Rules and ethics
Part of When to check affiliate marketing rules and ethics before you scale
What affiliate marketing commercial contracts mean for UK programmes
Affiliate marketing commercial contracts set out commission, disclosure duty and data roles. The clauses UK brands and publishers should settle in writing.
What to take away
- English law lets you sign an affiliate deal on a handshake, but a written contract decides what happens when tracking fails, a publisher goes quiet or a claim is challenged.
- Disclosure duty sits with the publisher, but programme terms are the practical control, and the Competition and Markets Authority can treat hidden paid links as misleading.
- Data roles, cookie consent and commission on cancelled orders cause most disputes, because affiliate tracking touches personal data before any sale completes.
- Inclusion criteria for the list below: clauses found in standard network and direct contracts, relevant to England and Wales, and readable against current UK law. General guidance, not legal advice.
Commission and attribution
Commission is the clause everyone reads first and the one most often left vague. State the trigger: a completed sale, a sale after the returns window, or a lead. State the rate, the cookie window and what happens when two publishers claim the same order.
Networks often apply last-click attribution by default, which decides who gets paid. If you want first-click or a split, put it in the contract rather than assuming the platform allows it. The affiliate marketing UK rules and compliance guide for 2027 explains how attribution choices feed wider compliance duties, so read it before you draft terms.
Disclosure and advertising rules
Paid links and gifted placements must be identifiable as advertising. The publisher carries the duty, but terms can require a disclosure wording and give you a right to suspend anyone who hides it. Consumer protection law applies across the UK and the CMA enforces it.
Green claims need the same care. A publisher writing that a product is sustainable, or a brand briefing that angle, must hold evidence. The government's guidance on consumer law when making environmental claims in fashion retail shows the standard expected, and it applies to affiliate content as much as to a retailer's own pages.
Data protection and cookies
Affiliate tracking sets cookies and passes identifiers, so data protection sits inside the commercial deal. The Data Protection Act 2018 is the foundational statute, with the UK GDPR alongside it.
Settle who is controller and who is processor. Networks often act as a joint controller with the brand, which changes what your privacy notice must tell people. Cookie consent must be freely given and easy to withdraw, and the ICO's guide to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations explains the rules that apply. Our companion piece on affiliate marketing data protection in England covers consent records in more depth.
| Clause | What to pin down | Typical risk if left open |
|---|---|---|
| Commission trigger | Sale, lead or net-of-returns | Publisher invoices for refunded orders |
| Attribution | Window, model, priority | Duplicate or missed payouts |
| Disclosure | Required wording, approval right | ASA or CMA action |
| Data roles | Controller, processor, joint | Unlawful tracking, unclear notices |
| Termination | Notice period, tail commission | Disputes over trailing sales |
Termination and liability
Termination decides how a relationship ends, and affiliate deals end badly when notice periods are silent. Set notice in writing for both sides, and say whether commission continues on sales from clicks made before termination. Many networks apply a short tail, so check the wording.
Liability caps matter more than they look. A publisher can generate a misleading claim that lands on your brand, so CAP liability, require indemnities for content breaches and keep a right to remove links immediately. Individual cases need a qualified adviser, since contract, consumer and data law interact.
Common questions
Do affiliate contracts have to be in writing in England?
No. A contract can form by conduct, and emails or network terms can be enough. Writing the clauses down still matters, because a dispute over commission or disclosure is harder to settle without a signed record.
Who is responsible for disclosure, the brand or the publisher?
The publisher must make paid content identifiable as advertising. The brand's programme terms can require that wording and allow suspension for breaches, which is why disclosure belongs in the contract rather than in a style note.
Does an affiliate network contract cover data protection?
Only partly. Network terms set platform rules, but brand and publisher must still allocate controller and processor roles for the tracking data they handle.
Can a brand claw back commission on returned orders?
Yes, if the contract says so. Commission triggers and refund rules are commercial terms, so specify whether payment follows the sale or survives the returns window.
