Terms of Service

1 Agreement & Acceptance

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("Client", "you") and FOGS Consultants ("we", "us", "our"), a company operating in the United Kingdom and India.

By engaging our services, submitting an enquiry, signing a service agreement, or accessing our website at fogsconsultants.com, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms.

If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, you must not engage our services or use our website.

2 Our Services

FOGS Consultants provides professional consulting services across the following areas:

• HR Services: Payroll management, HR policy development, employee lifecycle management, compliance advisory, and outsourced HR support
• IT Solutions: Cloud architecture and migration, bespoke software development, cyber security consulting, managed IT support, and AI & data analytics
• EPF & ESIC Support: EPF account management, UAN activation, withdrawal and transfer claim processing, employer registration, and statutory returns filing
• Recruitment Services: Talent acquisition, candidate sourcing, screening, placement, and workforce planning for Indian and UK businesses

The specific scope, deliverables, timelines, and fees for any engagement will be documented in a separate Statement of Work, Service Agreement, or written proposal agreed between the parties.

3 Client Responsibilities

To enable effective service delivery, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information, documents, and access credentials required for the service
• Respond to reasonable requests for information or approvals within agreed timelines
• Designate a primary point of contact with authority to make decisions relevant to the engagement
• Use our services only for lawful purposes and in compliance with applicable Indian and UK law
• Respect the intellectual property rights of FOGS Consultants and third parties
• Not attempt to reverse-engineer, copy, or distribute any proprietary tools, templates, or methodologies we provide
• Notify us promptly of any changes to your organisation that may affect the services being delivered

4 Fees & Payment

All fees for services are outlined in the applicable Service Agreement or invoice. Fees are exclusive of applicable taxes (including GST in India and VAT in the UK) unless otherwise stated.

• Invoicing: Invoices are issued as per the billing schedule agreed in the Service Agreement (monthly, quarterly, or per milestone)
• Payment Methods: Bank transfer (NEFT/IMPS/RTGS for India; BACS/Faster Payments for UK), UPI, or such other methods as agreed
• Due Date: Payment is due within 14 days of invoice date unless otherwise agreed in writing
• Late Payments: Overdue payments may incur interest at 1.5% per month. Persistent non-payment may result in suspension of services
• Disputed Invoices: Invoice disputes must be raised in writing within 7 days of receipt. Undisputed portions remain payable by the due date

For our Refund and Cancellation terms, please refer to our Pricing Policy.

5 Intellectual Property

All intellectual property created by FOGS Consultants in connection with our services — including reports, frameworks, software code, tools, templates, processes, and documentation — remains the sole property of FOGS Consultants unless explicitly transferred in writing.

Upon full payment of applicable fees, FOGS Consultants grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the deliverables specified in your Service Agreement for your internal business purposes.

You may not sublicense, resell, or distribute any deliverables without our prior written consent.

6 Confidentiality

Both parties acknowledge that in the course of the engagement, each may receive confidential information belonging to the other party. Each party agrees to:

• Keep confidential information strictly confidential and not disclose it to third parties without prior written consent
• Use confidential information solely for the purpose of fulfilling obligations under the Service Agreement
• Apply reasonable security measures to protect confidential information from unauthorised access or disclosure

Confidentiality obligations shall survive the termination of any service engagement for a period of three (3) years, unless a longer period is specified in a separate agreement.

Confidentiality does not apply to information that is publicly available, independently developed, or required to be disclosed by law or regulatory authority.

7 Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, FOGS Consultants' total aggregate liability to you for any claims arising out of or related to these Terms or any service engagement shall not exceed the total fees paid by you in the three (3) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

FOGS Consultants shall not be liable for:

• Indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages of any kind
• Loss of profits, revenue, data, or business opportunities
• Delays, errors, or omissions resulting from inaccurate or incomplete client-supplied information
• Actions or decisions of third-party government bodies such as EPFO, ESIC, or HMRC
• Force majeure events including acts of government, natural disasters, or system outages beyond our control

8 Warranties & Disclaimers

FOGS Consultants warrants that:

• Services will be performed by qualified professionals with reasonable care and skill
• We hold no undisclosed conflicts of interest that would materially affect our advice
• We will comply with applicable laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate

We do not warrant that our services will produce specific business outcomes, guarantee acceptance of statutory filings by government authorities, or ensure particular results in recruitment placements. All advisory opinions are provided in good faith based on information available at the time.

9 Suspension & Termination

Termination by the Client: You may terminate a service engagement by providing 30 days' written notice to info@fogsconsultants.com. All fees for services rendered up to the termination date remain payable.

Termination by FOGS Consultants: We reserve the right to suspend or terminate services with immediate effect if:

• You materially breach these Terms and fail to remedy the breach within 14 days of written notice
• You fail to make payment by the due date after a reminder
• You engage in unlawful conduct or use our services for fraudulent purposes
• Continued engagement would expose FOGS Consultants to legal or regulatory risk

Upon termination, we will provide a reasonable handover period to minimise disruption to your operations.

10 Dispute Resolution

In the event of a dispute arising from these Terms or any service engagement, both parties agree to first attempt resolution through good-faith negotiation within 30 days of written notice of the dispute.

If the dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation, either party may refer the matter to mediation or such other alternative dispute resolution mechanism as mutually agreed.

For UK-based clients, unresolved disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of English courts. For India-based clients, disputes shall be resolved under the jurisdiction of courts in Kochi, Kerala.

11 Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales for UK-based engagements, and the laws of India for India-based engagements, without regard to conflict of law principles.

12 Changes to Terms

FOGS Consultants reserves the right to update these Terms at any time. The revised Terms will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. We will notify existing clients of material changes via email at least 14 days before they take effect.

Your continued use of our services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

13 Contact Us

For any questions regarding these Terms, please contact us:

• Email: info@fogsconsultants.com
• UK Office: London, United Kingdom  |  +44 7436 382395
• India Office: Kochi, Kerala, India  |  +91 8891 909965
• Hours: Monday – Friday, 09:00 – 17:30 IST / GMT