General Terms and Conditions (GTC)

Terms and Conditions (T&Cs)

The General Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) are an important part of our company. They are intended to inform our clients about the conditions under which we provide our services. We place great importance on transparency and clarity. Therefore, our T&Cs contain all relevant information regarding our services, contractual conditions, as well as cancellation and withdrawal policies. If you have any questions regarding our T&Cs, we are happy to assist you at any time.

1. General Provisions & Scope

1.1 These General Terms and Conditions apply exclusively to all legal transactions between the client and the contractor (management consultant) – hereinafter referred to only as the “Contractor”. The version valid at the time of conclusion of the contract shall apply.

1.2 These General Terms and Conditions shall also apply to all future contractual relationships, even if no explicit reference is made to them in supplementary agreements.

1.3 Any conflicting terms and conditions of the client shall be invalid unless expressly acknowledged in writing by the Contractor.

1.4 Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions be or become invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions or contracts concluded on the basis thereof. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a valid provision that most closely reflects the intended economic purpose.

1. Scope of Consulting Services & Representation

2.1 The scope of a specific consulting assignment shall be agreed individually by contract.

2.2 The Contractor is entitled to have obligations performed in whole or in part by third parties. Payment to third parties shall be made exclusively by the Contractor. No direct contractual relationship shall arise between the third party and the client.

1. Duty of Cooperation of the Client & Completeness Declaration

3.1 The client shall ensure that the organizational conditions at their business premises allow for work that supports the smooth and efficient progress of the consulting process.

3.2 The client shall comprehensively inform the Contractor about any previous and/or ongoing consulting services, including those in other professional fields.

3.3 The client shall ensure that all documents required for the execution of the consulting assignment are submitted in due time without special request and that the Contractor is informed of all processes and circumstances relevant to the assignment. This also applies to documents, processes, and circumstances that become known during the consulting activity.

3.4 The client shall ensure that employees and any legally required employee representatives (works council) are informed about the Contractor’s activities before the start of the assignment.

1. Safeguarding Independence

4.1 The contracting parties undertake to maintain mutual loyalty.

4.2 The contracting parties mutually undertake to take all necessary measures to prevent any threat to the independence of commissioned third parties and employees of the Contractor. This applies in particular to offers of employment or independent assignments made by the client.

1. Freedom from Instructions

5.1 The Contractor shall not be bound by instructions in the execution of the agreed work and shall act independently and under their own responsibility. The Contractor is not bound to any specific place of work or working hours.

1. Protection of Intellectual Property

6.1 Copyrights to all works created by the Contractor, employees, or commissioned third parties (in particular offers, reports, analyses, expert opinions, organizational plans, programs, service descriptions, drafts, calculations, drawings, data carriers, etc.) remain with the Contractor. The client is not entitled to reproduce and/or distribute the work(s) without the express consent of the Contractor. Unauthorized reproduction/distribution shall under no circumstances establish liability of the Contractor toward third parties, particularly regarding the correctness of the work.

6.2 Any breach of these provisions by the client entitles the Contractor to terminate the contractual relationship immediately and to assert further legal claims, especially injunctive relief and/or damages.

1. Warranty

7.1 The Contractor is entitled and obliged, irrespective of fault, to remedy inaccuracies and defects in the service within the scope of statutory warranty obligations. The client shall be informed thereof immediately.

7.2 The client’s warranty claims expire six months after the respective service has been rendered.

1. Liability / Damages

8.1 The Contractor shall only be liable to the client for damages – excluding personal injury – in cases of gross negligence or intent. This also applies analogously to damages caused by third parties engaged by the Contractor.

8.2 Claims for damages by the client may only be asserted within six months from knowledge of the damage and the damaging party, but no later than three years after the event giving rise to the claim.

8.3 The client bears the burden of proof that the damage was caused by fault of the Contractor.

8.4 If the Contractor performs the work with the assistance of third parties and warranty and/or liability claims arise against such third parties, the Contractor assigns these claims to the client. In such cases, the client shall primarily pursue claims against these third parties.

1. Confidentiality, Data Protection & Reference Agreement

9.1 The Contractor and the client undertake to maintain confidentiality regarding sensitive information disclosed to each other. Exceptions apply where disclosure is required by law.

9.2 The Contractor is released from confidentiality obligations toward assistants and representatives engaged for the performance of the contract, provided that confidentiality obligations are fully transferred to them.

9.3 Upon complete fulfillment of the contractual obligations, both parties may refer to the existence of the business relationship and the general subject matter of the assignment as a reference. The parties undertake not to disclose any confidential information in doing so.

9.4 The Contractor is entitled to process personal data entrusted to them within the purpose of the contractual relationship. The client guarantees that all necessary measures, particularly those required under data protection law, such as obtaining consent declarations from affected persons, have been taken.

1. Fees

10.1 Upon completion of the agreed work at the latest, the Contractor shall receive a fee according to the agreement between the client and the Contractor. The Contractor is entitled to issue interim invoices corresponding to the progress of work and request advance payments. Invoices are due upon issuance and payable within 14 days.

10.2 Cash expenses, travel expenses, and other costs incurred shall be reimbursed by the client upon presentation of invoices.

10.3 The following cancellation and postponement policy applies:

– Up to 6 calendar weeks before the start of services: free of charge
– From 6 to 4 calendar weeks before the start: 25% of the fee charged
– From 4 to 2 calendar weeks before the start: 50% of the fee charged
– From 2 calendar weeks before the start: 75% of the fee charged
– From 7 working days before the start: 100% of the fee charged

10.4 In the event of non-payment of interim invoices, the Contractor shall be released from the obligation to provide further services. Further claims resulting from non-payment remain unaffected.

1. Electronic Invoicing

11.1 The Contractor is entitled to send invoices electronically. The client expressly agrees to the receipt of invoices in electronic form.

1. Duration of the Contract

12.1 This contract generally ends upon completion of the project and corresponding invoicing.

12.2 Regardless thereof, the contract may be terminated by either party at any time for good cause without notice. Good cause exists in particular if:

– a contracting party breaches essential contractual obligations, or
– a contracting party falls into default after insolvency proceedings have been opened, or
– justified concerns exist regarding the financial standing of a contracting party for whom no insolvency proceedings have been opened, and such party neither makes advance payments nor provides adequate security upon request of the Contractor, provided the poor financial situation was unknown at the time of conclusion of the contract.

1. Bookable and Paid Public Events

13.1 Registration

Publicly announced offers (keynotes, workshops, trainings) may be booked via registration form. Alternatively, registration by email to info@diewircity.com is possible, provided all required registration details are submitted. Registration deadlines are specified for each event.

13.2 Invoice and Payment

Participants will receive an invoice by email after registration. Payment is due within 14 days.

13.3 Cancellation by DieWIRcity

If the minimum number of participants is not reached, DieWIRcity reserves the right to cancel the event. In the event of cancellation by DieWIRcity, participants who have already paid will receive a full refund.

13.4 Cancellation by Participant

The following cancellation policy applies to publicly announced paid events:

– Up to 4 calendar weeks before the event: free cancellation
– From 4 calendar weeks until 7 working days before the event: 50% of the fee charged
– From 7 working days before the event: 100% of the fee charged

If you nominate a substitute participant, the cancellation fee will be waived. In the event of absence without written cancellation, the full participation fee will be charged. Cancellations must be made in writing.

1. Final Provisions

14.1 The contracting parties confirm that all information provided in the contract is complete and truthful and undertake to notify each other immediately of any changes.

14.2 Amendments to the contract and these T&Cs must be made in writing. This also applies to any waiver of the written form requirement. No verbal side agreements exist.

14.3 Austrian substantive law shall apply to this contract, excluding the conflict of law rules of private international law and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The place of performance is the Contractor’s registered place of business. The competent court at the Contractor’s place of business shall have jurisdiction over disputes.

The Professional Association for Management Consulting, Accounting and Information Technology recommends the following mediation clause as a business-friendly means of dispute resolution:

(1) In the event of disputes arising from this contract that cannot be settled amicably, the contracting parties agree to engage registered mediators (according to the Austrian Civil Mediation Act) specializing in business mediation from the list of the Austrian Ministry of Justice for out-of-court dispute resolution. If no agreement can be reached regarding the selection of mediators or the content of the mediation, legal action may only be initiated one month after negotiations have failed.

(2) In the event that mediation is not initiated or is terminated unsuccessfully, Austrian law shall apply in any subsequent court proceedings. All necessary expenses incurred due to prior mediation, including costs for legal advisors, may be claimed as “pre-trial costs” in court or arbitration proceedings.

These Terms and Conditions were drafted on the basis of the “General Terms and Conditions for Management Consulting, June 2021” of the Austrian Federal Professional Association for Management Consulting, Accounting and IT of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.