B shift

Standard Terms and Conditions

Last updated: 3 September 2026

These terms govern the consultancy services provided by B shift. They apply alongside the proposal or engagement letter we agree for each piece of work. Where the two differ, the proposal takes precedence.

1. Who we are

Bshift Limited, trading as B shift, registered in England and Wales, company number 16097834, registered office Air House, Station Path, Somerton, Somerset, TA11 7PX. In these terms “we”, “us” and “our” mean that company, and “you” means the business engaging us.

2. Our services

We provide advice and practical support to businesses seeking B Corp certification, recertification, or improvement against the B Lab standards. The specific work, the deliverables, the timetable and the fee are set out in the proposal we send you.

Work begins when you confirm the proposal in writing, which includes by email. That confirmation forms a contract between us on these terms.

3. What we do not do

This section matters, so please read it.

  • We are not B Lab. We are independent of B Lab and of B Lab UK. We do not award certification, we do not sit on any verification panel and we have no influence over B Lab’s decisions.
  • We cannot guarantee certification. Whether your business is certified, and when, is entirely B Lab’s decision. Our fees are for the work we do, not for an outcome we do not control.
  • We do not give legal, tax or accounting advice. Certification requires a change to your governing documents. We will tell you what is needed and work with your solicitor or accountant, but the advice on that change must come from them.
  • We do not control B Lab’s timescales, fees or standards, all of which may change during an engagement.

4. Your responsibilities

The quality of our work depends on what you give us. You agree to:

  • Provide accurate and complete information, and tell us promptly if something changes
  • Give us reasonable access to the people who hold the information we need
  • Make decisions within the timeframes we agree, since certification stalls when they slip
  • Take your own advice on legal, tax and accounting matters
  • Meet any obligations B Lab places on you directly

Where a delay is caused by information or decisions we are waiting on, any agreed timetable moves accordingly and we are not responsible for the consequences of that delay.

5. Fees and payment

  • Fees are as stated in the proposal. Unless the proposal says otherwise they are charged at a day rate, which is set out in the proposal.
  • We are not currently registered for VAT, so no VAT is charged on our fees. If we become registered, VAT will be added to fees invoiced from the date of registration.
  • Expenses, for example travel or accommodation agreed in advance, are charged at cost.
  • B Lab’s own submission and certification fees are payable by you directly to B Lab and are not included in our fees.
  • We invoice monthly in arrears.
  • Invoices are payable within 30 days.
  • We may charge interest on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and may suspend work while an invoice remains unpaid.

6. Changes to scope

If the work turns out to be materially different from what the proposal describes, we will tell you before doing it and agree any change in fee or timetable with you in writing. We will not bill you for work you have not agreed to.

7. Cancellation and postponement

  • Either of us may end an engagement by giving 30 days’ written notice.
  • If you cancel, you pay for the work done up to that point and for any commitments we have already made on your behalf.
  • If you postpone a booked workshop or session with less than 10 working days’ notice, we may charge 50% of the fee for that session, since the time cannot usually be resold at short notice.
  • We may end an engagement if you ask us to do something we consider misleading, dishonest or contrary to the spirit of the standard. We will explain why, and you will pay for work already done.

8. Confidentiality

We treat everything you tell us as confidential and will not disclose it except where you agree, where the law requires it, or where it is already public through no fault of ours. This obligation continues after the engagement ends. We ask the same of you in respect of our methods, templates and written materials.

We will not name you as a client or describe your work publicly without your written permission.

9. Data protection

Each of us will comply with UK data protection law. Where we handle personal data belonging to your staff or customers, we do so on your instructions as your processor, and the engagement letter records what that involves. Our privacy policy explains how we handle information more generally.

10. Intellectual property

Reports, plans and other documents we prepare specifically for you become yours once our invoices for them are paid, and you may use them freely within your business.

The templates, frameworks, tools and know how we bring to the work remain ours. You may use them for your own purposes but not resell them, publish them or supply them to another business.

11. Liability

Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.

Subject to that:

  • We maintain professional indemnity insurance with cover of £1,000,000. Our total liability for all claims arising from an engagement is limited to the total fees you have paid us for that engagement.
  • We are not liable for loss of profit, loss of contracts, loss of anticipated savings, loss of reputation, or any indirect or consequential loss.
  • We are not liable for a failure or delay in certification, for changes B Lab makes to its standards, fees or timescales, or for decisions you take on the basis of our advice after choosing not to take the professional advice we recommended.
  • Any claim must be brought within two years of the work to which it relates.

12. Non solicitation

Neither of us will, during an engagement or for six months afterwards, offer employment to or engage the other’s staff or subcontractors who have worked on it, without written agreement.

13. Events outside our control

Neither of us is responsible for a failure to perform caused by something genuinely beyond our reasonable control. If that situation continues for more than 60 days, either of us may end the engagement, and you will pay for the work done up to that point.

14. General

  • These terms and the proposal form the whole agreement between us and replace anything said or written beforehand.
  • Changes must be agreed in writing by both of us.
  • If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.
  • A person who is not a party to this agreement has no rights under it.
  • Not enforcing a term on one occasion does not mean we give up the right to enforce it later.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.

16. Questions

If anything here is unclear, ask before you sign rather than afterwards. Email mariahellyer@bshift.co.uk or call 07359 782544.