1 These terms and conditions (the ‘Terms’) 

These Terms will apply when you (also referred to as an ‘attendee’) make a booking for a place on any of our conferences, seminars, courses and, where applicable, Online Events as defined in paragraph 11 (collectively, the ‘Events’) as listed on our website (‘Website’).

Please read these Terms before booking an Event, as by booking an Event, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

We may amend these Terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes to our internal policies. These Terms were last updated in June 2023.

2 Who we are and how to contact us 

We are The Physiological Society (‘The Society’, ‘We’ or ‘Us’), a registered charity with registration number 211585 and company limited by guarantee with registration number 00323575.

You can contact Us by email at events@physoc.org or by telephoning 020 7269 5710.

3 Booking an Event

You can register to attend an Event via our Website. This is known as a ‘Booking Request’.

In some instances, certain Events will only be available to Members of The Society. Where this is the case, this will be specified on the page for that Event on our Website.

A contract between the attendee and The Society will only be formed when we send you a booking confirmation by email and receive full payment, unless the Event is free of change, from you in accordance with paragraph 4 below.

If We are unable to accept your Booking Request, for example if the Event has been overbooked, we will inform you of this by email and we will not charge you for the Event.

4 Payment

The fee for an Event (the ‘Fee’) will be displayed on our Website. Fees are exempt from VAT unless otherwise indicated.

Fees are liable to change at any time, but changes will not affect bookings in respect of which We have already sent you a booking confirmation, except, for example, in cases where We have made an error in the pricing for that Event.

You can pay for your booking online by credit and debit card. Your payment will be processed by a secure third-party payment processor.

You must pay all Fees in full and in cleared funds within 30 days of the submission of your Booking Request. If you submit your Booking Request less than 30 days before the Event, then payment of all Fees must be made in full and in cleared funds as soon as possible before attending the event.

The Society reserves the right to cancel any Booking Request before the start of the Event if all Fees due have not been paid by the relevant time.

In the event of cancellation of a Booking Request by The Society for non-payment, the charges set out in paragraph 8 below shall apply.

5 Substitution of attendee

Appropriate substitutions may be made at any time. If you wish to substitute an attendee, please contact The Society as soon as possible.

6 Dietary requirements

Please let Us know if you have any dietary restrictions or special considerations, and We will do our best to accommodate you. If you have any dietary requirements, please indicate these during Step 3 of the registration process or email Us. We will make every effort to accommodate dietary restrictions; however, there is no guarantee that We will be able to accommodate all food intolerances and/or special diets. It is the attendee’s responsibility to let Us know if they have any food allergies or restrictions at least 14 days before the start of the Event.

7 Joining instructions

You will receive an email from Us with joining instructions by the deadline set out on the relevant page for the Event on our Website.  

8 Cancellation by you  

Bookings cancelled more than 28 working days prior to the start of the Event will be refunded in full using the same method of payment.

Bookings cancelled within 28 working days of the start of the Event will not be refunded. All cancellations, by individuals or groups, must be given in writing (by letter or email) to The Society.

9 Cancellation by The Society 

The Society reserves the right to cancel an Event at any time and at its sole discretion. In the case of such cancellation, The Society will refund any Fees paid, direct to the attendee upon proof of purchase. This refund will be the full extent of The Society’s liability to the attendee arising from such cancellation.

In the event of cancellation, The Society will use reasonable endeavours to alert those who have booked to attend an Event, and details of any cancellation will be posted on our Website. Attendees are responsible for checking this information before the Event.

10 Changes to the Event

The Society reserves the right to make alterations to the programme, date and/or venue of the Event at any time without prior notice. 

11 Online Events

This paragraph 11 will apply (in addition to the remainder of these Terms, as applicable) where an Event is fully or partially hosted online (an ‘Online Event’). Online Events include, but are not limited to, webinars and virtual conferences.

The Society reserves the right to change an in-person Event (meaning a conference, seminar or course) to an Online Event if advice from the authorities suggests doing so (for example, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic). Attendees, speakers and exhibitors will be notified by email of any changes as soon as possible. If an attendee can no longer attend the Event, then paragraph 8 will apply.

The Society uses third party online platforms (e.g. Zoom) to host our Online Events. We are not liable for problems that occur as a result of use of such platforms. By registering for an Online Event, you agree to abide by the relevant online providers’ terms and conditions.

In advance of the Online Event, The Society will either directly share a URL of the meeting (for example, the Zoom meeting) with you or forward the meeting invitation to you.

Online platforms provide The Society with post-Online Event information on attendee participation and interaction (e.g. attendance, viewing numbers and Q&A and polls data). This data will be used for internal reporting, as well as for the purpose of awarding certificates of attendance.

Participation can be affected by local issues, such as internet access, and We are not responsible for resolving these issues. We do not provide technical support and each attendee is responsible for setting up their equipment.

Any links to external resources or materials sent by speakers or other attendees via the platform are opened at the attendees’ own risk. We are not liable for any issues occurring from opening these links.

Online Events may be recorded. Where this is the case it will be announced in advance of, and at the beginning of, the Online Event.

12 Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights in materials provided to you during or for the purposes of an Event (including but not limited to any notes, slides or articles) are the property of The Society or the relevant Event speakers.

Neither the whole nor any part of an Online Event may be copied, recorded, reproduced, distributed or transmitted to a third party by any means whatsoever without first obtaining our consent in writing.

Extracts from an Online Event, and any materials used in an Event may only be used or quoted with our prior permission (which is at our sole discretion) and provided We are fully credited.

13 Liability 

Where Events involve external speakers, their views may not represent The Society’s. We will do our best to ensure all information provided is correct at the time of the Event but We are not liable for any consequences arising from errors or omission.

Attendees are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing the venue and/or accommodation. They should insure any property they bring into the venue/accommodation, and such property is brought into the venue/accommodation at their own risk.

Subject to the other provisions of this section, The Society will only be liable to attendees for direct losses suffered due to the negligent acts or omissions of The Society. The Society’s total liability for these losses is limited to the Fees paid by the attendee to The Society for the Event.

The Society shall not be liable (whether such liability arises due to negligence, breach of contract, misrepresentation, or otherwise) for any direct losses or damages not stated above or for any indirect or consequential losses or damages howsoever arising. This shall include, but not be limited to, loss of use or of any profit, business or data, or any loss of use or damage suffered as a result of an action brought by a third party, even if such loss was reasonably foreseeable or The Society had been advised of the possibility of the attendee incurring the same.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to limit or exclude any liability which The Society is not able to limit or exclude by law.

The attendee shall indemnify The Society for any costs, losses or damages that The Society pays to the venue, accommodation or any other supplier connected to the event following (i) any breach by the attendee of the rules and regulations relating to the venue or accommodation; (ii) any damage done to the venue or accommodation or any equipment thereof by the attendee, including, but not limited to, any equipment provided for the Event; and (iii) any injury suffered by any person, animal or item caused by or in consequence of any act or omission of the attendee.

Attendees must put in place appropriate insurance to cover any costs, liabilities or other losses that they may suffer or incur arising out of these Terms (including the indemnity above), any cancellation of any Event for any reason or arising out of their inability to attend the Event for any reason (including any reason beyond their control). Attendees acknowledge that The Society shall not be liable for any costs or losses arising due to such cancellation or inability to attend, save to the extent expressly set out in these Terms , and therefore it is their responsibility to ensure they have appropriate insurance.

14 Non-discrimination policy

The Society will use its reasonable endeavours to comply with applicable laws in relation to discrimination on any grounds.

Accordingly, The Society is committed to providing equality of opportunity and fair treatment for all, and in dealing with the attendees will not intentionally discriminate on the basis of gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, religion, culture or disability.

We expect all Event attendees to act in a manner that complies with our Events Code of Conduct with regards to equality, diversity and inclusion. Details of this can be found here.

15 Data protection

Photography and filming will take place at Events and may be published on our Website, social media channels and marketing materials to promote The Society. Should you wish your photograph not to be taken, please contact Us.

Online Events may be recorded and placed on our Website and social media channels.

You can find further information about how The Society uses photographs and film taken at public events by reading our Fair Processing Notice on our Website.

The Society may also share your personal data with its Event sponsors and its sub-contractors in order for them to contact the attendees about other products and services which may be of interest to the attendees.

The Society may also share this information with providers of services relating to the Event (e.g. venues and hotels) for purposes of fulfilling your booking.

All information you provide to Us is stored on our secure platforms in the UK, EU and USA.

Full details of how We store and process your information are available in the Fair Processing Notice on our Website.

If you do not wish to receive further correspondence from The Society which does not relate to the Event then please email contactus@physoc.org.

16 Events outside of our control

The Society shall not be liable for the delay or cancellation of an Event where this is caused by a Force Majeure Event. A Force Majeure Event is any circumstance outside our reasonable control and includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• acts of God, flood, drought, earthquake or other natural disaster;
• epidemic or pandemic;
• terrorist attack, civil war, civil commotion or riots, war, threat of or preparation for war, armed conflict, imposition of sanctions, embargo, or breaking off of diplomatic relations;
• nuclear, chemical or biological contamination or sonic boom;
• any law or any action taken by a government or public authority, including without limitation imposing an export or import restriction, quota or prohibition;
• collapse of buildings, fire, explosion or accident;
• any labour or trade dispute, strikes, industrial action or lockouts; and
• interruption or failure of utility service.

Should We be prevented, hindered or delayed in or from performing any of our obligations under these Terms, our performance will be deemed to be suspended for the period that the Force Majeure Event continues. We will use our reasonable endeavours to find a solution by which our obligations under these Terms may be performed despite the Force Majeure Event. If the Force Majeure Event persists and We are required to cancel the Event, paragraph 9 will apply.

17 General

If any provision of these Terms is found by any court or competent authority to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed not to be a part of these Terms and this shall not affect the enforceability of the remainder of these Terms.

Unless there has been a substitution in accordance with paragraph 5, these Terms shall not be enforceable by a third party as defined in the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between The Society and attendee and supersede and extinguish all previous agreements, promises, assurances, warranties, representations and understandings between them, whether written or oral, relating to its subject matter.

Each party agrees that it shall have no remedies in respect of any statement, representation, assurance or warranty (whether made innocently or negligently) that is not set out in this agreement. Each party agrees that it shall have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation or negligent misstatement based on any statement these Terms.

These Terms and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.

Each party irrevocably agrees that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with these Terms or their subject matter or formation.