Contact us
If you would like to speak to us about our events terms and conditions, please email meetings@bps.ac.uk.
Event booking / registration
Event booking / registration
Booking confirmation
When you complete your online registration, we will automatically send a confirmation email to the email address that you provided. You should retain this email as you will need it to be admitted to the event. If, for any reason, a registration is declined, any online payment made will be refunded immediately and in full.
Early bird registration
In many cases, we offer early bird discounts for delegates who book their attendance for an event early. Please see individual event pages for further information, including deadline dates.
Late registration
In some cases, we may charge a late registration fee for late/onsite registrations. Please see individual event pages for further information, including deadline dates.
Attending BPS events
Attending BPS events
By attending a BPS event, you agree to follow our Code of Conduct for Events.
On arrival at any BPS event, the following may be required in order to validate a registration made via our site:
- Your confirmation email, either shown on your mobile phone or printed out. Failure to show your confirmation email may delay the admission process.
- Appropriate proof of entitlement to any discounted registration fee claimed (such as NUS card) for each person to be admitted under the registration.
We reserve the right to charge the full registration fee to anyone not able to validate their registration in the above manner.
If the event is online, please ensure you have read and understood the technology requirements. The BPS assumes no liability if you cannot connect, view or participate in the event.
Please note that online events may be recorded and made available to attendees of the event for a specified time period. If there is an interactive element of the event and you do not wish to appear in the recording, please keep your camera turned off.
Cancellation policy
Cancellation policy
If you can no longer attend an event
If you are no longer able to attend a BPS event, you may be eligible for a refund.
Refunds will be made according to the terms below:
- 100% refund when cancelling more than 3 months before the event
- 50% refund when cancelling between two and three months before the event
- 25% refund when cancelling between one and two months before the event
- 0% when cancelling within one month of the event
All cancellations must be received in writing via meetings@bps.ac.uk by the timeframes listed above.
If a BPS event is cancelled or rescheduled
The BPS reserves the right to amend an event programme or cancel an event.
If an event has to be cancelled or rescheduled, we will contact you as soon as possible to notify you of the change. You will be offered an alternative or a full refund.
We cannot reimburse travel, accommodation or other costs related to a cancelled or rescheduled event.
The BPS assumes no liability if an event is cancelled or rescheduled resulting from fire, strike, terrorism, industrial action, pandemic, extreme weather or any cause beyond our control.
Reselling or transferring event registration
Reselling or transferring event registration
If you wish to sell or transfer your ticket to another person, please contact us at meetings@bps.ac.uk. No event registration made through our site may be resold or transferred without our prior written consent. If any person attempts to enter an event with a registration that has been resold or transferred without our written consent, we may refuse entry. No compensation will be payable by us.
Photography & filming
Photography & filming
Photography and filming regularly take place at BPS events for use in our marketing materials, website, social media and other publications and communication channels. If you do not wish to be featured in photography or filming, you may collect a red lanyard from the registration desk. Please wear this to indicate that you do not consent to photography or filming.
We encourage delegates and presenters to document and share their experience of our events, however, we ask you to please consider and follow the below points:
- Always ask someone first if they are happy for you to take a photograph or film them. If someone is wearing a red lanyard, this indicates that they do not consent to photography or filming.
- You may take photos or video clips of sessions or posters for personal use, but recording entire sessions is not allowed. In addition, some content shared by presenters is “under embargo”. This means that while the presenter is happy to share the information at the event, they may not want it to be shared or published more widely. Presenters may indicate this verbally or with a note/icon on their slides or poster. Please follow any requests from presenters regarding the sharing of content from their sessions.
Illness
Illness
For the health and safety of everyone at our events, please do not attend if you believe you have COVID-19, or any other serious infectious disease. If you find yourself unable to attend an event due to illness, you may request a discretionary refund upon providing evidence of a positive COVID-19 test or a medical note. Please contact us at meetings@bps.ac.uk for more information.
Delegates are free to wear face masks anywhere at our events.
Code of conduct for BPS meetings and events
Code of conduct for BPS meetings and events
Anyone who participates in a British Pharmacological Society (BPS) meeting or event (whether in-person or virtually online) should read and follow this Code of Conduct. Participants include, but may not be limited to, delegates, speakers, volunteers, contractors, venue staff and BPS staff.
Ethos
This Code of Conduct aims to enable all participants to enjoy, engage in and contribute to BPS events and to ensure that individuals or groups feel welcome and comfortable in participating in our events or any associated activities.
Inclusion statement
The BPS seeks to place equity, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of pharmacology. We are committed to providing a welcoming, fun and inclusive environment at all our events, whether they are face-to-face or online. We encourage the expression and exchange of ideas, and we value kindness and respect.
We are proud of our friendly, vibrant, professional, and supportive community, and wish for our events to reflect this spirit. The purpose of having a code of conduct is to recognise that we are all different and have different experiences – sometimes we don’t realise that our unconscious bias or the limitations of our personal experience can impact others.
We hope that being explicit about our commitment to inclusive environments will help us actively learn from each other, support those who might not feel able to speak up and ensure that everyone, no matter what their background, feels welcome at the BPS.
We also want to learn from you. We will provide channels for feedback on our events to help us identify and explore areas for improvement.
Expectations
The BPS is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone. This includes characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010 as well as aspects of diversity not currently covered by the Act. We ask that all participants respect the self-identification of others, for example, using preferred pronouns (he/she/they). Harassment includes, but is not limited to:
- Offensive or unwanted conduct on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation which has the purpose or effect of violating dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile or degrading environment.
- Use of sexualised or other inappropriate images or unwelcome sexualised content, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome sexual attention, or stalking.
- Sustained interruption of speakers or those asking questions.
- Unwanted photography or filming.
Intimidation includes, but is not limited to:
- Making threats
- Bullying
- Personal attacks
We also want our meetings to support and enable respectful, evidence-based discussions around concepts relating to inclusive research and experimental design. We encourage thoughtful use of language, for example “sex” to mean the genetic status of the subject, whereas “gender” refers to the social and cultural context.
Our response
We take a zero-tolerance approach to harassment or intimidation of participants in any form, whether verbal, physical, or written (including on social media or by email). If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns at an event, please contact the relevant member of BPS staff immediately. Staff can be identified by their name badge (if you are attending a face-to-face meeting or event), or by emailing meetings@bps.ac.uk if you are attending an online meeting. We will treat any issues sensitively and seriously, aiming to resolve this informally, but we will support participants to escalate any issues if necessary.
The BPS expects anyone who is asked to stop unacceptable behaviour to do so immediately. BPS staff or security may take any immediate action that is deemed necessary and appropriate, including immediate removal from the meeting without refund. Serious or repeated violations may result in more significant consequences, such as termination of BPS membership.
The British Pharmacological Society is a member of EDIS (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Science and Health), and thanks the organisation for its support and advice in drafting this document, including the use of their code of conduct.
