Service Level Agreement
Service Level Agreement – Selection Lab
This Service Level Agreement describes the quality of the Services provided by The Selection Lab to the Client based on the Connection Agreement entered between the Parties. This Service Level Agreement forms an integral and inseparable part of the Terms and Conditions applicable to the Platform of The Selection Lab.
In this Service Level Agreement, certain terms are written with a capital letter. These terms shall have the meaning assigned to them in the list below, both in singular and plural form.
Connection Agreement
An agreement between the User and the Provider under which the User is granted access to the Provider's software, systems, or digital services under the agreed terms and conditions, including the rights and obligations of both parties, payment terms, security requirements, and technical specifications for the integration and use of the software.
Backup
A copy of the Platform created by The Selection Lab that can be restored in the event of Incidents.
Availability
The period during which the Services can be accessed via the Internet during a given quarter, expressed as a percentage calculated using the formula laid down in Article 3 of this Service Level Agreement.
End User Questions
General questions regarding the use of the Services that may be submitted through a notification to the Helpdesk.
Errors
An alternative designation for an Incident.
Functionalities
Specific properties or features that enable a certain use or application of the Services.
Scheduled Maintenance
All routine maintenance activities related to the Services that do not qualify as Emergency Maintenance.
Helpdesk
The integrated chat feature within the Platform through which End Users can communicate with the customer support team of The Selection Lab.
Incident
The substantial failure of the Services to meet the agreed specifications, as well as any occurrence of Unavailability not caused by Maintenance.
Integrations
Any connections with third-party software or services established with or without the use of an Application Programming Interface (API).
Notification
Any notification submitted by the Client to the Helpdesk of The Selection Lab. This may include, among others, an End User Question, a report of an Incident, or a Change Request.
Unavailability
The period during which a disruption in Availability occurs, making the Services inaccessible via the Internet.
Maintenance
All maintenance work carried out by The Selection Lab, including both Scheduled Maintenance and Emergency Maintenance, as further detailed in Article 2 of this Service Level Agreement.
Maintenance Window
The time window allocated for performing Scheduled Maintenance, as specified in Article 2 of this Service Level Agreement.
Resolution Time
The amount of time that elapses between the moment the Client submits a report of an Incident by Article 7 of this Service Level Agreement and the moment The Selection Lab has proposed a Workaround to the Client or has implemented or provided a definitive solution to the Incident.
Point in Time Restore Policy
The degree of precision to which data from a Backup can be restored to a specific point in time.
Priority
The level of importance assigned to an Incident based on its impact and urgency, by Article 8 of this Service Level Agreement.
Business Hours
The regular office hours of The Selection Lab, which are Monday through Friday between 09:00 and 18:00 CET, excluding Dutch public holidays as defined by statutory provisions.
Response Time
The time that elapses between the moment the Client submits a report of an Incident by Article 8 of this Service Level Agreement and the moment The Selection Lab provides an initial substantive response.
Emergency Maintenance
Unforeseen maintenance work resulting from Incidents which, due to the impact and urgency of the Incident, requires immediate action by The Selection Lab.
Change Request
A request from the Client regarding modifications to the configuration or technical or functional changes to the Services.
Workaround
A temporary solution to an Incident that does not fully eliminate the root cause but substantially mitigates the consequences of the Incident for the Client.
Other capitalized terms in this Service Level Agreement shall have the meaning assigned to them in the Terms and Conditions.
1.
The guarantees or obligations of result provided by The Selection Lab in this Service Level Agreement shall not apply in the following cases:
a.
If the Client or End Users have made changes to or performed actions with respect to the Services that are not permitted under the Connection Agreement, the Terms and Conditions, or other written agreements between the Parties;
b.
if the Incident or notification results from errors in or problems with hardware, software, or materials of third parties, the use of which was prescribed to The Selection Lab by the Client;
c.
if the Client has not followed, or has not fully or timely followed, reasonable advice or instructions given by The Selection Lab regarding the Services;
d.
if the Incident or notification is related to a higher load on the Services than is permitted under the Connection Agreement, the Terms and Conditions, or other written agreements between the Parties; or
e.
in the case of force majeure.
2.
This Service Level Agreement explicitly does not apply to integrations with external systems. For such integrations, The Selection Lab adheres to the provisions of this SLA only for the parts over which The Selection Lab has control.
3.
If the integrations are created by third parties, The Selection Lab may provide advice regarding them.
4.
In the situations described in paragraphs 1 and 2, any guarantees or obligations of result from The Selection Lab shall be suspended until the force majeure situation has ended and the integrations are functioning again. Of course, The Selection Lab will make every effort to support the Client as best as possible during such situations. Any costs incurred in this context will be borne by the Client and will be invoiced based on actual hours worked at The Selection Lab's standard hourly rate.
5.
If The Selection Lab fails to meet the agreements set out in the SLA for longer than one quarter from the moment of written notice, The Selection Lab shall pay a penalty of 20% of the daily value of the contract for each following day that the commitments are not met. For example, if a monthly contract of €30,000 has been agreed, The Selection Lab shall pay a penalty of €200 per day to the Client.
6.
A PEN test will be conducted at least once every 12 months by an external party accredited by the Dutch Centre for Crime Prevention and Safety (CCV).
Article 3
Maintenance of the Services
1.
During the term of this Service Level Agreement, The Selection Lab shall maintain the Services for the Client. The maintenance activities to be performed by The Selection Lab include:
a.
Corrective maintenance: fixing Errors reported by the Client or third parties or identified by The Selection Lab.
b.
Adaptive maintenance: adding new Functionalities and/or expanding existing Functionalities.
c.
Preventive maintenance: taking measures to avoid or prevent future incidents.
d.
Perfective maintenance: improving or optimizing the performance of existing Functionalities.
2.
Maintenance activities may, in exceptional cases, result in the Services being temporarily unavailable or only partially available. To minimize disruption caused by such maintenance, The Selection Lab shall make every effort to perform Scheduled Maintenance outside the Client's business hours and peak times.
3.
In deviation from the above, Scheduled Maintenance may also be performed during the Client's business hours if the work to be carried out is not expected to result in Unavailability.
4.
In the case of Scheduled Maintenance that will cause the service to become unavailable, The Selection Lab will make every effort to notify the Client as soon as possible via email, providing information about the nature and expected duration of the work.
5.
Emergency Maintenance may be performed at any time due to its impact and urgency, even if it results in temporary Unavailability. The Selection Lab shall make every effort to inform the Client as soon as possible about the nature and expected duration of such work.
6.
Maintenance may result in the modification and/or improvement of existing Functionalities to optimize the Platform. The Selection Lab shall make every effort to notify the Client in advance by email in the event of any substantial changes in Functionality.
1.
The Selection Lab guarantees a quarterly Availability of 99.9%.
2.
Availability is determined by The Selection Lab on a monthly basis. The following formula is used to calculate the Availability stated in Article 4.1.
3.
In the calculation of Availability using the formula above, any Unavailability due to force majeure is not taken into account.
4.
The provider commits to a maximum response time of 3 seconds for all pages. These performance targets are reviewed and adjusted regularly to ensure optimal performance.
1.
The Selection Lab automatically stores a Backup of the Platform every four hours, weekly, and monthly.
2.
The Selection Lab applies a Point in Time Restore Policy of seven (7) days.
3.
The Backups created by The Selection Lab will be retained for a period of twelve months. After this period, they will be automatically deleted.
4.
The Backups created by The Selection Lab are primarily intended for Errors on the side of The Selection Lab. If the Client requests that certain files be restored or provided without such an Error having occurred, The Selection Lab may charge reasonable costs to the Client, based on its blended hourly rate. A standard backup restoration takes 0.5 hours.
1.
The Selection Lab shall provide a reasonable level of support to the Client in the event of End User Questions. During Business Hours, the Client can contact The Selection Lab via the chat function in the Platform and submit a notification.
2.
The Selection Lab will make every effort to respond to End User Questions within one (1) working day.
1.
Any Change Requests can be submitted by the Client to the Helpdesk.
2.
The Selection Lab will make every effort to assess whether a Change Request can be implemented and provide feedback to the Client within five (5) working days.
3.
The time actually required to implement the Change Request depends on the nature of the request and may vary on a case-by-case basis. The Parties will agree in consultation on the timeline (and, if necessary, the specific timing) for implementation.
Article 8
Reporting Incidents
1.
If the Client identifies an Incident while using the Services, the Client shall report it to the Helpdesk. The Helpdesk is available 24/7 through the platform. The Selection Lab's Response Time depends on Business Hours and the Priority of the Incident.
2.
When reporting an Incident, the Client must provide the following information to The Selection Lab:
b.
the name and contact details of the contact person for further follow-up;
c.
a complete and clear description of the Incident;
d.
a description of any steps already taken by the Client;
e.
the consequences and scope of the Incident;
f.
the status of the Incident.
3.
The Client ensures that the submitted report is accurate and complete. If this is not the case, The Selection Lab may be unable to respond in a timely manner and/or resolve the Incident.
4.
The Client shall provide all reasonable cooperation necessary for The Selection Lab to investigate and resolve the reported Incident. This includes, but is not limited to, providing all relevant information and granting access to locations, services, or accounts under the Client's control insofar as necessary to resolve the Incident. The Selection Lab may suspend the handling of the report if the Client fails to provide the reasonably required cooperation.
Article 9
Incident Resolution
1.
A staff member of The Selection Lab will assess the Incident report submitted by the Client as soon as possible and subsequently determine the Priority. The Priority is established based on the impact and urgency of the Incident, using the information provided by the Client and the table outlined below.
Impact
High (H)
A large group of the Client's End Users is affected
The Service is completely Unavailable
There is a significant risk of reputational damage
Medium (M)
A limited group of the Client's End Users is affected
Some functionalities of the Platform are Unavailable
Some reputational damage is likely
Low (L)
Only a small number of End Users is affected
Limited, non-critical functionalities of the Platform are Unavailable
There is only a minor risk of reputational damage
Urgency
High (H)
The damage caused by the Incident increases rapidly
The disrupted processes are highly time-sensitive
Prompt action can prevent the Incident from becoming more severe
Medium (M)
The damage caused by the Incident will increase significantly over time
The disrupted processes can be postponed for a limited time
Low (L)
The damage caused by the Incident will increase little over time
The disrupted processes are hardly time-sensitive
2.
Based on the assigned impact and urgency of an Incident, The Selection Lab will determine its Priority according to the matrix below. The rows show Urgency, the columns show Impact.
Urgency
Impact high (H)
Impact medium (M)
Impact low (L)
3.
If the Client disagrees with the Priority assigned to the Incident by The Selection Lab, the Client must immediately notify the Helpdesk. The issue will then be escalated to the management level in order to reach an appropriate resolution. In such a case, both Parties shall make every effort to reach an agreement on the correct Priority level of the Incident.
4.
The Selection Lab commits to the following Response Times (during Business Hours) based on the assigned Priority.
Priority
Response time (in business hours)
5.
The Selection Lab will make every effort to keep the Client reasonably informed throughout the resolution of an Incident, including progress updates and expected resolution time.
1.
In the event of termination of the Connection Agreement or bankruptcy of The Selection Lab, The Selection Lab shall provide reasonable cooperation to the Client to transfer the data stored via the Services to the Client.
2.
The Selection Lab shall provide the Data to the Client in a commonly used file format (e.g., PDF or CSV and in a manner to be agreed upon by the Parties. Any additional costs incurred by The Selection Lab in providing the cooperation described in this article shall be borne by the Client. These costs will be charged based on actual hours worked at The Selection Lab's standard hourly rate.
3.
The Selection Lab is only obliged to provide the cooperation described in this article once the Client has fully paid all amounts due under the Connection Agreement and this Service Level Agreement and has fulfilled all other obligations arising therefrom.
4.
Once The Selection Lab has provided the cooperation described in this article, or the Client has indicated that such cooperation is not required, The Selection Lab shall be entitled to destroy or delete the data stored via the Services and any related backups.
