Utopia Education Terms & Conditions
Last Revised: January 8, 2024
Utopia Education (“Utopia Education”, “we”, “our”, “us”, “Company”) is a platform between relief teachers (“Candidates”) and ECE centres and other educational organisations (“Clients") via our website (www.utopiaedu.co.nz) and Apple AppStore and Google Play mobile applications ( each a “Site”). All use of the Services and a Site is subject to these Terms & Conditions. References in these Terms & Conditions to “you” shall be deemed to mean Client unless the context otherwise requires.
We may from time to time amend these Terms & Conditions on reasonable notice.
1. Acceptance of Terms & Conditions
By making any on-demand request for the provision of education and teaching services assignments (“Services”) via the Site, this constitutes an acceptance of these Terms & Conditions by the Client.
Utopia Education will licence the Client to use its Site to enable the Client to seek, receive and fulfil on-demand requests for the provision of education and teaching services assignments.
2. Definitions
For purposes of clarification the following definitions apply:
“Candidate” – any persons introduced to the Client by Utopia Education, for the purposes of relieving assignments. Candidate is also used interchangeably with the word Reliever.
“Reliever” – means any person supplied by Utopia Education for the purposes of assignments supporting the staff and team members at the centre.
“Client” – any person or organisation who has engaged the services of Utopia Education.
“Services” – means any on-demand requests for the provision of education and teaching services assignments.
3. Relieving Teacher Services
Utopia Education gives no guarantee of the continued availability of any Candidate and will not be liable to you should a confirmed Candidate become unavailable for a confirmed job.
Candidates are to provide a copy of their primary and secondary ID. If the Candidates are Registered Teachers, they will provide their Teachers Practicing Certificate.
Any cancellations by a Client of a confirmed job booking must be made with no less than 24 hours’ notice from the start of the confirmed job booking. A Confirmed job booking cannot be cancelled within 24 hours. If you cancel within 24 hours of the start of the confirmed job booking, you will be charged a 30% of the full amount of your booking hours (“Cancellation Fee”). You will not be charged a Cancellation Fee if at the time of cancellation no Candidate had confirmed the acceptance of your assignment.
If Clients wish to offer any Candidate(s) a permanent employment in their or other centres directly, the Client does not have to pay the Company any placement or other fee. For the avoidance of doubt, a permanent employment/contracted position means employment or an engagement on a permanent full-time or part-time basis, and does not include a period of fixed term or casual employment. In the absence of engaging any Candidate(s) by a Client as a permanent employee or contractor directly, all assignments must be entered into through the Site.
4. Roles / Responsibilities of a Reliever
For clarification purposes, the role of a Utopia Education Reliever is to support the staff and team members at a Centre.
Different Centres will have different needs/requirements from a Utopia Education Reliever. Likewise, Utopia Education Relievers may also have different expectations when relieving at a Centre. Utopia Education Relievers are told to be respectful and attentive to the needs of the Centre. We appreciate the same courtesy to be shown to our Relievers.
5. Non-Performance
If you are unhappy with the calibre or performance of any Reliever and would like to end the booking, you are recommended to note this where relevant on the Site and end the booking based on your agreement with the Reliever. To ensure your future bookings are not accepted by the same Reliever, you are recommended to use the relevant Block Feature on the App to ensure your future bookings are not revealed to the Reliever. We will use reasonable endeavours to ensure this action is confidential.
Failure to report any dissatisfaction will mean that you agree to continue engaging with the Services of the Candidate for the duration of the assignment, and will be charged for Services rendered
6. Paid / Unpaid Breaks
While Relievers are engaged by Utopia Education as contractors and so are expected to manage any breaks that they require during the course of any assignment, the Client and the Reliever should discuss and agree what breaks (if any) are to be taken during any assignment(s).
It is Utopia Education’s expectation that Relievers have sufficient breaks during the course of any assignment.
As a guide, the following is set out in the Employment Relations Act 2000:
Only lunch breaks are considered unpaid breaks.
Rest breaks need to be provided in accordance with the provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2000. The number of rest and meal breaks the Reliever is entitled to is determined by the length of the shift. Unless otherwise specified in writing, our Relievers will be entitled to the following breaks:
Duration of shift Break entitlement
Between 2 and 4 hours 10 minute paid rest break
Between 4 and 6 hours One 10 minute paid rest break and 30 minute
unpaid meal break
Between 6 and 8 hours Two 10 minute paid rest breaks and 30 minute
unpaid meal break
7. Client Obligations
Clients are responsible for familiarising themselves with, and complying with, their obligations under all health and safety statutory requirements (including the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and applicable regulations).
The Client’s obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 includes being responsible for ensuring the wellbeing of Candidates that are working for them.
From the time the Candidate shows up for duty, they are deemed to be under the supervision and direction of the Client for the duration of the assignment and agrees to be responsible for all their acts and/or errors. That will include ensuring the Candidates are familiar with, understand, and comply with any health and safety policies, procedures, training and inductions that apply at the Client’s workplace.
Failure to provide these instructions to the Candidate is the Client’s risk to undertake.
The Client is responsible for the Candidate’s health and safety while at the Client’s premises.
If an accident, incident or other event occurs at the Client’s premises involving a Candidate that is required by law to be notified to WorkSafe, then the Client will immediately notify both WorkSafe and the Company of that event. The Client agrees to indemnify the Company against any loss, damages or expenses that may occur as a direct/indirect result of the Candidate’s actions or inactions.
8. Limitation of Liability
We provide no warranty to the Client that the Services generally available through Utopia Education will be error/fault free.
The Client will indemnify and hold us harmless from and against all damages, losses, and expenses of any kind (including any legal fees and costs). We shall not be liable to you by reason of any implied warranty, condition or other term, or any duty at common law, or under the terms of this contract, for indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of business or future business or loss of information or data (in each case whether direct or indirect).
9. Payments
Utopia Education issues invoices to the Client daily. Invoices are to be paid within five working days of receipt of the invoice.
The hourly charge out rate for relievers (“Fees”) are displayed within our application.
Utopia Education may vary the Fees at any time on reasonable notice to the Client.
All payments must be made in cleared funds to our bank account as notified to you from time to time.
Any outstanding balances that remain unpaid for a period exceeding sixty (60) days from their due date shall accrue interest. The interest shall be calculated at a rate equivalent to one percent (1%) of the total payment due for each day subsequent to the due date until the date the payment is fully settled.
Utopia Education reserves the right to engage any debt collection agency to retrieve any monies owed. Any additional costs or fees incurred as a result will be borne by the Client.
All charges and fees shown under this agreement are exclusive of GST. GST shall be calculated and shown in the Company’s invoice and must be paid by the Client receiving the benefit of the Company’s Services.
Any dispute or set off claim raised by a Client does not entitle the Client to withhold payment of any money owed to the Company.
It is the Client’s responsibility to confirm a Reliever’s submitted hours for the provision of Services during an assignment. All Clients must confirm the Reliever’s submitted hours or timesheet by no later than 6pm the following day:
If the Client does so by that time, and the Client’s confirmation is the same as the details of the Reliever’s submitted hours or timesheet, the Company will invoice the Client in accordance with the confirmation received from the Client.
If the Client does so by that time, and the Client’s confirmation is not the same as the details of the Reliever’s submitted hours or timesheet, the Company will invoice the Client in accordance with the confirmation received from the Client.
If the Client does not do so (whether due to operational error or due to failure to confirm the hours by 6pm the following day or otherwise), but the Company has received the Reliever’s submitted hours or timesheet, the Company will invoice the Client based on the Reliever’s submitted hours or timesheet.
If the Client does not do so (whether due to operational error or due to failure to confirm the hours by 6pm the following day or otherwise), and the Company has not received the Reliever’s submitted hours or timesheet, the Company will invoice the Client based on the Reliever’s confirmed hours at the time of booking.
10. 14-Days Advance Booking
With any jobs that are created through 14-Days Advance Booking portal in Utopia app, a 5% discount is taken off your booking fee. This can be used with other valid promotions.
11. Confidentiality
Any information supplied to the Client by the Company regarding a Candidate is done strictly on a confidential basis to enable the Client to assess a Candidate’s suitability for the position. Except where authorised or required by law, disclosure of any information to any third party by the Client will require express written consent from the Company and the Client.
All information disclosed by a Client to the Company must be kept confidential by the Company and will not be disclosed to any third party without the consent of the Client. Any confidential information provided by a Client to the Company may be accessed by any agent, employee or affiliate of the Company in order to complete a successful Candidate placement for the Client.
12. General
It is agreed between the Client and the Company that all Candidates on assignment are contractors to the Company and not the Client.
If the Client breaches these Terms & Conditions, then we may at our discretion immediately suspend or terminate the use of our Services on notice to you. We will notify you by email or at the next time you attempt to access your account. We may also terminate the provision of the Services and/or revoke the licence to use the Site on reasonable notice to you.
Any termination shall not affect those provisions intended to or capable or surviving termination and shall be without prejudice to our rights and remedies accruing prior to termination, including payment of Fees.
No waiver by us of any breach or failure to enforce any provision of these Terms & Conditions shall in any way affect, limit or waive our right to subsequently enforce and compel strict compliance with these Terms & Conditions.
If any provision of the Terms & Conditions is or becomes invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed deleted and such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the other provisions of, all of which shall remain in full force and effect to the extent permitted by law, subject to any modifications made necessary by the deletion of the invalid or unenforceable provisions.
These Terms & Conditions will be governed by New Zealand law and subject to the jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts.