Welcome to Countertalk. We are dedicated to building a better hospitality industry by connecting professionals with employers who care. To keep our community safe, fair, and supportive, please read these Terms & Conditions carefully before using the Countertalk Ltd. website and services.

By accessing or using our platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms. Countertalk Ltd. ("we", "us", "our") reserves the right to update these Terms at any time. Continued use of the site following any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

1. About Us

Countertalk Ltd.

• Registered in England & Wales
• Registered office: 505 Pinner Road, Harrow, Middlesex, England, HA2 6EH
• Company number: 12085098
• Contact: service@countertalk.co.uk

2. Our Services

Countertalk Ltd. provides a platform that connects employers and job seekers. Employers can purchase job-posting packages, submit job adverts, and have their roles promoted across our site, newsletter, and social media. Job seekers can browse roles and apply directly through application forms.

Disclaimer: Countertalk Ltd. is a job advertising platform and community hub. We are not an employment agency or recruitment firm. We do not guarantee that posting a job will result in a hire, nor do we guarantee that a job seeker will find employment.

All job posts and profiles are subject to our vetting process and must be manually approved before being published.

3. Eligibility

To use the Countertalk platform, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Have the legal authority to enter into contracts.
• Provide accurate and truthful information.
• Use the platform only for lawful hiring or job-seeking activities.
• For Employers: Agree to uphold the Countertalk standards of a healthy working environment (see Section 6).

4. Account Registration & Security

Users may be required to create an account. You are responsible for:

• Ensuring all information is accurate.
• Keeping your login details secure.
• All activity carried out under your account.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these Terms or our Community Guidelines.

5. Employer Packages & Payments

5.1 Payments & Approvals

Employers may submit job postings for review. Payment is only processed securely through Stripe once the job post has been approved by Countertalk. We do not store or have access to full payment card details.

5.2 Pricing & VAT

Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the website are exclusive of VAT. VAT will be calculated at the applicable rate and added to the total amount payable at checkout via Stripe.

5.3 Refunds & Cancellations

• No Refunds on Approved Ads: As payment is only taken after a job post has been reviewed and approved by us, all fees are non-refundable once paid. This applies even if you choose to remove the job post before the expiry date or fill the role early.
• Removal for Breach: If a live job post is removed by Countertalk because you have breached these Terms or our Code of Conduct (e.g., valid complaints regarding unpaid trial shifts or abuse), you will NOT be entitled to a refund.

5.4 Expiry

Job listings remain live for 4 weeks for Basic and Featured Ads and 6 weeks for Premium Ads unless otherwise stated. 

5.5 Billing Issues

If you believe you have been incorrectly charged, please contact us within 14 days.

6. Job Posting Rules & Countertalk Standards

We are committed to advertising jobs from establishments that foster healthy working environments. To ensure quality over quantity, all Employers must ensure that job postings:

• Are accurate, truthful, and up to date.
• Comply with UK employment laws and the Equality Act 2010.
• Meet National Minimum Wage requirements (we do not list roles below this threshold).
• Do not require unpaid trial shifts (unless strictly permitted by law as a genuine skills test of short duration).
• Do not mislead applicants regarding hours, breaks, or tips.

We reserve the right to refuse, edit, or remove any job advert that breaches these requirements, fails our internal vetting process, or is deemed to reflect a poor working culture.

7. Applications & User Interactions

Countertalk does not provide messaging between users. Job applications are sent via application forms or to employer-provided email addresses.

• We are not responsible for employer behaviour, hiring decisions, response times, or job outcomes.
• We do not vet, background check, or verify the identity of job seekers.

8. User Content, Licence & AI Prohibitions

Users may submit content such as job descriptions, company information, profiles, and images ("User Content").

8.1 Licence

By submitting User Content, you grant Countertalk Ltd. a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to:

• Use, display, reproduce, and distribute the content on our website.
• Promote job posts through our newsletter, social media, and marketing channels.
• Modify or format content where necessary (e.g., for clarity, safety, compliance, or layout).

8.2 No AI Scraping

You are strictly prohibited from using any automated system, software, or AI tool (including robots, spiders, or scrapers) to access, acquire, copy, or monitor any portion of the Countertalk website or content for the purpose of training Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, Large Language Models (LLMs), or other machine learning tools without our prior written consent.

You retain full ownership of your content. You may request removal at any time by contacting us. You confirm that you have the right to upload and grant this licence for all submitted content.

9. Intellectual Property

All content on the Countertalk platform (except User Content) is owned by or licensed to Countertalk Ltd. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, or commercially exploit any part of the website without our prior written consent.

10. Prohibited Use

You may not use Countertalk Ltd. to:

• Contact users for any purpose other than recruitment or job-seeking.
• Offer third-party services to users.
• Post illegal, harmful, or misleading content.
• Scrape, harvest, or extract data for commercial use or AI training (as detailed in Section 8.2).
• Interfere with the website's operation.

11. Moderation, Complaints & Removal

We take reports of poor working environments seriously.

11.1 Investigation

If we receive complaints about an Employer (e.g., regarding treatment of staff, safety, or culture), we reserve the right to place job posts on hold pending an investigation. We may request the Employer to participate in our Countertalk Culture Survey or provide further information.

11.2 Removal

We reserve the right to edit, decline, or permanently remove any content or account if:

• An Employer fails to address concerns raised during an investigation.
• An Employer is found to be in breach of our Community Guidelines or these Terms.
• Any applicable law is violated.

12. Data Protection & Privacy

We process personal data in accordance with UK GDPR and our Privacy Policy. We may share data with our third-party processors including:

• Stripe (payments)
• Mailchimp (email communications)
• Google Analytics (usage analysis)

Please refer to our Privacy Policy [Insert Link] for full details of the legal bases for processing, your rights under GDPR, data retention, and cookie usage.

13. Third-Party Links

The Countertalk website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the content, accuracy, or availability of external sites.

14. Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• The Countertalk platform is provided "as is" and "as available".
• We make no guarantees regarding job matches, candidate quality, hiring success, uninterrupted service, or error-free operation.
• We are not liable for any indirect, consequential, or financial losses.
• Our total aggregate liability for any claim arising from your use of our services shall not exceed the total fees you have paid to Countertalk Ltd. in the 12 months preceding the claim.
• Nothing in these Terms excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or other liabilities that cannot be excluded by law.

15. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold Countertalk Ltd. harmless against any claims, damages, or expenses arising from:

• Your use of the platform.
• Your breach of these Terms.
• Your content or conduct.
• Your interactions with job seekers or employers.

16. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account or remove content at any time if:

• You breach these Terms.
• You provide misleading information.
• Your behaviour or workplace culture risks harm to users, staff, or the reputation of the platform.

You may stop using the site at any time.

17. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms occasionally. Material changes will be posted on our website. Continued use of the platform after changes means you accept the updated Terms.

18. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England & Wales. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England & Wales.

19. Contact Us

For questions or concerns about these Terms, please contact:

service@countertalk.co.uk