Hiring Policy

Hiring policy

Comeytrowe Community Hall Hiring Policy, version 1 first published July 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this Hiring Policy is to provide a transparent record of all decisions made about hiring in one document for quick and easy reference by all.

A copy of the policy will be available in both the Main Hall and Walker Room and on the website.

Hiring Agreement

All hirers of the hall must be issued with and sign a Hiring Agreement (for Regular or Casual Users as appropriate) to be returned to the Booking Secretary before commencement of hire. A Standard Conditions of Hire document will always be issued together with a Hiring Agreement and this will govern the terms of the hire.

Regular Hirers

Regular Hirers are those who book the hall at regular intervals whether weekly, monthly, quarterly or at other recurring intervals.

They may be issued with appropriate access keys on payment of the required deposit when they will be asked to complete a Keyholder Undertaking document to safeguard the keys. Any misuse of key (for example making use of the hall at a time not booked, lending keys to others) may result in the suspension of the Hiring Agreement.

Regular Hirers will complete a fresh Hiring Agreement and Keyholder Undertaking at the time of each AGM or within two weeks afterwards. This Hiring Agreement clearly states when they wish to book the hall. Any cancellation of pre-booked hires must be notified to the Booking Secretary a minimum of seven days in advance otherwise a charge may be made.

Invoices will be sent to Regular Hirers at three monthly intervals at the end of November, February, May and August with payment expected within 30 days. No indemnity charge is payable.

Casual Hirers

Casual hirers are those who do not make repeat bookings.

They will pay both an indemnity charge and a hire charge before their hire begins. The indemnity charge will be refunded within 28 days providing there is no damage. Keys will be issued by the Booking Secretary on a per event basis.

Commercial Hirers

A commercial hirer is one who is operating an activity for profit where that activity does not benefit the local community. A hirer providing exercise or karate classes, for instance, may be working for profit but is also providing an activity which benefits the local community and thus would not be considered “commercial” for the purposes of this policy. The Booking Secretary having discussed the purpose of the hire with the hirer will have discretion in deciding whether to apply the commercial rate and may consult with other members of the committee before making a decision.

Exclusions

The Hall Committee from time to time reserve the right to refuse bookings.

No bookings are allowed on New Years Eve or for 18 or 21 birthday parties since these events are more likely to cause annoyance and disruption to the neighbours.

Concessions

Any concessions will be available to non-commercial hirers only.

Requests for concessions for new hirers wishing to start up a fresh venture should be made to the Booking Secretary and will be at their discretion and limited to a maximum of four regular hire periods.

Any other requests for concessions should be made in writing to the committee through the Chair to be discussed at the next committee meeting when a decision will be reached to allow or disallow the concession requested. The applicant should if possible be prepared to appear in person before the committee to support their application. They will be informed within one week of the committee meeting of the outcome of the application.

Review of Policy

This policy will be reviewed annually by the Hiring Terms and Conditions Sub-committee who will bring their recommendations to the main committee meeting following the AGM (usually in February). These recommendations may include increasing hire charges with effect from the following 1 September. The main committee will then decide which recommendations should be adopted, amended or rejected.

Limitations of Insurance

The hall has a Village Hall Plus Insurance Scheme provided by Zurich.

The following risks are covered:

• accidental damage to building and contents
• malicous damafe to building and contents
• Public liability cover including eventualities due to negligence of management
• Public Liability Extension Cover to indemnify hirers against third party claims
• Trustee indemnity

Variable excesses apply to the various risks.

Under Fives

The provisions of this policy do not apply to the Comeytrowe Under Fives since their dealings with the Hall committee are governed by a separate Occupational License.

Data Protection

Details of all hirers will be managed in accordance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations). A copy of the Hall’s Privacy Policy is available on Hall noticeboards and on the website.