FedEE Terms and Conditions

Introduction

The Federation of International Employers (FedEE®)/La Federación de Empleadores Internacionales/La Fédération des Employeurs Internationaux (hereinafter “FedEE” or “the Federation”) is the leading professional support organisation for multinational organisations and, in particular, their HR departments.  It was founded in 1988 with financial support from the European Commission and today operates independently with corporate members from around the World, including several State bodies in western countries. Its operating name is protected by several trade marks – inter alia the UK, EU and India – and ownership of relevant domain names. 

FedEE’s activities include provision of a comprehensive knowledgebase, pre-litigation legal advice in the field of employment law (and related laws), briefings, specialist reports, the representation of members’ views with outside bodies, interpretation of relevant codes and collective agreements, educational and training services, the organisation of networking events, research, legal services and management consultancy. Although it is formally a company limited by guarantee (not-for-profit), registered in England and Wales and currently Chaired by Ford Motor Company all day-to-day operations are, in practice, undertaken on its by FedEE Corporate Services Limited (also hereinafter referred to under the generic name of FedEE). However, control remains with FedEE in respect to all actions undertaken in its name.

All references to “Secretariat” in this document shall refer to the Membership Secretary, staff in the membership department and the Secretary-General of the Federation. Moreover, references to “Member” or “Members” in the following text shall apply to all categories of Membership. The terms “Corporate Membership” or “Corporate Member(s)” shall strictly apply to organisations subject to a paid subscription that are fully paid up.

The Federation has a head office in Central London, United Kingdom (UK) but, because of Brexit, now functions also through an administrative entity in Nicosia, Cyprus. A branch in Sapporo, Japan is being established. Its corporate members include many of the World’s largest corporations and most important state organisations. Although it was founded in 1988, with assistance from the European Commission, today it remains politically neutral and totally independent.

Corporate confidentiality and data protection are extremely important to FedEE and ownership and control of FedEE operations and day-to-day policy making remains firmly within the United Kingdom or, by decision/default, with any with any EEA, American or Asia Pacific designated country operating business standards to a high level of integrity. All FedEE Board meetings are held in London or, during the pandemic, online. All decisions relating to membership and its renewal shall be taken by the FedEE Board in the UK, or by delegation from it. Moreover, all advice of any kind by, or on behalf of, FedEE  shall be provided strictly to FedEE Membership organisations and their personnel in an unfettered and unrestricted way, without prejudice or consequence/liability. 

Our operating entity (FedEE Corporate Services Ltd and other entities as may be designated)  function entirely in line with these Membership terms and conditions (MT&Cs) and International accounting standards as commonly interpreted within the United Kingdom. Regular oversight is also provided by the FedEE Corporate Board. A performance obligation only exists on the basis of a current contract between the parties and commences following actual payment and receipt of an agree fee.  Income from the fee shall occur when all the events have occurred which fix the right to receive such income. These include, agreement from the FedEE Board in the UK (or its delegate), issuing a receipt for payment, the issuing of membership passwords and a welcoming letter from the FedEE Secretariat. 

These terms and conditions apply to all forms of membership, participation (and intention to participate) on courses, or to customised advisory, research and other services to both members and non-members of the federation , their employees and affiliates.

Specific Terms and Conditions

1. The Federation (FedEE®) has its head office at Adam House, 7-10 Adam Street, The Strand, London WC2N 6AA, United Kingdom. The Federation is an employers’ organisation providing professional HR support services to multinational enterprises worldwide. 

2. Membership of the Federation is open to established private sector companies, trade commissions, international bodies and diplomatic missions, governmental labour ministries, voluntary organisations and certain professional firms.  Membership is not open to trade unions, recruitment companies, labour-hiring and leasing organisations (including gangmasters), HR consultancies, HR outsourcing companies, payroll providers, payroll/HR software companies, other employer associations or HR professional groups, competitor organisations, political parties, or companies that have seriously been subject to disrepute during the last five years due to their employment or related practices. We also do not accept government bodies from, or organisations headquartered (or principally based) in, Afghanistan, Belarus, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, DR Congo, Republic of Congo, Eritrea, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Gaza Strip, Guatamala, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Moldova, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Northern Cyprus, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Russia, SADR, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe or geographical entities not recognised by the EU, or not members of the UN. Competitor (or potential competitor) organisations that covertly seek Membership via a third party shall forfeit any payment made in respect to Membership that was accepted because of the covert application.

3. All organisations seeking Membership must be established bona fide employers that operate (or plan to operate) in two or more countries, normally have at least 150+ FTE employees, plus their own in-house HR Department. Smaller companies will, by exception, be admitted to Membership at the Federation’s discretion – provided they genuinely employ staff in more than one country. Likewise, admission will normally be given to federal or state organisations, from truly democratic countries, that wish to affiliate to the Federation. Applicants must communicate through corporate domains registered in their own corporate name(s). All submissions for Membership are reviewed by the FedEE Membership Review Group and may be accepted, refused or removed at its discretion – and at any time. Membership may be terminated at the discretion of the Secretariat if a Member organisation is considered to be seriously in breach of these terms and conditions, or is considered not to be a suitable or appropriate corporate body to be a Member of the Federation (see 25 below).

4. Applications for Membership shall be processed within 48 hours of their receipt. Any cancellations in respect of Membership must be made within seven working days of the application being sent and, within this period, will only be accepted if our services have not been utilised. Cancellations must be sent by email to membershipservices@fedee.com. Organisations that do not meet our cancellation conditions will be subject to the full membership cost if they subsequently seek to cancel prior to payment within the subscription period. In the case of first applications, services will commence on the actual receipt of the first subscription. Returning Members (previously paid-up) will normally be allowed to rejoin without undue delay. If services are agreed to commence immediately on acceptance then payment of outstanding invoices must be made within our 30-day credit period, otherwise the account and Membership passwords may be suspended pending settlement or cancellation at our discretion.

5. All users must be current employees of the principal registered Member organisation or a majority-owned subsidiary. Those operating in other group companies or minority-owned subsidiaries will be subject to a separate Membership subscription.

6. Members shall nominate a senior manager or professional to be their main contact with the Federation. The main contact shall be responsible for managing additional users, informing the Federation of changes in user details, and notifying the Secretariat of users leaving their employment. Each user shall receive their own individual passwords for access to our services and these must not be shared with anyone else. No general email addresses or addresses outside the HR function shall be accepted. If a user ceases to be employed by the Member organisation, they shall have no further right to make use of our services. However, by agreement, an individual user may retain personal Honorary Membership for up to three months if they intend to sign up their new organisation to FedEE Membership.

7. Members/users agree that email addresses provided to the Federation or operating entity may be used for administrative purposes and for the provision of Membership services – subject to amendment or addition of users in accordance with these terms and conditions. A formal corporate email address must be provided for each named user, and it is a condition of access to our services that all current users remain on the circulation list to receive our fortnightly HR newswire by email.

8. Corporate Members shall pay a spot Membership fee on the basis of the current tariff or applicable tariff when they joined. This will entitle them, once paid, to a licence to receive FedEE services for a specified and agreed period from the date payment for renewal of the licence is actually received. This will normally be on an annual basis. Those who wish to utilise FedEE data or advice for their own external Client services may be admitted at the discretion of the Membership Review Group. But they will be required to pay a membership subscription at a specified minimum amount. However, the proscribed organisations set out in Clause 2 of these terms and conditions shall normally retain such status.

9. The only form of individual Membership of the Federation is through honorary lifetime Fellowship (F.FedEE). Fellows are nominated and appointed by the Board of the Federation either because they have made an outstanding contribution to international HR Management or have been of great service to the Federation.

10. Members may, according to Membership level, be entitled to helpline enquiries as an inclusive part of their annual Membership. Enquiries in excess of the inclusive allocation may be made on a pay-as-you-go basis at a competitive flat or bundled rate. No carryover of integral enquiries shall be permitted from membership period to membership period, although additional enquiry package (bundled) credits may be carried forwards for up to three years, as long as the organisation concerned remains in Membership for that period. The maximum duration of staff time per enquiry is two hours and enquiries may each involve a maximum of two countries. Longer, or particularly complex, enquiries will be subject to a separate quote. All legal assistance will be via our corporate counsel team and only to bone-fide members. We do not, in any way, provide an open market law firm service. For legal reasons, we are not permitted to provide specific tax or financial guidance. Enquiries are handled independently by our contracted legal team. Any liability for information, guidance or advice given shall rest entirely with those bodies directly providing it and no liability whatsoever shall exist in respect to the Federation or any associated entity or its officers. Moreover, no liability whatsoever shall also exist for any information or advice given by lawyers or other professional experts to which we refer Member companies. Such references are not at FedEE’s expense and fees must be agreed separately with the external lawyers concerned. For the complaints procedure see ‘General Terms‘.

11. Existing Corporate Members of the Federation may not downgrade their Membership to take advantage of any offers, or new Membership categories. They may, however, upgrade their membership at any time in order to increase their user numbers, helpline enquiries etc. They may do this by contacting the Membership Services Department on membershipservices@fedee.com. 

12. When each Membership period comes to an end, an invitation to renew membership and an accompanying proforma (indicative) renewal invoice will be issued. We shall continue to provide ongoing services on a purely “good will” basis until the membership is renewed upon our actual receipt of a new subscription. During this time, and for a period not exceeding three months, no contract shall exist between the parties, although our ongoing services shall continue in order to maintain continuity. A receipted invoice shall, in all cases, be issue as soon as payment has been received. If no renewal takes place or we are advised of this decision, then we shall write to acknowledge this fact and no outstanding debt shall exist. It is the policy of FedEE to maintain membership fees at the same rate for at least two years after Membership commences, unless price inflation exceeds 5% in any one year, or the Membership fee was subject to a substantial initial discount. If renewal of Membership is not required, an authorised representative from the organisation should inform the Membership Secretary at the earliest reasonable opportunity and, in any case, no later than two weeks following the conclusion of the previous membership period. 

13. The principal payment office is located in  the EU nation of Cyprus and operated by FedEE Corporate Services Limited on behalf of the Federation. Value Added Tax (VAT) shall not be charged to members outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Those located in EEA countries – other than Cyprus – will also not be charged VAT, provided a valid EC VAT registration number is provided.

14. Members agree to settle all legitimate invoices within 30 days of receipt. Members should notify the payment centre issuing the invoice as soon as possible after receipt of the invoice if any details need to be changed.  Payments made after the credit period may be subject to a monthly interest payment and we may suspend access to our services at any time after the expiry of the 30-day payment credit period. All fees may be settled by bank transfer or credit/debit card. Upon settlement, a receipted invoice will be issued within 5 working days.

15. The Federation and its operating entities undertake to supply services to Members as described on the FedEE®website. However, we reserve the right to vary, amend, suspend or withdraw any of these services at our discretion (see clause 25 below). We shall always seek to provide accurate and up to date guidance on any matter to our Members, but shall not be liable for any delays, suspensions, cancellations, amendments, omissions, clerical errors or unintended substantive errors that occur. Neither are we in any way responsible for any decisions that are made on the basis of data provided, or the consequences of those decisions. Members should always seek confirmation of any facts or guidance from their own internal and external professional advisors before action is taken. If a Member needs to call on the services of a law firm in any location we shall be happy to provide details of alternative firms that may assist them – some of which are Corporate Members of the Federation.

16. Members and users shall undertake to respect the confidentiality and protect the copyright of all information conveyed to them in any form, not divulge such information to employee representatives, or anyone outside their organisation (or those employees with corporate affiliations outside the Federation membership) and not use the data other than for the management of their directly employed staff or directly engaged contractors. FedEE reserves the right to withhold data from any Member/registered User if it is under any threat (or potential threat) of compromise in respect to FedEE’s intellectual property rights. FedEE data may also not be used for product development, for internal databases or any commercial purpose other than a Member’s own internal HR requirements. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright on all material supplied to members belongs to FedEE Corporate Services Limited. Members shall also undertake not to bring the Federation, or any of its officers or associated bodies, into disrepute.

17. The identities of Corporate Members shall not be revealed to any organisation outside the Federation’s Board and Secretariat without their explicit permission. The only exceptions to this are where a Member organisation voluntarily reveals such details, it is revealed by the FedEE Secretariat only by its corporate name to potential FedEE Member companies, the fact of their Membership is already in the public domain or where the data must be made public for any statutory reason. The privacy of all personal data gathered, processed, stored and utilised shall be subject to the terms of our FedEE privacy statement (see below).

18. Organisations subscribing to the Federation are classified as “Members”, but possess no formal voting powers. Federation Board Member organisations and individual Board members are full voting members of the organisation.

19. FedEE courses, workshops, seminars and Emeetings (hereinafter “events”): We shall have the right to change the speakers, the location, timing, contents and otherwise modify the subject of individual talks or sections of any event reasonably in the light of prevailing circumstances. In the case of face-to-face events, if a location is changed we shall endeavour to ensure it is to a new location close to the original planned venue and give as much advance notice as possible. We shall also have the right at their discretion to invite any person(s) its chooses to attend an event without charge, at a reduced charge or subsidise their travel costs to attend the event. In cases of force majeure, or social crisis, scheduled face-to-face events may be switched to an online Emeeting basis. If an organisation’s employee course participation cease for a longer-term event, then we may be willing to issue a course participation certificate giving credit for sections of the course completed. but only provided that at least 20% of the course (or modules) have been completed and assignments submitted and marked by the date when the course participation was terminated or effectively terminated by non-participation/attendance. We also have the right to cease course participation if we discover any plagiarism in coursework submissions, or there are other serious irregularities on the part of the participants concerned. All fees payable for FedEE Courses and other training/academic events are forfeit if the student does not commence their studies within two months of the official start date. If given a dispensation allowing extension, then full forfeit terms will again apply if studies do not commence within two months of the changed start date.

20. Once an event booking is made it may only be cancelled in writing within seven working days of the booking fee being received, provided that there still remains three working days before the even commences. Those booking events may, however, alter the name of the person attending the event — provided that the person so substituted is employed by a company in the same corporate group as the person making the original booking. They may also ask us to hold a sum as credit against a future event, or other service.

21. Attendees at physical events should allow for the possibility of inclement weather, travel delays or other intervening factors that may interfere with attendance at an event. For this reason, the attendee should ensure that their travel plans provide ample scope for any contingencies that may arise. This includes adequate travel insurance and insurance for loss of any event fees.

22. All event fees shall not be subject to VAT provided that the company’s VAT number is provided (EEA only) and the company is located outside Cyprus.

23. General Terms: The Federation and operating entities undertake to provide their services using their best endeavours and to ensure the accuracy of any information and/or assistance provided. However, Members and NonMembers should provide their own indemnity for attendant risks beyond our control, or reasonable obligations and consult their own legal, financial or other appropriate specialist advisors before acting on the basis of any information and/or views obtained from us.

24. In no circumstances shall the Federation, or its operating entities, officers, employees, advisers, speakers or associated parties be liable to any Member or any other bodies, individuals or third parties for any loss, lost profit, or any special, incidental or consequential damages (however brought about, including civil negligence) arising out of, or in connection with, services, benefits, publications, events or products supplied by us on behalf of ourselves or referred to/about by ourselves. 

25. We reserve the comprehensive right, and entirely at our own discretion, to refuse any applicant for membership of the Federation, or participation in any event. We may also, equally and at any stage, determine that an organisation is not suitable to be a Member of the Federation and receive any of our services, including participation by any of its employees in FedEE courses. In such circumstances any subscriptions, course fees or other payments made within the last 6 months shall be reimbursed in full and all obligations to that organisation and its users cease forthwith. 

26. ADR: We carry out all our activities in line with our Membership Terms and Conditions (MT&Cs) and the PPR Code of Practice (http://ppr.org.uk/paralegals/code-of-conduct/) but all complaints shall be primarily dealt under the terms of the MT&Cs. Complaints about our services should be initially addressed to the Secretary-General of the Federation and specific reference made to the appropriate element of the MT&Cs that it is alleged have been infringed. If the complaint(s) is unfounded the reasons for this will be explained. If there is any substance to the complaint that cannot be resolved through reasonable mutual discussion and negotiation, then both parties are jointly obliged to seek resolution through an independent mediator. In no case shall any financial, or other liability, arising from mediation, or any other proceedings, exceed three times the standard minimum annual minimum FedEE®corporate Membership fee. In the event that mediation cannot settle the matter within a lapsed period of 12 months, then the parties must agree mutually to the appointment of an Arbitrator to hear the case within the framework of these MT&Cs. The Arbitrator’s decision shall be final and may not be appealed.

27. These MT&Cs should be read in conjunction with our General Terms and Conditions of Use and terms and conditions that additionally apply to different events or publications. The FedEE Secretariat shall have the right to modify these MT&Cs at any time and without consultation or notice.

28. The registered address of the Federation is Adam House, 7-10 Adam St, The Strand, London WC2N 6AA, UK. The registered address for FedEE Corporate Services Limited (FCSL) is Pindou 8, Chloe Court, Office 301, Pafos, 8011, Republic of Cyprus. 

29. The rights and obligations outlined in our MT&Cs and general terms and conditions shall be subject to obligatory mediation or, where necessary, arbitration under UK law and subject to appropriate International accountancy standards for a membership body of our kind, as generally interpreted by Chartered Accountants in the UK.

30. We offer users of our website the use of online language translation services in order to read our material. However, we take no responsibility whatsoever for the consequent translations, or failure to translate any words or phrases in an accurate way. In all cases, the English language source material shall be considered the definitive text.

◉ FedEE Privacy Statement (GDPR Compliance)

1. Your personal privacy matters a great deal to us. The sources of personal data about FedEE registered users are the users themselves, their LinkedIn pages, our principal contact in the member organisation, the organisation’s website, financial transactions involving members, public telephone directories or company registration records.

2. The data consists of – inter alia –  contact and payment details, outstanding accounts, course/meeting registration attendance, enquiries and comments from members and others, and correspondence. We utilise the data to maintain Membership and course attendance records, the settlement of accounts and communicate with Members, past and prospective Members and for other purposes relevant to our operations.

3. All personal data for natural persons gathered, processed, stored and/or utilised by the Federation and operating entities are kept to a minimum, collected for specific and justifiable purposes, stored securely, not revealed to any party outside of the FedEE Board and its designated administration and not held longer than strictly necessary. We make no attempt to track or identify individual visits to our website, or any other electronic medium we may use.

4. The way we handle personal data fully complies with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the GDPR and FedEE’s own data privacy and protection code of practice, drawn up jointly through a Member working group ahead of the GDPR. This is available free to Members in the FedEE knowledgebase, or on request via admin@fedee.com. We also acknowledge and comply with the EU Directive on Trade Secrets and its legislative provisions incorporated into national laws. We recognise that the greatest threat to personal and commercial privacy is the State and those following professional obligations at the behest of the State. We shall therefore strive to prevent intrusions by anyone, or any body, without a strict, serious and overwhelmingly substantive reason to gain access to such protected data. Any such intrusions that are enforced will be directed reported to the individual(s) and/or Membership entities involved – in a timely manner.

5. We identify “sensitive personal data” as defined by the GDPR and ensure that it is subject to necessary additional safeguards.

6. In common with all data transmitted via the Internet, personal data will be present in the ether of the WWW for such time as is necessary to be received, stored and utilised. Moreover, FedEE utilises cloud technology – via WordPress and directly – for data storage, although protected through encryption and the use of VPN for access, using virus-protected systems. Our website is also covered by up to date SSL certificates, anti-ransomware and hacking rebound protocols. We monitor all actions designed to compromise the integrity of our data. 

7. All FedEE personnel are subject to employment contractual clauses that strictly limit their access to, and processing of, all personal data and bind them to respect data privacy in perpetuity. Only the minimum of staff members are allowed access to databases containing personal (including financial) data provided by Members, Fellows, course participants, users and third parties. 

8. Membership data is held securely by the Membership database company ‘Wild Apricot’ in Toronto, Canada (a country with formal EU adequacy status), but accessed only within the UK and EU. In the unlikely event of a data breach all those affected will be notified immediately and the relevant data protection authority informed. If any user wishes to obtain a copy of what we hold on file about them, please contact the FedEE Membership Secretary (membershipservices@fedee.com). We recognise that all data subjects have the right to be forgotten and will completely remove all personal data about a specific and identifiable data subject upon request or after an appropriate lapse of time.

(2023)