Membership Standards

Version 1.0
Effective date: 1 August 2026

1. Purpose of these standards

The Pet Sitter Hub Membership Standards set out the minimum standards expected from every applicant and approved member.

They are intended to help create a trustworthy, responsible and supportive UK-wide community of independent pet sitters, dog walkers and animal carers.

All members must follow these standards for the duration of their membership.

Membership of The Pet Sitter Hub does not mean that The Hub employs, supervises or guarantees a member. Members remain independent and personally responsible for the services they provide.

2. Honest and accurate information

Applicants and members must provide information that is true, accurate, current and complete.

Members must not:

Misrepresent their identity.
Exaggerate or invent experience.
Claim qualifications they do not hold.
Provide altered, fraudulent or misleading documents.
Make false claims about insurance, licences or DBS checks.
Use another person’s photograph, identity or profile information.
Claim that The Pet Sitter Hub personally recommends or guarantees them.

Members must tell The Pet Sitter Hub promptly if important information changes.

This includes changes to:

Their name.
Their contact details.
Their service area.
The services they offer.
Their availability.
Their insurance or licensing status.
Their DBS status.
Any circumstance that could affect their eligibility or ability to provide safe pet care.
3. Identity and DBS requirements

Applicants must provide valid identification and a valid DBS certificate as part of the membership application process.

Documents must:

Belong to the applicant.
Be genuine and unaltered.
Be clear enough to review.
Be current or otherwise acceptable for the intended check.
Match the identity information given in the application.

A DBS certificate is one part of the membership assessment process. It does not guarantee that a person will always act appropriately or be suitable for every assignment.

Members may be asked to provide updated DBS information where reasonably necessary.

A failure to provide required identity or DBS information may result in an application being declined or membership being suspended.

4. Animal welfare

Animal welfare must always come first.

Members must treat every animal with:

Care.
Patience.
Kindness.
Respect.
Appropriate attention.

Members must never:

Deliberately harm, frighten or mistreat an animal.
Use unnecessary force or punishment.
Leave an animal in unsafe conditions.
Ignore obvious signs of illness, injury or distress.
Accept work they are not capable of carrying out safely.
Use unsafe equipment or handling methods.
Provide medication or specialist care without clear instructions and appropriate competence.
Abandon an animal or leave it without agreed care.

Members must follow the pet owner’s reasonable care instructions unless doing so would place an animal or person at risk.

Where an instruction appears unsafe, unlawful or harmful, the member should raise the concern and seek appropriate advice.

5. Experience and competence

Members must only offer services they can provide safely and competently.

Before accepting an assignment, members should consider:

The species and breed involved.
The animal’s size, age and temperament.
Any medical or behavioural needs.
The number of animals requiring care.
The environment in which the care will take place.
Whether they have the necessary experience, strength, knowledge and equipment.

Members must be honest about the limits of their experience.

They should decline or refer work where:

The animal’s needs exceed their competence.
They cannot safely manage the animal.
They lack required licences, insurance or training.
The assignment creates an unreasonable risk.
The owner has not provided enough information.
6. Communication with pet owners

Members must communicate clearly, honestly and respectfully.

Before accepting work, members should agree:

The services to be provided.
The dates and times.
The price and payment arrangements.
Cancellation arrangements.
Feeding and exercise instructions.
Medication or health requirements.
Veterinary details.
Emergency contacts.
Home-access arrangements.
Any special risks or behavioural concerns.

Important arrangements should be recorded in writing wherever possible.

Members should respond to reasonable messages within an appropriate period and notify the pet owner promptly if:

They are delayed.
They cannot attend.
The animal becomes unwell or injured.
The animal escapes or goes missing.
Property is damaged.
An emergency occurs.
The agreed care cannot be completed.
7. Reliability and attendance

Members must make every reasonable effort to attend agreed appointments on time and complete the agreed care.

Members must not:

Accept overlapping assignments they cannot manage properly.
Repeatedly cancel without good reason.
Fail to attend without notifying the pet owner.
Leave an assignment early without agreement or an emergency reason.
Pass responsibility to another person without the pet owner’s permission.

Where a member cannot attend, they should contact the pet owner as soon as possible and help protect the animal’s immediate welfare.

8. Respect for clients’ homes and property

Members entering a client’s home must act responsibly and respectfully.

Members must:

Enter only with permission.
Follow agreed access instructions.
Protect keys, alarm codes and entry information.
Secure doors and windows as instructed.
Respect the client’s belongings and privacy.
Use only those rooms and facilities reasonably required for the assignment.
Leave the property reasonably clean and secure.
Report accidental damage promptly.

Members must not:

Copy keys without permission.
Share access codes.
Invite unauthorised people into the property.
Search through personal possessions.
Photograph or record private areas without permission.
Use the property for unrelated purposes.
Smoke, vape, drink alcohol or use illegal drugs while carrying out an assignment.
9. Keys, access codes and confidential information

Members must protect all private information received from a pet owner.

This includes:

Home addresses.
Telephone numbers.
Email addresses.
Door keys.
Key-safe details.
Alarm codes.
Security arrangements.
Veterinary information.
Travel dates.
Personal or household information.

Members must not share this information unless:

The pet owner has given permission.
It is necessary in an emergency.
Disclosure is required by law.
It is needed to protect an animal or person from serious harm.

Keys and access information must be returned, deleted or securely disposed of when they are no longer needed.

10. Safety and risk management

Members must take reasonable precautions to protect animals, themselves, pet owners and the public.

Members should:

Ask about known behavioural risks.
Use suitable leads, harnesses, carriers and equipment.
Follow road-safety and public-space rules.
Avoid unsafe weather or environmental conditions.
Keep animals secure.
Separate animals where necessary.
Follow instructions about food, medication and exercise.
Carry emergency contact information where appropriate.
Know how to contact the pet owner and veterinary practice.
Record significant incidents.

Members must not knowingly place an animal in avoidable danger.

11. Emergencies

Members must act promptly and responsibly during an emergency.

Where appropriate, members should:

Contact the pet owner or emergency contact.
Contact the nominated veterinary practice.
Obtain urgent veterinary help.
Protect other animals and people.
Keep a clear record of what happened.
Inform The Pet Sitter Hub where the incident may affect membership or public safety.

Where an animal requires immediate treatment and the owner cannot be reached, the member should act reasonably in the animal’s best interests while following any written emergency instructions already provided.

12. Medication and specialist care

Members must only administer medication or provide specialist care where:

The pet owner has provided clear instructions.
The member understands those instructions.
The member is competent and comfortable carrying out the task.
The task does not require a qualification or licence the member does not hold.

Members should keep an accurate record of medication given where appropriate.

Members must not:

Change a dosage without veterinary or owner authorisation.
Give medication intended for another animal.
Claim veterinary or medical expertise they do not have.
Carry out invasive or specialist procedures beyond their competence.
13. Insurance, licences and legal responsibilities

Members are responsible for identifying and meeting any legal, licensing, registration or insurance requirements that apply to their services.

Depending on the services provided, this may include:

Public liability insurance.
Care, custody and control insurance.
Key-cover insurance.
Business-use vehicle insurance.
Animal-boarding or home-boarding licences.
Dog-day-care licences.
Animal-transport requirements.
Tax registration and record keeping.
Local-authority rules.
Data-protection responsibilities.

Membership of The Pet Sitter Hub does not replace any licence, insurance or registration required by law.

Members must not advertise a regulated service unless they hold the permissions required to provide it.

14. Prices, payments and cancellations

Members set their own prices and payment arrangements directly with pet owners.

Members must communicate charges clearly before work begins.

Members should explain:

The price of the service.
What the price includes.
When payment is due.
Any deposit requirement.
Cancellation charges.
Additional costs.
Holiday or out-of-hours charges.

Members must not introduce hidden charges after an agreement has been made.

Payment disputes are primarily between the member and pet owner, although serious or repeated concerns may be considered as part of a membership review.

15. Professional conduct

Members must behave in a way that supports trust in the community.

Members must not engage in:

Threatening or intimidating behaviour.
Harassment.
Bullying.
Discrimination.
Hate speech.
Sexual harassment.
Fraud.
Theft.
Deliberate deception.
Abuse of vulnerable people.
Cruelty or neglect towards animals.
Persistent abusive communication.
Retaliation against someone who raises a genuine concern.

Members must communicate respectfully even during disagreements.

16. Equality and respect

Members must treat people fairly and respectfully.

They must not unlawfully discriminate because of characteristics such as:

Age.
Disability.
Race or ethnicity.
Religion or belief.
Sex.
Sexual orientation.
Gender reassignment.
Marriage or civil partnership.
Pregnancy or maternity.

Members may decline work for genuine practical, safety, welfare or competence reasons, but not for unlawful discriminatory reasons.

17. Safeguarding

Members must take safeguarding concerns seriously.

Where a member becomes aware of a serious risk to:

A child.
A vulnerable adult.
An animal.
A household member.
Another member of the public.

They should take appropriate action, which may include contacting emergency services, the police, a local authority, a safeguarding service or an animal-welfare organisation.

The Pet Sitter Hub should also be informed where the concern may affect a member’s suitability or the safety of website users.

Members must never use access to a client’s home or personal information to exploit, intimidate or harm another person.

18. Younger members

Applicants aged 16 or 17 may be accepted only under membership arrangements that include suitable safeguards.

These may include:

Parental or guardian consent.
Limits on certain services.
Restrictions on overnight work.
Restrictions on entering homes alone.
Additional contact and identity checks.
Clear working-hour and travel arrangements.
Additional risk assessments.

A younger member must not be placed in a situation that is unsafe, unlawful or inappropriate for their age.

The Hub may decline or limit an application where suitable safeguards cannot be established.

19. Profile content and photographs

Member profiles must be appropriate, accurate and relevant to pet care.

Profile photographs should:

Clearly show the member.
Be recent.
Be suitable for a professional public profile.
Not contain offensive or misleading content.
Not include other people without permission.

Profile biographies must not contain:

False claims.
Discriminatory language.
Offensive material.
Unrelated advertising.
Private information about other people.
Material copied without permission.
Personal contact information that The Hub has asked members not to publish publicly.

The Pet Sitter Hub may edit profile material for spelling, grammar, clarity, formatting and consistency.

The Hub may refuse or remove content that does not meet these standards.

20. Reviews, references and recommendations

Members must not create, purchase or arrange false reviews, references or recommendations.

Members must not:

Review themselves using another account.
Pressure a pet owner to give a misleading review.
Remove important context from a reference.
Claim that an informal comment is a formal professional reference.
Publish another person’s private message without permission.

Any testimonials used must be genuine and presented fairly.

21. Social media and public statements

Members are responsible for their own social-media activity.

Members must not:

Publish private client information.
Share photographs of clients’ homes or animals without permission.
Identify a client’s travel arrangements or absence from home.
Harass or publicly shame a client.
Make knowingly false statements about The Pet Sitter Hub, another member or a pet owner.
Present personal opinions as official statements from The Pet Sitter Hub.

Members may accurately describe themselves as members while their membership remains active.

They must not claim to be employees, representatives or authorised spokespersons unless expressly appointed.

22. Complaints and cooperation

Members must cooperate reasonably with a genuine membership-related complaint or review.

This may include:

Responding to questions.
Providing relevant records.
Explaining what happened.
Correcting inaccurate profile information.
Taking reasonable steps to prevent a repeated problem.

Members will normally be given an opportunity to respond before a final membership decision is made.

Immediate temporary action may be taken where necessary to protect an animal, person, evidence or the website community.

Members must not intimidate or retaliate against a person for raising a genuine concern.

23. Reporting serious incidents

Members must notify The Pet Sitter Hub about a serious incident that may affect their membership.

This may include:

The death or serious injury of an animal during an assignment.
An animal escaping or going missing.
A serious bite or attack.
Police, local-authority or animal-welfare involvement.
A serious safeguarding concern.
An allegation of theft, fraud, abuse or cruelty.
The loss or misuse of a client’s key or security information.
A licence, insurance or DBS issue affecting eligibility.
A serious breach of client confidentiality.

Reporting an incident does not automatically mean that membership will end. The purpose is to allow the matter to be assessed fairly and responsibly.

24. Suspension or removal

The Pet Sitter Hub may suspend, restrict or end membership where there is a substantial reason.

Reasons may include:

False or misleading application information.
Fraudulent or altered documents.
Serious or repeated animal-welfare concerns.
Serious or repeated complaints supported by credible information.
Unsafe working practices.
Theft, fraud, harassment or abusive conduct.
Misuse of private client information.
Failure to maintain required eligibility.
Advertising services without required licences.
Refusal to cooperate with a reasonable membership review.
Conduct that creates a genuine safeguarding, legal or reputational risk.
A serious or repeated breach of these Membership Standards.

Where immediate action is not required, the member will normally be told the general concern and given a reasonable opportunity to respond.

The Hub may temporarily hide a profile while a serious concern is reviewed.

25. Ending membership voluntarily

A member may ask to close their membership and remove their public profile.

Requests should be sent to:

contact@thepetsitterhub.co.uk

Ending membership does not cancel any separate arrangement already made between the member and a pet owner.

Members remain responsible for completing, cancelling or transferring any existing commitments appropriately.

26. Updates to these standards

The Pet Sitter Hub may update these Membership Standards to reflect:

Changes in law.
New safety or safeguarding guidance.
Changes to the membership service.
Lessons from complaints or incidents.
New services offered by members.
Improvements to community standards.

The latest version and effective date will be published on this page.

Where a material change affects existing members, reasonable notice will be provided where practicable.

27. Agreement

By applying for membership, the applicant confirms that they have read and agree to follow these Membership Standards.

Approved members must continue to meet these standards throughout their membership.

28. Contacting The Pet Sitter Hub

Questions about these Membership Standards may be sent to:

The Pet Sitter Hub
Operated by: Terence James Allington
Website: https://thepetsitterhub.co.uk
Email: contact@thepetsitterhub.co.uk