====== Membership Policy ======

==== Who Can Be a Member? ====

Anyone who is 18 or over can be a member of the Hackspace, unless they have previously be banned.

Memberships are issued for named individuals only, we do not offer corporate, shared, or family memberships. You can bring your friends and family members as guests, please see [[manual:guests]].

We are happy to accept members whose memberships are paid by a sponsoring organisation, but these memberships are still solely for the use of the named individual.

==== Becoming a Member ====

To become a member, you need to:
  * Visit the Hackspace on a Thursday open evening, to have a look round our space meet some of our members.
  * Fill in our application form with your details and accept our Terms and Conditions.
  * Set up a monthly payment for your membership fee (£15 p/m recommended).
  * Make a one-off payment (£5) for your keycard.
  * Return to Hackspace for onboarding, with valid photo ID.

When you return, we will check your application form, your ID, and that your payments have arrived. If everything is in order, congratulations! You are a Hackspace member. We will then:
  * Issue you a keycard.
  * Give you a space onboarding.
  * Add you to our members forum.

==== Accessing the Hackspace ====

Your keycard grants you 24/7 access to Hackspace. 

We charge a £5 issuance fee per keycard, including replacements. If your card is lost of stolen, please tell us as soon as you can so we can cancel it.

If your membership payments fall into arrears, we may deactivate your card until this is remedied.

Please don't mark your keycard with "Hackspace" or the address, as this makes it very easy to break in if you drop it in the surrounding streets.

==== Your Membership Fee ====

Your membership is a rolling monthly subscription, paid by direct debit or standing order. The amount you pay is your choice, relative to the amount of use feel you get from the space. Our suggested payment is £15 per month.

Bristol Hackspace aims to be accessible to as many people as possible, including those with reduced or irregular incomes. If you need to discuss affordability, contact the directors. 

We do not accept payment in services or by any means other than monthly direct bank transfers.

==== Ending Your Membership ====

To end your membership, you need to:
  * Inform the directors.
  * Cancel your standing order.
  * Return your door card.

Your membership will expire exactly one month after your last payment was received. Please remember to take any project materials you have stored at Hackspace away with you.

==== Termination of Membership ====

The directors can terminate your membership if they decide your continued participation is harmful, or likely to be harmful, to Hackspace. This may be made as a result of:
  * An investigation into formal complaints made against you.
  * You failing to respond to multiple requests to settle a significant debt to Hackspace.
  * Your membership payments having stopped.

A resolution to terminate a membership must have the support of a strict majority of the directors to pass.
Termination takes immediate effect, unless by the grace of the directors.

The directors will give at least 14 days notice of a meeting where sanctions such as terminating your membership is up for discussion. This is to allow you reasonable opportunity to make representations in advance. In exceptional circumstances the directors may ask that you do not use Hackspace until the decision has been made.

For more information about termination of membership, see our [[policies:complaints|Complaints Policy]].

==== Members’ Rights and Liability ====

By becoming a member of Bristol Hackspace you become a voting member of Bristol Open Technology Lab C.I.C., the incorporated entity that controls Hackspace. This gives you the legal right to vote at general meetings and other rights in accordance with our policies, for example putting forward or supporting purchase proposals.

As Bristol Open Technology Lab C.I.C. is a company limited by guarantee without share capital all members, and persons who have ceased to be a member within one year, carry a financial liability in the unlikely event the company is wound up due to insolvency. The amount of this liability is a maximum of £1 (one GBP) per member, if demanded by the administrator of Bristol Open Technology Lab C.I.C.