# Day 1 Risk Brief — RateRight (Worker No‑Show / Payment Failure / Site Incident)
**Date:** 2026-03-04 (AEDT)
**Owner:** Harper (Finance/Legal)
**Scope:** Day 1 operational risks that create legal/financial exposure + clear escalation paths.

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## 1) Worker No‑Show (or late arrival)
### Risk
- Contractor loses time/money; may allege misleading conduct / negligence in matching.
- Reputation hit → refunds demanded; potential chargebacks.

### Controls (Day 1)
- **Expectation setting in product:** “RateRight is a marketplace matching service; attendance/performance is between contractor and worker.”
- **Pre‑start confirmation:** Require worker confirm attendance (Y/N) + ETA (text) within X hours of start.
- **Backup plan:** Provide contractor a quick “request replacement” flow.
- **Evidence log:** Timestamped messages (acceptance, confirmations, cancellations).

### Escalation
- **Tier 1 (ops):** If worker no‑show within 30–60 min of start → offer replacement request + comms template.
- **Tier 2 (founder):** If contractor threatens chargeback, legal complaint, or demands refund >$50 → escalate to Michael same day.

### Refund posture (Day 1)
- Default position: **Fee is for the match**, not attendance guarantee.
- Practical retention: allow **one free rematch** as goodwill where facts support it.

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## 2) Payment Failure / Chargeback
### Risk
- Stripe failed payment delays match completion.
- Chargebacks create direct $ loss + admin time; can trigger Stripe account risk.

### Controls (Day 1)
- **No match delivered until payment confirmed** (hard gate).
- **Strong descriptor + invoice:** Clear statement on descriptor and receipt (“RateRight match fee”).
- **Dispute evidence pack:** receipts, ToS acceptance timestamp, match details, in‑app messages.
- **Manual review:** Flag unusual cards / repeated attempts.

### Escalation
- **Tier 1:** Payment fails → prompt to retry + alternate method.
- **Tier 2:** Any chargeback notification → Michael + Harper to assemble evidence within 24h.

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## 3) Site Incident (injury, property damage, misconduct)
### Risk
- Highest severity. Even if RateRight isn’t employer, the platform can be pulled into claims.
- Primary exposure: allegations of negligence in screening / misleading representations.

### Controls (Day 1)
- **Immediate positioning:** RateRight does not supervise work; contractor controls site safety.
- **Clear role separation:** Worker is engaged by contractor; RateRight is not a labour hire provider.
- **Incident protocol:** capture facts, stop speculation, preserve evidence.

### Incident response (Day 1 steps)
1. **Safety first:** contractor to call emergency services if needed.
2. **Freeze comms:** instruct both parties to keep messages factual.
3. **Collect minimum facts:** who/where/when/what happened; photos if available; any witnesses.
4. **Preserve logs:** chat logs, job listing, acceptance, profile info.

### Escalation
- **Immediate (same hour):** any injury/property damage → Michael.
- **External counsel trigger:** serious injury / regulator involvement / police → Michael decides whether to brief a lawyer/insurer.

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## Day 1 “Red Lines” (auto‑escalate to Michael)
- Any threat of legal action, regulator complaint, or media/social post.
- Any injury/property damage claim.
- Any payment dispute/chargeback.
- Any repeated no‑show pattern suggesting fraud.

## Recommended tooling (minimal)
- Single shared **incident log** (date/time, job id, parties, severity, action taken).
- Standard **message templates** (no‑show, payment fail, incident hold).

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## Open Decisions / Gaps
- **Insurance:** confirm PI/PL is in place before scaling. Day 1 operations should assume **no coverage** until verified.
- **Identity verification / screening:** decide what’s enforced Day 1 vs later.