Terms and Conditions written in accordance with the Rules of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain
MEMBERSHIP ELIGIBILITY
(i) A Full Member shall be any person 18 years of age and over who has achieved one or more of the following statuses, subject to the discretion of the Executive Council
(a) Has written one or more pieces of work under contract for which payment has been received at or above the minimum rates as defined by the current agreements negotiated by the Guild.
(b) Has received a gross income from non-journalistic writing in any single year which totals more than the amount defined in Appendix F (£5,000).
(c) Under exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of the relevant Craft Committee as approved by the Executive Council
(ii) An Affiliate Member shall be any such individual person or corporate body as an agent, technical adviser, researcher or consultant, engaged in a professional relationship with any Writer. Eligibility for Affiliate Membership shall be at the discretion of the Executive Council.
(iii) Honorary Members shall be such persons as the Executive Council may from time to time deem fit, subject to confirmation at the next following Annual General Meeting of the Guild.
(iv) A Life Member shall be a person who has been admitted to Life Membership of the Guild at any time up to 10 June 2008.
(v) A Candidate Member shall be any person intending to qualify for full membership, but who does not yet qualify for any other category of membership. A Candidate Member who becomes eligible for any other category of membership must transfer to that category of membership.
(vi) A Student Member shall be any person 18 years of age or over studying for a course at BA level or below who has never previously been a member of the Guild.
Admission Procedure
(i) Application for admission to Membership of the Guild shall be made on the appropriate form prescribed from time to time by the Executive Council.
(ii) Application must be accompanied by appropriate evidence of eligibility, for example:
(a) A copy of any contract(s) relied upon under Rule 5.1(i);
(b) A declaration from a Full Member in good standing or an Agent who is an Affiliate Member confirming eligibility under Rule 5.1(i).
(iii) The Executive Council may accept or decline any application for admission to membership of the Guild and in declining an application shall inform the applicant in writing.
(iv) Affiliate Members may be admitted to the Guild by invitation of or by application to, and at the discretion of, the Executive Council.
(v) The day upon which an applicant whose application has been accepted pays a first subscription shall be the date on which membership of the Guild is deemed to have commenced. On payment of a first subscription the new member shall receive confirmation in writing of their membership of the Writers’ Guild, this confirmation will be sent to the member within three days of the commencement of their membership. Within two weeks of joining the Guild or renewing their membership members shall will receive a membership card and a copy of the Rules of the Guild.
(vi) Should the Executive Council decline any application for membership, any fee or subscription previously paid to the Guild by the applicant shall be refunded in full.
Withdrawn Status
(i) A Full Member may at any time apply in writing to the Executive Council for Withdrawn Status and a member granted Withdrawn Status shall not be required to pay a subscription and shall have no claim on the services of the Guild nor be able to exercise any of the rights of Full Membership.
(ii) The Executive Council may at its discretion grant Withdrawn Status for any period not exceeding five years to any Full Member on being satisfied that the member has ceased to work as a writer.
(iii) A Full Member who has taken up residence in the country of an affiliated Guild and who has joined the local Guild shall on making application to the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain automatically be accorded Withdrawn Status while remaining a member of the local Guild, except where deriving a significant income from royalties and residuals earned under agreements negotiated and maintained by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.
(iv) A Full Member accorded Withdrawn Status may apply at any time for reinstatement as a Full Member without the payment of a fee.
Incidence of Membership
(i) A Full Member who is in benefit, or a Life Member may be nominated to serve as an Officer of the Guild or as a member of the Executive Council. A member engaged in any capacity with input into company policies, the hire and fire of writers, and/or the determination of fees and acceptance or rejection of work, must declare this at the time of nomination and the details shall be circulated to the membership and published on any ballot paper.
(ii) A Full Member who is in benefit, or a Life Member may vote in Guild elections and may speak and vote on any matter at a General Meeting of the Guild and shall be entitled to the services and benefits of the Guild.
(iii) A Candidate Member who is in benefit shall be entitled to attend General Meetings of the Guild and may speak on any matter but may not vote; and shall be entitled to the services and benefits of the Guild at the discretion of the Executive Council.
(iv) An Affiliate Member in benefit shall be entitled to attend or to be represented at General Meetings of the Guild, as appropriate, and may speak on any matter but may vote only on the presentation and approval of the Accounts.
(v) A Student Member who is in benefit shall be entitled to attend General Meetings of the Guild and may speak on any matter but may not vote; and shall be entitled to services and benefits of the Guild at the discretion of the Executive Council, with the exception of contract vetting, legal advice and casework. Student Members asking for these services must transfer to an appropriate level of membership.
DUTIES OF MEMBERS
All categories of membership shall be bound to further to the best of their ability the objects, interests and influence of the Guild. They shall comply with the Rules and with the instructions of Council and accept their authority as binding and engage not to act in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the Guild.
Obligations
(i) Membership cards must be produced on request at all General Meetings of the Guild. They are not transferable and must not be used by any person other than the member.
(ii) No member shall enter into a contract or induce another member to enter into a contract at less than the rates stipulated in the relevant Guild agreement nor sell or license uses of the work in violation of the conditions laid down in the agreement irrespective of whether the party with whom the agreement is made is a signatory to the agreement or not.
(iii) No member shall accept a credit or induce any other member to accept a credit that misrepresents the member’s contribution. Members shall abide by the terms and conditions of the applicable credits agreements and accept the decisions of committees of arbitration appointed by the Executive Council or in accordance with the provisions of Guild agreements.
(iv) No member shall pass confidential Guild information to non-members.
(v) No member shall make any statement, whether orally or in writing, to the press, television or radio, representing such statement as Guild policy, unless expressly authorised so to do by the Executive Council.
(vi) Members shall keep the Guild office notified in writing of any change of address and unless and until such notification has been received by the Guild a member’s address for all Guild purposes shall be deemed to be the last address of the member appearing in the Guild’s register of members.
(vii) Any work undertaken by a member in pursuance of the profession of a writer must be covered by a written contract which shall be produced on request to the General Secretary.
(viii) Writers must register with the Guild their writing name together with any or all pseudonyms used or those they intend to use.
(ix) Members accepting writing commissions overseas shall notify the Guild of the nature of the commission and of their overseas address.
(x) Writers visiting for purposes of work countries with which the Guild has an Affiliation Agreement shall register on arrival with the Guild of local jurisdiction.
(xi) It is incumbent on all Writers before signing a contract to ensure that the other party is not an individual or company or organisation named in the List of an Affiliated Guild.
(xii) All Writers shall complete such instruments as may be necessary to authorise the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society to exercise on that member’s behalf in all areas those rights which can only be exercised collectively and to collect and forward to the member monies arising from the exercise of such rights, but without prejudice to the powers of the Guild to exercise collective rights under Rule 24.
(xiii) The Guild does not tolerate bullying and harassment. Members will behave in a respectful and comradely manner in all their dealings with fellow Guild members, officers and officials, and avoid abusive behaviour, expressions and defamatory statements.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
All members shall pay an annual subscription to the Guild, except that for Life Members the payment of subscriptions shall be voluntary.
The level of subscription for Full Members shall be related to the member’s gross income earned from writing in the immediately preceding calendar year
Full Members whose annual earnings from writing were less than £18,000 shall pay a subscription of £198.
Full Members whose annual earnings from writing were £18,000 or more shall pay a subscription determined by a writing income banding system to be set and reviewed by the Executive Council at its discretion up to a maximum subscription of £2,000.
Should the E.C. wish to increase any band by more than 2% in the 12 months between AGMs, the following AGM must approve or reject the increase by a simple yes/no vote. Where a no vote is recorded the increase in any band cannot be more than the 2%.
When calculating the subscription due a Full member may deduct:
(a) Payments made to subcontracted writers which have been included in the member’s own total earnings;
(b) Earnings from professional writing under the jurisdiction of any other affiliate of the International Affiliation of Writers’ Guilds, any such deductions being subject to the payment of the minimum basic subscription £198.
Other Membership Categories
The level of subscription payable by Candidate Members, Student Members, Group Members and Affiliate Members shall be decided annually at the discretion of the Executive Council.
Payment
Subscriptions shall become due and payable immediately upon joining and thereafter on the annual anniversary of joining save that a member may elect to pay by instalments.
Action upon non-payment
(i) Any member who fails to make payment on the due date and who persists in non-payment of a subscription or part thereof for a period of three months shall be advised in writing that there will be a period of twenty-one days from the date of such advice within which the subscription or part thereof must be paid
(ii) A member who fails to pay shall at the end of the twenty-one-day period and without further notice become out-of-benefit.
(iii) A member who is out-of-benefit shall be precluded from taking part in or voting at any General Meeting or election of the Guild or any meeting of the Executive Council or of a duly constituted committee of the Guild and shall not be entitled to any of the services of the Guild nor to seek the advice and assistance of the Guild.
(iv) Any member who fails to make payment on the due date and who persists in non-payment of a subscription or part thereof for a period of six months shall and without further notice be suspended from membership.
(v) Any member suspended from membership shall be precluded from taking part in or voting at any General Meeting or election of the Guild or any meeting of the Executive Council or of a duly constituted Committee of the Guild and shall not be entitled to any of the services of the Guild nor to seek the advice and assistance of the Guild and shall be removed from the mailing list of the Guild.
(vi) A member’s liability to pay a subscription shall continue throughout the period during which the member is out-of-benefit or suspended.
(vii) A member who is out-of-benefit may become in benefit by paying all arrears of subscription.
(viii) A suspended member may become in benefit by paying all arrears of subscription or subscriptions and a penalty of £10.
(ix) A suspended member who fails to pay all arrears of subscriptions within six months of the date of suspension shall be struck off the register of members of the Guild and shall be so notified in writing to the last recorded address and shall thereby cease to be a member of the Guild.
Special Circumstances
The Executive Council may allow a suspension or reduction of a subscription payable by any member upon a resolution carried by a majority of the members present and voting at any meeting of the Executive Council that there are special circumstances warranting such suspension or reduction.
Discounts and waivers
The Executive Council may offer discounts on or waivers of subscriptions in connection with campaigns or promotions to recruit and retain members.
Welfare Fund
There shall be maintained a Welfare Fund supported by monies donated voluntarily by members and by such grants as the Executive Council may from time to time see fit to make and the Fund shall be administered by the Council for benevolent purposes by way of grants or loans or in such other ways as the Council may decide for the benefit of members in need.
Cancellation and Refunds of Subscriptions
(i) A member is entitled to cancel their membership at any time, if they wish to do so then they need to notify the Guild in writing that they wish to cancel their membership.
(ii) A member is entitled to a full refund of subscriptions within the first 30 days of membership as long as he/she has not utilised any union services (see clause (iii) during that time.
(iii) Union services are contract vetting, legal advice and/or representation from either a union employee or official.
(iv) If the member has benefited from the union services then the cost of these services may be deducted from the amount the member is claiming back from the Guild, if the cost of the services is greater than the subscription received by the Guild then the member will not be entitled to a refund. The costs of these services vary but evidence of these costs would be made available to the member in these circumstances.
(v) After 30 days of membership any agreed refund will be on a pro rata basis subject to clause (iv).
(vi) Except refunds attributed to clause (vi) of the Admissions Procedure, all other refunds need to be applied for in writing to the General Secretary explaining the reason for the refund.
(vii) All refunds need to be authorised by the General Secretary or Deputy/Assistant General Secretary of the union and will be paid by bank transfer.
(viii) All refunds will be paid to the member within two weeks of the refund being authorised.
Correct as of 11 July 2019