PARTICIPANT TERMS
The rules for joining the Bakerwood participant panel and taking part in research projects.
Effective date: 24 August 2026
Terms version: BRS-PT-2026-08-24-v1
Business: Bakerwood Research Services
Participant enquiries: natalie@bakerwoodresearch.com
Address: 3 Plymouth Drive, Bramhall, SK7 2JB
In short
Joining the panel is voluntary and does not guarantee invitations, selection or payment. If you accept a project, we will give you the important project details in advance. You agree to answer honestly, attend reliably and protect confidential research materials.
1. About these terms
These Participant Terms apply when you register for the Bakerwood Research Services participant panel, respond to a research invitation, complete screening questions or agree to take part in a project arranged by us. They are intended to create a fair, clear understanding between you and Bakerwood.
A particular project may include additional written information about its topic, format, incentive, confidentiality, recording or cancellation arrangements. Those project-specific terms apply only to that project. They do not reduce your statutory rights or cancel a clear promise already made to you.
Our Participant Privacy Notice is separate from these terms. It explains how we collect, use, share and retain personal information and how you can exercise your data protection rights.
2. Who can join
To join the general Bakerwood participant panel, you must:
• be aged 18 or over;
• normally live in the United Kingdom;
• provide your own accurate contact and profile information;
• be able to understand and accept these terms; and
• use only one genuine participant profile unless Bakerwood has agreed otherwise.
The general panel is not intended for children. A project involving anyone under 18 or a vulnerable participant requires a separate, specialist recruitment and safeguarding process and is not authorised by these general terms alone.
3. Registering and accepting the terms
You can register using Bakerwood's Microsoft Forms participant-registration form. By selecting the acceptance statement and submitting the form, you confirm that the information you provide is accurate and that you have read and agree to the version of these terms presented to you.
Participant registration: Join the Bakerwood participant panel
Consent to receive research invitations, permissions for particular contact channels and any consent to provide special-category information are requested separately where needed. Accepting these terms does not create blanket consent for every use of personal information.
4. Joining the panel does not guarantee research work
Panel membership means that Bakerwood may consider you for relevant research opportunities. It does not guarantee that you will receive invitations, pass a project screener, be selected, take part in a minimum number of projects or receive a minimum level of incentives.
Research selection depends on the genuine needs of each project, including eligibility, quotas, location, availability, previous participation, conflicts of interest and the client's research design. We may stop screening once the required places have been filled.
Occasional participation in research is not intended to create employment, worker status, an agency relationship or a continuing obligation to offer or accept projects. Legal status always depends on the actual circumstances and applicable law.
5. Your information must be honest and up to date
• Answer registration and screening questions truthfully and in your own words.
• Tell us if important profile information changes or if you notice an error.
• Do not impersonate another person, create duplicate identities, use another person's documents or allow someone else to complete a session in your place
• Do not use automated tools, artificial intelligence or another person to generate research answers unless the project expressly allows it.
• Disclose relevant employment, supplier, client, family or competitive connections when a screening question asks for them.
• Follow any genuine limits on recent research participation explained in the screener.
An honest change in circumstances will not be treated as misconduct. Deliberate or material misrepresentation may make you ineligible and may lead to a proportionate review of your profile, booking or incentive.
6. Screening and selection
A screener is used to decide whether your genuine circumstances match a project's criteria. Completing a screener is not the same as being booked and does not earn an incentive unless the invitation expressly says that the screener itself is paid.
You are booked only when Bakerwood sends a clear confirmation. We may ask reasonable follow-up questions or verify eligibility. If identity evidence is genuinely needed, we will explain why and how it should be provided. We normally record that a check was completed instead of retaining a copy, unless retention is necessary and lawful.
Some studies cannot reveal the client name or full research purpose before participation because doing so could affect the research. We will not conceal information about material risks, unusual activities, data sharing, recording or other matters needed for an informed decision. A suitable explanation or debrief will be given where appropriate.
7. What we will tell you before a project
Before you commit to a booked project, we will provide or confirm the material details, including:
• the research topic or an appropriate description of it;
• the date, expected start time, duration, location or online platform;
• the type of activity and any pre-task, diary, product test, physical activity or follow-up task
• whether researchers, clients, observers or viewers will be present;
• whether audio, video, screen or other recording is planned and how it may be used;
• the incentive, payment method, expected payment timing and any clearly disclosed conditions;
• any agreed travel or expense arrangements;
• important confidentiality, safety, accessibility or technology requirements; and
• the relevant cancellation, lateness and non-attendance arrangements.
Tell us promptly if anything is unclear or if you need a reasonable accessibility adjustment. We will discuss available adjustments with the research team or client where appropriate.
8. Attendance, lateness and participation
If you accept a booking, please arrive or join at the confirmed time, follow reasonable joining instructions and participate genuinely for the agreed duration. You are not required to agree with other participants, praise a product or give any particular opinion.
If you expect to be late, cannot attend or cannot complete a task, contact Bakerwood as soon as reasonably possible. We will consider genuine emergencies, illness, caring responsibilities, travel disruption, accessibility barriers and other relevant circumstances fairly.
A late arrival may mean the research cannot continue, particularly for a timed group. A failure to attend without reasonable notice may be recorded as a no-show and may affect future invitations. We will not impose an automatic permanent exclusion without considering the circumstances.
9. Incentives and expenses
An incentive is a thank-you for eligible, genuine participation. It is not a salary and is not payment for giving a preferred answer. Before a booked project, we will state the amount or reward, payment method, expected timing and any material payment conditions.
• We will honour an incentive that has been clearly promised when the disclosed conditions are met.
• Payment may reasonably depend on attendance, genuine participation, completion of agreed tasks and compliance with material project rules explained in advance
• We will not withhold an incentive merely because your views are negative, unexpected or different from the client's expectations.
• If participation ends early because of circumstances outside your control, we will review payment fairly in light of the time committed, costs incurred and the reason the project could not continue.
• Travel or other expenses are reimbursed only where they were agreed in advance or Bakerwood confirms otherwise in writing.
• You are responsible for checking whether an incentive has any personal tax or benefits implications in your own circumstances.
If a genuine fraud or material eligibility concern arises, Bakerwood may pause an incentive for a reasonable investigation. We will not keep payment on hold indefinitely and will communicate the outcome. Any undisputed incentive already earned remains payable.
10. Cancellation or rescheduling by Bakerwood or the client
Research projects can change, fill early, be postponed or be cancelled. We will give as much notice as reasonably possible. If a project is cancelled before it takes place, there is no automatic right to the full participation incentive unless the project confirmation, a separate promise or the law says otherwise.
Where cancellation happens at short notice, we will consider fair compensation or reimbursement in light of the confirmed project terms, notice given, time committed, reasonable pre-approved costs and any particular financial harm. We may offer a suitable rescheduled session, but you are not required to accept it.
11. Recording, observation and client access
If a project involves audio or video recording, screen capture, photography, live observation, client viewers or the sharing of identifiable information, we will explain this before you agree to the project and obtain the permission required. A person observing on behalf of a client will not be falsely presented as an independent researcher.
If recording or observation is essential to the methodology and you do not agree, you may be unable to take part in that particular project. Declining does not remove you from the general panel. You may raise a concern or ask to pause during a session, although the practical effect on information already collected will depend on the circumstances, applicable law and the project privacy information.
12. Confidential research and materials
A project may expose you to confidential concepts, prototypes, packaging, advertising, prices, technology, documents or other information belonging to a client or supplier. If the invitation or project briefing identifies information as confidential, you agree to:
• use it only for the research project;
• not photograph, copy, record, download, forward, publish, sell or discuss it with anyone outside the authorised session
• protect access links, passwords and research materials from other people;
• return, delete or dispose of materials as instructed; and
• keep the information confidential for the period explained for that project or, if no period is stated, until it becomes lawfully public or you are released from the obligation.
This obligation does not cover information you can show was already lawfully known to you, becomes public without your breach, is independently received lawfully or must be disclosed by law.
Confidentiality does not silence complaints
Nothing in these terms or a project confidentiality agreement prevents you from obtaining confidential legal or professional advice, reporting a genuine concern to Bakerwood, assisting an MRS or regulatory investigation where applicable, contacting the ICO or another authority, making a protected disclosure, or doing anything else the law allows.
13. Your contributions and intellectual property
You keep ownership of material you created independently before the project. Unless a clear project-specific release says otherwise, taking part does not transfer ownership of your existing photographs, designs, writings or other original material.
Bakerwood, the researcher and the client may analyse, quote, summarise and use your research responses for the stated research purposes in accordance with the project information and Participant Privacy Notice. Public use of your identifiable image, voice, name or creative work requires the permission or other lawful basis explained for that use. Co-creation or idea-generation projects that require additional rights will provide separate terms before you agree.
14. Product tests, activities and safety
If a project involves food, cosmetics, medicines, devices, physical activity, driving, a home visit or another unusual activity, we will explain material requirements and foreseeable risks before participation. Follow reasonable safety and product-use instructions, disclose relevant allergies, health restrictions or accessibility needs when lawfully asked, and stop if you feel unwell or unsafe.
Do not use, consume, share, resell or keep a test product contrary to the instructions. Return or dispose of it when requested. Contact Bakerwood promptly about a safety incident or adverse reaction and seek urgent medical assistance where appropriate.
15. Respectful conduct and safeguarding
Treat other participants, researchers, staff, clients and venue personnel respectfully. Harassment, threats, discrimination, abusive conduct, deliberate disruption or conduct that creates an immediate safety risk is not acceptable. A moderator may pause or end a session where reasonably necessary to protect people or the integrity of the research.
We will take reasonable precautions to avoid harm and will provide appropriate wellbeing or support information where the subject matter may be distressing. You may decline to answer a question or ask to stop, subject to any fair consequences for completion-based incentives explained in advance.
16. Your privacy and the 12-month retention period
The Participant Privacy Notice explains the personal information we collect, our lawful bases, who receives information, international transfers, security, individual rights and how to withdraw from the panel. These terms do not replace that notice.
Bakerwood's standard panel retention period is 12 months from your most recent registration, profile update, renewed permission or meaningful panel engagement. Before that period ends, we may invite you to renew or refresh your information. If you renew, a new 12-month period begins. If you do not renew, we will delete or anonymise information that is no longer needed, subject to justified exceptions.
Some project, incentive, accounting, complaint, safety or legal records may need a different retention period. We keep only what is necessary for those purposes and explain material differences in the Participant Privacy Notice or project-specific information.
17. Leaving the panel
You can leave the panel at any time by emailing natalie@bakerwoodresearch.com. Leaving stops future panel invitations after your request has been processed. It does not automatically erase information that Bakerwood must keep for a current project, an earned payment, a complaint, fraud prevention or another lawful reason. The Participant Privacy Notice explains your deletion and objection rights.
Leaving the panel does not remove your right to receive an undisputed incentive already earned. If you are booked for a future project, tell us separately whether you also wish to cancel that booking.
18. Suspension or closure of a profile
Bakerwood may temporarily restrict invitations or close a profile where reasonably necessary because of suspected fraud, duplicate identities, material misrepresentation, repeated unexplained no-shows, a serious confidentiality breach, abusive conduct, safety concerns, legal requirements or closure of the panel.
We will act proportionately, consider relevant circumstances and provide an explanation where lawful and reasonably possible. We may limit detail if disclosure would compromise another person's rights, security or a genuine fraud investigation. Closure does not remove statutory rights or undisputed incentives already earned.
19. Responsibility and legal rights
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits responsibility that cannot lawfully be excluded, including responsibility for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation. Nothing removes your statutory consumer or data protection rights.
You are responsible for losses caused by your deliberate fraud, unlawful conduct or serious breach of confidentiality, subject to applicable law and a fair assessment of what was reasonably foreseeable. Bakerwood is not responsible for failures caused entirely by events outside reasonable control, but we will still take reasonable steps to communicate, reduce avoidable harm and honour legal obligations.
20. Complaints and concerns
Please contact Bakerwood if you have a question about a booking, incentive, conduct issue, safety concern, privacy matter or these terms. We will investigate fairly and respond without undue delay.
Participant and privacy contact
Bakerwood Research Services
3 Plymouth Drive, Bramhall, SK7 2JB
natalie@bakerwoodresearch.com
A data protection complaint will be acknowledged within 30 days and handled in accordance with the applicable legal complaints process. Data protection rights requests normally have a separate one-month response timeframe. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
ICO complaints: Make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office
If a project is expressly represented as being conducted under the MRS Code, you may also contact the Market Research Society for guidance about its standards and complaints process where applicable. Nothing in these terms prevents you from contacting a regulator, law-enforcement body, court or other appropriate authority.
21. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms when our panel, research methods, systems or legal obligations change. We will show the effective date and version. Material changes will be brought to your attention and, where required, we will ask you to accept the updated terms before new participation.
A change will not operate retrospectively to remove an incentive already earned, reduce a clear promise made for an existing booking or take away statutory rights.
22. General legal terms
If part of these terms is found unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining terms continue to apply so far as possible. A delay in enforcing a term does not automatically waive it.
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live elsewhere in the United Kingdom, you keep any mandatory consumer protections that apply where you live and may use the courts available to you under applicable law. We encourage you to contact us first so concerns can be resolved promptly.
Effective date: 24 August 2026. Terms version: BRS-PT-2026-08-24-v1.