1. Payment terms

Our standard payment terms are that payment is taken at the time of booking unless otherwise agreed. If payment by invoice has been previously agreed, the payment needs to be made no later than 30 days from the date of invoice or prior to the course start date, whichever is sooner.

2. Course bookings

Bookings may be made by email, telephone or via the Open Briefing website up to two weeks before the start of a course. Telephone bookings must be confirmed in writing.

3. Cancellations

Should circumstances mean that an individual booked on an open course needs to cancel or transfer their booking, the following charges will apply, dependent on the amount of notice given:

• More than four weeks notice: no charge.
• Three to four weeks notice: 50% of the course fee.
• Two to three weeks notice: 75% of the course fee.
• Less than two weeks notice: 100% of the course fee.

The only exceptions to the above are for serious illness or injury, for which a doctor’s note must be provided, or in exceptional circumstances, such as a death in the family. In such circumstances, students will be able to transfer their booking to another date within 12 months without charge.

Should circumstance means that an organisation that has booked a closed course needs to cancel or transfer that booking, the following charges will apply, dependent on the amount of notice given:

• More than six weeks notice: no charge.
• five to six weeks notice: 50% of the course fee.
• Four to five weeks notice: 75% of the course fee.
• Less than four weeks notice: 100% of the course fee.

Please note, we are unable to cancel or transfer individual places on a closed course. If a student is unable to attend, their employer is welcome to send someone in their place.

Please note, cancellation and transfer requests must be made in writing via email, and received by Open Briefing by the due dates set out above.

4. Non-attendance

If you do not attend a course, and you have not informed us before the start of the course, the full course fee remains payable.

5. Late arrivals/missed sessions

If you arrive late for a course or are absent from any session, we reserve the right to refuse to accept you for training if we feel you will gain insufficient knowledge or skill in the time remaining. In all such cases, the full course fee remains payable. To conform with the requirements for accredited courses, attendance at all sessions is mandatory.

6. Unforeseen circumstances

On occasion, unforeseen circumstances or insufficient take-up may require us to cancel a course. In such circumstances you will be given as much notice as possible, and either a free transfer to another course date or a full refund of fees paid.

7. VAT

All course fees are subject to UK VAT at 20%.

8. Guidelines for students and employers

For group bookings, it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that students are free from any condition that would affect their ability to undertake their chosen course, and that they have the aptitude to cope with an intensive course of study in sometimes demanding conditions. For individual bookings, this responsibility lies with the student.

We welcome students with disabilities, but students and employers should note that some of our courses are physically and mentally demanding, and may involve movement over rough ground. It remains their employer’s responsibility to ensure that students are appropriately supported during their course. Open Briefing would welcome in advance, for setup purposes, notification of any assistance that a student is likely to need during the course.