**THESE POLICIES APPLY TO ACTIVE AGREEMENTS ONLY - SECTION REFERENCES ARE FOR THE SERVICE CONTRACT**

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AtFNF typically operates under the following standard business hours: 

• Monday – Friday | 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) 

• Weekends excluded

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Responses and work delivery are generally provided during these hours unless otherwise agreed by both parties. The following provisions apply: 

• Public holidays recognized by the Province of Ontario and/or applicable Canadian federal law shall be observed in accordance with the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000. 

• Work required outside standard operational hours (evenings, weekends, or statutory holidays) must be mutually agreed upon in writing in advance and shall be subject to applicable overtime or premium rates as required by law. See Section 13.2: Emergency & Rush Work   

• Planned absences, reduced availability, or anticipated delays must be communicated to the Client as early as reasonably possible and in writing. 

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1. Dress Code 

• As this is a fully remote position, traditional office attire requirements are not imposed during non-video work time. However, the Virtual Assistant must maintain a professional and presentable appearance for all client-facing or video-based interactions (unless otherwise permitted by the Client): 

• Business casual attire (at minimum) is required for all video calls, virtual meetings, and client-facing appearances. 

• A clean, tidy, and professional physical or virtual background is required during all video calls. General grooming and personal presentation must be appropriate to a professional, client-serving business environment during all client-visible interactions.

• The Client recognizes the realities of remote work and does not mandate formal office dress for non-client-facing or non-video work time. 

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2. Communication Expectations 

Professional, clear, and timely communication is a cornerstone of AtFNF’s values and operations. 

• Both parties agree to respond to all communications within twenty-four (24) hours during standard operational hours. 

• Both parties agree to acknowledge and respond to any communication flagged as “urgent” or “high-priority” within the same business day whenever reasonably possible. 

• Both parties agree to maintain a professional, respectful, and constructive tone across all business communications— both with the Virtual Assistant and with any other clients, partners, or third parties. 

• Both parties agree to notify the other (in advance and in writing) of any planned absences, leave, reduced availability, delays, or circumstances that may affect the timely completion of assigned work.

• Both parties agree to use mutually approved and designated communication channels (as agreed in writing) for all business-related matters. 

• Both parties acknowledge that any communications outside of standard business hours that are not considered emergency & rush work-related may not be responded to until the next business day.

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3. Radio Silence Termination

• Active agreements may be terminated by the responsive Party (after reasonable attempts at communication) if either Party is unreachable and unresponsive for a continuous period of three (3) full business days/twenty-seven (27) business hours without prior notice or a reasonable explanation having been provided. “Business hours” for this clause means: Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST. Weekends and recognized Ontario/Canadian federal public holidays do not count toward the three (3) business day/twenty-seven (27) business hours calculation. 

• This provision protects both Parties’ operational and financial interests in the event of an irresolvable communications breakdown, regardless of which Party is responsible for the period of silence. 

• Upon automatic termination under this clause: 

  • All earned but unpaid wages remain due and payable by the Client, and shall be paid within the timelines required by the Ontario ESA. 

  • All Confidential Information and Property belonging to the Client or the Virtual Assistant must be returned or destroyed as set out in Section 8.4. 

  • Both Parties shall be notified of the automatic termination in writing at the earliest practical opportunity. 

Disclaimer: This Radio Silence clause is a contractual provision and does not override any statutory notice or termination pay entitlements owed to the Virtual Assistant under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000. Such entitlements remain due and payable regardless of how the termination is triggered. Exceptions may be made on account of uncontrollable and unforeseen circumstances, such as:

• Either party is hospitalized or suffering from a natural disaster. 

• Email issues

• Travel emergencies

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4. Consequences of Policy Violation 

• A violation of this policy by either Party constitutes a material breach of active agreements and may result in any or all of the following: 

• Immediate termination of active agreements without notice (see Section 10.4 and 10.6).   

• Forfeiture of any applicable fees, deposits, or retainers associated with the violating Party, consistent with AtFNF’s Refund & Cancellation Policy. 

• Reporting to relevant legal, regulatory, or law enforcement authorities where the conduct warrants it. 

The non-violating Party retains full rights to earned wages and completed work product regardless of how termination occurs under this clause. 

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5. Compliance with Canadian Human Rights Law 
This policy is to be read and applied consistently with the Ontario Human Rights Code (R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19) and the Canadian Human Rights Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. H-6). Nothing in this policy shall be construed to limit or contravene any statutory human rights protections afforded to either Party under applicable law. 

6. Intellectual Property

This section details the definitions, terms and rights of either Party regarding Intellectual Property.

• Ownership of Work Product: All work product, deliverables, output, content, designs, written materials, graphics, code, processes, systems, and any other material created under the direction of or contributed to by the Virtual Assistant in the course of this agreement (“Work Product”) shall be and remain the sole and exclusive intellectual property of the Client, effective immediately upon the Client receiving them. 

• Assignment of Rights: The Virtual Assistant hereby irrevocably assigns to the Client all rights, title, and interest— including all copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property rights— in and to any Work Product created or contributed to during the term of this Agreement. This assignment requires no further action and takes effect upon creation of the Work Product. 

• Waiver of Moral Rights: To the fullest extent permitted by the Copyright Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42) and other applicable Canadian law, the Virtual Assistant hereby waives all moral rights in all Work Product in favour of the Client, the Client’s clients, and any persons authorized by the Client.

• AtFNF Brand & Pre-Existing Materials: All intellectual property owned by AtFNF prior to the commencement of this Agreement (including but not limited to the AtFNF brand, logo, website content, portfolio samples, and all associated materials) remains the exclusive property of AtFNF. The Client is granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use AtFNF’s brand and materials solely as required for the Virtual Assistant to perform their assigned duties. This licence terminates automatically and immediately upon the termination of this Agreement for any reason. 

• AtFNF Intellectual Property Terms & Compliance: The Client acknowledges AtFNF’s published intellectual property policy, including that all content on the AtFNF website and portfolio (text, graphics, logos, layout, downloadable assets) is AtFNF’s exclusive intellectual property. The Client may not reproduce, redistribute, modify, or commercially exploit any such content without express prior written permission from the Virtual Assistant.

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7. Non-Disclosure & Confidentiality Agreement
This section details all non-disclosure and confidentiality terms/rights of either party.
 

• Definition of Confidential Information: For active agreements, “Confidential Information” means any-and-all non-public, proprietary, and/or sensitive information belonging to the Client, its clients, its partners, or its business associates, disclosed to the Virtual Assistant (directly or indirectly) in the course of their duties. This includes, without limitation...

  • Client identities, contact details, business needs, and project information. 

  • Business strategies, internal plans, financial data, and pricing structures. 

  • Trade secrets, proprietary processes, systems, and internal workflows. 

  • Login credentials, account access information, and system configurations. 

  • Unpublished written content, creative works, editorial material, or portfolio work in progress.  

  • Communications between the Virtual Assistant and clients, partners, or third parties. 

  • Any other information designated as confidential by the Client, whether verbally (later confirmed in writing) or in writing. 

• Non-Disclosure Obligations: During the term of active agreements and for the duration set in Section 8.5 thereafter, the Virtual Assistant shall... 

  • Hold all Confidential Information in strict confidence and take all reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure. 

  • Not disclose any Confidential Information to any third party without the prior express written consent of the Client. 

  • Use Confidential Information solely for the purpose of performing their assigned duties under active agreements. 

  • Not use Confidential Information for personal gain, competitive purposes, or any purpose outside the scope of active agreements. 

  • Immediately notify the Client upon becoming aware of any unauthorized disclosure or suspected breach of confidentiality. 

• Exclusions from Confidentiality: The non-disclosure obligations in Section 8.2 shall not apply to information that...

  • Was already known to the Virtual Assistant at the time of disclosure and was not subject to any prior confidentiality obligation.   

  • Has become publicly available through no act or omission of the Virtual Assistant. 

  • Is independently developed by the Virtual Assistant without use of or reference to Confidential Information.   

  • Is required to be disclosed by applicable law, a court order, or a lawful government authority (in which case the Virtual Assistant shall notify the Client promptly before disclosure, to the extent permitted by law). 

• Return or Destruction of Confidential Information: Upon termination of active agreements for any reason, both parties shall, within fourteen (14) business days of termination...

  • Return all physical and digital materials, documents, files, and data containing Confidential Information belonging to either party. 

  • Permanently delete or destroy any copies of Confidential Information stored on personal devices, cloud services, USB drives, or external storage. 

  • It’s the responsibility of the Client to revoke AtFNF's access to any social media, software, internal tools, and databases; and confirm this in writing. Vice versa for any client credentials held by AtFNF. AtFNF recommends changing sensitive passwords/logins after termination as a standard best practice.

  • Upon request, provide written confirmation to the Client confirming that all Confidential Information has been returned or permanently destroyed. 

• Survival of Confidentiality Obligations: The non-disclosure and confidentiality obligations set out in this Section 8 shall survive the termination/expiry of active agreements for a period of five (5) years, unless a longer period is required under applicable Canadian law.

  • AtFNF only operates under “no non-compete clause” agreements.

• Non-Solicitation: To the extent permitted by applicable law, and for a period of six (6) months following termination of this Agreement, the Client is prohibited from (directly or indirectly) poaching any other contractors, collaborators, or referrals that AtFNF introduced to them during the engagement.

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7. About AI

AtFNF may use AI in daily workflows, operations, written & graphic content creation/editing, brainstorming, and research. AtFNF acknowledges that the topic of AI in today's remote workscape has become a tumultuous and volatile point of contention for many small business owners, creatives, etc.; however, AtFNF also acknowledges that AI is a technological advancement like any other. In short: AI is here to stay, and unfortunately, AtFNF realizes (despite many personal and moral objections to the theft & personal infringements required by AI to function within an LLM system) that as a professional: "Get on board, or get left behind". If this makes you uncomfortable, please don't hesitate to raise your concerns during consultation or during any open communications. They will be addressed promptly and accommodated wherever possible.