Membership Agreement

This Membership Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into by ‘Counselling West Lothian’ as part of the Bridge Community Project Social Enterprise (“Organisation”) and [Member Name] (“Member”), and comes into effect as of [Date].

1. Member Benefits

As part of the membership with ‘Counselling West Lothian’, the Member will receive the following benefits:

• Your own counselling profile advertised on the ‘Counselling West Lothian’ website.
• Reduced room rental rates.
• Access to the Skedda Room booking system for seamless diary management.
• Access to the facilities at the Bridge Wellbeing Hub, including kitchen, tea, coffee, water.
• Access to the Bridge Wellbeing Hub between the hours of 9am - 9pm, six days a week. (Mon-Sat).
• Free wifi.
• Free parking.
• Peer support.
• Access to 4 counselling rooms including a creative room.
• Option to book rooms/building to run workshops/training.
• Access to a members-only area online which includes templates, policies & procedures, contracts, useful links etc.
• Priority Access to paid counselling opportunities that come from the Bridge Community Project. People contacting the Bridge to enquire about paid sessions, will be referred to ‘Counselling West Lothian’.

2. Member Obligations

The member confirms that they are a self-employed counsellor and agrees that they have no rights as an employee or worker of the Bridge Community Project. The member prior to the Start Date, will provide The Counselling West Lothian with written evidence/proof that they:

• Are qualified to practise independently and have completed recognised training in their profession.
• Hold current membership of an external regulating body such as COSCA, BACP, BABCP or UKCP. (These documents will be required to be seen each year).
• New members who DO NOT originally come through the Bridge will be required to provide two character references - one from their supervisor and one from either their course or current/previous counselling placement.

Requirements

• Must have adequate supervision in place.
• Hold current and adequate professional indemnity insurance.
• Have a complaints procedure in place that is in line with your governing body.
• In accordance with the ‘Data Protection Act, 2018’, members who are classed as sole traders and who process personal information for example emails, texts, phone details, must be registered with the ‘Information Commissioner's Office’ (ICO).
• All members must have a suitable contract that they use with clients.
• We highly recommend that you have a PVG in place.
• We recommend that you charge a minimum of £40 per session.

3. Sole Responsibility

• Members should be aware when booking rooms at the Bridge Wellbeing Hub for clients, that it will not always be manned, therefore members accept the risk and responsibility of sole working.
• Members must respect others using the Bridge Wellbeing Hub.
• The member is solely responsible for secure storage of all client information and any session notes in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations.

4. Administration and Client contact

The Bridge does not provide a secretarial, administrative or client liaison service to Counselling West Lothian members and their (potential) clients. The member’s clients are their own responsibility and all communication of whatever nature should be carried out directly between the member and their clients. If the Bridge does receive any messages for the member, it will endeavour to pass them on to the member as soon as practicable, but takes no responsibility for such messages or their consequences.

5. Restrictions

The member may organise to store a limited number of items relating to the permitted Purpose (e.g. art materials) in a designated space at the Bridge’s premises. This is at the member’s own risk as these items are not covered by The Bridges insurance. Valuable, flammable or dangerous items must not be stored. The Member agrees that they will not:

• Share their login information with any other persons.
• Reproduce any of the information received as part of their membership and share it with non-members.
• Post inappropriate, inaccurate or offensive content on social media forums and discussions.

6. Liability

The Member will not hold the ‘Bridge Community Project’ liable for any issues that may arise between member and their (potential) client. The Member agrees that the Bridge Community Project cannot guarantee clients from their membership. Members must have their own complaints procedures in place for all clients and that those clients are made aware of where to find the information in the case of a complaint.

7. Privacy

Members of ‘Counselling West Lothian’ will not share any contact or personal information about their client with other members, non-members or any third parties, with exception to guidelines by your professional body. The Bridge undertakes to maintain privacy in line with the following. The Bridge will collect the following personal information about you:

• Name of responsible person
• Address of responsible person
• Telephone number and/or email address of responsible person
• Name and contact of Next of Kin/emergency number.

We will use this information to send your payment invoices and contact you with queries or information. All personal information is held and processed by the Bridge Community Project in accordance with data protection law. You have a number of rights under data protection law, including the right to request your information and to request that the information be amended if incorrect or, in some circumstances, erased. To make a request for information, amendment or erasure, you will need to put your request in writing to the Project Director at alan@bridgecommunityproject.org.uk.

8. Membership Termination

The Bridge may cancel this agreement at any time if the member fails to pay the Counselling West Lothian membership fees and/or if any of the terms and the conditions of this agreement are violated. The Member can terminate their membership at any point and for any reason - giving a 4-week notice period.

9. Contact details

If you require any further information or have any questions please contact the ‘Bridge Community Project’ either by phone or email. Phone: 01506 238980 Email: alan@bridgecommunityproject.org.uk By signing below, the Member confirms that they have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions outlined in this Agreement.