SVA developed the first code of ethics for UK virtual assistants back in 2007 in response to increasing numbers of complaints from clients about virtual assistant best practice. In 2023 we updated those standards to reflect the changing nature of the industry and increased legislation which VAs should operate under.
It is free to join and be listed, there is no reason why a professional UK based VA would not be a member, unless they aren't able to comply with these simple rules.
Virtual Assistants wanting to be an approved SVA member should comply with the following VA Standards & Best Practice:
- Have a website of professional quality. If you are Limited Company you will need to display a UK mailing address, Website Terms and Conditions/Acceptable Use Policy, cookie policy* and a legally compliant Cookie Banner, privacy policy*.
- Have professional email addresses. These must be domain-specific and not @gmail.com/@btinternet.com.
- Back up data securely off site.
- Answer phone calls or emails received within office hours next working day. Or to have an answerphone or autoresponder giving further information about when you will respond to the query.
- Be professional. Only take on tasks which you are fully capable of completing.
- Be based in the UK. We do not list offshore VAs.
- Have professional and legal contracts in place purchased from a UK-based solicitor/contract provider. These should be compiled by a legal professional who understands the UK VA Industry and UK business law.
- Be ICO registered. Have data controller registration via Information Commissioner’s Office.
- Be Insured. As a minimum all virtual assistants should have professional indemnity insurance in place. This is to protect you and the client - read this blog for more information.
- Contribute. It's great if you can contribute to the industry in some way, whether that be by interacting with our Facebook pages or in another demonstrable way.
- Link. You must link back to our website and prove your commitment to #CollaborationNotCompetition - working together to improve the UK VA Industry.
*
if relevant to your business – this might include collecting data via
Google Analytics, using WordPress, hosting comments on a blog or
collecting email addresses. If you don’t use these things, you can tick
the box as you comply by not using these tools.