Governance — Virtuous Restaurants
Virtuous Restaurants
virtuousrestaurants.com/governance
Section 31.11 · Platform Governance
The Governance Record

The Platform commits
to a formal annual review

to be conducted no later than 31 January each year in respect of the preceding calendar year. The review assesses this Policy against applicable law, regulatory guidance, operational practice, and the foundational principles in Section 31.22.A.1.

This commitment is unconditional.
No operational circumstance suspends it.
Delivery Responsibility, Risk Allocation and Accountability Policy
Virtuous Restaurants Ltd · Version 1.0 · Effective 14 May 2026
Framework version
Version 1.0
Effective 14 May 2026
Framework status
● In force
No amendments pending
Review record
The record
Every review outcome is published here. An entry appears only where an amendment was made. The standing declaration below governs all no-change years in advance.
2026
Framework established. Version 1.0 effective 14 May 2026. This framework is reviewed no later than 31 January each year against applicable law, regulatory guidance, operational practice, and the foundational principles in Section 31.22.A.1.
Where the annual review results in no amendments, no separate publication is required. The standing declaration published at virtuousrestaurants.com/governance constitutes the published outcome: the absence of an amendment entry in the governance record for a given calendar year means the review for that year found all provisions aligned with applicable law, regulatory guidance, operational practice, and the foundational principles in Section 31.22.A.1. This is the complete published outcome for that year.
—
No amendments since 14 May 2026.
What does not change — Section 31.22.A.1
Six principles declared permanent
Specific provisions are reviewed annually and may be amended. These six are not. Every future version of this framework will contain them unchanged.
I — Risk
Risk allocation follows verified physical custody
Risk in an order transfers at the point of verified transfer of physical possession, documented by objective and independently verifiable evidence, regardless of the technology used to create that evidence.
I
II — Evidence
Evidence-based accountability
Liability attaches only where objective, independently generated, and unmanipulated evidence establishes it. No subjective account, verbal assertion, or unverified claim by any party constitutes sufficient basis for any determination under this Policy.
II
III — Consumer rights
Consumer statutory rights are non-negotiable
No technological mechanism, no future revision of this Policy, and no evolution of the Platform’s operations shall reduce any right a consumer holds under applicable consumer protection law. This principle is constitutive of the Platform's legal identity and survives any change in technology, jurisdiction, or operational model.
III
IV — Platform identity
The Platform is a technology intermediary
The Platform creates and operates technology that connects parties. It does not supply goods, employ operatives, bear substantive liability for third-party conduct, or determine the outcome of disputes between the parties it connects. This principle survives any change in technology, jurisdiction, or operational model.
IV
V — Consent
All obligations derive their legitimacy from voluntary, informed acceptance
No provision binds any party who did not freely and knowingly enter into it. The consent of each party is the foundation of every specific obligation. Where consent was not genuinely free or informed, no provision of this framework operates to the detriment of the party whose consent was compromised. This principle does not affect obligations that arise from conduct — such as the submission of an order where the Policy URL was clearly displayed — but it governs the interpretation of all provisions and requires that no provision be applied in a manner that exploits a party's lack of information, bargaining power, or genuine choice.
V
VI — Proportionality
Proportionality governs the application of all provisions
Every timeframe, threshold, standard, and procedural requirement represents a proportionate balance between the legitimate interests of the parties. No provision is designed or shall be applied to defeat a legitimate claim through procedural strictness alone. Where strict compliance with any requirement in this framework was impossible due to verified exceptional circumstances beyond the affected party's control, proportionate extension or adaptation applies. The purpose of every specific provision is to prevent disputes by creating moments of documented mutual confidence between parties, not to prepare traps for parties who act in good faith. Any interpretation of any provision of this framework that would produce a disproportionate outcome between a party's procedural failure and the consequence applied to them is an incorrect interpretation. The proportionality principle is the meta-rule governing the application of all specific provisions.
VI
Interpretive principle — obligation follows information
The party with greater information bears proportionally greater responsibility for the accuracy of that information
The obligations in this framework are calibrated to the information available to each party at each stage of an order. The party with greater information about any stage of the transaction bears proportionally greater responsibility for the accuracy of that information. This is why the restaurant bears responsibility for food content and allergens — the restaurant knows what is in the food and the customer does not. It is why the driver bears responsibility for safe transit — the driver knows what happened during delivery and the customer was not present. It is why PIN confirmation transfers risk to the customer — the customer is present at delivery and the driver’s role ends. As technology changes the distribution of information between parties, this framework’s obligations will adapt through the annual review process to reflect the new information reality. The principle — obligation follows information — is permanent. The specific obligations it produces are expressions of current information conditions.
Amendment & Notice Framework
How this Policy changes — and who is notified
The annual review is the primary mechanism for amendment. These four binding commitments govern how and when amendments are published, and how parties are notified of every type of change.
Platform right
The annual review commitment does not limit the Platform's right to update this Policy at any time in response to material changes in law, regulation, or operations. Where the Platform exercises this right outside the annual cycle, the notice periods below apply without exception depending on the nature of the change.
Amendment publication
14
Days
Publication of the full amendment account after review completion
Where the annual review results in an amendment, the Platform will publish a full account at virtuousrestaurants.com/governance within 14 days of the review's completion, stating the provision affected, the change made, and the reason. The amended version takes effect on the date of publication and is assigned a new version number in the Policy archive.
Public record
Procedural changes
48
Hours
Minimum notice to all users before procedural provision updates take effect
Where the Platform updates procedural provisions only, a minimum of 48 hours' notice is provided to all users via email or in-app notification before the updated version takes effect.
All users
Material changes — autonomous delivery · AI-operated systems · material alterations to transport or confirmation mechanisms
30
Days minimum
Minimum notice before any material operational change takes effect — given to Partner Restaurants and registered Drivers
Where the Platform introduces autonomous delivery mechanisms, AI-operated fulfilment systems, or any other development that materially alters how orders are transported or confirmed, it will notify all active Partner Restaurants and registered Drivers with a minimum of 30 days' notice before the updated version takes effect. This is the Platform's most significant notice commitment. It cannot be waived or shortened by any operational circumstance.
Partner Restaurants & registered Drivers
Platform developments
What is being built
The framework's technology-neutral provisions absorb these developments by design. No amendment is required as each is deployed — unless a development materially alters how orders are transported or confirmed, in which case the 30-day notice commitment above applies.
2026
Evidence architecture programme initiated. Research and development begun across: NFC cryptographic tamper-evident seal integration; blockchain immutable evidence ledger; C2PA cryptographic photo authentication; IoT thermal monitoring during transit; computer vision pre-seal order verification; post-quantum cryptographic evidence signing. Each is absorbed by the framework’s existing technology-neutral provisions — no amendment required as each is deployed.
Policy archive
Every version retained
The governance record at virtuousrestaurants.com/governance is the authoritative public record of this Policy's history at all times.
1.0
Effective 14 May 2026
First published version
● Current View →
Any party may request the version governing a specific order by writing to resolutions@virtuousrestaurants.com with the order reference number. Provided within 10 business days at no charge.
Governance proposals
Found something that should change?
Any party who has completed a transaction under this framework and identifies a provision that produces an outcome inconsistent with the foundational principles in Section 31.22.A.1, or that creates a genuine injustice not addressed by existing provisions, may submit a formal written proposal at any time. All proposals received during a calendar year are assessed as part of that year’s annual review. Where a proposal identifies a genuine gap, internal contradiction, or disproportionate provision, the Platform commits to either addressing it in that year’s annual review or providing a written explanation of why no change was made.
resolutions@virtuousrestaurants.com
Subject: Governance Proposal — [brief description].
Include the provision and the outcome you experienced. Acknowledgement on receipt; response at the annual review.
Virtuous Restaurants
Virtuous Restaurants Ltd · Company No. 16314621 · Registered in England and Wales
This page exists because Section 31.11 of the framework committed to it.
The commitment was made voluntarily, in writing, before this page existed.
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