How to use our website
If you are having any difficulty using our site please read this page first - it may well answer your query. If not, contact Prospect's website team by email.
Contents
General information about our site
Members-only and reps-only pages
Finding and downloading files from our library
eBranches, eGroups, eNetworks etc
Privacy and cookies
Our privacy policy sets out the terms on which we hold and process data.
Our cookies page explains which cookies we use on the site and how to opt out of them.
General information about our site
Our site is optimised to work with a wide range of recent web browsers. Some pages may not display properly in older browsers, but we have tried to minimise any such problems. Please email our website team if you encounter any browser problems. Please read the full terms and conditions for use of our website including our discussion forums.
Members-only and reps-only content
Some of our content is restricted to Prospect members, and many of our downloadable resources are restricted to specific groups of users, eg reps, members of particular committees. You need to log in to make sure you get access to the full range of content that's available to you.
Is the login system secure?
Yes. We use SSL technology certified by RapidSSL to ensure that all the details you submit are fully encrypted.
Passwords
We don’t require that your password contains a specific number of characters, but our system will assess its robustness and will not accept a weak password. We suggest that you use at least 8 characters with a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.
Logging in
You create a password for our site by going through the 2-step first-time login ('registration').
Step 1: enter your surname, membership number and home postcode. The website will look for a match for all three fields on our membership database. If you don't know your membership number, please email our membership team or call them on 0300 600 1878. For security purposes please provide two pieces of personal data to confirm your identity, either date of birth, post code, first line of address, email address or phone number.
If you enter all the details but are taken back to the registration screen, check your browser preferences to make sure cookies are enabled (guidance available here if you're not sure how to do this). Our site uses a temporary cookie which remembers your progress through the login process.
If you receive an error message saying your record could not be found, please try again, making sure you enter all the details correctly. The details you enter need to match those on your Prospect membership record.
- If you have a BFPO address, enter this in the 'postcode' box
- If you've moved house but not informed us, use your old postcode
- if you live overseas and don't have a postal or zip code, try leaving the postcode field blank.
If you only recently joined Prospect, there might be a delay before the website will recognise you. We're working on this.
If you still can't get beyond the first step and have checked that cookies are enabled in your browser, please email [email protected] quoting your name, membership number and home postcode.
Step 2: if your details are validated, you're asked you to set up a password. Our system will assess its robustness and will not accept a weak password. We recommend that it's at least 8 characters with a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.
On future visits to the site you can log in using either your membership number or your email address, plus your password.
We recommend that you log in as soon as you visit our site, to make sure you get access to the full range of content. You can tick a 'remember me' option during the login process. This means the next time you visit our site from that device and browser, you won't have to log in again to view standard members-only content. However, if you want to access more sensitive content such as your personal details you'll be asked to re-enter your password.
If you are having problems logging in please contact our helpdesk on 0300 600 1878 or +44 20 7902 6600, or email [email protected]
Forgotten your password?
Our site has an automated password re-et system at www.prospect.org.uk/forgot where you enter your membership number and surname, or your registered email address. Once your details have been verified, an automated email will be sent to one of the addresses held on your membership record, containing a link to create a new password. This link is only valid for 48 hours.
If you have problems resetting your password there are 4 key things to check before you contact us:
- The password reset email can only be sent to an email address which is held on your membership record. If the email doesn't arrive within a few minutes, tick the box on the password reset screen which says "I haven't received an email". This takes you through a process which checks the email address on your record. If in doubt, contact our membership team to check that your record is up-to-date.
- If your contact details are up-to-date but our email doesn't arrive within a few minutes, check your junk mail and spam folders
- Be sure you've actually got a password. You can test this by trying again at members.prospect.org.uk/register - the system will tell you if you've already registered.
- If you're using a work address, our re-set email can sometimes be blocked by your employer's firewall.
If you're unable to use the automated password reset for any of the above reasons, email [email protected] quoting your name, membership number and home postcode; make it clear that you've already tried to reset your password. This will help us to deal with your query as quickly as possible.
Accessibility
Our site has been designed with accessibility in mind. We use responsive design with cascading style sheets, and users can override the style sheets by changing their browser preferences. All our text is scaleable, so users can increase or decrease the size by using their browser's 'view' options. Please email the website team if you have any accessibility problems with it.
Downloading files from our library
Our library contains a range of files, mostly in PDF format. Some are restricted to logged-in members, other to reps only.
You will need a PDF reader to view the files.
You can browse the entire library by document type, subject area etc, or use the built-in search facility. Where possible, we also include document lists on many of our web pages - so in the health and safety area of the site you will find lists of H&S documents from the library.
When you click on a document title, you'll be taken to the document's summary page in our library. This displays a range of information such as the full description, creation date and audience (eg members only, reps only). So you can find out more about the document before choosing to download it. However, in some of our document lists you will see a green arrow icon:
This is a 'quick download' option. Where it's displayed, you can click on this icon to download a document without first being taken to its summary page.
eBranches, eSections, eNetworks
Our eSites are mini websites for specific groups of members. Any of our branches and sections can have their own eBranch or eSection, and their members automatically get access to the content when they log in.
If your branch has its own eBranch, you'll see a direct link to it when you log into our site - look in the login status box on the right-hand side for a link to 'your eBranch'. This will take you to your eBranch home page, and on the left-hand side you'll see links to all the eBranch content.
Some of our networks, groups and sectors also have their own eStructures. You can find links to them on the left-hand side of our site. If you're part of a network, group or sector you will automatically get access to their full content once you're logged in.