Liability for business connecting people to do odd-jobs.

[oscarveld]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking to start a business that connects people who are looking to do one time or "odd-jobs" with people who need these jobs done.

My question is:
If a user was doing an odd-job for someone they had found with our website and caused damages to the persons property or self, would the business be liable?
No money would go through the business and all we would be doing is connecting people (think gumtree).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Atticus]

Suggest each person (worker) has thier own ABN & public liability insurance.... Make sure you sight & copy before taking them on...

Otherwise you may indeed risk taking on an liability yourself

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

You'd need carefully contractual arrangement to ensure you weren't in the firing line. For example, if it was structured as a subcontracting arrangement where the person who wanted the job was contracting you to arrange someone - you're likely to be directly liable. If it was structured as a third party arranger for a direct contract between the person wanting the job and the worker, then it's less likely.

 

[benwaldeck.com]

The business you are proposing is known as a market place model - essentially bringing two parties together to perform a transaction.

I recommend speaking to a lawyer to draft a terms of service document that sets out (among manhy other things):
- the Contractor indemnifies your company against any loss or damage;
- the Service Seeker indemnifies your company against any loss or damage;
- the Contractor warrants it has the proper insurances to carry out the work and for publici liability;
- the Cntracor warrants it has the necessary qualifications and necessary licenses to perform the Services (e.g. Electrical licenses, Builders Licenses, etc)

There are many more provisions that I could recommend, but the above are most relevant to your question, above.

Due Diligence
Aside from those provisions, it is important to have systems in place to verify the proper identity of the parties - for example, license checks, mobile phone number verification, etc. In the case of businesses, you may wish to perform a company search of at least check their Google My Business reviews. it may be overkill to perform all of those measures, one may be enough, depending on your risk tolerance (and your insurance).

Hope this helps,
Ben
Tech & IP Lawyer