Community Guidelines
The Lab is built on trust between emerging creatives and the employers who hire them. These guidelines set the standard for how every member should behave on our platform.
Be Respectful
Treat every member of The Lab community with kindness and professionalism. Harassment, discrimination, or bullying of any kind is not tolerated.
Communicate Honestly
Provide accurate information in your profile, applications, and job listings. Misrepresentation undermines trust for everyone.
Protect Privacy
Respect the confidentiality of candidate profiles, employer details, and application materials. Never share another member's data without permission.
Act Professionally
Whether hiring or applying, respond promptly, honour commitments, and conduct yourself with integrity throughout the process.
Entry-Level Hiring Standards
The Lab is designed to connect employers with emerging creative talent. Employers are encouraged to assess candidates based on capability, potential and relevant evidence rather than relying solely on years of professional experience.
Employers should:
- Set realistic experience requirements
- Distinguish essential, desirable and trainable skills
- Consider portfolios, projects, freelance work, education, Lab Briefs and transferable skills where appropriate
- Avoid unnecessary experience requirements for genuinely entry-level positions
- Maintain appropriate professional and quality standards
The Lab does not ask employers to lower their standards. We help employers assess the right standards for an entry-level role.
Candidates must also understand that entry-level does not mean expectation-free. Candidates are expected to demonstrate professionalism, reliability, preparation, relevant skills and willingness to learn.
Lab Brief submissions must represent the candidate's own work. By submitting a Lab Brief, candidates confirm ownership and agree to follow these Community Guidelines.
Lab Briefs: Originality and Responsible AI Use
Lab Briefs are a core part of how The Lab helps candidates build experience and demonstrate their ability. To keep Lab Briefs meaningful and fair, every submission must genuinely represent your own work and contribution.
The central principle
Use technology responsibly, but your submission must genuinely represent your own ability and contribution.
The Lab recognises that AI can be a legitimate creative and productivity tool where appropriate. Using AI to assist with research, brainstorming, drafting or refining your work may be perfectly acceptable depending on the brief. However, misuse of AI, plagiarism and misrepresentation are not acceptable.
The Lab does not accept:
- Plagiarised work
- Submitting another person's work as your own
- Copying another creator's project and presenting it as original work
- Misrepresenting someone else's work as your own
- AI-generated work submitted where the Lab Brief requires your own original creative work
- Using AI to falsely represent your skills, experience or creative ability
- Using AI or other tools to circumvent the purpose of a Lab Brief
If a Lab Brief permits or encourages the use of AI, this will be stated clearly in the brief instructions. Where no such guidance is given, your submission should be your own original creative work.
By submitting a Lab Brief, you confirm that the work is genuinely yours, that you have not plagiarised or misrepresented the work of others, and that any use of AI has been responsible and appropriate to the brief.
What we expect
- Use your real identity and provide truthful information about your experience and qualifications.
- Respond to applications, messages, and interview invitations within a reasonable timeframe.
- Respect salary transparency. Do not list misleading ranges or ask candidates to work unpaid.
- Do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, or background.
- Keep all communication on-platform where possible, and never use The Lab to solicit paid services outside of legitimate hiring.
- Report suspicious or inappropriate behaviour to The Lab team so we can act on it.
What is not allowed
- Harassment, hate speech, or personal attacks against any member.
- Posting fraudulent, misleading, or discriminatory job listings.
- Sharing another member's personal information without consent.
- Spamming, phishing, or sending unsolicited commercial messages.
- Creating fake accounts or impersonating another person or company.
- Requesting unpaid work, trial work without agreement, or exploitative arrangements.
Enforcement
The Lab reviews reports of guideline violations and may remove content, suspend accounts, or permanently ban members who breach these standards. Serious violations may also be reported to the relevant authorities.
If you experience or witness behaviour that violates these guidelines, please contact our team with details. Every report is reviewed, and we act to protect the integrity of our community.
These guidelines may be updated from time to time. Continued use of The Lab after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised guidelines.
Have a question?
We're here to help if you're unsure whether something fits our guidelines.
Contact The Lab