Schedule 3: SLA & Support Terms

EFFECTIVE DATE: 13th April 2026

This Service Schedule ("Schedule") governs the support availability, target response times, and Service Level Agreement (SLA) guarantees provided by BatchHeader Ltd t/a EncodeDotHost ("EncodeDotHost"). This Schedule is incorporated into and governed by the Master Services Agreement (MSA).

1. Support Availability

   1. Service Desk Function: The service desk serves as the primary interface between EncodeDotHost and the Customer. Its function is to record, process, and resolve customer requests via the support portal or designated support email addresses.
   2. Operating Hours: Our customer service centre operates from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday (excluding UK public holidays).
   3. Active Maintenance Plans: The targeted response times outlined in Section 2 apply specifically to Customers with an active maintenance plan beyond our standard self-managed hosting packages.

2. Target Response & Resolution Times

   EncodeDotHost categorizes support requests into the following tiers to ensure appropriate resource allocation and timely resolution

   Support Level	Description / Impact	Target Response Time	Target Troubleshooting Time
   Tier 0 (Self-Help)	Users retrieve information from the online knowledgebase, FAQs, manuals, and apps without direct IT staff involvement.	Inline with 99.9% uptime guarantee	N/A
   Tier 1 (Basic Support)	Basic help desk resolution. Minor problems with minimal operational impact.	8 Working Hours	16 Working Hours
   Tier 2 (In-Depth)	In-depth technical support for limited or isolated areas of functional disability. Escalated from Tier 1.	4 Working Hours	8 Working Hours
   Tier 3 (Expert Support)	High-level technical resources for severe issues where more than 50% of system functionality is disabled.	1 Working Hour	4 Working Hours
   Tier 4 (Outside Support)	Contracted support for items not directly serviced by EncodeDotHost (e.g., vendor software, data centre connectivity).	Subject to Third-Party Vendor SLA	Monitored by EncodeDotHost

3. Uptime Guarantee (SLA)

   1. The Guarantee: EncodeDotHost provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee for our web hosting infrastructure.
   2. Service Credits: Should we fail to meet this level of availability in a given calendar month, the Customer is entitled to claim a Service Credit based on the following sliding scale:
      

      Monthly Uptime Percentage	Applicable Service Credit
      99.9% to 99.5%	25% of the monthly fee
      99.49% to 99.0%	33% of the monthly fee
      Below 99.0%	50% of the monthly fee

   3. Exclusions: Downtime resulting from planned maintenance, Customer-induced errors, third-party software failures (e.g., outdated WordPress plugins), or Force Majeure events (as defined in the MSA) shall not be factored into the uptime calculation.

4. Claiming Service Credits

   1. Procedure: To claim an SLA Service Credit, the Customer must raise a ticket to the Accounts Support queue detailing the dates and times of the affected Downtime.
   2. Deadline: SLA credit claims must be submitted within 30 days of the end of the calendar month in which the Downtime occurred. Claims submitted after this period will be invalid.
   3. Application of Credit: Any approved SLA credit will be applied directly as a credit to the Customer's EncodeDotHost account, to be used against future invoices. No cash or direct financial refunds are payable.

5. Escalation Procedure

   1. If at any point the Customer feels an issue is not being resolved within the targets outlined in Section 2, they may request the ticket be escalated to a Manager.
      
   2. If a manager is unavailable at the time of the request, the Customer's details will be taken, and the management team aims to respond to all escalated complaints within 1 working hour during core business hours.
   3. Formal appeals or complaints are handled in accordance with our standalone Complaints & Appeals Procedure.