UPDATED POLICY MANUAL
Code of Ethics and Rules of Conduct
It is important that you read the Oriflame Code of Ethics (the “Code”) and the Rules of Conduct (the “Rules”) below, as they form an integral part of the terms of the consultant application form. An Oriflame consultant must comply with the Code and Rules and any amendments to them that have been published in the newsletter or otherwise communicated to the Oriflame consultant.
Oriflame reserves the right to terminate at any time, and with immediate effect, the membership of any Oriflame consultant who has provided false information on the consultant application form or who is violating the Code or the Rules. Terminated Oriflame consultants lose all rights and privileges that accompany the membership, including their network. The Code and the Rules are there for your protection, to ensure that all fellow Oriflame consultants maintain the same high standards. In line with Oriflame ethical standards, the Oriflame consultants are expected to, and shall comply with all legal requirements of the country where they operate their Oriflame business even if certain obligations are not restated in the Code or the Rules.
THE ORIFLAME CODE OF ETHICS
- As an Oriflame Consultant, I agree to conduct my Oriflame business according to the following principles I will uphold and follow the Rules as laid out in this official Oriflame Policy Manual and other OriflameLiterature. I will observe not only “the letter” but also “the spirit” of the Rules.
- My guiding principle for doing business with anyone I meet in my capacity as an Oriflame Consultant is to treat them as fairly as I would like to be treated myself.
- I will present the Oriflame products, the Oriflame earning opportunities, the related trainings and the other opportunities and benefits offered by Oriflame to my customers and Consultants in an honest and truthful manner. Whether verbal or in writing, I will make only such claims related to the product, the earnings and the other opportunities that are mentioned in the official Oriflame literature (including Appendix 1).
- I will be courteous and prompt in servicing and taking orders from my customers, as well as in the handling of
complaints. I will follow the procedures outlined in the official Oriflame literature for replacement of products. - I will accept and carry out the different prescribed responsibilities of an Oriflame Consultant (and those of a Sponsor and Director (and above) when I progress to those levels of responsibility) as laid out in the official Oriflame Literature.
- I will conduct myself in such a manner as to reflect only the highest standards of integrity, honesty and responsibility.
- I shall not in any circumstances use the Oriflame network for marketing products or services other than those approved by Oriflame. I shall respect the direct-to consumer method of distribution and therefore not sell through any retail outlets of any nature.
- I will respect the laws and regulations of the country where I conduct my Oriflame business and of my host countries if building an international group.
- I understand that compliance with this Code and the Rules is a condition of my membership with Oriflame.
THE ORIFLAME RULES OF CONDUCT
- DEFINITIONS
- “Oriflame Consultant” shall for the purpose of this document include any Oriflame Consultant irrespective of title and level (including Group Managers, Directors and above).
- “Personal Beauty Store” shall refer to a website designed, issued and hosted by Oriflame for the benefit of an Oriflame Consultant in selected markets.
- “Oriflame” in this document refers to the local Oriflame entity with which you entered into the Consultant Application Form, unless otherwise stated.
- “Line of Sponsorship” shall include the Oriflame Consultant, his/her Sponsor, and so forth, with the Line ending with Oriflame.
- “Personal Group” shall refer to all Oriflame Consultants sponsored directly and indirectly by an Oriflame Consultant but shall not include the directly sponsored 21% Consultants or their downlines.
- “Group” shall refer to the entire downline, including 21% Oriflame Consultants and their downlines.
- “The Oriflame Literature” shall mean the Success Plan - Leaders Edition (containing this Policy Manual), the Product Catalogues, Oriflame Starter Kit literature, the Newsletter and any other information printed or published on the official Oriflame website.
- “Sponsor” shall mean the person introducing a new person to Oriflame consultancy.
- Words beginning with a capital letter but which are not defined herein, shall have the same meaning as in the previous sections of the Success Plan - Leaders Edition.
- MEMBERSHIP
- 2.1 To become an Oriflame Consultant a candidate should as a general rule be sponsored by an existing registered Oriflame Consultant. Under certain circumstances, Oriflame can assign a prospective Oriflame Consultant to any network.
- 2.2 An individual may only have one Oriflame membership, whether directly or indirectly. Indirect membership is membership through e.g. ownership of shares in a company which is registered as an Oriflame Consultant.
- 2.3 Oriflame reserves the right to refuse any application or re-application.
- 2.4 An applicant must be of the age of legal capacity to be an Oriflame Consultant. Oriflame may at its sole discretion approve other applicants subject to the guardian(s) written consent.
- 2.5 Membership may only be granted to individuals or to a limited liability company or partnership where parties are either spouses or parent and child/children in a by Oriflame approved transfer of business process. A legal entity must provide the name of the person authorized to act on its behalf, as well as any limitations in his/her authorization. Partners are mutually responsible and Oriflame can reclaim all dues from either or both in case of non-payment.
- 2.6 An Oriflame Consultant may withdraw from her membership within 30 days after joining (or longer if applicable under local legislation) and receive back from Oriflame any or all moneys paid as a condition for the membership as well as any required starter materials and products.
- 2.7 The Oriflame Consultants may resign their membership at any time after 30 days from joining by giving written notice to Oriflame. In such cases Oriflame is under no obligation to make any of the repayments mentioned in 2.6 above other than any required fees paid to become or remain a Consultant by the Consultant paid by the Consultant to Oriflame during the 30 days prior to termination.
- 2.8 An Oriflame Consultant’s membership will expire on the anniversary of registration.
- 2.9 Membership can be renewed by means of paying the annual subscription fee included in the first invoice after the anniversary of registration.
- 2.10 Should an Oriflame Consultant’s spouse wish to become an Oriflame Consultant, both spouses must either be sponsored jointly under the same membership (in the form of a limited liability company or partnership) or if separately below the wife or husband who first became an Oriflame Consultant. If the spouse joins under a separate membership any cash award earned by the spouse will be deducted from any higher cash award earned by the spouse who joined first - if such cash award is a result of the termination of membership of the spouse joining second for any reason.
- 2.11 Former Oriflame Consultants (or spouses of former Oriflame Consultants) may apply for new membership under the following conditions:
- At least six months have elapsed since the previous membership has been terminated by resignation (unless otherwise agreed with Oriflame).
- The new application must specify that it is being made under this rule.
- A former Oriflame Consultant may apply immediately for becoming a Consultant again, without specifying that he/she was a former Oriflame Consultant, if he/she has at least 12 months of inactivity following a termination of membership when the termination is due to failure to renew membership.
- 2.12 Oriflame has the right to terminate an Oriflame Consultant for any breach of the Code of Ethics and/or Rules of Conduct.
- 2.13 Oriflame reserves the right to suspend an Oriflame Consultant’s membership for up to 12 months with immediate effect, pending investigation of violation of the Rules.
- MAINTAINING LINES OF SPONSORSHIP
- 3.1 Oriflame Consultants are only allowed to re-register under a different line of sponsorship if they resign their membership and apply for new membership under 2.11. If they do resign their entire Group is lost and transferred to their original Sponsor.
- 3.2 The transfer of membership from one person to another is only possible in special cases and at the sole discretion of Oriflame.
- 3.3 Oriflame Consultants who wish to transfer their membership may be allowed to do so, but only to their closest relatives (at the discretion of Oriflame). A letter requesting such a transfer must be sent to Oriflame. Oriflame Consultants who have transferred their membership under this rule may apply for membership again if at least six months have elapsed since their last Membership was transferred.
- 3.4 In case of an Oriflame Consultant’s death, the Membership will be terminated within three months after the day of the death provided that no application for transferring of the Membership is made by the next of kin in accordance with 6.4. Upon termination, all pending payments to the deceased Oriflame Consultant will be made to the authorized heir/-s of the Oriflame Consultant. Oriflame reserves the right to request documents proving the authorization of the heir/-s as a condition of the payment.
- 3.5 Transfer of a Group or part of a Group is not allowed.
- RESPONSIBILITIES OF A CONSULTANT
General responsibilities
- 4.1 Oriflame Consultants shall comply with all laws, regulations and codes of practice applying to the operation of their membership, including with any tax laws and regulations regarding tax registration and filing. The Oriflame Consultants shall not engage in any activity which may bring either them or Oriflame into disrepute.
- 4.2 Oriflame Consultants must take appropriate steps to ensure the protection of all private information provided by a customer, a potential customer, another Oriflame Consultant, in accordance with the local laws that apply to privacy and data protection.
Responsibilities towards customers
- 4.3 Oriflame Consultants shall not use misleading, deceptive or unfair sales practices.
- 4.4 From the beginning of the contact with a consumer, the Oriflame Consultant shall identify her-/himself and explain the purpose of her/his approaching a customer or the purpose of the occasion. The Oriflame Consultant shall ensure full transparency of her/his identity as Oriflame Consultant in any related communication, whether by email, a website, social media page etc. Clear name and contact information as well as information that the sender is not an Oriflame official representative must be provided. The word “Independent” shall always be added before “Oriflame Consultant” on any identity representation such as e-mail signatures, business cards, on website, social media page and the like.
- 4.5 Oriflame Consultants shall offer their customers accurate and complete product explanations and demonstrations regarding price and, if applicable, credit terms; terms of payment; a cooling-off period, including return policies; terms of guarantee; after-sales service; and delivery dates. Oriflame Consultants shall give accurate and understandable answers to all questions from customers.
- 4.6 To the extent claims are made with respect to product efficacy, Oriflame Consultants shall make only those verbal or written product claims that are authorized by Oriflame.
- 4.7 For all product sales to its customers Oriflame Consultants shall deliver or make available to the customer a product order form which: identifies Oriflame, the Oriflame Consultant making the sale including their name, address and telephone number, all material terms of the sale, terms of guarantee and/or warranty, details and limitations or after-sales service, the duration of the guarantee and the remedial action available to the customer.
- 4.8 Oriflame Consultants shall not use any testimonial or endorsement that is unauthorized untrue, obsolete or otherwise inapplicable, unrelated to the offer or used in any way likely to mislead the customer.
- 4.9 Oriflame Consultants shall not use comparisons which are misleading. Points of comparison shall be based on facts which can be substantiated. Oriflame Consultants shall not unfairly denigrate any other company, business or product, directly or by implication. Oriflame Consultants shall not take unfair advantage of the goodwill attached to the trade name and symbol of another company, business or product.
- 4.10 Oriflame Consultants shall allow their customers to cancel an order within the local applicable cooling-off period and return for a refund any goods already delivered which are re-sellable as new. When a customer requests the Oriflame satisfaction guarantee to be honored the Oriflame Consultant shall offer the customer the choice of a full refund of the purchase price or full credit for exchange with the same or another Oriflame product. The cooling-off period and Oriflame satisfaction guarantee shall be clearly communicated to customers.
- 4.11 The Oriflame Consultant will make personal, telephone or electronic contact in a reasonable manner and during reasonable hours to avoid intrusiveness. The Oriflame Consultant shall discontinue a demonstration or sales presentation upon the request of the consumer
- 4.12 The information the Oriflame Consultant gives to the consumer shall be provided in a clear and comprehensible manner with due regard to the principles of good faith in commercial transactions and the principles governing the protection of those who are unable, pursuant to national legislation, to give their consent, such as minors.
- 4.13 Oriflame Consultants shall not abuse the trust of individual consumers and shall respect the lack of commercial experience of consumers and shall not exploit a consumer’s age, illness, mental or physical infirmity, credulity, lack of understanding or lack of language knowledge.
- 4.14 Oriflame Consultants shall not induce a person to purchase products based on the representation that the customer can reduce or recover the purchase price by referring prospective customers to the Oriflame Consultant for similar purchases, if such reductions or recovery are contingent upon some future event.
- 4.15 Oriflame Consultants shall fulfill customer orders in a timely manner.
Responsibilities towards other Oriflame Consultants
- 4.16 Oriflame Consultants shall not steal an applicant from other Oriflame Consultants, nor interfere by soliciting Oriflame Consultants in the line of sponsorship of another Oriflame Consultant.
- 4.17 An Oriflame Consultant shall not misrepresent the actual or potential sales or earnings of Oriflame Consultants. Any earnings representations and sales figures must be: (a) truthful, accurate, and presented in a manner that is not false, deceptive or misleading, and(b) based upon documented and substantiated facts in the relevant market. Potential Oriflame Consultants must: (c) be informed that actual earnings and sales will vary from person to person and will depend upon the skills of the seller, the time and effort put in and other factors and; (d) be provided with sufficient information to enable a reasonable evaluation of the opportunity to earn income.
- 4.18 An Oriflame Consultant shall not charge other Consultants or prospective Consultants fees for any non-Oriflame developed/sanctioned materials or services except fees to cover expenses directly related to non-mandatory training or meetings conducted by the Oriflame Consultant.
- Any marketing materials developed by Consultants must be consistent with Oriflame policies and procedures. Oriflame Consultants who sell approved, legally allowed promotional or training materials to other Oriflame Consultants: (i) shall only offer materials which comply with the same standards to which Oriflame adheres, (ii) be prohibited from making the purchase of such materials a requirement of other Oriflame Consultants; (iii) provide sales aids at a reasonable and fair cost, without any significant profit to the Oriflame Consultant, equivalent to similar material available generally in the marketplace; and (iv) offer a written return policy that is the same as the return policy of Oriflame.
- 4.19 Oriflame Consultants shall contact other Oriflame Consultants only in a reasonable manner and during reasonable hours to avoid intrusiveness.
- 4.20 Oriflame does not impose any conditions for minimum purchases, whether in quantities or in value, on its Consultants. Similarly, an Oriflame Consultant shall not compel or force those he/she sponsors to order through him/ her, order any minimum quantities or maintain stock of products. All Oriflame Consultants may order any quantities directly from Oriflame but handling and courier fees may apply depending on order size. It is up to the individual Oriflame Consultant’s judgment to determine if he/she should keep any stock, reflecting the anticipated sale / consumption. Oriflame Consultants shall not require or encourage other Oriflame Consultants to purchase unreasonable amounts of inventory or sales aides. An Oriflame Consultant shall not keep more stock than he/she could reasonably expect to sell or consume.
- 4.21 Oriflame Consultants shall not use the Oriflame network for marketing materials, products or schemes which are not officially approved by Oriflame and that are inconsistent with Oriflame’s policies and procedures.
- 4.22 Oriflame Consultants shall not systematically entice or solicit direct sellers of another company.
- 4.23 Oriflame Consultants shall not unfairly denigrate another company’s products, its sales and marketing plan or any other feature of another company.
- 4.24 The Oriflame Consultants do not have any employment relationship with Oriflame. When presenting the Oriflame Business Opportunity to others, the Oriflame Consultants must clearly state the independent character of this business and the fact that no employment with Oriflame exists.
- 4.25 The Oriflame Consultants have no authority to bind or assume obligations on behalf of Oriflame. They shall indemnify Oriflame in respect of any costs or damages arising from any noncompliance to these Rules.
- 4.26 An Oriflame Consultant may not place orders in the name of another Oriflame Consultant, without that Oriflame Consultant’s prior written approval.
- 4.27 In building their Personal Group, the Oriflame Consultants shall ensure that all new Oriflame Consultants will follow the credit terms, if credit is offered.
- 4.28 In becoming a Sponsor, the Oriflame Consultant shall ensure that he/she trains and motivates her personally sponsored Oriflame Consultants.
- 4.29 An Oriflame Consultant may not be involved in interviews regarding, or referring to Oriflame with any media, whether by television, internet, radio, magazines etc. nor utilise any advertising media (including viral advertising as SMS, internet etc) for the purposes of marketing of her Oriflame business without Oriflame’s prior written consent.
- 4.30 The Oriflame Consultants shall not be involved in social media dialogues which misrepresent or give incorrect or misleading information about Oriflame, its products or services, or may generally lead to loss of reputation by Oriflame, please see below the Social Media Dialogue - 10 Golden Rules.
- OTHER RULES AND POLICIES
- 5.1. There are no exclusive territories or franchises available under the Oriflame policy. No Oriflame Consultant has the authority to grant, sell, assign or transfer such a territory or franchise. Every Oriflame Consultant is free to conduct his/her business in any area of the country of registration.
- 5.2 The Oriflame Consultant must respect that Oriflame operates in certain markets, and not in all countries worldwide, strictly observing its obligations re product safety, product registration, import and other rules that may apply to trade in the respective countries. Oriflame bears no responsibility for any damage, disputes or claims arising from or related to cross-border trade conducted by Oriflame Consultants to countries outside of markets where Oriflame operates. Thus Oriflame will hold the Oriflame Consultant fully liable for any such claims.
- 5.3 An Oriflame Consultant is independent of Oriflame. The only title which may be used on business cards, other printed materials or in email communication is “Independent (Beauty) Consultant” or “Oriflame Independent (Beauty) Consultant” and when qualified “Independent Beauty Manager” and “Independent Beauty Director”.
- 5.4 Promotional materials, Personal Beauty Store and any social media applications, provided by Oriflame can be used as specified without further approval. It is understood that the Oriflame Consultants cannot register or host a website or homepage with the domain name including the word “Oriflame”.
- The Oriflame Consultants can drive traffic to official Oriflame websites, blogs walls and the like. Oriflame reserves the right to pre-approve the material that will be published. The policy for online presence of Oriflame Consultants is further described in the Consultant Online Policy below (Appendix 2).
- 5.5 Oriflame trademarks, logos and name are the property of Oriflame Cosmetics S.A. and may not be used by the Oriflame Consultant, neither in printed materials nor published on the Internet, without prior written consent from Oriflame. If such consent is obtained, trademarks and logos must be used exactly as stated in the Oriflame guidelines.
- 5.6 No Oriflame Consultant may produce or procure from any source other than Oriflame any item upon which the trademarks or logos are printed or displayed, unless approved by Oriflame in writing.
- 5.7 All Oriflame printed material, videos, photographs, design are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part by anyone, neither in printed materials nor published on the Internet, without prior written approval from Oriflame. When copyrighted material is legitimately used it is mandatory that reference to the Oriflame copyright is made in a visible and unambiguous way.
- 5.8 No Oriflame Consultant shall sell to, sell in, demonstrate, or display Oriflame products in any retail outlet, web shop, auction platform such as Ebay or the like. No Oriflame literature may be sold or displayed in such retail outlets. Establishments which technically are not retail outlets, such as beauty parlours, may be used as venues to display, but not sell the products.
- 5.9 The contents of the Oriflame websites such as text, graphics, photographs, designs and programming are also copyright protected and may not be utilized for any commercial use without prior written approval from Oriflame.
- 5.10 Spamming (the abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages) is strictly
prohibited. An Oriflame Consultant shall limit the number of promotional emails sent to end-customers so that any individual recipient does not receive more than one message per week. These messages cannot be sent on behalf of Oriflame and therefore full responsibility for contents lies on the sender. - 5.11 Under no circumstances is any person authorized to repackage or in any way alter the packaging or labelling of the products. Oriflame products are to be sold in their original packaging only.
- 5.12 The Oriflame products do not cause damage or injury if they are used for their intended purpose and in accordance with instructions provided. Oriflame carries product liability insurance on its products. The insurance covers injury or damage where a faulty product is involved but does not cover careless or negligent application or improper use of a product.
- 5.13 Oriflame reserves the right to deduct, at any time, any overdue invoices from any Performance Discount or Bonus due for payment to the Oriflame Consultant.
- 5.14 Oriflame has the right to change its prices and range without prior notice. Oriflame will not give a Performance Discount, Bonus or any other compensation for any losses suffered due to price changes, range changes or products being out of stock.
- 5.15 If requested upon termination of a Consultant’s relationship with Oriflame, Oriflame agrees to: - repurchase products from the Consultant. All the following conditions must be met for Oriflame to grant a refund. - returns must be made within 12 months from date of purchase, - and will be refunded at 90% of the original net price paid after deduction of any performance discount, bonus or cash awards paid to the network, - and items returned must be currently marketable Oriflame inventory including any Oriflame produced promotional materials, sales aids or kits. For the purposes of this clause (a), currently marketable Oriflame inventory means any products that: - have not been used, opened or tampered with in any way; and - have not passed the expiry date; and - are still marketed by Oriflame in its catalogues.
- 5.16 If an Oriflame Consultant in any way is involved, legally or otherwise, in any dispute or activity that may involve or negatively affect Oriflame or its reputation, such Oriflame Consultant must immediately inform Oriflame.
- 5.17 Oriflame reserves the right to expand or revise the Oriflame Success Plan, qualification criteria, or the Code and Rules with immediate effect.
- RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTORS AND ANY HIGHER LEVELS
In addition to the general rules above that apply to all Oriflame Consultants, the following rules apply specifically to Directors and up. Violation of any of these special rules will result in immediate loss of Directors (and above) status and any underlying privileges - including any related remuneration - and may even result in termination of membership.
- 6.1 As a Director (and above) you must service your Personal Group Consultants during each Catalogue Period by:
- Recruiting and continuously developing your Personal Group.
- Assisting, guiding and motivating the members of the Personal Group.
- Conducting periodic meetings to train, motivate, set goals and to follow up.
- Training your downline Oriflame Consultants to best conduct their Oriflame business.
- Maintaining frequent communication, informing about meeting dates, venues, product news, training sessions, etc.
- Participating in all seminars and meetings organized by Oriflame.
- Enforcing the Code and the Rules and leading by example.
- Attending business meetings with Oriflame that you are called upon to attend by your Area Sales Manager.
- 6.2 A Director (and above) may not represent (and/or be a member of) any other direct selling company.
- 6.3 If the spouse of a Director (and any higher level) is a representative and/or a member of any other direct selling company, the spouse is not allowed to participate in any Oriflame meetings and events, and the spouse’s activities must be kept separate from Oriflame. The Directors (and above) must inform Oriflame if the spouse is a representative and/or a member of any other direct selling company.
- 6.4 In case of a Director (and above)’s death, a Membership may be inherited by the Director (and above)’s next of kin in accordance with the law of the applicable country. Written claim for the Membership must be made within 3 months from the date of the death. In the absence of any such claims, the Membership will be terminated. For clarity, the legal beneficiary of the Membership must agree and comply with the terms and conditions of being a consultant.
- 6.5 A Director (and above) must follow any additional rules or instructions communicated in writing by Oriflame from time to time.
COMPLAINT HANDLING PROCEDURE
- Any complaint based on breaches of the Code of Ethics or Rules of Conduct shall be addressed to the local Oriflame sales organization and/or the Managing Director of Oriflame Nigeria. The complaint handling body in Oriflame Nigeria is lead by the Managing Director (Oriflame Code Administrator).