Version 1.0, last updated 5 Nov 2026
The terms
1. Who we are
The Bench is a free online community for the UK jewellery trade. It is run by Studio Saina Ltd, trading as Hamed Arab Academy (company number 12770445), based in Birmingham, UK. Our address is Victoria Mansions, 32-35 Hall Street, Birmingham B18 6BS. Our email address is hi@hamedarab.academy.
"We", "us" and "our" mean Hamed Arab Academy as just described. "You" means anyone who uses The Bench.
These terms, the House Rules and the Privacy Notice are the agreement between you and us. If you use The Bench you accept them. If you do not accept them, please do not use it.
2. Who can join
2.1 You must be 16 or over. If you are younger, please do not sign up. If we find that a member is under 16, we close the account and delete the data.
2.2 When you join, we ask whether you are 16 to 17, or 18 and over. We ask only so we can switch on the extra protections in clause 14.
2.3 One account per person. A business account is held by a named person who is allowed to act for the business.
2.4 We may refuse to open an account, or close one, to keep The Bench safe or to follow the law.
3. Your account
3.1 Give true details and keep them up to date. Confirm your email address. Pass the robot check.
3.2 Keep your sign-in details secret. Tell us at once if you think someone else is using your account. You are responsible for what is done through your account.
3.3 Do not sell, share or lend your account.
4. What is not allowed
(a) is illegal in the UK, or helps someone break the law (for example fraud and scams, threats, harassment, hate crime, terrorism, child sexual abuse material, selling stolen goods or fakes, or sharing intimate images without consent); (b) is pornographic or sexually explicit; (c) encourages, praises or gives instructions for suicide, self-harm or an eating disorder; (d) abuses, bullies, threatens or discriminates against anyone; (e) pretends to be someone else, or claims a check, badge, qualification or membership you do not have; (f) is spam, or an advert outside the places made for adverts (the Jobs and Directory sections), or a link scheme; (g) asks anyone to pay money to get a job, or asks for bank, passport or National Insurance details to apply for one; (h) shares someone's private details, or a picture of someone, without their agreement; (i) copies someone else's work, design, brand or hallmark without the right to; (j) contains a virus or harmful code, or tries to get round our security, our robot check or our moderation (this includes text written to give instructions to our software or to the AI assistant); (k) collects other members' details, or uses The Bench by automated means, without our written permission.
4.2 The House Rules (one page) explain this with examples. If the House Rules and these terms disagree, these terms win.
5. Reports, removals and how we deal with illegal content
5.1 Every post, job ad, file, business page and profile has a Report button. You can also email hi@hamedarab.academy.
5.2 Software may take a first look at a report and may hide plain spam at once. A person decides everything else. If a report looks credible and the content may be illegal (a scam job ad, for example), we hide it straight away while we look. We aim to deal with reports of illegal content the same day and with other reports within 48 hours. We tell the person who reported what we decided.
5.3 When we find illegal content we remove it quickly, keep a record and, where it is right to, tell the authorities (for example the police, Report Fraud or JobsAware).
5.4 Hamed Arab is the person accountable for our online safety duties.
5.5 If you think a post says something false and damaging about you, use the complaints route in clause 19. We follow the legal steps and time limits for website operators.
6. Decisions about your account, and appeals
6.1 We may remove content, limit what you can do, or suspend or close your account if you break these terms, the House Rules or the law, or if you put others at risk. We usually tell you what we did, why, and what you can do about it. We may not tell you if that would put someone at risk or the law does not allow it.
6.2 A person makes every decision to suspend or close an account. Software never decides that on its own.
6.3 You can appeal any decision about your content or account. Use the link in our message, or email hi@hamedarab.academy. A person looks at it again from the start, and where possible it is not the person who made the first decision. We aim to answer within 7 days.
6.4 You can complain about how we handled a report, or about any decision, with the complaints form on The Bench or by email to hi@hamedarab.academy. We aim to reply within 14 days. Complaints about your personal data are covered in the Privacy Notice.
8. Jobs: rules for employers
8.1 Only an employer can post a job. A recruitment agency, employment business or job-matching service may not post, and may not apply for its clients.
8.2 Before your first ad we check your business (clause 10). A person reads your first ad before it goes live.
8.3 Every ad must show: your business's name, the kind of work, the place, the pay (an amount or a range, never just "competitive"), whether the job is permanent or fixed term, the hours, the skills and software asked for, and how to apply. The full list and the checks are in the job-ad rules.
8.4 The pay must be at or above the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for the workers who could take the job. From 1 April 2026 the rates are GBP 12.71 an hour at 21 and over, GBP 10.85 at 18 to 20, and GBP 8.00 under 18 and for apprentices. The rates change each April. The job ad rules set the rule we apply to the lowest figure in an ad.
8.5 No unpaid roles. The only unpaid kinds we allow are school work experience, college or university placements that are part of a course, and volunteering for a charity, a voluntary organisation or a public body. We label them plainly. Calling a job "unpaid" or an "internship" does not remove the duty to pay the minimum wage if the person is a worker.
8.6 No fees. Do not ask any applicant to pay anything, including for kit, training, uniforms, checks or a "refundable" deposit.
8.7 Applying goes to you, by your own email address or web form. Do not ask people to apply only by WhatsApp, Telegram or text message. Do not ask for bank, passport or National Insurance details with an application. Right-to-work checks are your duty, and you do them at the proper time, not through The Bench.
8.8 You are responsible for your ad and for what you do with the applications you receive. You are the controller of that data under data protection law. We do not receive or keep applications or CVs.
8.9 When you post an ad you tick the statement in Appendix A. We rely on it. The law lets us rely on a statement like this only where it is reasonable to do so (Equality Act 2010, section 112(2)), so we also screen every ad and a person reads anything the screen flags. It is a criminal offence to make a statement like this knowing it is false, or not caring whether it is true (section 112(3); a fine on conviction).
8.10 An ad closes on the closing date you set, or after 30 days if that is sooner. You can edit, renew or close an ad, or mark it filled, at any time.
8.11 We may hold, refuse or remove an ad at any time, for example if it breaks these terms, looks like a scam or has been reported. We tell you why unless that would put someone at risk.
8.12 If you email us an ad, a person at the Academy (helped by software) turns it into a proper ad and runs the same checks. It is still your ad, and it does not go live until you have made the Appendix A statement, for example by a confirmation link.
9. Jobs: for people looking for work
9.1 It is free to look at jobs, save them, set alerts and apply. You never pay us anything. No employer should ask you to pay to get a job. If one does, press Report.
9.2 You apply by contacting the employer yourself. We do not take, keep or pass on applications or CVs. We do not search for people, match them to jobs or introduce them to employers.
9.3 We check every business before it posts and a person reads every new employer's first ad. A check only says what its badge says (clause 10). We cannot promise that an ad is accurate or that a job will be offered. Use your own judgement. Never send money, bank details, a passport or a National Insurance number to get a job.
9.4 We are not an employer and not a party to any job. Employers decide whom they hire.
9.5 If you are not paid what you were promised, you can get help from ACAS or from the Fair Work Agency (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints).
10. Business pages and checks
10.1 Only a business that has passed our checks can post jobs or list its services.
10.2 The badge reads: "Checked on (date): we checked this business's registration and identity against (sources). This is not a review of their work." It says what we checked and when. It does not say that the business is good, honest, skilled or insured. The page on how we check businesses explains the checks.
10.3 Keep your details true, and tell us within 14 days if something changes (a director, the address, the business closing). We re-check at least every year, and sooner if the company's status changes or a report about you is upheld. We can remove a badge or a page at any time.
10.4 There are no star ratings or reviews on The Bench.
10.5 Do not use our name or the badge to suggest that we recommend you beyond what the badge says.
10.6 You are responsible for your own compliance with the law, including consumer, advertising, hallmarking and employment law.
12. Free to use
12.1 It is free to join The Bench, to ask and answer questions, to look for and apply for jobs, to download files, and for a checked business to post jobs and list its services. We do not charge businesses for these at launch. If we ever add a paid service, we will tell you first.
12.2 You must never be asked to pay to apply for a job on The Bench. Tell us if you are.
13. What we do and do not promise
13.1 The Bench is a place where members and businesses publish. We are not your employer, agent, recruiter or adviser, and we are not a party to any job, sale or agreement made between members.
13.2 We try to keep The Bench running and accurate, but we do not promise it will always be available or free of mistakes. We may change or stop parts of it. We give notice of big changes where we can.
13.3 Nothing on The Bench is professional advice (legal, tax, safety, financial or technical). Files, how-to posts and AI-assisted answers are shared in good faith. Check them before you rely on them, for example before you print, cast, set or sell anything.
14. If you are 16 or 17
14.1 You are welcome. Your questions and answers are seen only by signed-in members and are kept out of search engines.
14.2 Adults must not try to take a conversation with you off The Bench, or ask you for personal details. If anyone does, press Report.
14.3 Alerts and the weekly letter are your choice. The letter box starts empty.
14.4 We do not ask for a parent's permission, but you can talk to a parent, carer or teacher about using The Bench. Parents and carers can write to us at hi@hamedarab.academy.
14.5 If you want to talk to someone, Childline is free for children and young people: call 0800 1111 or go to childline.org.uk. If someone is in danger now, call 999.
15. Our liability
15.1 Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else the law does not let us limit. Your legal rights as a consumer are not affected.
15.2 Subject to 15.1: The Bench is free and is provided as it is; we are not responsible for what members, employers or businesses post, or for the jobs, files or advice they give, which are the responsibility of the person who posted them; we are not liable for loss that was not a foreseeable result of our breach; and if you use The Bench for business we are not liable for loss of profit, business or contracts.
15.3 Subject to 15.1, our total liability to you for everything connected with The Bench is limited to GBP 100.
16. Closing your account
16.1 You can close your account at any time from your settings or by emailing us. We then delete or anonymise your data as the Privacy Notice says.
16.3 We may close an account that has had no sign-in for 24 months after a warning email, or at once for serious breaches.
17. Changes to these terms
We may change these terms if the law, the service or the risks change. We tell members by email and on the site at least 14 days before a change that matters. If you do not agree, you can close your account.
18. Law and disputes
18.1 These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales can hear any dispute. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you can also bring a claim in your local courts.
18.2 If any part of these terms cannot be enforced, the rest still applies.
19. Contact, complaints and legal notices
- Studio Saina Ltd, trading as Hamed Arab Academy (company number 12770445), Victoria Mansions, 32-35 Hall Street, Birmingham B18 6BS. Email: hi@hamedarab.academy.
- Reports: the Report button, or hi@hamedarab.academy.
- Notices about files and posts (copyright, design right, defamation): the notice form on The Bench, or by post to the address above. The procedures are on the takedown and complaints pages.
- Requests about your personal data: see the Privacy Notice. Email hi@hamedarab.academy.
Appendix A: the employer's statement (the exact words for the tick box)
"By posting this ad I confirm that:
- I am an owner, director or employee of the business named in this ad, and I am allowed to advertise for it. I am not a recruitment agency, an employment business or a job-matching service.
- The ad is lawful. It does not discriminate, or encourage discrimination, on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Where the ad limits the job to one group because of a genuine occupational requirement, the ad says what the requirement is and why it applies.
- The pay shown is true and is at or above the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for the workers who could take the job. The job is paid, or it is one of the unpaid kinds The Bench allows (school work experience, a college or university placement, or volunteering for a charity, voluntary organisation or public body) and the ad says so plainly.
- No applicant will be asked to pay anything, or to give bank, passport or National Insurance details with an application. People can apply by my business's own email address or web form.
- I will do the right-to-work checks before anyone starts work.
- I understand that The Bench relies on this statement. It is a criminal offence to make a statement like this knowing it is false, or not caring whether it is true (Equality Act 2010, section 112(3))."
Store with every ad: the time, the wording version and the account.
Who provides The Bench
The Bench, by Hamed Arab Academy, is provided by Studio Saina Ltd, company number 12770445, Victoria Mansions, 32-35 Hall Street, Birmingham B18 6BS. You can write to us at hi@hamedarab.academy.