1. Parties
These terms form a binding agreement between you and The Core Standard, a trading name of eavolve Ltd (a Lily Shippen business), a company registered in England and Wales under company number 15678513, with its registered office at 62-66 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2EN ("we", "us", "our"). By commissioning, sitting, or receiving a Core Standard assessment you agree to these terms.
2. Definitions
"The Core Standard" or "the Service" means the assessment platform and associated reports operated by us at thecorestandard.co.uk. "Employer" means any organisation or individual who commissions an assessment. "Candidate" means any individual who sits an assessment. "Report" means the written output produced by us following an assessment. "TCS Certified" means the candidate-only version of the Service.
3. Our services
We provide scenario-based assessments for Executive Assistant, Private PA, and Chief of Staff hires. Each assessment results in a written Report. Reports are generated by AI, reviewed and signed off by a named human expert, and delivered within 48 hours of candidate submission in ordinary course.
4. Employer terms
Employers who commission an assessment undertake to: provide accurate role and candidate information at briefing stage; use the Report as one input into their hiring decision and not as the sole determinant; comply with applicable employment, equality, and data protection law; and maintain confidentiality of the Report as set out in section 12.
Each commissioned assessment is single-use and tied to one named candidate. Links are not transferable.
The assessment measures how a candidate performed in a scored simulation on the day. It is one input into your decision and nothing more. The hiring, placement, promotion, retention, and management of any candidate remain entirely your decision and your responsibility. We do not make, endorse, or take part in your hiring decision, and we give no recommendation that you should or should not hire, place, or promote any person.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for any hiring, placement, promotion, or employment decision you make, for the performance, conduct, suitability, or departure of any candidate you engage, or for any loss arising from your reliance on a Report. You remain responsible for satisfying yourself as to a candidate's identity, right to work, references, qualifications, and overall suitability through your own processes, and for complying with all applicable employment, equality, immigration, and data protection law in your use of the assessment and the Report.
You agree to indemnify us against any claim, loss, or liability we suffer arising from your use of an assessment or Report in breach of these terms, or from any hiring, placement, or employment decision you take.
5. Candidate terms
Candidates who sit an assessment undertake to: complete it personally without third-party assistance; not to record, screenshot, reproduce, or redistribute scenario content; and to complete it within the 14-day window from receipt of the link. Candidates consent to AI-assisted scoring and human review as set out in our privacy policy.
Candidates who are dissatisfied with their Report may request a review within 14 days of delivery, as described on our FAQ page.
6. TCS Certified terms
TCS Certified is a candidate-commissioned version of the Service. The Candidate is both the payer and the subject of the Report. The Candidate owns their Report and may share it with any third party of their choosing. We do not share TCS Certified Reports with employers without the Candidate's explicit instruction.
7. Payment and refunds
Fees are as listed on our pricing page and are payable in advance via Stripe. All fees are in pounds sterling and include VAT where applicable.
Refunds: if an assessment link has not been issued to the candidate, a full refund is available on request within seven days. Once a link has been issued, fees are non-refundable except in the case of a material service failure, where we will regenerate the Report at no additional cost or issue a full refund at our discretion.
Because the assessment is a digital service that begins as soon as we issue the assessment link or access code, when you buy you expressly ask us to begin providing it within the 14-day cancellation period, and you acknowledge that once your link or code has been issued you lose the statutory right to cancel and receive a refund. You confirm this at checkout. Before your link or code has been issued you may cancel for any reason by emailing hello@thecorestandard.co.uk and we will refund you in full. None of this affects your other legal rights as a consumer.
You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a contract to buy an assessment. By purchasing, you confirm that you are.
8. Intellectual property
All scenario content, rubrics, report templates, the "Core Standard" wordmark, the orange-period logomark, and all associated brand assets are the intellectual property of eavolve Ltd, which operates The Core Standard. No right or licence is granted to copy, adapt, reverse-engineer, or redistribute any part of the Service or its outputs except as expressly permitted in these terms.
Candidate-authored responses remain the intellectual property of the Candidate. By sitting the assessment the Candidate grants us a non-exclusive licence to process their responses for the purpose of generating the Report and maintaining anonymised benchmarking data.
9. Use of reports
Employers may use the Report internally to inform hiring decisions and may share it with named members of their hiring panel. Reports may not be: published externally, posted on social media, used in marketing material, or shared with third-party recruitment platforms, without our prior written consent.
TCS Certified Reports belong to the Candidate and are theirs to share as they see fit, subject to the IP terms in section 8.
10. Warranties
We warrant that the Service will be delivered with reasonable skill and care and that Reports will be produced in accordance with our published rubrics and reviewer process.
A score, band, or level reflects our reviewer's reasonable, good-faith expert judgement of how a candidate performed in the assessment on the day, against our published rubric. It is a snapshot of an approach on the day: it is not a measure of a person's worth or wider experience, not a background, reference, or right-to-work check, and not a guarantee or prediction that a candidate will or will not perform in a real role. Scoring and bands may be refined over time as the standard develops. We do not warrant that any Report or score will match a subjective hiring preference or predict future job performance, and beyond the reasonable skill and care described above the Service and Reports are provided on an "as is" basis.
Nothing in these terms excludes any liability that cannot be excluded under English law.
11. Limitation of liability
Subject to the paragraph above, our total liability to any Employer or Candidate in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise arising out of or in connection with the Service is limited to the fees paid by that party in the preceding twelve months. We are not liable for indirect, consequential, or special losses, loss of profit, loss of opportunity, or reputational loss.
For the avoidance of doubt, and without limiting the above, we are not liable for any hiring, placement, promotion, or employment decision made by an Employer, for the acts, omissions, performance, suitability, or departure of any candidate, or for any loss arising from reliance on a score, band, or Report.
12. Confidentiality
Both parties will keep confidential all non-public information received in the course of the Service, including scenario content, Report contents, and candidate identities. Confidentiality obligations survive termination for a period of three years.
13. Termination
Either party may terminate an engagement for material breach that has not been remedied within 30 days of written notice. We may suspend access to the Service immediately in cases of fraud, tampering, or breach of the IP terms in section 8. Termination does not affect accrued rights or obligations.
14. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified by email to active employers and candidates. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the latest revision. Continued use of the Service after notification constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
15. Governing law and jurisdiction
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or in connection with these terms, save that we retain the right to bring proceedings in any jurisdiction where a party is resident or trades.
16. Contact
Questions about these terms should be sent to hello@thecorestandard.co.uk or by post to The Core Standard, 62-66 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2EN.