Basic Terms & Conditions for Snow Contracts

In these liability-happy times, covering your company from liability is perhaps your primary role as an owner or manager. In snow and ice management, it becomes even more important due to one simple fact: ice and snow are slippery. You may as well sell shoes with banana peels for soles. How do you protect yourself, in a contractual sense?

Simply put, there are several areas you need to address: scope of work, pricing, and terms and conditions. Any contract you sign should include these three areas (even if you call them something else). Here is a breakdown of each:

Scope of Work
This should, in its most basic sense, lay out the services that will be performed, and have some specifics regarding the outcome that is expected of the snow and ice contractor. Areas to consider are:

• Level of service—this should include what the finished conditions will be, trigger depths, and special areas (like sidewalks). Overall it should be a shared vision of what the outcome of snow and ice management will be.
• Concealed/extreme conditions—every property has its unique areas that may take more work or create a hazardous situation. Spelling these out, along with any plans to service these areas is recommended. Examples are poor drainage or steep inclines. Also, in this section it would help to discuss Acts of God or blizzard/whiteout provisions.
• Communication – Spelling out the channels and processes for communication between property managers and the contractor is essential, and should be in the contract so it is clear to both parties.
• Weather Reporting – You both must agree on a method of determining how much snow and ice accumulated.

Pricing
Every contract should spell out how services will be charged. This includes per push, per inch, per visit, time and materials; any way that you will charge for services, and any special pricing or considerations should be in the contract.

Terms and Conditions
This is where lawyers can help...you should do everything in your power to protect your company and its assets. However, most clients won’t sign a 30 page contract....here are the basic clauses you should have to stay protected:

• Termination
• Transfer
• Payment Terms
• Site Damage
• Dispute Resolution
• Hold Harmless
• Severability
• Shortages
• Extra Service

SIMA has recently created a new set of template contracts that cover all of the above; members can access them at the Learning Center (must first log in as a member).

Tip brought to you by Brian Birch, SIMA Assistant Executive Director.

This tip made possible by:

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