Copyright 2024 - Rev: 22 /11/24
Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd
Ground Floor, Nathaniel House,
David Street,
Bridgend Industrial Estate,
Bridgend CF31 3SA
Tel:
01656 662835
Terms of Business
What are Terms of Business?
Under the Conduct Of Employment Agencies & Employment Business
Regulations 2003 Act, which became law on April 6th 2004, anyone!!! (even
party organisers & direct bookers who are not owners or employed by the
venue) who introduces an artiste (work seeker)to a venue (hirer) is
considered under law to be an agent, even if no commission is charged, and
are legally obliged to ensure that their terms of business are in place with
every artiste (work seeker), venue (hirer), promoter (hirer) and agent that
they do business with before a booking is made.
Please do not be offended by the following documents that we are obliged to
publish by law.
Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd. Terms of Business
1) Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd may act as an Employment Agency or as an
Employment Business, at its sole discretion. The way in which Hawthorn
Entertainment Ltd. is acting for each booking will be made clear to all concerned
parties prior to the completion of negotiations, and will be clearly shown in the
documentation issued.
2) When acting as an Employment Agencya) Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd acts as
negotiator only and is not a party to the resulting contract. For this reason
Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd cannot accept responsibility for non-fulfilment or
breach of any such contract, but every reasonable safeguard is assured. Wherever
possible in such cases, Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd will replace the act or
engagement with one of similar price and quality.
b) Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd seeks to negotiate agreements for The Artiste in
those branches of the entertainment field for which The Artiste is suited by reason
of his talent and ability.
c) For the provision of this service Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd charges a fee
equivalent to an agreed percentage of the contracted fee receivable by The
Artiste, in accordance with our Commission Policy Statement. Hawthorn
Entertainment Ltd will also collect any applicable tax (for example VAT), which is
due under English Law. The charge may be made to either The Artiste or Promoter
subject to the negotiated acceptance of the party in question.
d) The fee (commission) is charged only after the provision of the service has been
completed. Therefore there is no provision for a refund of commission in any
circumstances.
e) Where charged to The Artiste, the fee (commission) will still be due if The Artiste
fails to appear, said non-appearance being as a result of any action or inaction of
The Artiste.
f) Where charged to The Promoter, the fee (commission) is normally payable in
advance and is always non-refundable.
g) Cancellation of any contract negotiated through Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd is
not normally possible without the agreement of all concerned parties. In the
event of cancellation by either party without cause of illness or other unavoidable
circumstances, Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd reserves a right to levy a charge of
up to 15% of the agreed fee against the cancelling party, to cover the additional
expenses involved in the said cancellation. This is in addition to any amounts that
may be made payable by either party under the terms of the said contract.
h) Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd normally acts as a negotiator only and as such
may not enter into agreements on behalf of third parties. If at any time Hawthorn
Entertainment Ltd is authorized to enter into agreements on behalf of The Artiste
or The Client for any individual booking, such authority will be made known to
both parties during the negotiation.
i) Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd may receive fees due to The Artiste (for example in
the event of a no pickup booking or of arising at a dispute resolution) but must
account to The Artiste for any such payment that it receives.
j) Agreements are made separately for each booking, and there is no requirement
for any Artiste to accept any booking offered. The Artiste can therefore end the
relationship by simply not accepting any further bookings and The Agent can end
the relationship by not offering any such bookings.
k) If any Artiste seeking employment under a normal non-exclusive agency
representation agreement (i.e. who has not signed under a management or sole
representation contract) should wish to cease being represented by Hawthorn
Entertainment Ltd and have their name and details removed from any
promotional materials issued by the agency, they can give a minimum of thirty
days notice in writing. From that point no further promotional materials featuring
The Artiste will be created, but it must be understood that it is not possible to
remove information from hard copy products already published.
l) The Artiste will be required to honour any and all contracts negotiated and
accepted prior to the expiry of such written notice. The Artiste must undertake to
ensure that any ongoing commission or other financial remuneration due is paid
to Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd promptly and in accordance with these Terms Of
Business.
m) Any defamatory information (no matter how minor) regarding Hawthorn
Entertainment Ltd or any client of Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd is strictly
forbidden (including postings on Social Networking Websites). Any artiste
found to be displaying information or personal comments about Hawthorn
Entertainment Ltd or any client of Hawthorn Entertainment will be in breach
of contract which may result in the current or future enfagement(s) being
terminated.
3) When acting as an Employment Business
a) Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd is a party to each contract and accepts
responsibility for its obligations under the terms of each individual agreement
including the obligation to pay the contracted fee to The Artiste when it is due
regardless of whether Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd has been paid by the
customer.
b) The fee payable to The Artiste will be that fee agreed by him or her and duly
indicated in the contract.
c) No fee other than the contracted fee is made.
d) The Artiste will be employed under a contract for services.
e) Any contract entered into between Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd and The
Artiste will be for an agreed period (normally one performance) and will not
provide for cancellation by either party.
f) Since The Artiste will either be self-employed or an incorporated body there is
no entitlement to holiday pay or any payment in lieu thereof.
4) Commission and monies owed to Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd shall be
remitted within 7 (seven) days from the invoice date or as otherwise stated in the
written confirmation. This agency reserves the right to deduct monies owed to
this agency by any individual Artiste from any monies due to that Artiste, and
forward any balance.
5) In order to ensure that there are no non-appearances or let downs, all verbal
agreements are confirmed by the signing of a written contract. In the event of
very short notice bookings, the written contract may be sent after the event for
your records.
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6) The display and/or presentation of any artiste’s address and/or telephone
number at an engagement negotiated through this agency shall be regarded as a
breach of contract, and may render the Artiste liable to pay severe damages in
respect of that breach.
7) Any contract negotiated through this agency shall be subject to these terms of
business unless otherwise agreed in writing between all concerned parties. In
particular, any conflicting terms of business shall have no effect. The document
“Commission Policy” forms part of these terms, and must be read and construed
as such. All contracts to which these conditions apply shall be construed with
English Law.
8) No servant or agent of this agency has the power to vary these terms and
conditions.
9) Whenever the context so admits, words importing the masculine shall include
the feminine and the singular number shall include the plural and vice versa as
appropriate.
10) Any defamatory information (no matter how minor) regarding Hawthorn
Entertainment Ltd or any client of Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd is strictly
forbidden (including postings on Social Networking Websites). Any artiste
found to be displaying information or personal comments about Hawthorn
Entertainment Ltd or any client of Hawthorn Entertainment will be in breach
of contract which may result in the current or future engagement(s) being
terminated.
Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd. Commission Policy Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd.
normally charges a fee (usually referred to as a ‘commission’), agreed in advance
with the Artiste or Promoter.
Any appropriate taxes (for example Value Added Tax) will be charged at the
applicable rate. At the time of writing Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd. is registered
for VAT purposes and regulations require that VAT be charged at the current rate
on commission due.
Invoices will be automatically modified (and if necessary re-issued) as required by
Law to allow for any changes made by Government to taxation regulations. This is
beyond our control and could in some circumstances change the amount that will
have to be paid even after a contract has been negotiated and our fee agreed, for
example if the standard rate of VAT changes. At the time of writing we are not
aware of any proposal by Government to change the current taxation regime.
The date of payment shall be:
In the case of payment by post, the date of the postmark on the envelope. * In the
case of payment in person, the date on which the amount is physically paid.
In the case of payment in person, payment will be the date on which the amount
is physically paid.
All accounts with overdue balances that exceed 30 (Thirty) days, will be subject to
Statutory Compensation as well as Statutory Interest at the rate approved by the
Government from time to time.
Please Note:
No responsibility can be accepted for cash posted through our letterbox. If it is
stolen or for any other reason we do not receive it, you will have to pay again. We
therefore recommend that you pay by cheque, by direct transfer (for example
Internet Banking), or else ensure that you physically hand your cash to a member
of staff or a person whose name you can take to ensure that such payments can
be traced.
Monies owing to Artistes from Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd. will be paid within
the contractually agreed terms or within 30 days if no such terms exist.
Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd. Touring Acts Policy
Prior to the tour, the artiste must give us details of where and how we may
contact them during the tour. This is essential in case we need to contact them
regarding a change of venue etc.
At the end of the tour, the artiste must contact this office to run through tour
details. This enables us to sort out any outstanding balances more efficiently,
thus minimising delays.
We normally settle outstanding balances with the artiste direct, provided that the
artiste contacts us with the relevant details, i.e., to whom cheque is to be made
payable, address etc., and that Tour details balance with our records.
Payment will be made by cheque immediately after the Tour. When booked
through an artiste’s Agent or Representative, if the artiste does not contact us, the
outstanding amount will be debited or credited to that Agent or Representative’s
account.
At the discretion of the hirer, pick-up payments may be cash or cheque. If
payment is made by cheque, then the hirer is not obliged to cash it.
Should an artiste fail to appear on any date on a ‘Nett’ run, the amount that
Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd. has lost as a result of that non-appearance will be
deducted from the balance of fees due for the tour.
The artiste is responsible for their own conduct, efficiency, punctuality and
behaviour and that of all personnel under their control. The artiste must use their
best endeavours to ensure that all personnel conduct themselves at the Venue
and in its locality in a manner that does not cause offence, nuisance or
disturbance to any customer or to the Venue management. The artiste agrees to
immediately take such action as the Management may reasonably require dealing
with any conduct by anyone under their control considered unacceptable by the
Venue Management to include permanent removal of those persons from the
Venue, if required.
Nett Bookings:
On ‘Nett’ bookings, the artiste is contracted for that period to Hawthorn
Entertainment.
We will invoice each Hirer for artiste’s fees plus VAT, whether the artiste is VAT
registered or not, as we are Principals to the Contract, as stipulated in VAT leaflet
No.710/01/91. The Hirer will then claim back the VAT paid, using our invoice as a
support document. At Venues designated for pick ups, the artiste will collect the
contracted fee plus VAT at the current rate as shown on the invoice to the Hirer.
Where a ‘Nett’ artiste is registered for VAT, that artiste must invoice us for the net
fee plus VAT before the tour commences. Fees can be picked up as instructed
above.
When collecting funds from the client, all artistes must ensure that they collect
the full amount due as notified to them by Hawthorn Entertainment Ltd.
Commission paying artistes:
If the artiste is VAT registered, it is their responsibility to issue VAT invoices to
venues and to collect their fees plus VAT from the venues designated for pick-ups.
Where payment is made by cheque, venues reserve the right to make the cheque
payable to the business name on the VAT invoice.
A breach of any of the conditions stated herein may result in the termination by
Hawthorn Entertainment of this contract with immediate effect and without
prejudice to any other rights or remedies Hawthorn Entertainment has against
the artiste.
These conditions form part of the contract and are binding.
