, duties, imposts or otherwise) which we may incur as a result of:

a. providing Services to you; and/or
b. a breach of any of these Terms and Conditions or any applicable laws and regulations by you.

We shall not be liable for any delay or failure in providing the Services to you to the extent that it is attributable to any cause beyond our reasonable control including any equipment malfunction or as the result of, and under no ircumstances
shall we be responsible to you or any third party for, any indirect or consequential losses arising out of or in connection with such delay or failure.

You may not take any proceedings against any of our directors, officers, employees, affiliates or agents in respect of any claim you may have against us or in respect of any act or omission of any kind by that director, officer, employee, affiliate or agent in relation to these Terms and Conditions.

We and/or its officers and employees make no representations about the merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness, and accuracy of the information, software, products, services, and related graphics contained on the Website for any purpose. All such information, software, products, services and related graphics are provided “as is” without warranty or condition of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we, and our officers, employees, agents and sub-contractors (i) expressly exclude all warranties and conditions with regard to this information, software, products, services and related graphics, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement, and (ii) any and all liability to you, whether arising under these Terms and Conditions or otherwise in connection with the Services.

The foregoing is a comprehensive limitation of liability that applies to all damages of any kind, including (without limitation) compensatory, direct, indirect or consequential damages, loss of data, income or profit, loss of or damage to property and claims of third parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in these Terms and Conditions is intended to exclude or limit any liability that may not by law be excluded or limited, and in particular none of the exclusions and limitations in this clause are intended to limit any rights you may have under Hong Kong law or statutory rights which in each case may not be excluded, nor in any way to exclude or limit our liability to you for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or that of our employees or agents.

To the extent that foregoing limitation of liability is prohibited or ineffective under Hong Kong law, our sole obligation to you for liabilities, losses, damages of any kind shall be limited to two times the value of the Service fee you paid to us.

We makes no warranty that this Site or Service will meet your objectives or requirements,nor as to the results that may be obtained from the use of this Site or Service.

Partial Invalidity

If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of that provision will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms and Conditions, which shall remain in full force and effect. Our failure to exercise any right or remedy under these Terms and Conditions does not constitute a waiver of that right or remedy.

Any failure by us to enforce or exercise any provision of these Terms and Conditions, or any related right, will not be a waiver of that provision or right.

Choice of law and Submission to arbitration

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Hong Kong.

Most customer concerns can be resolved quickly and to your satisfaction by emailing us at [email protected].

Any dispute, controversy or claim arising in any way out of or in connection with the Site, the Services, the Communications or these Terms and Conditions (including, without limitation: (1) any issue regarding contractual, pre-contractual or non-contractual rights, obligations or liabilities; and (2) any issue as to the existence, validity, breach or termination of the Services or these Terms and Conditions) (a “Dispute“) shall be referred to and finally resolved by binding arbitration administered by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (“HKIAC“) in accordance with the HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules in force from time to time (the “Rules“), which Rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference and as may be amended by these Terms and Conditions.

The arbitration tribunal (“Tribunal“) shall consist of three arbitrators to be appointed in accordance with the Rules.

The seat of the arbitration shall be Hong Kong. This section in relation to arbitration shall be deemed to be an arbitration agreement and such arbitration agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Hong Kong.

The language of the arbitration proceedings shall be English.

Any award of the Tribunal shall be made in writing and shall be final and binding on the parties from the day it is made. The parties undertake to carry out the award without delay.

The parties waive any right to apply to any court of law and/or other judicial authority to determine any preliminary point of law and/or review any question of law and/or the merits, insofar as such waiver may validly be made.  Subject to any provisions in the Rules, the parties shall not be deemed to have waived any other right to challenge any award on grounds allowed by the mandatory law of the seat of arbitration. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall be construed as preventing any party from seeking conservatory or interim relief from any court of competent jurisdiction.

In any litigation or arbitration proceedings in connection with any Dispute, the records maintained by us in the ordinary course of business shall be prima facie evidence of the matters to which they relate.

Changes to Terms and Conditions

We may make changes to any part of the Site or the Content at any time at our sole discretion, without notice to you.  Such changes shall be effective upon their publication on the Site.

We may also make changes to these Terms and Conditions at any time at our sole discretion, without notice to you except as specified below. Other than as specified below, such changes shall be effective upon their publication on the Site.

Where you have engaged us on a Service and we have yet to complete our Services to you, we will notify you of any changes to these Terms and Conditions.  By the earlier of: (1) you continuing to use the Site after the date of any change to the Terms and Conditions, (2) by accepting the final product of our Services, (3) by requesting additional or new Services from us, or (4) 30 days after the date on which we notify you of changes to these Terms and Conditions, you will be deemed and taken to have agreed to the changes to the Terms and Conditions and such revised Terms and Conditions will govern our relationship in respect of all past, present and future Services provided by us to you (including any Communications in respect of such past, present and future Services), unless you have expressly notified us in writing that you do not accept such changes.

Transmissions over the Internet

Due to the nature of the Internet, Communicaions and transactions may be subject to interruption, transmission blackout, delayed transmission or incorrect data transmission. We are not liable for malfunctions in communications facilities beyond our control that may affect the accuracy or timeliness of Communications or the provision of Services to you.  Email messages sent to us over the Internet cannot be guaranteed to be completely secure. We are not responsible for any damages you incur if you send a message to us, or if we send a message to you at your request, over the Internet.  We do not warrant or guarantee:

  1. that the Site or Content will be available at all times and will meet your particular requirements;
  2. that access to the Site or Content will not be interrupted or error-free;
  3. that there will be no delay, failure, error or omission or loss of information in transmission;
  4. that no viruses or other contaminating or destructive properties will be transmitted; and
  5. that no damage will occur to your computer system.

You are solely responsible for the following:

  1. adequate protection and back up of your data and equipment; and
  2. undertaking reasonable and appropriate precautions to scan for computer viruses and similar intrusive programs.

Any Content that you download to your computer or otherwise obtain through the Site or in our Communications is at your own discretion.

All Communications sent by us to you using any one or more of the contact details last registered by you with us shall be deemed to have been duly delivered to you regardless of whether you have actually received the same or if the same has been filtered by any computer programs affecting your receipt of Communications (e.g. spam filtering).

Storage, back-up and recording of Communications

In the course of providing Services to you, we (or our agent or service provider) may store, back-up or record any Communications (including verbal Communications over the phone) between you and us in relation to the provision of such Services, and by engaging us to provide Services to you, you are taken to have consented to such storage, back-up and recording of Communications (including verbal Communications over the phone).

Entire Agreement

These Terms and Conditions embody the entire agreement between us and you with respect to the subject matter covered hereby and the understanding between us and you and supersedes all prior agreements, communications and understandings (whether electronic, oral or written) between us and you relating to the subject matter hereof.

Assignment and Transfer

We may at any time assign or transfer any or all of our rights and obligations under these Terms and Conditions to any person without your consent or agreement, and without requiring prior notice to be given to you. You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations to any person other than with our prior written consent.

Provision of Services and Payment

By following the payment procedures provided for on the Site, you will be taken to make an offer to us to request the provision of Services to you.  We may, in our sole discretion, determine whether to accept your offer.  We shall indicate our acceptance of your offer by sending you a confirmation email to the email address you have provided to us. Each such offer accepted by us shall constitute an independent agreement between you and us in relation to the specific Service requested by you and governed in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.

Notwithstanding the above, we reserve the right in our sole discretion to refuse to provide our Services to any person and to unilaterally terminate any agreement for the provision of our Services to you by refunding any fees or charges paid by you in respect of such Service.

The Service fees and charges shall be paid prior to us commencing the provision of Services to you. All fees, charges and other monies payable or paid in consideration of the Services are non-refundable once paid.