As a Registered Practice with the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Switch Ecology shall operate within the terms of the Institute’s Code of Professional Conduct and within the law. As such, Switch Ecology shall use reasonable skill, care and diligence in the performance of his duties and show care and regard for the environment and his clients.
Switch Ecology shall act on behalf of the client as an impartial advisor, investigator or agent in those matters defined in the contract agreement.
Switch Ecology is a Registered Practice with CIEEM. All work will be undertaken in accordance with the Institute’s Code of Professional Conduct.
To meet standard legislative and local authority requirements, survey reports will normally contain recommendations which will follow industry good practice. These will be based on the professional interpretation of survey results and may also include recommendations in relation to protected species observed on the site other than those for which the survey was commissioned.
No responsibility will be accepted for any repercussions arising from a client not carrying out recommendations in full.
It is often necessary, and beneficial to the client, for Switch Ecology to discuss details of the approach to and/or results of surveys and other contracts with the responsible authorities (local authorities, Natural England etc.), particularly where planning permission or a protected species licence is required. This helps the consultant determine an application, and therefore this will normally be undertaken on behalf of the client. Where possible this will be discussed with the client in advance; however, on occasion (e.g. where the authority has made contact directly to clarify certain issues) such discussions may be undertaken without further reference to the client, unless expressly instructed not to do so in advance.
If Switch Ecology considers a potential wildlife crime has been committed, or believes a crime may be about to be committed, this will be brought to the client’s attention immediately. There are certain circumstances where the consultant will be constrained to notify the relevant authorities if a crime has been committed or is about to be committed. The consultant reserves the right to communicate with the relevant authorities directly at any stage should it be felt that this is necessary in order to report or prevent the commission or continued commission of a crime.
Any modifications to this agreement that are deemed necessary by either Switch Ecology or the client should be notified to the other party at the earliest opportunity. Consent for modifications arising from unforeseen circumstances or factors should not be unreasonably withheld by either party.
Additional consultants or sub consultants may be appointed by either the client directly or by the principal consultant, subject to acceptance of each party.
Switch Ecology shall not be responsible for the actions and/or omissions of another consultant except where this is explicitly laid down in this agreement.
The liability for sub-consultants rests with the employing consultant.
Information from the client
The client shall provide Switch Ecology with such information as is necessary for the proper performance of the agreed service, in particular any copies of previous ecological surveys undertaken on the site and available to the client. If it is found that such documents, or any other pertinent information, have been withheld without good reason, Switch Ecology reserves the right to terminate the contract without notice and to require payment for any expenses incurred.
Representatives of the client
The client, if a company or other group of persons, shall be required by Switch Ecology to nominate one specific representative for the duration of the project.
Copyright on all documents including survey information, text, photographs, drawings and other illustrations prepared by Switch Ecology shall, unless otherwise agreed, remain the property of Switch Ecology. The client shall be entitled to use documents prepared by the consultant in the execution of this agreement provided that:
Scientific data collected during the course of the contract will be made available to appropriate biodiversity records centres and kept by Switch Ecology in order to better inform future ecological surveys. If a client has any objection to this they must inform Switch Ecology in advance in writing.
No work will be booked into Switch Ecology’s programme nor undertaken until the quoted costs and all terms and conditions have been accepted in writing.
If agreed work dates have to be altered as a result of delays caused by the weather, or by availability of access permissions, or by safety issues, or by any other circumstances outside Switch Ecology’s control, the next available date will be programmed, taking into account pre-existing bookings. Switch Ecology makes no guarantee that revised work dates can be arranged to meet the original deadlines. Any cancellations resulting from such delays will be subject to an appropriate charge. Work that is curtailed by the client for reasons beyond Switch Ecology’s control or cancelled at less than 24 hours notice will be charged the full agreed rate.
If either party to this agreement considers modifications to the project to be necessary, full details must be provided in writing. If agreement for appropriate modifications cannot be reached within 30 days, dispute procedures may be implemented (see Clause 19).
The length of notice for the termination of all or part of this agreement by Switch Ecology shall be as set out in the Schedule. If, after 30 days following notification of suspension of this agreement, Switch Ecology has not received instructions from the client, Switch Ecology shall make a final, written application for instructions. In the event of no instructions being received by Switch Ecology within a further 30 days of the final application, this agreement shall be deemed to have terminated. Compensation as set out in the Schedule may be payable to Switch Ecology.
The length of notice for the termination of all or part of this agreement by Switch Ecology shall be as set out in the Schedule. Switch Ecology shall give full details of reasons leading to the termination and a suitable course of action for the closure of the project shall be agreed in writing. Compensation as set out in the Schedule may be payable to the client.
In the event of death or serious incapacity of a sole practitioner preventing the continuation of this agreement, it shall be deemed to have terminated. As soon as all outstanding fees have been paid, the client shall be entitled to use all data prepared on the project subject to the provisions of Clause 11.
By agreement
Differences or disputes arising out of the appointment in relation to professional, ethical or any other matter may be settled by agreement between the parties.
By mediation
If agreement cannot be reached, the client or Switch Ecology are free to invite a third party to act as mediator.
By arbitration
Any difference or dispute arising out of the appointment which cannot be resolved in accordance with either Clause 19i or 19ii shall be referred to arbitration by a person agreed between the parties. If agreement cannot be reached after 14 days, the matter shall be referred by either party to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators for the appointment of an arbitrator.
The application of this agreement shall be governed by the laws of the country in which the agreement is implemented. The client and Switch Ecology shall comply with all relevant legislation.
No actions or proceedings for any breach of this agreement shall be commenced against Switch Ecology after the expiry of 6 years from the date of the relevant report.
Where a requirement for frequent or constant professional supervision is agreed, a resident professional shall be appointed on a full or part time basis by Switch Ecology under specific terms of appointment and remunerations.
Survey will be undertaken on the basis that the site is in a safe condition. If at any time Switch Ecology feels it is unsafe to proceed, work will be terminated until the site can be made safe.
All work will be subject to risk assessment.
Where a continued presence on site is required (e.g. supervision of roof removal, installation of fencing etc.) adequate toilet and hand-washing facilities must be provided or made available.
We will require full access permission to be arranged. No site survey will commence until all such permissions are confirmed.
For bat surveys, access is required to all loft spaces and other areas as detailed in the quote. If access is not possible to all areas, the assessment may be incomplete and the local authority may require further surveys to be undertaken. If Switch Ecology has to visit the site a second time because full access was not available on the first visit, an additional charge will be made.
VAT will be charged at the standard rate from the point that VAT registration is confirmed.
Costs are valid for 30 days from the date of the quotation and include one paper copy of the final report if required; additional paper copies will be charged at cost.
Any additional meetings or work that may be required will be charged at Switch Ecologys standard daily rate as indicated in the quote.
Unless otherwise stated, travel to and from the site is included in the time allocation quoted.
Rates are normally reviewed in April each year. Revised rates may therefore apply to work that has been quoted for in one calendar year but is not undertaken until the following calendar year, unless agreed otherwise.
Costs are based on the understanding that appropriate base maps, both in hard copy and suitable electronic format will be supplied free of charge by the client, together with any copyright permissions (e.g. OS licence numbers) needed for their use. If the necessary base maps are not supplied, these will be purchased and the purchase price passed on to the client at cost.
Unless otherwise agreed, payment is due on completion of the site survey work or other preparatory work (e.g. licence preparation) and within 30 days of the date of invoice. Reports will not be provided and licence applications will not be submitted until full and final payment has been received. Switch Ecology will exercise his statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the late payment legislation if they are not paid according to agreed terms.
We (Switch Ecology) strive to deliver excellent service to our clients and other stakeholders. In the unfortunate event that you feel we have not met this standard we encourage you to let us know so that we can resolve the matter satisfactorily and can look to improve the ways in which we conduct our business.
If you have a complaint the first step is to raise it informally with ourselves, either verbally or in writing, so that we can resolve it. We would encourage you to raise the matter with us as soon as possible so that we can address your concerns before matters get worse. In practice, most complaints can be resolved in this way.
If this does not resolve the matter satisfactorily, we would ask that you make a formal complaint in writing, via email or letter, so that there can be no misunderstanding about the nature of your concerns. The letter/email should be addressed to ourselves.
Once we receive your complaint we will take the following steps:
We hope that we are able to resolve your complaint satisfactorily but accept that sometimes this is not possible. We are a member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) so if your complaint relates to our technical competence you have recourse to CIEEM’s professional conduct inquiry procedures (see cieem.net/resource/professional-conduct-inquiry-procedures). However, if your complaint relates to our business services, invoicing and charges you should contact the Citizen’s Advice Consumer Service (UK) or the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (RoI).