Be the Business Terms & Conditions: The Productivity Programme
1. Applicability and Interpretation
These terms and conditions (“Terms”) apply to all participants (including where applicable to the funding organisation) of The Productivity Programme (the “Programme”). In these Terms any reference to “you” or “your” is to a participant business leader (‘Participant’) who is the recipient of support from the Programme.
Reference to ‘Board Members’ or ‘Volunteers’ are to those individuals providing support on a voluntary basis, including as part of the Inspiring Leaders Programme (“Volunteers”).
2. About Us
‘Be the Business Trading Limited’ (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a subsidiary of The Productivity Group, a charitable company limited by guarantee with registered charity number 1173660, company number 10754958 and registered at 10 Queen Street Place, London, England, EC4R 1AG.
3. General Terms
By participating in the Programme, you are accepting these Terms, and you hereby understand and accept the following:
The Productivity Programme consists of an initial programme and an optional ongoing programme which is paid on a subscription basis, the description of which is outlined in the product definition.
3.1 The scope of the advice given to you during your participation in the Programme will only ever be of a general nature and you accept that no advice or guidance provided to you (including by a Board Member) is intended as professional advice or be a substitute for professional advice.
3.2 Board Members provide generic advice as volunteers in providing their skills and therefore act in a personal capacity; not on behalf of their employer. Our Volunteers are required to comply with our Code of Conduct (as detailed in clause 6) at all times and no employer of any Board Member is liable for a Board Member’s act or omission.
3.3 Volunteers deliver the Programme leveraging their experience and case studies where appropriate. You agree not to make any public statements, whether oral or written regarding your affiliation with a Board Member or the Programme without our prior written consent. This includes but is not limited to social media posts, interviews, articles, and public appearances.
3.4 In relation to your participation in the Programme, you will not enter into any form of paid contract or paid arrangement directly with any Volunteer, and no cash, cash equivalent or gifts shall be exchanged. Should you and a Volunteer wish to enter into a commercial relationship, you shall inform us immediately and withdraw from the Programme.
3.5 We reserve the right to (i) amend these terms at any time or (ii) otherwise terminate this agreement immediately and without notice to you if you are in breach of these Terms
3.6 If you witness or experience unprofessional or discriminatory behaviour, you agree to report it to us immediately by emailing programmes@bethebusiness.com. We agree to treat your complaint with the strictest confidence.
3.7 To the extent permitted by law, we exclude any and all liability towards Participants or Volunteers (howsoever arising).
3.8 During the Programme, Participants and Volunteers may disclose certain confidential and personal information to each other for the purpose of building up a relationship of support and advice. You agree to treat information related to other participants (including their identity, experiences and case studies) as confidential and not share any personal or confidential information with a third party. You agree to comply with this clause 3.8.
3.8.1 For the purposes of this clause 3.8, a party disclosing information is the “Discloser” and a party receiving the information is the “Recipient”. “Confidential Information” means: all personal information relating to Volunteers or other Participants, know-how, data, information, trade secrets, or materials, in any form whether marked confidential or not, including but not limited to conceptions, inventions, developments, improvements, designs, techniques, technical data, market information, including sales, costs, prices, customers and suppliers, forecasts, marketing and any commercial and financial, technical and business strategic plans already disclosed or to be disclosed to Recipient by Discloser.
3.8.2 The Recipient undertakes:
(i) not to use the Confidential Information for any purpose except in connection with Recipient’s participation in the Programme.
(ii) to keep the Confidential Information secure and not to disclose it to any third party except for the purpose of the Recipient’s participation in the Programme and only then where the Discloser first agrees, and such third party knows they owe a duty of confidence to the Discloser and are bound by obligations of confidentiality similar to those in this clause 3.8.
3.8.3 The undertakings above do not apply to: (a) any information which is, or in future comes into, the public domain (unless as a result of the breach of these Terms); or (b) to any information which was already known to the Recipient and which was not subject to any obligation of confidence before it was disclosed to the Recipient by the Discloser.
3.8.4 Nothing in these Terms will prevent the Recipient from making any disclosure of the Confidential Information required by law or by any competent authority.
3.8.5 A Recipient will, on request from the Discloser, return all copies and records of the confidential information to the Discloser and will not retain any copies or records of the Confidential Information.
3.8.6 A Recipient shall have no licence, interest or right in respect of any intellectual property rights of the Discloser, except the right to copy the Confidential Information solely for the purpose of the benefitting from the Programme.
3.9 If you have been accepted onto a funded programme but were not invited directly by a funded partner, we reserve the right to charge you for your place in accordance with our then current price list.
4. Limitation of Liability
4.1 We make no representation or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability of any Participant, Volunteer, or the Programme. Any reliance a participant places upon guidance or advice given by a Volunteer is therefore strictly at your own risk;
4.2 We are not liable for any false, inaccurate, inappropriate information provided by a you, other participants, a Volunteer or any third party;
4.3 We are not liable to you or any other third party for any loss or damage (including, without limitation, loss of profit, loss of goodwill, loss of business, loss of business opportunity, loss of information or loss of anticipated savings, or any wasted expenditure) arising directly or indirectly (whether or not such losses could be foreseen) from participation in the Programme.
5. Privacy
Your privacy is important to us. We process your information in accordance with our privacy policy: https://bethebusiness.com/terms-policies-notices/privacy-notice
Information about you may be disclosed to Be the Business team for support in the event that information shared implies that the Discloser is or may be a risk to themselves or other parties.
When joining a board, your name and email address will be shared with other members of your board and you will be invited to join an MSTeams group. All information and documents shared via the MSTeams group will remain available until the board closes.
6. Code of Conduct
Participants will adhere to the following rules of engagement:
6.1 Attendance of all mandatory meetings in the programme (including an Onboarding session), with timely notice given if unable to attend under exceptional circumstances;
6.2 Courtesy and professionalism to all our employees and Volunteers, including timely responses to communications;
6.3 Engagement with programme materials, and adequate preparation prior to meetings;
6.4 Compliance with the confidentiality provisions in clause 3.8;
6.5 Treating participants and Volunteers with dignity and respect;
6.6 Maintaining the highest level of professionalism;
6.7 The position of third parties e.g. line managers and colleagues must be respected.
7. Payment
Payment is due in advance of receipt of the services and in accordance with the payment terms set out in the applicable invoice.
Payment in respect of the Services shall be made prior to commencement of The Productivity Programme (TPP). Participants may be offered the option to join the ongoing monthly programme paid by subscription (TPPs), payments must be received monthly in advance of the provision of the services for that month and in accordance with the invoice provided at the commencement date of your subscription.
In the event of failure of a scheduled monthly payment, 7 days grace period will be allowed for payment to be received. If the grace period expires without payment, this will be considered early termination. An early termination fee of £100 in addition to the monthly payment will be due and you will be liable to pay these costs to us in full.
8. Cancellation Policy
If you cannot attend the Programme as scheduled, we may provide a refund of all or part of your fees in accordance with the following cancellation policy:
Participants cancelling within 14 days of purchase who have not attended onboarding with us
Participants may be entitled to a full refund
Participants cancelling within 14 days of having made a payment and have attended an onboarding session
Participants may be entitled to a full refund, but we will subtract a £100 administrative fee
Participants who have been matched with an advisory board
Participants may not be entitled to a refund
The Productivity Programme [Subscription] (TPPs)
Business leaders may withdraw from TPPs at any time subject to one month’s prior written notice to programmes@bethebusiness.com
During the notice period, access to the planned session and to the sparks session shall continue.
9. General
9.1 These Terms are governed by, and are to be construed in accordance with, English law. The English Courts will have exclusive jurisdiction to deal with any dispute which has arisen or may arise out of, or in connection with, these Terms.
9.2 These Terms form the entire agreement between you and us and replace all prior representations, proposals, discussions, and communications, whether oral or in writing.
9.3 The invalidity or unenforceability of any particular provision of these Terms will not affect or limit the validity or enforceability of the remaining terms.
9.4 No waiver of any part of these Terms is binding unless it is in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the waiving party. If we fail to enforce part of these Terms entirely or do not do so in a timely manner, that failure or delay in enforcement will not be considered to be a waiver of that part of the Terms.
Version: 3
Date: 2 July 2024