Terms and Conditions| BRE Academy

BRE Academy Membership – Terms and conditions

Find details of membership: bre.ac/Membership

  1. Definitions:
    ‘BRE Academy’ means BRE Global Limited, a company registered in England and Wales, with company number 8961297, whose registered office is at Bucknalls Lane, Garston, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 9XX.‘BRE Academy Membership Forms’ means, collectively, the BRE Academy Annual Subscription Form, the BRE Academy Code of Conduct, and the BRE Academy Membership Declaration.‘Membership’ means the BRE Academy membership provided to You in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and the BRE Academy Membership Forms (provided to You concurrently with these Terms and Conditions).‘You’ means the natural person applying to join the Membership, and where such person is a delegate on behalf of an organization, ‘You’ shall refer jointly and severally to the natural person and the organization, on whose behalf you warrant that you have the authority to bind by proceeding with the application for Membership. BRE Academy and You are each a ‘Party’, and jointly ‘Parties’ to these Terms and Conditions.
  2. The applicable fees, inclusions and content of the Membership shall be as described on your Annual Subscription Form and the BRE Academy website. BRE Academy reserves the right to update or adjust the fees, inclusions and content of the Membership from time to time, and any material changes affecting your Membership shall be notified to You in writing.
  3. Unless otherwise specified, VAT at the current UK rate at the time when fees are due shall be additionally applicable to any stated fees.
  4. A place in the Membership cannot be confirmed until payment of the fees in full (or a deposit amount where this has been expressly specified by BRE Academy) has been received. Confirmation of inclusion in the Membership shall be sent within seven (7) working days of receipt of the completed and signed BRE Academy Membership Forms and full fee (or deposit as the case may be). BRE Academy reserves the right to decline the registration of any Membership applicant at its absolute discretion and shall refund any fees received in such an instance.
  5. BRE Academy reserves the right to cancel the BRE Academy Membership program at its absolute discretion, and in such case shall give You as much notice as reasonably practicable. Should your Membership be cancelled due to no fault of your own, a prorated refund (“Refund”) will be issued to You based on any applicable fees paid and the length of time remaining on your Membership at the date of cancelation. For the avoidance of doubt, BRE Academy shall not be liable for any other costs or losses incurred by You, and the provision of the Refund will be provided to You in full and final settlement of any obligations owing to You by BRE Academy.
  6. BRE shall deliver the Membership in accordance with its promoted description using reasonable skill and care but makes no warranty to You in respect of any outcomes or expectation of derived benefits.
  7. All materials provided to You in connection with your Membership (“Materials”) remain the intellectual property of BRE Academy, and are protected by copyright. No Materials shall be copied by You or used except in accordance with the intended purpose of such Materials, and at all times any Materials provided to You shall be maintained in confidence and shall not be disclosed to third parties except with BRE Academy’s express permission, provided in advance.
  8. BRE Academy, its employees and agents agree to maintain as confidential and not to use or disclose to any third party any information derived from You without your consent except where it is necessary to enable BRE Academy to provide the Membership to You. Unless You request otherwise at any time, BRE Academy may hold your contact details on its database in order to share relevant information with You in the future or to let You know about other BRE Academy events which may be of interest to You. BRE Academy will not sell or disclose this information to any third party.
  9. Except for death or personal injury caused by BRE Academy’s negligence, for fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability which cannot be limited by law, the entire liability of BRE Academy under or in connection with the Membership and these Terms and Conditions shall not exceed the value of any applicable fees which have been paid by You to BRE Academy for the Membership. BRE Academy excludes against any and all liability to You for delay or failure to perform any of its obligations arising from any event beyond its reasonable control. Additionally, BRE Academy excludes any and all liability to You for any loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss of goodwill or for any indirect or consequential losses associated with the Membership under these Terms and Conditions.
  10. You shall not do anything to bring BRE Academy into disrepute and shall not use the names of, or suggest or imply an association with, BRE, Building Research Establishment, BRE Global or any other name, brand or mark used by the BRE group of companies except where BRE Academy has provided its prior written consent and in such instances only in accordance with the guidelines or requirements specified by BRE Academy.
  11. If any of the provisions of these Terms and Conditions are determined by any competent authority to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable to any extent, such term, condition or provision will to that extent be severed from the remaining terms, conditions and provisions which will continue to be valid to the fullest extent permitted by law.
  12. The Parties acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for the breach of any of the provisions of these Terms and Conditions. Accordingly, without prejudice to any other rights and remedies that may apply, the Parties shall be entitled to the granting of equitable relief (including without limitation injunctive relief) concerning any threatened or actual breach of any of the provisions of these Terms and Conditions.
  13. No failure or delay on the part of either Party hereto to exercise any right or remedy under these Terms and Conditions, nor any single or partial exercise of any such right or remedy, shall be construed or shall operate as a waiver thereof.
  14. Save as expressly provided in these Terms and Conditions, no term shall be enforceable under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 by a third party (being any person other than the parties, their permitted successors and assignees).
  15. BRE Academy may transfer its rights and obligations under these Terms and Conditions to another organization (“Assignment”), and in such an event will provide You with written notice. An Assignment will not affect your rights or obligations under these Terms and Conditions. For the avoidance of doubt, You may not transfer or assign the Membership without the express written permission of BRE Academy.
  16. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the Parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Members Code of Conduct – BRE Academy Membership Scheme – PN295

Introduction:

 This BRE Academy Code of Conduct (herein occasionally referred to as the “Code”) applies to all participants in BRE Academy’s Membership Scheme: BRE Academy Students, Members, Professionals and Fellows. The Code sets out the principles that must be followed and applied, by all participants in BRE Academy’s Membership Scheme. The Code forms part of a wider package of registration and documents which all participants in BRE Academy’s Membership Scheme must comply.

In the event of any alleged breach of this Code, BRE Academy has the right to withdraw your Membership from the BRE Academy Membership Scheme.

As a new or existing member it is entirely your responsibility to ensure that you are aware of the most up to date Code; therefore please ensure that you read the ‘Use of Social Media’ Addendum attached hereto.

Purpose:

 The purpose of the Code is to set out the behaviours and standards that BRE expects of itself and BRE Academy Students, Members, Professionals and Fellows.

The Code aims to promote:

  • The confidence in the integrity, of BRE Academy Students, Members, Professionals and Fellows; and
  • The best standards of practice by BRE Academy Students, Members, Professionals and Fellows


As a participant in BRE Academy’s Membership Scheme, you undertake to:

Positively promote the benefits the BRE Academy’s programmes, training, lifelong learning, CPD and memberships, and support the built environment profession in delivering excellence in education;

  • Be fair and equitable with customers and stakeholders;
  • Treat all information received or obtained from the BRE Academy as confidential and not divulge such information for personal advantage;
  • Maintain, where carrying on work or otherwise trading in a professional capacity, either personally or through my employer, appropriate professional indemnity insurance, and in the event of any claim being made against me, act honestly and in full co-operation with any related investigation;
  • Ensure continuing competence personally, publically and professionally, by undertaking (if specified in your grade of membership) CPD as required by BRE Academy;
  • Not claim to have any experience or qualifications that you do not actually possess;
  • Store all CPD documentation in your personal account on the CPD Portal provided by BRE Academy in order to meet your annual CPD requirements, and to keep hard copy evidence of CPD performance in a safe, confidential and secure manner at all times and, upon request, to provide such documentation to BRE Academy;
  • Abide by UK and European Data Protection rules, and respect all copyright attributed to individuals, organisations, and BRE Academy, ensuring information is appropriately stored and used;
  • Obtain permission from BRE Academy before copying, reproducing or sharing with third parties any BRE Academy publications or any documents supplied by BRE Academy;
  • Not act in any way that is prejudicial to the reputation or interests of BRE Academy, any BRE Group company, or the BRE Trust; and
  • Act with integrity, honesty, and openness, and at all times be transparent in their dealings with clients, colleagues, and the public at large.


Code of Conduct: Use of Social Media Addendum

This addendum sets out the principles around the use of Social Media and how this is applicable to the Code of Conduct. It is intended as a reference document as the principles are covered in the generic code of conduct. It is recognised however, that the use of social media is embedded in the communication network.

These principles should influence all areas of your professional education and practice, and in making appropriate judgements.

 

Popular Social Media Tools (not exhaustive)

Twitter (www.twitter.com) – a micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts, known as ‘tweets’. These may include links to websites, videos or documents.

Facebook (www.facebook.com) – a networking site with over 1 billion users. Users must register and then create a personal profile. They can then add other users as ‘friends’ and exchange messages, including notifications when they update their profile. It can also be used to join or create common-interest groups, both in a work capacity or leisure environment.

LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) – a site offering features aimed at establishing professional networks.

YouTube (www.youtube.com) – a free video-sharing website. Users do not have to register to watch uploaded videos but must become members to upload.

Blogs/forums – derived from the term web log, a blog is a website, usually maintained by an identified individual or organisation, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Many blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments or send messages to each other. A large number of professionals, leaders and educators publish their own blogs.

Some of the above, or all, can be interlinked. If this is the case then the demarcation between social and professional may not be clear. All users must be aware of this.

Below is general advice regarding the use of social media and any communication medium. Judgment should be used where there is use of social media having regard to integrity, sensitivity and confidentiality, and the risk of provocation.

As a rule the following should be adhered to. You should not use social networking sites to:

  1. Share confidential information
  2. Post inappropriate comments about colleagues or
  3. Use said sites to bully or intimidate colleagues or existing or potential clients
  4. Use said sites to pursue personal relationships with colleagues or existing or potential
  5. Use any online medium including social networking sites to distribute sexually explicit material.
  6. Use social networking sites in any way which is

Be aware that any information and images you post online will remain there forever and might be distributed, shared, commented upon and accessed by anyone and in some cases could be accessed after many years. If there is an instance where you have uploaded or commented in error be conscious of the process for deletion, but understand that these may be recovered and used later. This will also apply to the use of any pseudonym as this will not provide reliable anonymity for you or your colleagues/clients, and will not protect you from disciplinary action in the event of a complaint from a colleague or member of the public either now or in the future.

It is advisable to regularly ‘audit’ your profile pages and the information that is retrieved by search engines and ensure that this does reflect the professional image you wish to portray to others. Be aware that an online presence is a reflection of who you are and expresses your personal beliefs, values and priorities.

The information in this addendum is for guidance only and is certainly not exhaustive.