PLAYERS AGENT REGISTRATION REGULATIONS

Transcription

1 PLAYERS AGENT REGISTRATION REGULATIONS 1 DEFINITIONS 1.1 In these Players Agent Regstraton Regulatons, the followng terms shall have the followng meanngs: Agency Actvty means actng n any way and at any tme n the capacty of agent, representatve, advser or n any other way provdng a servce to a Frst Class County, Ka Super League Team or Player, ether drectly or ndrectly, n any aspect of the negotaton, arrangement or executon of any knd of Transacton. Agent means any person, whether based n the UK or overseas, who carres out or seeks to carry out Agency Actvty. CDC means the ECB Crcket Dscplne Commsson. CDC Regulatons means the publshed regulatons of the CDC (as amended from tme to tme). Dsapproved Crcket shall have the meanng gven to t under ICC Regulatons (as amended from tme to tme). ECB means the England and Wales Crcket Board Lmted. Exempt Indvdual means an ndvdual who s a Player s parent, sblng or spouse, an ndvdual who acts n a professonal capacty as a regstered solctor or barrster or an offcer or employee of the PCA who negotates for a Player who has already receved an offer of a contract of employment. Frst Class County means one of the county crcket clubs from tme to tme playng n the Frst Class County Champonshp. HMRC means Her Majesty s Revenue and Customs. Ka Super League Team means any of the teams competng n the Ka Super League. PCA means the Professonal Crcketers Assocaton. Player means any person regstered or ntendng to be regstered wth a Frst Class County pursuant to the ECB Regulatons Governng the Qualfcaton and Regstraton of Crcketers or any person regstered or ntendng to be regstered wth a Ka Super League Team pursuant to the ECB Regulatons Governng the Qualfcaton and Regstraton of Crcketers for the Ka Super League. Regster shall have the meanng set out at Regulaton 4.9. Regstered Agent means an Agent who s regstered wth the ECB. Regulatons means these Players Agent Regstraton Regulatons. Transacton means any knd of employment or other smlar transacton (ncludng, wthout lmtaton, any Player contract, transfer, loan or regstraton matters). 1.2 References to the masculne gender shall nclude the femnne, and to the sngular shall nclude the plural, and vce versa. 1.3 Headngs are ncluded for convenence only and are not ntended to affect the nterpretaton of these Regulatons. 2 SCOPE AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE REGULATIONS 2.1 These Regulatons apply to the ECB, all Frst Class Countes, all Ka Super League Teams, Regstered Agents and Players. 2.2 Any breach of the Regulatons by any person or entty subject to them may result n dscplnary acton and sanctons n accordance wth Regulaton 10. Page 1 of 7

2 3 RESTRICTIONS ON FIRST CLASS COUNTIES, KIA SUPER LEAGUE TEAMS AND PLAYERS IN RELATION TO AGENTS 3.1 Frst Class Countes, Ka Super League Teams or Players wshng to appont a person to act on ther behalf n relaton to any Agency Actvty may only appont a Regstered Agent or an Exempt Indvdual to do so. 3.2 Frst Class Countes, Ka Super League Teams and Players must not engage, ether drectly or ndrectly, n any aspect of the negotaton, arrangement or executon of any knd of Transacton where ether or both partes are represented by an ndvdual who s not a Regstered Agent or Exempt Indvdual. 3.3 Frst Class Countes, Ka Super League Teams and Players must use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that any Regstered Agent apponted to act for them comples wth these Regulatons and all other ECB Rules and Regulatons (as amended from tme to tme). Prncpals, whether Frst Class Countes, Ka Super League Teams or Players, may be held by the ECB to be lable for the acts or omssons of Regstered Agents nstructed by them. 4 REGISTRATION OF AGENTS Regstraton process 4.1 In order for a person to become regstered as a Regstered Agent, that person must: apply to the ECB n wrtng (to ECB, Lord s Crcket Ground, London, NW8 8QZ) and comply wth the relevant applcaton procedure stpulated by the ECB (ncludng, wthout lmtaton, the provson of approprate sgned undertakngs and satsfactory documentary evdence of a suffcent level of professonal ndemnty nsurance wth a reputable nsurer n accordance wth Regulaton 4.4); v pass a multple choce exam set jontly by the ECB and the PCA and coverng, nter ala, the relevant ECB Rules and Regulatons and related matters of relevance to the conduct of Agency Actvty; pay to the PCA the relevant regstraton fee prescrbed by the ECB from tme to tme (whch shall be VAT untl further notce to the contrary); and agree to submt to the jursdcton of the ECB. 4.2 An Agent wshng to become a Regstered Agent must meet the qualfyng crtera stpulated by the ECB from tme to tme, ncludng the requrement that: v v v v v they are over 18 years of age as at the date of ther applcaton; they are of good character and reputaton (n the ECB s sole opnon); they do not have any convcton for any offence nvolvng dshonesty or decepton; they are not an undscharged bankrupt or otherwse subject to bankruptcy proceedngs; they are not dsqualfed from actng as a drector of or otherwse from beng nvolved wth a company pursuant to an order under the Company Drectors Dsqualfcaton Act 1986; they are not subject to an order under secton 429(2)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986 as a result of havng faled to make payments requred by an admnstraton order; they have not n the prevous 10 years, been censured or dscplned (n the UK or elsewhere) or had ther membershp revoked by any regulatory or professonal organsaton n relaton to any busness or professonal actvtes; and they are not an offcer, employee or consultant of a Frst Class County, a Ka Super League Team or the ECB (ncludng wthout lmtaton a current Page 2 of 7

3 regstered and/or contracted crcketer), or any person n an offcal poston wth the ECB; x they have not wthn the past 12 months partcpated, facltated or been n any way nvolved n any crcket match or event n England and Wales whch has been or s to be staged n breach of the ECB s Crcket Event Regulatons and/or any crcket match or event n any other country whch s Dsapproved Crcket. 4.3 Agents must ensure that they do not submt msleadng or naccurate nformaton n ther applcaton for regstraton. In the event that the ECB beleves that an ndvdual has submtted msleadng or naccurate nformaton n ther applcaton for regstraton as a Regstered Agent (or any applcaton for renewal of regstraton), the ECB shall be enttled to suspend the Regstered Agent s regstraton n accordance wth Regulaton Regstered Agents must at all tmes have n place approprate professonal lablty nsurance wth a reputable nsurer to a level determned by the ECB, and must dsclose a copy of ther polcy and related documents upon request by the ECB or the PCA. 4.5 Each Regstered Agent must be regstered ndvdually n ther personal capacty and may not transfer or delegate ther regstraton or any of ther Agency Actvtes to any other person or any other entty. 4.6 The ECB shall have a full and unfettered dscreton, n applyng the relevant regstraton requrements and crtera at Regulatons 4.1 to 4.4 above, as to whether to accept any gven applcaton. The ECB shall use ts reasonable endeavours to communcate ts decson to the applcant wthn 14 days of ts recept of the applcaton. 4.7 An applcant whose applcaton s rejected may appeal such decson provded that they submt wrtten notce of such appeal to the ECB Chef Executve wthn 7 days of the formal notfcaton of the rejecton decson. The sole vald ground for appeal shall be that the ECB has faled to apply the relevant regstraton requrements and crtera at Regulatons 4.1 to 4.4 above n makng ts rejecton decson. An appeal panel of three persons wll thereupon be apponted by the ECB, comprsng ECB representatves or ts appontees who were not nvolved n the orgnal rejecton decson, whch wll consder such appeal on the papers (unless n ts sole dscreton t wshes to hold a hearng n whch event t shall determne ts own procedures) before makng ts decson by a majorty vote of ts members. 4.8 If an applcaton s rejected and the applcant does not appeal or makes an unsuccessful appeal, the applcant shall be prohbted from re-applyng to become a Regstered Agent for two years from the date of formal notfcaton of the rejecton decson, save where the rejecton was solely due to a falure to pass the multple choce exam (n whch event the applcant may freely re-apply) and subject to the ECB s rght to ncrease or decrease ths two year perod f t deems t approprate. The Regster 4.9 The PCA shall, on behalf of the ECB, mantan and publsh a publc regster of Regstered Agents whch contans the ndvdual s name and contact detals, the company or companes whch they clam to represent, the date of frst regstraton, any renewal dates and such other detals as the ECB and the PCA may from tme to tme determne (the Regster ). All Regstered Agents must ensure that they nform the PCA of any change n ther detals whch would requre an amendment to the Regster Once regstered, an ndvdual s name shall reman on the Regster untl: ther regstraton s suspended by the ECB or they cancel ther regstraton n accordance wth Regulatons 6.2 or 6.3 (as applcable); or the followng 31 December, unless they have appled for a renewal of hs regstraton for the followng calendar year n accordance wth Regulaton 4.11; or t s removed from the Regster followng a cancellaton or suspenson of ther regstraton n accordance wth Regulaton Page 3 of 7

4 Renewal of regstraton 4.11 On or before 31 December n each year, a Regstered Agent may apply for ther regstraton to be renewed for the followng calendar year by completng and submttng to the PCA the relevant completed renewal applcaton form and payng to the PCA the relevant renewal fee prescrbed by the ECB from tme to tme (whch shall be VAT untl further notce to the contrary). Falure to do so on or before 31 December n any year shall result n the automatc removal of the Regstered Agent s name from the Regster. Agent oblgatons after cessaton of regstraton 4.12 If for any reason a Regstered Agent ceases to be regstered wth the ECB, they must: cease to hold themself out as a Regstered Agent; take all reasonable steps (ncludng any reasonable step notfed by the ECB or the PCA) to ensure that no person s msled as to the fact that they are not regstered; and nform all ther Player, Frst Class County and Ka Super League Team clents that they are no longer a Regstered Agent and that they can therefore no longer act for them as a Regstered Agent n relaton to any Agency Actvtes. 5 CONDUCT OF REGISTERED AGENTS Prohbton on dual representaton 5.1 Regstered Agents must not () conduct any Agency Actvty for more than one party n any one Transacton; and/or () receve any payment or any other form of beneft from more than one party n relaton to any one Transacton, save only n the specfc crcumstances set out n Regulaton 8.2(). 5.2 Regstered Agents shall dsclose n wrtng to ther prncpal any relevant formal or nformal relatonshps that they may have or have had n place wth any other party to any gven Transacton, before any steps are taken n respect of the relevant Transacton (ncludng but not lmted to the negotaton, arrangement or executon of the Transacton), and such dsclosure must be made as soon as reasonably practcable and n any event wthn 14 days of the Regstered Agent becomng aware of any such relatonshp. A Regstered Agent may only contnue to act on a Transacton where such a relatonshp has been dsclosed f ther prncpal consents n wrtng to the Regstered Agent s contnung nvolvement. 5.3 Regstered Agents from the same agency, company or other legal entty must act on behalf of the same party to any gven Transacton. Accountng, fnancal and reportng oblgatons 5.4 Regstered Agents must keep and mantan approprate professonal accounts n accordance wth best accountng practce and n the event of an nvestgaton by the CDC nto breaches or potental breaches of these Regulatons must promptly make avalable such accounts and all relevant books and records upon request. 5.5 Regstered Agents must ensure that the Player s gross pre-tax ncome s not (as a result of ther oblgaton to pay a fee to the Regstered Agent) less than ther gross pre-tax ncome before enterng nto the contract wth the Regstered Agent, unless they notfy the Player n wrtng before enterng nto any such arrangement that ths could be the result of the arrangement and smultaneously supples a copy of that notfcaton to the PCA. 5.6 Each Regstered Agent must provde to the PCA a full lst of ther Player clents on or before the last workng day of each month. Page 4 of 7

5 General oblgatons 5.7 Each Regstered Agent: v v v v v x x x must fully and at all tmes comply (and use ther best efforts to procure that any Player they represent fully and at all tmes comples) wth these Regulatons and the ECB s other Rules and Regulatons as amended and updated from tme to tme and any undertakngs provded to the ECB by them or any of ther Players pursuant to any ECB Rules and Regulatons; must contnue, for the duraton of ther regstraton, to satsfy all of the qualfyng crtera set out n Regulaton 4.2 or otherwse stpulated by the ECB from tme to tme; must mmedately notfy the ECB and the PCA n wrtng f they fal to contnue to meet any of the qualfyng crtera set out n Regulaton 4.2 or otherwse stpulated by the ECB from tme to tme; must not use for any purpose any trade marks or other ntellectual property of the ECB or the PCA wthout the relevant entty s pror wrtten consent; must famlarse themself wth these Regulatons and at all tmes conduct themself n an ethcal manner and observe the hghest standards of ntegrty and far dealng, whch shall be judged aganst the objectve standard of a reasonable Regstered Agent who s famlar wth these Regulatons; s under a duty not to allow the game of crcket to be brought nto dsrepute; must act n good fath and dsclose n wrtng the dentty of ther prncpal n all dscussons and negotatons relatng to any Transacton; must ensure that they do not procure or seek to procure any playng, endorsement or other commercal deal for a player whch conflcts wth the Player s oblgatons under ther ECB central and/or county or Ka Super League contract (as applcable) and f the Regstered Agent s representng a Player who s centrally contracted to the ECB, they must not commt such Player to any personal endorsement contract or smlar bndng agreement wthout the pror wrtten approval of the ECB Commercal Drector; must comply wth the Conduct of Employment Agences and Employment Busnesses Regulatons 2003 and any other relevant legslaton applcable to the performance of ther role as an agent; and shall be enttled to descrbe themself as a regstered agent or regstered wth the ECB, but shall not refer to ther regstraton n any other way or otherwse use t to promote ther busness by clamng or mplyng that they are or have been approved or endorsed by the ECB n any way; must not partcpate, facltate or n any way be nvolved n any crcket match or event n England and Wales whch s staged n breach of the ECB s Crcket Event Regulatons and/or n any crcket match or event n any other country whch s Dsapproved Crcket. 6 CANCELLATION AND SUSPENSION OF REGISTRATION 6.1 A Regstered Agent s regstraton may be cancelled at any tme by the ECB at the drecton of the CDC n ts sole dscreton f t determnes that there has been a breach by them of ther oblgatons under these Regulatons. 6.2 A Regstered Agent s regstraton may be suspended by the ECB at any tme n ts sole dscreton, pendng fnal determnaton by the CDC n accordance wth Regulaton 10, n the event that the ECB has reason to beleve that there has been a breach by the Regstered Agent of ther oblgatons under these Regulatons. 6.3 A Regstered Agent may at any tme cancel ther regstraton upon wrtten notce to the ECB. Page 5 of 7

6 7 PLAYER REPRESENTATION AGREEMENTS 7.1 Regstered Agents must enter nto the PCA s standard form of representaton/agency agreement as may from tme to tme be stpulated by the PCA wth each Player that they represent, unless they notfy the Player n wrtng before enterng nto any such contract that t s not n the PCA s standard form and smultaneously supples a copy of that notfcaton to the PCA. 7.2 No representaton agreement between a Player and a Regstered Agent (or the entty whch the Regstered Agent represents) shall: have a term exceedng two years (or any automatc renewal provson havng such effect); or be assgnable or transferable to another person wthout the relevant Player s pror wrtten consent. 7.3 Regstered Agents must advse each Player wth whom they propose to enter a representaton agreement to obtan ndependent advce pror to the executon of any such agreement. 7.4 Regstered Agents shall submt a copy of any sgned representaton agreement and any related contractual documentaton to the PCA wthn 28 days of a wrtten request from the ECB and/or the PCA to do so. 8 REMUNERATION 8.1 The prncpal for whom the Regstered Agent acts shall be responsble for payment of the fees or other remuneraton of the Regstered Agent, but (subject always to Regulaton 8.2()) ths shall not prevent a thrd party payng the Regstered Agent on such prncpal s behalf. The bass on whch any fees or other remuneraton s to be calculated must be reasonable and shall be clearly stated n wrtng. 8.2 A Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team shall not make any payment of any nature whatsoever n respect of a Player to any person other than the Player themself, another Frst Class County (for example n the case of a loan deal), another Ka Super League Team or HMRC, unless: a Regstered Agent or Exempt Indvdual s conductng Agency Actvty solely for and on behalf of a Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team n relaton to any gven Transacton, n whch case the Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team may pay fees or other remuneraton to the relevant Regstered Agent or Exempt Indvdual n relaton to that Transacton; or a Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team agrees (at the relevant Player s request) to dscharge a Player s lablty drectly to a Regstered Agent or an Exempt Indvdual, n whch case payment shall be made on the Player s behalf as a taxable beneft, and the relevant Player and Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team shall ensure that they fulfl the relevant tax law requrements n relaton to any such payment. 8.3 Each Frst Class County and Ka Super League Team shall submt to the ECB a completed pro forma (n the form stpulated by the ECB from tme to tme), sgned by the relevant Frst Class County s Chef Executve or authorsed representatve of the Ka Super League Team, Player and Regstered Agent wthn 14 days of the completon of any Transacton nvolvng a Player, the Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team and any thrd party or thrd partes conductng any form of Agency Actvty whch detals all relevant payments made by, to or on behalf of any party wthout lmtaton. 9 APPROACHES 9.1 Regstered Agents must not take any steps (ncludng the makng of publc statements) ntended to nduce any person to act n breach of ther wrtten agreement wth a Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team. Page 6 of 7

7 9.2 Regstered Agents must not, when actng for a Player who s under contract wth a Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team, wthout the wrtten consent of that Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team or otherwse as permtted under the ECB Regulatons Governng the Qualfcaton and Regstraton of Crcketers or the ECB Regulatons Governng the Qualfcaton and Regstraton of Crcketers for the Ka Super League, drectly or ndrectly communcate wth or approach another Frst Class County, Ka Super League Team or Player or any other person wth the object of negotatng or arrangng a transfer or loan of the Player. 9.3 Regstered Agents must not, when actng for a Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team to whom a Player s contracted, wthout the wrtten consent of the Player, drectly or ndrectly communcate wth or approach another Frst Class County, Ka Super League Team or Player or any other person wth a vew to procurng the transfer or loan of that Player. 9.4 Regstered Agents actng for a Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team must not make any offer of contract, provde any letter of ntent or offer any nducement to any Player under the age of 18 or to any parent, guardan, trustee or other person of such Player, except n the case of Players aged 16 or over where: a contract s offered under whch the only materal consderaton provded to the Player s n the form of a non-refundable fnancal grant to be appled only for the purposes of the Player s academc and/or vocatonal tranng for a perod of 12 months or longer; and the contract s counter-sgned by the Player s parent or legal guardan. 9.5 Subject only to Regulaton 9.4, Regstered Agents must not make any offer of contract, provde any letter of ntent or offer any nducement to any Player under the age of 18 or to any parent, guardan, trustee or other person of such Player. 10 BREACH OF REGULATIONS AND REFERRAL TO THE CDC 10.1 The CDC shall have the jursdcton to determne whether or not any gven Regstered Agent, Frst Class County, Ka Super League Team or Player s n breach of these Regulatons The CDC shall, save as otherwse stated n these Regulatons, apply the procedures and (where approprate) the sanctons set out n the CDC Regulatons n nvestgatng and punshng any alleged breach of these Regulatons A complant about an alleged breach of these Regulatons by a Regstered Agent, Player, Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team may be made by or on behalf of any Player, any Frst Class County or Ka Super League Team or any member, offcer or employee of the ECB or the PCA. Any such complant shall be notfed n wrtng to the Chef Executve of the ECB who shall promptly refer t to the CDC Charman (or ther authorsed deputy) In addton to any sanctons avalable to the CDC under the CDC Regulatons, the CDC shall also be enttled to mpose the followng addtonal sanctons on any Regstered Agent found to be n breach of the Regulatons: to drect the ECB to cancel or suspend the Regstered Agent s regstraton wth mmedate effect; and/or to drect the ECB to mpose such regstraton condtons on the Regstered Agent as the CDC consders approprate Unless otherwse expressly specfed by the CDC any Regstered Agent whose regstraton has been cancelled pursuant to Regulaton 10.4() shall not be enttled to apply for re-regstraton as a Regstered Agent for a perod of 2 years from the date of cancellaton. Page 7 of 7