MEMBERTERMS &
CONDITIONS

September 2023

CONTENTS
TERM NO
CONDITION TITLE
A. OPERATIONALA1INTRODUCTIONA2PURPOSEA3SCOPE
A4ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATIONA5ANNUAL REPORTA6VOTING AT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS (AGM’s)
B. REGISTRATION & CONTINUAL COMPLIANCE
B1
PRACTITIONER PUBLIC REGISTER
B2
CONTINUAL COMPLIANCE
B3
OTHER PUBLIC REGISTERS
B4OTHER CATEGORIES OF MEMBERSHIP
B5
PRESENT A UNITED FRONT
C. MARKETING YOUR MEMBERSHIP STATUSC1USE OF SUFFIX AFTER YOUR NAMEC2TERMS OF USE OF LOGO
D. REFUSING OR TERMINATING MEMBERSHIP
D1
REFUSING AN APPLICATIOND2TERMINATING MEMBERSHIPD3
COMPLAINTS RAISED AGAINST YOU
D4
DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURED5APPEALS PROCEDURED6DISCLAIMER
E. DATA PROTECTIONE1PERSONAL INFORMATIONE2DATA PROTECTION
E3DATA RETENTION
E4SHARING YOUR PERSONAL DATAE5INFORMATION DISPLAYED ON THE REGISTER
E6
SECURITY AND STORAGE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATAE7ACCESSING YOUR INFORMATION
E8CONTACTING OTHER MEMBERS
F. ADMINISTRATIONF1MEMBERSHIP FEESF2
MEMBERSHIP TERMF3RENEWING MEMBERSHIPF4PROVIDE ACCURATE & COMPLETE CONTACT DETAILSF5UPDATING YOUR DETAILSF6PROCESSING MEMBERSHIPF7CONFIRMATIONF8MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATES
F9
REPLACEMENT ORDERSF10
ACCOUNTS & INVOICESF11LOST POSTF12DAMAGED POSTF13REISSUING
F14MAGAZINE
F15
CUSTOMER SERVICEF16COMMUNICATIONS WITH STAFF
F17
CONFIDENTIALITY
F18
RAISING A COMPLAINT
F19
FEEDBACKF20
MEMBERS AREA
F21
NEWSLETTERS© International Federation of Aromatherapists

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A. OPERATIONS
1. INTRODUCTION
The International Federation of Aromatherapists (IFA) is the voluntary
regulator for aromatherapy operating worldwide. The IFA offers various
categories of membership, dependent on prior learning, with a rangeof benefits.
2. PURPOSE
The purpose of this document is to set out the terms and conditions ofmembership, which will be referred to in the case of any dispute between the
IFA and a member.
The IFA reserves the right to amend or withdraw these terms and conditions
without prior notice.
3. SCOPE
This policy applies to all categories of membership including:
➢
➢
➢
➢
➢
➢
➢
➢

ASSOCIATECARERCORPORATEFELLOWFRIENDFULL
HONORARYPEOT

CORPORATE members, as a company rather than an individual, also haveother terms and conditions, which specifically apply to the way they conduct
their business which can be found here.

4. ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
All members of the IFA are bound by the IFA’s governing document – The
Articles of Association, which explains how the IFA operates. For clarity,
individuals on the register referred to as ‘registrants’ are also members of the
IFA. All members should familiarise themselves with the content of thisdocument.
5. ANNUAL REPORT
To view a copy of the IFA’s Annual Report click here. This report is uploaded
to the Charity Commission website each year in October.
© International Federation of Aromatherapists

36. VOTING AT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS (AGM’s)
If a resolution is proposed that will affect how the IFA operates this will be
put to the vote of the members at the AGM. See article 20 of The Articles of
Association.

B. REGISTERS & CONTINUAL COMPLIANCE
1. PRACTITIONER PUBLIC REGISTER
The categories of members listed on the practitioner register ‘find a therapist’are:➢ FULL➢ PEOT➢ ASSOCIATE
2. CONTINUAL COMPLIANCE
Those entered on the practitioner register must have met the national
occupational standards of practice in their work as a minimum, are of goodcharacter and are fit to practise.
You will be required to comply with the following throughout the
duration of your membership with the IFA:•

Code of Conduct, Ethics and Practice•Continual Professional Development Policy•

These Terms and Conditions of Membership•

Terms of Use of Logo Policy•

Terms of Use of Website Policy

You will also be required to declare that:•

You do not have a conviction or conditional caution that is unspent or
have declared these to the IFA to be considered before acceptance orrenewal.

•

You have not been subject to any disciplinary or civil proceedings
brought against you in relation to your practice or have declared these to
the IFA to be considered before acceptance or renewal.

•

You do not have any health issues that may impact your ability topractice or have declared these to the IFA to be considered before
acceptance or renewal.

© International Federation of Aromatherapists4•You hold professional indemnity insurance to practice in the UK or any
other such policy consistent with the rules of your country of residence.
You must also declare any successful claims made against yourinsurance to the IFA to be considered before acceptance or renewal.

•

You hold a valid first aid certificate if you are a sole trader. A first aid
appointed person (one day course) is the minimum requirement, for alist of provider’s and exemption policy click here.

•

You will provide evidence, upon request, of having gained 12 CPD points
within the year.

Please note if it is identified that a false declaration has been made the individual will be
removed from the membership.
You must•

Inform the IFA If there are any changes in circumstance to your initialdeclaration.

•

Co-operate if asked to provide any information that we require in order toperform our regulatory function.

3. OTHER PUBLIC REGISTERSa) CARER members are held on a separate register as they are nottrained to the national occupation standards (which is a level 3). They
are trained to a level 2 standard and offer gentle non-invasive
treatments for those with restrictive conditions e.g. hand and footmassage and cater to a niche market, for example in elderly homes.
b) CORPORATE members are held on a separate register (as they are notpractitioners).
c) STUDENT & FRIEND member categories are not listed on any public
register, as they are not yet qualified to practice.

4. OTHER CATEGORIES OF MEMBERSHIPThe IFA has two other categories of membership:
FELLOW:

Those selected from the IFA’s full membership category may beawarded, on assessment of individual merits and by vote of the© International Federation of Aromatherapists

5board of trustees, fellow membership for exemplary service tothe IFA.
HONORARY: Honorary membership status is awarded to people distinguishedwithin their own field, who have demonstrated support for the
IFA, its principles and aromatherapy.
Fellow and Honorary members are acknowledged and listed on the ‘member
achievements’ page of the IFA’s website.

5. PRESENT A UNITED FRONT
All members of the IFA, regardless of category of membership must:a) Present a united front to the public and not imply criticism of othermembers, colleagues or any other healthcare professionals or professions.
Regardless of if this is said orally in person or by telephone, in writing
posted in the public domain (which may bring criminal charges if
unjustified) or sent directly or indirectly to a client or a third party by
email or fax (which may also be accessed as per General Data Protection
Regulations);b) Ensure that aromatherapy is presented in an informed and uniform voice.
Members’ website, social media, articles, press releases and publications
must not contain any information promoting the oral ingestion of
essential oils or promote the unsafe or contraindicated use of essential
oils (e.g. applying essential oils neatly to the skin). The only exception iswhere a member is a medically qualified and registered doctor and anaromatherapist, with specific training in this area (usually found inFrance).

C. MARKETING YOUR MEMBERSHIP STATUS
1. USE OF SUFFIX AFTER NAME
Practitioner members may use the following post nominal letters after theirname: M.I.F.A
2. TERMS OF USE OF LOGO
When using an IFA quality mark to promote your membership status you
must comply with the Terms and Conditions of Use of Logo. Each category ofmembership is assigned its own logo (except for STUDENT & FRIEND
member categories), so the public can quickly identify to which category ofmembership of the IFA you belong.

© International Federation of Aromatherapists

6

The IFA encourages members to display the IFA Member logo, appropriate totheir category of membership, on their websites and promotional literature.
If FULL, PEOT & ASSOCIATE members who operate in the UK, may also
use the IFA PSA logo.

D. REFUSING OR TERMINATING MEMBERSHIP
1. REFUSING AN APPLICATIONThe Board of Trustees may refuse an application for membership if they
consider it to be in the best interests of the IFA to refuse the application.
Please see Article 10c of The Articles of Association.
2. TERMINATING MEMBERSHIPa) The Board of Trustees may terminate a member’s membership by aresolution of the directors if it is in the best interests of the charity that
his/her membership be terminated as per Article 11 of The Articles of
Association. Membership may be terminated for a variety of reasons.
b) Natural reasons for removal include:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Failure to meet obligations to remain on the register e.g. failure toacquire required CPD points (reasonable opportunity will be offered
to meet the obligations before removal).
If the member no longer wishes to be a member and bound by its
terms and conditions and notifies the IFA of withdrawal.
The member dies or the company (corporate members) ceases toexist.
The member is no longer fit to practice e.g. a medical condition thatprohibits their performance.
The member is no longer practising or taking a career break e.g. has
become pregnant – in which case they would be invited to downgrade
their membership to friend level.
Non-payment of annual subscription fees.

Members must ensure that all information they provide to the IFA is, tothe best of their knowledge, complete and accurate at the date ofapplication. Where relevant information is missing, omitted or the
information supplied is false or misleading, the IFA reserves the right toterminate membership without refund.
In such a case, the membership would be terminated due to breach ofobligation and would not usually be subject to the disciplinary procedurebut may be addressed through ‘consensual disposal’ as per theDisciplinary and Sanctions Policy.

© International Federation of Aromatherapists

7c) Unnatural reasons for removal:
If the IFA becomes aware that a member has purposefully breached or
circumnavigated IFA rules (e.g. Code of Conduct, Ethics and Practice,
Terms and Conditions of Membership, Terms of Use of Logo) or nondisclosure or a false declaration is made that could bring the IFA into
disrepute.
d) When membership terminates, all references to the IFA’s name and logo
must be removed from the individual’s practice/business, publications,promotional material, and websites no later than one month aftertermination. After this date, use of the logo will become an infringementof the IFA’s Intellectual Property Rights. The individual will also be namedon the ‘Misuse of IFA Status’ page until the infringement is removed toensure the public are not mislead as to your status.
3. COMPLAINTS RAISED AGAINST YOU
Please see the IFA’s Complaints Policy, which describes the procedure that
the IFA will follow if a complaint is raised against you.
The complaints procedure sets out the types of evidence required and whatcomplaints we can and cannot consider. These steps are taken before beingreferred to the formal disciplinary procedure, to reduce the likelihood offrivolous, vexatious or malicious complaints.
4. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE
A member will be removed from the membership by a resolution of thedirectors if it is in the best interests of the IFA that his/her membership beterminated following the disciplinary procedure.
This can be as a result of a complaint or the IFA being made aware of new
information, and therefore the member needs to account for their actions toremain registered.
Please see Disciplinary & Sanctions Policy, which describes the procedurethat the IFA will follow in this event.
The IFA has the right to display notification of sanctions and removal ofmembership where there has been a breach of the IFA Codes of Conduct,
Ethics and Practice for the protection of the public. Consensual disposal
outcomes will not necessarily be displayed.
5. APPEALS PROCEDURE
You may appeal a decision made by the IFA to terminate membership as per
the IFA’s Appeals Policy. Appeals must be lodged within 30 days of thedecision being made to terminate. Appeals can only be made if you are able to© International Federation of Aromatherapists

8demonstrate that the IFA has not applied its rules consistently, properly or
fairly, not simply because you are ‘unhappy’ with the decision.
6. DISCLAIMER
The IFA is the voluntary regulator for aromatherapists worldwide.
Membership of the IFA is granted to individuals in good faith that you will act
in accordance with our rules. By joining the IFA membership, you arevoluntarily agreeing to act in accordance with our rules to remain registered.
If you do not, the IFA has the right to terminate your membership.
IFA membership promotes practitioners’ services but does not guarantee
work. The IFA shall not be liable for any claims arising or levelled for damage
or loss caused by termination of membership. In completing the membership
application form the member has indemnified the IFA in respect of each andevery such claim and all actions, claims, costs, proceedings and demands inrespect thereof.

E. DATA PROTECTION
1. PERSONAL INFORMATION
In order for the IFA to perform its function we must obtain certain data fromyou, which will be handled in the following manner, as per the IFA’s Privacy
Policy for registrants.
Please note this policy is slightly different from the more general privacy
policy published on our website, which applies to general users of our
website.
2. DATA PROTECTION
The IFA treats personal information in accordance with the Data Protection
Act 1998 and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
as a registered data controller. Please see the IFA’s Data Protection Policy.
3. DATA RETENTION
Please see the IFA’s Data Retention and Disposal Policy, which describes thelength of time we hold your information for.
4. SHARING YOUR PERSONAL DATA
The IFA shares with the public the following information about members thatis held on one of our public registers (this does not apply to CORPORATE
members whose company details are displayed) so that the public may
contact you for a treatment and also to verify a member’s IFA status:•

Full name© International Federation of Aromatherapists

9

•
•
•
•
•

Qualification/Category of membership status
City, county, country and postcode of workplace (postcodes may bepartial)
Telephone number(s) (optional)
Email (optional)
Website (optional)

The IFA register(s) explicitly state that the only purpose of the information
provided, is to contact a member for a professional treatment. The IFA cannot
take responsibility for how the public use the information published on its
website. If you do receive unwanted calls or emails, then you should take theappropriate action by contacting the relevant authorities.
5. INFORMATION DISPLAYED ON THE REGISTER
It is the member’s responsibility to login to the member’s area and edit the
information displayed about them on the IFA register.
When an individual is approved for membership and effectively joins the IFA,
the IFA will initially import the individual’s details as inputted on our
database into our website, which will display on the register.
If your place of work is different from your home address (provided to the
IFA for correspondence) then you will need to login and change this. Changes
to your address and contact details on the website will not affect our
database. Similarly, if you want to change your contact or address details that
the IFA holds then you must email the office for us to update our database,accordingly.
You will only need to edit your information on the website once, unless the
IFA changes it website or your membership lapses, in which case your details
will need to be imported again.
For the website search facility to work effectively, if you do make changes toyour address, you must also update where the map is pointing to yourlocation, which is generated from your postcode. To do this you will need tochange the numbers entered under the field’s longitude and latitude. This canbe found by typing into google (or any other internet search engine) yourpostcode (or if you do not have a postcode your full address), click on ‘maps’
and you can then find the relevant numbers in the URL. For example, the
IFA’s address under maps generates the following URL:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/S+Ealing+Rd,+London+W5+4QJ/@5
1.499694,0.3085777,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x48760d934f8e130f:0x210ee7
ea6ae12411!8m2!3d51.4996574!4d-0.3064943
In red is the longitude
In purple is the latitude number© International Federation of Aromatherapists

106. SECURITY AND STORAGE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA
The IFA ensures that all its staff are trained to handle personal data and areaware of the responsibilities it entails. The IFA takes all necessary measures
to limit the opportunity for unauthorised access to personal data, accidental
loss or damage. The IFA stores member’s personal data on an external hard
drive secured by INVU who meet the stringent requirements of the Microsoft
Partner Program. The IFA is also registered with the Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO). If you have any concerns regarding how yourdata is being protected or believe there to have been a breach of dataprotection obligations, please put this in writing to the IFA head office to theattention of the IFA’s Data Protection Officer.
7. ACCESSING YOUR INFORMATION
Members may request to receive the personal information the IFA holds
about them known a ‘subject access request’, which applies in the UK andEurope under GDPR Regulations. To request this, you must send a letter tothe IFA head office accompanied by a payment of £10.00 for administration.
8. CONTACTING OTHER MEMBERSa) The IFA encourages members to interact with one another for mutual
support and to talk about issues affecting their work. Once registered werecommend you send a request to join the IFA Members Facebook Group.
The IFA, will also at times, offer various networking opportunities such as,
events, conferences and provide a list of regional group coordinators in
the member’s area.
b) Please note however, we cannot provide the personal details of othermembers to you as per GDPR Regulations. You may however, postcomments in the member’s facebook forum to invite other members inyour region to get in contact with you. Alternatively, you can apply tostart a regional group for members in your local area, which will be
published on the IFA’s website to generate interest. The Regional Group
Application Form can be found in the member’s area.
c) Trustees and committee members of the IFA (who may or may not bemembers of the IFA) also have a right to their privacy. If you wish tocontact a trustee or committee member to draw their attention toanything you would like them to consider, then this must be directed tothe office.
d) Members are reminded to refrain from using other members' contact
details to create unauthorised mailing lists for commercial purposes.
e) Please remember, in the same way that the terms of use of the public
register protect you against receiving unwanted communications, it also
protects other members.
© International Federation of Aromatherapists

11

F. ADMINISTRATION
1. MEMBERSHIP FEESa) Membership is on an annual basis and payments are for a term of 12months minimum. The subscription fee for membership must be paid infull on the due date.
b) Paid subscriptions entitle the member to all privileges and rights of thatcategory of membership for the period for which payment is made.
c) Membership fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.
2. MEMBERSHIP TERM
Membership runs from 1st January – 31st December, in keeping with the IFA’s
accounting year.
New applicants may join mid-year but must extend their membership until
31st December the following year to align with the annual year end. See list of‘Professional Membership Fees’ for full break down.
The only exception to this rule is student members, whose Centre pays a flatfee to the IFA on their behalf, which covers them for up to two (2) years fromthe beginning of their course until they qualify.
3. RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIPa) Members will receive notification by email inviting them to renew theirmembership.
b) Whether you choose to pay your membership subscription by credit ordebit card, you must ensure that the payment reaches the IFA before therenewal date.
c) If you no longer wish to renew your membership, you will need toconfirm this in writing to the IFA so that your email can be removed fromour database, and you will not receive future correspondence.
4. PROVIDE ACCURATE & COMPLETE CONTACT DETAILSIt is vitally important that members provide their addresses in full and do not
use abbreviations. Incorrect or partial addresses only mean that the member
may not be searchable on the register under all key words. We require allmembers who reside outside of the UK to provide their address in English aswell as in their local language.
A valid email address is part of the personal information we must obtain fromyou in order to fulfil our regulatory function. Please also note you must havean email address to be able to access the member’s area. If you do not© International Federation of Aromatherapists

12provide a current email address this may result in you not receiving or
missing out on limited time offers, being denied access to the member’s areaand entry on public register and/or receiving other such notifications fromthe IFA.
The IFA relies solely on the information provided by the member to provide
our services. The IFA will not take responsibility for any errors or omissions
that occur as a result of incorrect or outdated information provided by themember.
The website only allows for one email address to be assigned to each user.
Therefore, the email address you provide must also be unique - what wemean by this is, if your college or employer is registering a group ofregistrants and only provides their email as the contact, only one registrant
will be able to access the website using that email address. You may of coursechange the email address provided on the public register, once you havegained access to the member’s area.
We recommend that all members, once registered, add the IFA as a contact toensure that emails do not go to junk mail.
5. UPDATING YOUR DETAILS
Please note it is your responsibility to update the IFA if you make anychanges to your contact details. If you change your details on the IFA’s
website, please note, this does not constitute a formal notification to the IFA
that you wish to change the details we hold for you on our database. To dothis you must contact the membership secretary without delay.
If post does go missing, the member will be asked to confirm their address
details, which, if provided incorrectly or insufficiently, will result in reissuingfees being applied. Please see F11 for more details on lost post.
For more information regarding updating your details please visit Changes toInformation page on the IFA’s website.
6. PROCESSING MEMBERSHIP
All membership applications are typically processed on our system andconfirmation by post within five (5) working days of receipt of all the
relevant documentation and required fee.
7. CONFIRMATION
When a member joins the IFA, this will be confirmed by post and the member
will be sent a confirmation letter, membership card and certificate and badge(dependent on their membership category) with their membership expiry
date.

© International Federation of Aromatherapists

138. MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATES
FULL, PEOT & CARER
When an individual initially joins the IFA and is accepted for FULL, PEOT or
CARER membership they will receive the IFA sealed certificate to display intheir place of work. This certificate is only issued once (as it acknowledges
that your training meets the requirements of FULL, PEOT, CARER
membership after qualifying on a course awarded by the IFA). Members are
therefore reminded to take care of their certificate. Each year when you apply
to renew your membership you will receive the confirmation letter that yourmembership has been extended and membership card with a new expiry date
only.
ASSOCIATE
Associate members receive a paper certificate each year which confirms thatyour membership has been extended with a revised expiry date, alongside
the confirmation letter and revised membership card.
FELLOW & HONORARY
Fellow and Honorary members receive a certificate once they have been
awarded this lifetime category of membership (this is usually provided at anaward ceremony).
OTHER MEMBERSHIPS
Other categories of membership receive a confirmation letter andmembership card but no certificate.
9. REPLACEMENT ORDERS
If for any reason you require a replacement certificate e.g. due to a namechange or require a replacement badge or card wallet, then you can orderthis through the IFA shop. For replacements of certificates you will also needto complete the Replacement Order Form.
10. ACCOUNTS & INVOICESOn the reverse of the confirmation letter, you will find a receipt of payment in
the form of an invoice for your accounting and auditing purposes. No otherform of confirmation will be provided for accounting purposes. We
recommend that when members renew their membership they use the online
form, which also provides an additional receipt for your records.
If a member duplicates payment, then the bank fee incurred by the IFA forthe additional payment will be deducted from the amount refunded.
11. LOST POST
In the event that post goes missing, members must inform the IFA no later
than thirty (30) days from the date the membership fee is deducted. This© International Federation of Aromatherapists

14

time scale is necessary and must be complied with to enable the IFA to claim
for compensation with the Royal Mail. If the IFA is informed after the thirty(30) days, the member will be liable for the fees to reissue plus the postage toresend.
Membership confirmation and quarterly magazines are always sent bystandard 2nd class mail.
Please note it usually takes between 2-3 weeks for post to be delivered
outside of the UK. Please do not contact the IFA regarding lost mail before
this time if residing outside of the UK. Members within the UK should contact
us within ten (10) days of non-receipt.
Although we understand and share your frustrations when post goes missing,the IFA will not take responsibility for lost mail, which is outside of ourcontrol.
12. DAMAGED POST
All certificates are distributed in a ‘do not bend envelope’ to protect it fromdamage. If your mail does arrive damaged, you must inform the IFA within
the thirty (30) day timescale, and provide pictures of how it arrived in orderfor us to make a claim.
13. REISSUING
If you have not received either your certificate, confirmation letter,membership card and/or magazine in the post and this has either:a) Not been returned to the IFAb) Sent to an incorrect address due to inaccurate, incomplete or outdated
details provided by the member.
c) Or you have not notified the IFA within the thirty (30) day time scale toreclaim from the Royal Mail
You will be required to cover the costs to reissue and repost the missing
items.
The costs related to reissuing can be found here.
Postal price charges are based on the Royal Mails current pricing structure,
which can be found here:
https://www.royalmail.com/© International Federation of Aromatherapists

1514. MAGAZINE
All members will receive the Aromatherapy Times magazine in hard copy inthe post (with the exception of those who reside in China, Hong Kong, Korea,
Taiwan and Japan who can access a digital translated version in themember’s area for spring, summer and autumn editions and only receive thewinter edition in hard copy). Magazines are posted second class and sent to
the members address as recorded on our database.
The same principle for reporting missing magazine editions applies as per
point F11.
Members can expect to receive their magazine in accordance with our
publication dates, which can be found by clicking here.
15. CUSTOMER SERVICE
For all enquiries relating to membership please direct your correspondence
to the IFA’s membership registrar office@ifaroma.org. We aim to respond toemails within five (5) working days and ask that members refrain fromsending repetitious emails. All emails are answered in chronological order.
16. COMMUNICATIONS WITH STAFF
All members must be polite and respectful in all communications with the
IFA’s staff.
UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR
The IFA recognises the importance of meeting members’ expectations of ahigh standard of service delivery but not at the cost of the abuse of its
services or the mistreatment of its staff. Unacceptable behaviour is defined as
behaviour which is aggressive, vexatious, and persistent or any form ofabusive behaviour. It also includes persistent unreasonable demands.
Behaviour is not viewed as unacceptable just because a person is forceful or
persistent. However, the actions of members who are angry, demanding or
persistent may result in unreasonable demands or behaviour towards
employees, which in turn would be deemed as unacceptable. The member’s
action may also be considered unreasonably persistent if all internal review
mechanisms have been exhausted and the member continues to challenge thedecision relating to their complaint or dispute.
Aggressive Behaviour
This is behaviour which is deemed violent and may result in physical harm. It
also includes behaviour or language (written or oral) that threatens
aggressive acts.
Abusive Behaviour PhysicalThis includes physical violence and harassment as well as angry physicalgestures.
© International Federation of Aromatherapists

16VerbalThis includes rudeness, derogatory remarks about staff or the organisation,
inflammatory statements and unsubstantiated allegations. This also includes
personal attacks on a staff member’s ability or character and subjective
conjecture about conduct.
Intimidation / Threatening Behaviour
This is behaviour that causes staff to feel afraid and/or threatened. This
includes persistent invasion of personal space and threatening language(written or oral). This also includes inappropriate behaviour where members
appear to be crossing professional boundaries.
Vexatious Behaviour
This is behaviour which is disproportionate to the matter in discussion. It
includes behaviour which appears to be without sufficient grounds, purely tocause annoyance or to misdirect or waste IFA resources.
Persistent Behaviour
This is behaviour where despite reasonable attempts to resolve a matter, themember continues to make high levels of communication and will not accept
that the IFA cannot provide them with a level of service other than that which
has been provided already. Examples include refusing to accept a decision
made by IFA, refusing to accept explanations relating to what options arefeasible and pursuing a case without presenting any new significant
information. The IFA considers this behaviour unacceptable when it is taking
up a disproportionate amount of time and resource.
Unreasonable demands
This is where members make what is considered to be unreasonable
demands on the IFA through the amount of information they request or send
to the organisation, including what the IFA deems to be to an unacceptable
number of recipients. It includes unreasonable demands regarding the natureand scale of the service they expect, and who they expect to respond to
demands. Examples of this may include demanding unreasonable timescales,
insisting on speaking to particular members of staff only, emailing a large
number of recipients in the IFA regarding the same matter or persistently
demanding disciplinary action against members of staff or contacting
multiple members of staff regarding the same issue.
If a member does act aggressively, abusively or excessively this will bedeemed a breach of the terms and conditions, and individuals will be warned
to discontinue their current behaviour and ‘cease and desist’. They will also
be informed that this will be logged on their record to inform other or future
staff of their aggressive/ abusive conduct. Failure to change behaviour, will
result in the individual being subject to the Disciplinary Procedure which can
result in termination of membership or denial of membership renewal.

© International Federation of Aromatherapists

1717. CONFIDENTIALITYa) Members must treat all documents and other communications issued andaccessible to them from the IFA as strictly private and confidential.
b) You must:i.

Never share information or correspondence issued to you by the
IFA with third parties;ii.

Take all reasonable measures to ensure that your employees (ifyou have them), clients and other third parties working under
your direction, treat information from the IFA in the same manner;
and

iii.

Not disclose information provided by the IFA to any person
outside the membership unless you have received the IFA’s
express permission to do this e.g. information provided in themember’s area.

18. RAISING A COMPLAINT
To raise a complaint regarding the service you have received at the IFA
please see the IFA’s Complaints Policy.
19. FEEDBACK
The IFA is always looking for new ways in which to assist our members andyour feedback is valuable to us. If you would like to make any suggestions of
how we can improve our services, please complete the feedback form in themember’s area.
20. MEMBERS’ AREA
The member’s area is strictly for registered members only. You must notshare your access codes with any third party.
Members should make full use of the information and templates available inthe members’ area to support their practice and login at regular intervals.
21. NEWSLETTERS
When you join the IFA you will automatically receive our newsletters. If you
would like to opt out, please inform us in writing.

© International Federation of Aromatherapists

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