Membership Terms
PLEASE READ THESE MEMBERSHIP TERMS OF USE (THE “MEMBER TERMS”) CAREFULLY. BY CLICKING “JOIN”, AND/OR SUBMITTING THE MEMBERSHIP PAYMENT YOU REPRESENT THAT IN ADDITION TO THE GENERAL TERMS OF USE , YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THESE MEMBER TERMS; YOU MEET THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED BELOW; AND, YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE MEMBER TERMS AND ALL TERMS INCLUDED BY REFERENCE. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT ANY PART OF THESE MEMBER TERMS, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PROCEED WITH THE MEMBERSHIP PAYMENT OR BECOME A MEMBER.
Capitalised terms not defined herein shall, unless otherwise indicated herein, have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the General Terms of Use.
1. Summary of Membership Terms (this summary paragraph is provided only as a courtesy and does not constitute the full agreement between the you and WWOOF and/or WWOOF United Kingdom, please read the General Terms of Use and this Membership Terms fully and carefully before using the members and/or becoming a member):
Worldwide Opportunities On Organic Farms, United Kingdom’s (“WWOOF United Kingdom”) function is limited to providing the WWOOF platform through which current members may interact. WWOOF United Kingdom shall not be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage that can result from the use of the member. By joining, you agree to release, indemnify, assume the defence of (if requested), and hold harmless WWOOF United Kingdom and its directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all liability, loss, wage claims, workers compensation claims, damages, costs or expense (including travel expenses or attorney’s fees). You are aware of local labour laws, which apply to you, and will be in compliance with them. You agree to produce suitable identification for membership verification upon request.
WWOOFers: By joining WWOOF United Kingdom, you agree to the following: You will contact each host you would like to visit in advance, and to leave immediately if requested to do so. In addition, you understand that you are solely responsible for all of your transportation to and from the host, regardless of the circumstances. Please read Section 11 of these Member Terms for additional responsibilities to which you agree as a WWOOFer.
Hosts: By joining WWOOF United Kingdom, you agree to the following: You will follow all the host guidelines contained in Section 12 of these Member Terms. You recognise that WWOOFing is a cultural and educational exchange, and not a labour source. You understand that it is your responsibility to investigate farmers, homeowners, and other insurance options to find the best fit for your needs. Please read section 12 of these Member Terms for additional host terms for which you agree to be responsible.
By joining, all members further agree to follow WWOOF United Kingdom’s membership guidelines included in the present Membership Terms: WWOOFers spend about 20 – 30 hours each week helping out on a host farm, learn about organic farming and sustainable agriculture, and receive room and board during their visit – with no money exchanged between hosts and WWOOFers.
1. Eligibility, registration, and profiles:
1.1 Age. You must be at least 16 years old to become a member. By registering as a member, you represent that you are over 16.
1.2 Member registration: as a member, upon payment and registration, you agree to (a) provide accurate, truthful, current and complete information when creating your profile; (b) maintain and promptly update your profile information; (c) maintain the security of your profile by protecting your password and restricting access to your profile; (d) promptly notifying WWOOF United Kingdom if you discover or otherwise suspect any security breaches related to the members; and (e) take responsibility for all activities that occur on your profile and accept all risks of any authorised or unauthorised access. You may not re-register if we have previously banned you.
1.3 Safety and security. For the safety and security of all users, WWOOF United Kingdom does not allow individuals convicted of a felony involving violence, sexual misconduct, or property damage to participate in the WWOOF United Kingdom program. However individuals may apply for an exception to this prohibition if they believe their individual circumstances warrant an exception. In that case, the applicant should provide WWOOF United Kingdom with details substantiating their request for an exception (e.g. court records demonstrating the conviction was long ago, references indicating an applicant’s suitability for the platform, etc.). Each application for an exception will, in WWOOF United Kingdom’s sole discretion, be evaluated and considered. If we receive notification that you or the individual having a joint membership account to access the service, “your WWOOFing partner”, or anyone in your household (for hosts), are in violation of this Members Terms, we reserve the right to revoke your membership immediately. If a potential member feels that their circumstances warrant further consideration, contact us using the link at the bottom of our website and provide a written explanation.
This information will be reviewed by a committee with regard to the safety of our members. Failure to provide further explanation, falsification, or omission of data will result in denial of or revocation of membership.
1.4 Sharing and transferring of profiles. You may only share a profile if you register for a joint account. Each individual member must use their legal name when registering for identification purposes. Names on the accounts cannot be changed. The only other allowance of a shared account is when minors wish to use the member with their parent or legal guardian. Not properly registering everyone in your party is cause for membership revocation. In order to preserve member accountability, no member may have more than one account. If an account expires and a member wishes to renew, they must renew their previous account. Members should notify us of account theft or of unauthorised use.
1.5 Visas and immigration. If you are travelling as a foreign national, please be aware that WWOOF United Kingdom cannot help you obtain any immigration document and you are responsible for understanding the local laws prior to entering. WWOOF United Kingdom is not responsible for any problems you may experience with immigration. If you have questions about how local laws apply you should always seek legal advice.
1.6 Insurance. WWOOFers are required to have travel, medical, or other adequate insurance, and hosts may ask WWOOFers to confirm their coverage before they arrive. All hosts need to have the appropriate insurance to accept volunteers, which may be covered in their homeowner’s policy. It is the responsibility of all members to be insured and to inquire with one another about each of their insurance obligations prior to visiting. WWOOF United Kingdom shall not be liable, nor responsible for any insurance requirement of any member. You acknowledge that you assume responsibility for any risks.
1.7 Termination: We may, at our sole discretion, with or without cause (any such cause may include your breach of these Membership Terms and/or the General Terms of Use), and with or without prior notice cancel your access to our members.
1.8 You have sole responsibility when interacting with other members. WWOOF United Kingdom’s function is limited to supplying the current directory so that members can learn about one another, communicate with one another, and arrange visits. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other members. We do not monitor interactions between you and other members as a matter of course and have no obligation to do so. We do however reserve the right to do so if we wish.
1.9 Identity Verification. We do not warrant that verification, identity or background checks conducted on members (if any) will identify past misconduct or prevent future misconduct. Any references to a member being “verified” (or similar language) indicate only that the member or WWOOF United Kingdom has completed a relevant verification or identification process and nothing else. You are solely responsible for determining the identity and suitability of others with whom you may interact through our services. WWOOF United Kingdom does not represent or warrant that our tools are sufficient to determine whether it is appropriate for you to interact with any other member. Further, we do not endorse any persons who use or register for our services. We do not investigate or verify any member’s reputation, conduct, morality, criminal background, or any information members may submit to the service. We encourage you to take precautions when interacting with other members, particularly when meeting a stranger in person for the first time. Furthermore, you agree to produce suitable identification if requested by a host or WWOOFer for membership verification.
1.10 Members’ content restrictions. Parts of the website enable you to provide feedback, text, photos, audio, video, information, and other content (collectively, “content”). You are solely responsible and liable for any content that you submit, post or transmit via our members and if any of your content violates or infringes the intellectual property or privacy rights of any third party. If content includes personal information, our policy describes how we use that personal information. We reserve the right to remove any content, in whole or part, that violates these Membership Terms and/or the General Terms of Use, or for any other reason at our sole discretion.
The following content is not allowed:
● discriminatory, obscene, harassing, deceptive or violent content;
● personal attacks or insults, profanity, inappropriate, illegal, lewd, or unrelated content, hate speech, sexual references, intentionally inflammatory rhetoric, or defamation (including libel);
● personal contact information, including without limitations name, phone number and websites in profile descriptions since these are visible to the public;
● unsolicited promotions, political campaigning, advertising or solicitations, without our prior written consent;
● private or personal information about another person, unless such person has agreed to the disclosure of this information;
● viruses, corrupted data or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files viruses, cancel bots, Trojan horses, harmful code, flood pings, denial-of-service attacks, packet or IP spoofing, forged routing or electronic mail address information or similar methods or technology;
● content which may infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual or proprietary right of any third party.
By posting content, you represent and warrant that you have the lawful right to post, distribute and reproduce such content;
We do not monitor content as a matter of course. If you become aware of content that violates these Membership Terms and/or the General Terms of Use, contact us using the link at the bottom of our website to report.
2. Responsibility: The responsibility of WWOOF United Kingdom is limited to providing a means of contact between hosts and WWOOFers. Any arrangements made are entirely the members’ own responsibility.
3. Respect. You further agree to be respectful to hosts, WWOOFers, the host’s family and their property, and WWOOF United Kingdom’s employees.
4. Respond. In an effort to encourage good communication between members you agree to respond to all reasonable messages from other members. You further agree to respond to any direct communication from WWOOF United Kingdom administration in a timely manner.
5. Messages from WWOOF: In agreeing to be a member you accept that we will contact you, along with other members, in order to advise on issues important for the functioning of WWOOF United Kingdom, new regulations, warnings, up-coming related events, etc.
6. Delivery Policy: WWOOF United Kingdom endeavours to review and activate new host memberships within 1-5 business days though your application may take more or less time. WWOOFer memberships are activated immediately upon receiving payment. Once activated, both memberships provide access to create a profile and view the full online member directory, allowing hosts and WWOOFers to connect for opportunities to learn about sustainable agriculture in the United Kingdom.
7. Refund policy. A refund may be available upon request, up to 14 days from purchase date based on a case-by-case review. If any membership policies have been violated within these 14 days then you void your right to a refund. If you have contacted a host within the 14 days, this will be deemed as accessing the service and a refund will not be issued.
8. Pricing: WWOOFer membership price is 25 GBP (single) or 35 GBP (joint) providing display of your profile on the WWOOFer directory and access to the online host directory for 1 year from date of purchase. Host membership price is 35 GBP providing display of your profile on the host directory for 1 year.
9. Reporting misconduct: If you interact with anyone through our members who you feel is acting or has acted inappropriately, including but not limited to offensive, violent or sexually inappropriate behaviour, who steals from you or engages in any other disturbing conduct, we strongly encourage you to immediately report such person to the appropriate authorities and to contact us. Please note that although we encourage you to report misconduct, we are not responsible or liable for our members’ actions and we are not obligated to take any action in regards to any misconduct. Any reports of inappropriate behaviour between members will be investigated by WWOOF United Kingdom, and may be cause for membership being revoked. To make a complaint, please email us.
10. WWOOFers and hosts duties: WWOOFers spend 20 – 30 hours each week (exact pattern agreed between participating parties) helping out on a host farm, learning about organic methodologies and sustainable agriculture, and receiving room and board during their visit. No money is exchanged between hosts and WWOOFers.
11. WWOOFers: As a WWOOFer you agree to the following:
11.1 Transportation and expenses. You are solely responsible for all of your transportation to and from the host’s location and any other expenses, regardless of the circumstances.
11.2 Arranging a visit. You agree to contact each host you would like to visit in advance to arrange a visit, and to leave immediately if requested to do so.
11.3 Change of plans. You agree to notify hosts well in advance if due to unforeseen circumstances you cannot honour your commitment to visit them. If you are a ‘no-show’, hosts may leave negative reviews on your profile page. Additionally, you understand that WWOOF United Kingdom may cancel your membership if we receive reports of three no-shows.
11.4 Respect. You agree to respect each host’s property and follow all farm rules while visiting.
11.5 Participation. You agree that you are interested in learning more about organic agriculture while participating in the daily life of your host farmer.
12. Hosts: as a host, you agree to the following:
12.1 Not a source of labour. You recognise that WWOOFers participate in the program with a cultural and educational purpose, and shall not be considered a labour source. You understand that it is your responsibility to investigate farmer, homeowner and other insurance options to find the best fit for your needs.
12.2 Being a host. You agree to practise organic or sustainable growing methods; to provide an educational experience and share knowledge with WWOOFers; to provide adequate food for three meals per day; to provide suitable and sanitary living accommodations; ask WWOOFers to help for no more than 30 hours per week; and to keep your profile up-to-date with accurate and detailed information about WWOOFer activities.
12.3 Animal welfare. In addition to practising organic or sustainable growing methods, you agree to the humane treatment of any animals on your property and understand that reports of animal neglect may be cause for membership cancellation.
12.4 Religious or spiritual affiliation. You further agree to disclose on your profile and in communication with WWOOFers if your host farm is also a religious or spiritual organisation. You will also disclose if any religious practices, events or behaviours are required of visitors to the farm.
12.5 Safety. As a host, you are responsible for WWOOFers safety while they are visiting your farm. If a WWOOFer becomes injured or ill while visiting, you are responsible for helping them seek medical attention and contacting our office for support if needed. A WWOOFer should receive support in recovering from illness / injury by remaining at your farm until able to safely leave, within reason.
13. Termination: We may, at our sole discretion and with or without a refund, with or without cause (any such cause may include your breach of these Membership Terms and/or the General Terms of Use), and with or without prior notice: (1) cancel your access to our member, (b) block or remove your membership and profile and all related information and files.
