Rates, Reasons & Terms
Membership rates
ORB membership rates are extremely reasonable and as you’ll see, there are plentiful reasons to join us. We do not want to prohibit any business from becoming an #ORBmember if they meet the terms and there is a genuine desire to be part of the movement for a better way of doing business. The number of employees in the table below relates to full-time employees. Part-time employees should be counted pro-rata.
When applying for membership, you’ll also be able to choose an annual discounted rate (12 months for the price of 10).
We do not charge a joining fee.
We only accept payments in pound sterling, or Euros for our Irish members, payable by GoCardless direct debit.
An appropriate GoCardless direct debit must be in place throughout your membership.
VAT is not applicable.
Reasons to join
Without doubt, there are significant business reasons to consider membership of ORB, but we genuinely hope the main reason you join is that you want to contribute to our purpose of driving the responsible business movement forward, rather than focusing on “What’s in it for me?!”
Being a member of ORB is an excellent way of showing that commitment and becoming a supplier of choice.
Specific member benefits
Use of the ORB Responsible Business Member logo
ORB membership certificate
An entry in our unique Responsible Business Directory
Ongoing promotion via social media and newsletters
An opportunity to publish articles and share success stories
Ad hoc member discounts
Once you have joined and completed your profile page for the directory, you will be gifted a Kindle version of the foundational responsible business guide by our CEO: It Really Is Just Good Business
You will also gain 6 months of complimentary access to the Responsible Business & Social Value course where you can learn how to implement even more thorough and important operational goodness at the core of your business or start up.
As per our Terms and Conditions below, please note that completing ALL sections of your Member’s Profile Page in the Members’ directory is a condition of membership.
You might wonder why this should be a condition? Well, to be quite frank, if you are joining ORB because you want to be part of a movement that promotes responsible business, we feel it somewhat disingenuous if you are not prepared to spend a little time to provide that appropriate information in your profile page. Would you not agree?
Your responsible business will not appear in our directory until your page is completed. The most recently joined members are featured on the home page, so it is well worth doing as soon as possible. Otherwise your business will be pushed off the front page by more newcomers!
Completing your profile page could be done in as little as 10 minutes, but we would prefer you to put half an hour aside and give your entry a bit more thought. (We add the SEO heading at the top of each page.)
Example directory page
The directory normally gets 1,000+ unique visits a week and people viewing member details will quite rightly want to know what your business does and what makes you a responsible business.
Apart from the negative impact empty profile pages has on the integrity and value of membership, your company could potentially be missing out on new clients!
We also ask you to use your ORB logo on your website and email signature. It isn’t a condition as we appreciate there may be technical reasons why this is difficult for some people, but as a primary benefit of membership we certainly urge you to do so.
A selection of ORB logos in different formats is available to members when they are logged in. These are dated versions. We recommend using the html code version for websites as dates will change automatically each year.
Undated logos are also available on request for use on stationery, packaging and/or vehicles, subject to a signed Use of Logo Agreement being in place.
Terms and conditions of membership
These Terms and Conditions of Membership are issued by the National Organisation for Responsible Micro, Small and Medium-sized Businesses, trading as Organisation for Responsible Businesses, company number 14248089, registered in England, registered address 84 Wimborne Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS2 4JR.
1. Users must provide true, accurate, current and complete information relating to key business details and any other information requested when applying for membership and, if accepted as a member, completing directory entries and communicating with ORB in any other way whatsoever.
2. All members must take and pass the ORB Questionnaire.
3. Taking and passing the Questionnaire does not infer any rights. All businesses must also make “The Pledge”; have an interview, normally online, with a senior member of ORB staff if the company is not already personally known to the team; and make the agreed payment before being granted any rights of membership, including but not limited to the use of the ORB logos.
4. ORB reserves the right to refuse any application for Membership. All refusals will be considered by the directors and their decision will be final. Providing the applicant has not made any false statements, membership fees paid in advance will be refunded.
5. Completing all areas of the Member’s Profile Page within two months of becoming a member is a condition of membership. Members details may not be displayed in the directory until their profile page is completed in full.
6. Members’ content on any ORB Websites, either posted by the Member`s registered user or provided to ORB specifically for posting on the Websites, remains the Member`s property, but by providing such content the Member grants ORB a non-exclusive, royalty-free license and sub-license to use the content in any media throughout the world without restriction.
7. Membership content posted or provided for inclusion on the Websites, including but not limited to directory entries and case studies, will be published at our sole discretion and we are entitled to edit, make additions, deletions, or refuse any entries.
8. Members breaching the terms of membership and / or acting in a manner that is likely to bring ORB into disrepute may have their Membership revoked with immediate effect without any refund of membership payments. The directors` decision will be final.
9. Any Member bringing ORB into disrepute shall indemnify ORB for any loss or damage suffered.
10. Prospective members completing their membership application online are deemed to have read, understood and accepted the Terms and Conditions.
11. Members may cancel their membership within seven days of their first payment and receive a full refund of any membership fees paid. Members are responsible for cancelling their GoCardless recurring payments.
12. Subject to clauses 1 to 10, membership is for a minimum of twelve months. One months’ notice of cancellation is required thereafter. Members are responsible for cancelling their GoCardless recurring payments.
13. Cancellation requests should be made to info@orbuk.org
14. Only fully paid-up bona fide Members will be included in The Responsible Business Directory.
15. Any Member in arrears or otherwise breaching any terms of membership may have the directory entry removed immediately. (However, if you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact us so we can work with you.)
16. All directory entries are subject to the terms of Membership.
17. The ORB Responsible Business Member logo should only be used during the membership period. If membership is cancelled for any reason whatsoever, logos should be removed from websites and email signatures within two months of cancellation of membership.
18. Notwithstanding clause 17, an extended mutually agreed period will be allowed for logos to be removed from stationery, packaging and/or vehicles
19. Information provided by the Questionnaire may be collated and used anonymously for statistical purposes.
20. Copying, reproduction or any other use of the ORB Questionnaire is strictly prohibited without express permission from ORB.
21. All members of ORB are legal members of the company and as such have a legal liability to £1, being the amount that each member undertakes to contribute to the assets of The Organisation in the event of it being wound up while a current member or within one year after membership has ceased for:
(a) payment of The Organisation’s debts and liabilities contracted before he ceases to be a member,
(b) payment of the costs, charges and expenses of winding up, and
(c) adjustment of the rights of the contributories among themselves.
View the full Articles of Association for more information
EURO RATES FOR IRISH MEMBERS
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