BRITISH FRANCHISE ASSOCIATION

inter nally to moder nise the association, making it more diverse and inclusive, but that may not have been communicated to the outside world.

The aim of the rebrand was to communicate those changes and to create an association f it for pur pose in 2023 The rebrand included a new website and a renaming of the membership categories It also gave us a chance to redef ine our pur pose, vision, and mission

● Our Brand Purpose – To empower people to make a positive impact on the world around them.

● Our Brand Vision – To establish ourselves as the hub for franchising in the UK

● Our Brand Mission – To provide an educational space and accreditations that are gover ned by our high standards and code of ethics

Renamed membership categories

Whilst the benef its of the membership categories have not changed, the names have.

The membership changes mean:

● Full Members have become Established Members This does not mean that their g rowth is complete, but it does mean that they are tr uly established and are at a critical mass in the UK market

● Associate Members have become Expanding Members because that is literally what they are doing, expanding their networks across the UK

● Provisional Members have become Emerging Members because this best describes the brands that are star ting out and emerging into the franchise market

● Our UK Developers have become International Members, which are the inter national brands entering the UK market.

● Our Aff iliate Members have become BFA Advisors because, after all, this is the g roup of people who provide advice and guidance in franchising.

● Our Supplier Members did not need a name change and neither did our Franchisee Members.

All categories got a new logo to tie in with the rebrand

The re-accreditation process

Joining the BFA is not a case of ‘membership for life’; members must continue to adhere to the ethics and standards as laid down by the association.

The BFA has a rolling process of rechecking members ever y three years

As sometimes, but rarely happens, if a member is found to be non-compliant then the membership team will investigate, and appropriate action will be taken.

Dispute resolution

Disputes can happen in any business setting and franchising is no different To help members avoid costly legal proceedings, the BFA offers a threepronged approach to dispute resolution:

● Infor mal conciliation

● Mediation

● Arbitration

Informal conciliation

Infor mal conciliation is the f irst and cost-free r ung on the BFA’s dispute resolution ladder We see less than 10 cases a year and most achieve an amicable result In its simplest for m, facilitated by members of the BFA, infor mal conciliation is an attempt to get the two sides back to a positive dialogue.

Generally, the two sides will write to us stating their case and we will attempt to bring the two sides together to discuss the situation amicably Nothing that happens in infor mal conciliation is legally binding and it does not replace professional legal advice

Mediation

If infor mal conciliation has not worked, then members can opt for our Mediation Ser vice, or miss out infor mal conciliation entirely and go straight there

Mediation is a low-cost way to resolve issues without going for the more costly and legally binding Arbitration Scheme

During mediation, an independent third par ty is brought in to facilitate the negotiations between the two par ties

The mediator can not award money or make any decisions but simply brings the two par ties together to f ind a commercial solution that is acceptable to both par ties. However, if a settlement is reached and recorded in writing, then it can be f inal and binding

Either par ty has the freedom to walk away during mediation and all negotiations take place on a ‘withoutprejudice’ basis and par ties are not forced to settle their dispute during this process

Arbitration

The big ‘Daddy’ of the three, arbitration is the f inal, more costly, and legally binding option for settling disputes

The good news is we ver y rarely get to this stage (just one in the past 10 years), with members generally f inding a solution with infor mal conciliation or mediation f irst

When a member asks to use our Arbitration Ser vice, the BFA will appoint an independent, third par ty arbitrator to oversee the proceedings

The arbitrator will, according to the Arbitration Scheme’s Rules and the Arbitration Act provisions, listen to both sides then, much like a judge, and will make a r uling and award costs if appropriate The arbitrator’s word is f inal, and their decision is legally binding and enforceable.

Arbitration over litigation?

Although we do not offer litigation, any number of our BFA legal advisors, listed on our website do For infor mation, here are a few broad differences between arbitration and litigation.

● In arbitration the arbitrator is a neutral third par ty whereas in litigation the decisions are made by a cour t of law

● Arbitration proceedings are generally less for mal and more flexible, which can lead to quicker resolutions

Litigation follows cour t proceedings which can result in longer and more complex processes

● Arbitration is generally held in private, and the details of the dispute are not made public; whereas litigation is held in open cour t and the details may be on public record

● An arbitrator can be chosen with experience in your f ield of business, whereas litigation cases could be heard by a judge or jur y with no experience in your business sector.

● A deal made through arbitration can’t generally be appealed. Litigation r ulings can be over tur ned through various appeals processes, potentially elongating the process

● Arbitration is expensive It is a lot more expensive than mediation and quite often more expensive than straight litigation.

As you can see, the BFA is a vibrant, integ ral par t of the British franchising landscape

Ever y day our team works with brands of all sizes, from high street names with hundreds of franchisees to our emerging members, taking their f irst steps into franchising and we offer each the advice and suppor t we have become famous for

As we enter into Q4, with EWIB, Encouraging Women in Business, our national conference and the BFA HSBC British Franchise Awards 2023 in the diar y, we have much to look forward to

If you would like to be kept in touch with what is happening at the BFA please sign up for our monthly newsletter at press@thebfa.org and we look forward to seeing you at one of our events ver y soon n

Whilst some of you may already be members, others may not be, and to you we would say, welcome, come and check us out, we are here for the good of all franchising in the UK and we’d love to have you on board to support you in your franchising jour ney