# working in circles Every co-operative member can become a full participant of a Circle. However, (with the exception of the Purpose Circle) we expect the majority of circle members to be Worker Members or people we employ who decide not to become co-operative members. This section should be read in conjunction with the recruitment, selection and role-shaping policy. The intention of the Circle is to be inclusive and welcoming, balanced with the responsibility to respect and commit to the Circle's progress towards achieving its aims. A Circle can set additional criteria for full participation relevant to the Circle’s domain as long as they are clear and transparent. No one may be denied joining a Circle or asked to leave a Circle on the basis of personal preferences. New Full Circle Participants may be asked to “get up to speed” by talking or working with a Participant between meetings so as not to slow down the work of the Circle. If a Participant is having difficulty following the guidelines of a Circle, the Circle may initiate a respectful and open-minded conversation to support them in doing better or leaving the circle. This may or may not trigger a grievance and disciplinary process. As a last resort, if difficulties are not resolved, a participant may be asked to leave a Circle by a proposal requiring consent. This participant may not object to the group’s decision. This may or may not trigger a grievance and disciplinary process. Guest Participants Attending Circle Meetings: Co-operative Members of any category are welcome to attend any Circle's meetings but may be asked to absent themselves for any confidential discussions. Guest Participants can always participate in a meeting's opening and closing go-rounds. Circles will reserve up to 15 minutes near the beginning of a Circle meeting to hear any concerns. The Circle may choose to invite anyone to present or comment on any topic at any time. The Circle may choose to include a guest in go-rounds. There are three types of Circle Participants: Full Participants, Learning Participants and Guest Participants. Only Full Participants can be nominated to be responsible for Equal Care Co-op[ governance roles](/circles/circle-roles.md). --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://work.equalcare.coop/circles/join-or-leave-a-circle.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.