Privacy Notice

Last updated: 1 December 2022

How we use your information

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when Employers For Childcare collects your personal information and how we plan to use that information. Note that Employers For Childcare encompasses Employers For Childcare Trading Limited (a social enterprise company) and Employers For Childcare (a registered charitable company).

From 25 May 2018 the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replaces existing EU data protection regulations. It is designed to harmonise data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all citizens’ data privacy and to reshape the way organisations across the region approach data privacy. For more information you can refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

As someone who has engaged with Employers For Childcare, and about whom we hold any personal data, you are a data subject. Employers For Childcare is a data controller, because we determine how and why personal data is processed. We are also a data processor, in that we process personal data in order to administer a service. We will also, from time to time, use third party data processors.

Employers For Childcare is committed to upholding the principles of the GDPR when processing personal data. According to Article 5 of the GDPR, personal data shall be:

processed lawfully, fairly and transparently
collected for specified purposes, and not processed for other purposes
“just the right amount” of data for the task at hand – not too much, but enough to do your job accurately
accurate and up to date
kept no longer than necessary
processed securely.

Employers For Childcare has a security and confidentiality policy in place that all staff adhere to and is registered as a Data Processor with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

We have achieved the Cyber Essentials certification which is a Government-backed and industry-supported scheme that helps to protect against the growing threat of cyber attacks and provides a statement of the controls we have in place to protect our network. Having Cyber Essentials demonstrates our commitment and credentials when it comes to cyber security.

By using our services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

Visitors to our website

Employers For Childcare operates the website employersforchildcare.org as the main source for information on our work, the services we provide and how to contact us. Childcare Voucher clients also have access to the Employers For Childcare e-Vouchers portal www.efcvouchers.com

Use of cookies by Employers For Childcare

Cookies are files with a small amount of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your computer’s hard drive. No user-specific data is collected by us or any third party.

Information collection and use

While using our website, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to, personal information such as your email address and your name.

We may use third party services such as Google Analytics to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not allow identification. We do not make any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. If we do want to collect personally identifiable information through our website, for example through our ‘Contact us’ form, we will be upfront about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it.

Search engine

Search queries and results are logged anonymously to help us improve our website and search functionality. No user-specific data is collected by either Employers For Childcare or any third party.

E-newsletter

We use a third party provider, Send in Blue, to deliver e-newsletters. We gather statistics around email opening and clicks using industry standard technologies to help us monitor and improve our e-newsletter. For more information, please see Send in Blue privacy notice.

Security and performance

Employers For Childcare uses a third party service to help maintain the security and performance of the Employers For Childcare website employersforchildcare.org. IP (Internet Protocol) addresses are not stored when we have visitors to our website. IP addresses may be collected for certain purposes (for example, to audit the use of our site and for the identification of spam). Collection of this data is commonplace across internet services to enable the investigation of issues such as service availability and the identification of spam or malicious use. We will not normally link your IP address to anything that can enable us to identify you other than where this is necessary in relation to the circumstances set out above.

Employers For Childcare uses a third party service, Cirrus IT Systems Ltd, to provide general IT support and email hosting. For more information, see Cirrus IT Systems Ltd’s Privacy Notice.

Employers For Childcare uses a third party service, Scaffold Digital Ltd, to host and help maintain the security and performance of the Employers For Childcare e-Vouchers site www.efcvouchers.com. For more information, see Scaffold Digital Ltd’s Privacy Notice.

Links to other sites

Our service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third party’s website. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every website you visit.

We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party websites or services.

Contact us form

We collect information from parents, employers, childcare providers and others who contact us with a request for information, a query or a comment. Information provided is processed and stored in order to provide an information service to stakeholders. Your details may be forwarded within Employers For Childcare to the appropriate department in order to deal with your query however they will not otherwise be shared.

Using Employers For Childcare’s services

Employers For Childcare offers various services to stakeholders. We have to hold certain details of the people who have requested the service in order to provide it. However, we only use these details to provide the service the person has requested and for other closely related purposes unless we have clear consent.

Provision of Childcare Vouchers:

Information will be required from employers, parents and childcare providers in order to provide an efficient Childcare Voucher administration service. This may include names, contact details, details of childcare providers and some data relating to children (name and date of birth). Personal data requested will be kept to a minimum and only that information which is required as an essential component of providing the service (in line with the legislation and HMRC guidance), and to keep clients updated, will be requested. Clients may be asked if they consent to be contacted with broader information about the work of Employers For Childcare. Consent once given can be withdrawn at any time.

Employers For Childcare does not process data within any of the ‘special categories’ relating to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or similar beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health conditions, sexual life, sexual orientation, biometric or genetic data, and personal data relating to criminal offences and convictions.

Provision of an HR service:

Information will be required from employers, parents and childcare providers in order to provide HR services such as recruitment and AccessNI checks. Personal data requested will be kept to a minimum and only that information which is required to provide the service will be requested.

Contacting the Family Benefits Advice Service for support:

When someone contacts the Family Benefits Advice Service, whether through outreach, email or telephone, an Advisor will create a case record enabling them to generate accurate information for clients to give them the best possible advice in their circumstances. The information provided may also be used for the generation of statistics and reporting (always aggregated, no individual identified, quotations anonymised) and guidance development purposes. Data may also be reviewed for monitoring of team effectiveness and delivery of the service. In order to respond fully and comprehensively, a range of personal data may be requested. Personal data requested will be kept to that which is required to provide the service. Clients may be asked if they consent to be contacted with broader information about the work of Employers For Childcare. Consent once given can be withdrawn at any time. Hard copy case records will be destroyed in line with our data retention policy. Data will be used to provide the support requested, and for the aggregation of statistics. Personal data used for calculations is then anonymised and deleted in line with our data retention policy. An individual may have consented to have their contact details added to a newsletter mailing list in which case this will have been done but consent can be withdrawn at any time. Individuals may receive a request to complete an evaluation of the service provided. This is so that Employers For Childcare can continuously improve the service we provide.

Responding to queries:

Queries may be received through letter, email or telephone. These will be passed to the relevant department within Employers For Childcare. Where the query requires follow up from the Family Benefits Advice Service, an Advisor may create a case record in line with the information above.

Personal data is removed or anonymised when it is no longer necessary in relation to the purpose of administering or to provide a service. Personal data held is kept up to date and accurate, and amended as necessary, when updates are provided by service users.

Service providers

We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our own service provision, to provide a service on our behalf, to perform related services or to assist us in analysing how our service is used.

These third parties have access to your personal information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

Use of data sub-processors for the processing of Childcare Vouchers

Employers For Childcare does not engage any other party to administer the Childcare Voucher processing service on behalf of clients however, we retain the services of IT providers who are responsible for hosting the online eVouchers portal and employersforchildcare.org website, facilitating the processing of data. These providers may have access to data but only to perform those tasks on our behalf and are formally obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

We ensure our external IT providers and any other sub processors we work with adhere to the highest standards relating to data protection and information security. Specifically:

Employers For Childcare uses Scaffold Digital Ltd to host and maintain the Employers For Childcare e-Vouchers site efcvouchers.com. Scaffold Digital Ltd is registered with the ICO as a data processor. All data is held, stored and processed within the UK, and Scaffold Digital Ltd has undertaken a Data Protection Impact Assessment in relation to the processing activities undertaken on our behalf. For more information, see Scaffold Digital Ltd’s Privacy Notice.
Employers For Childcare uses Cirrus IT Systems Ltd to provide general IT support and email hosting. Cirrus IT systems Ltd is registered with the ICO as a data processor. All data is held in the UK or in an EU/EEA country and Cirrus IT Systems Ltd has undertaken a Data Protection Impact Assessment in relation to the processing activities undertaken on our behalf. Cirrus IT Systems Ltd is a Microsoft Cloud Service Silver Partner and is accredited with technical qualifications to fulfil National Cyber Security Centre and GDPR guidelines. For more information, see Cirrus IT Systems Ltd’s Privacy Notice.

All relevant providers are required to complete a Non Disclosure Agreement in relation to any confidential information they may have access to.

Security

The security of your personal information is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. As such we make no warranties as to the level of security afforded to your data, except that we will always act in accordance with the relevant UK and EU legislation.

International Transfer

Personal data is not exported outside of the EEA for the purposes of administering the Childcare Voucher scheme.

Where we use the services of a third party to facilitate service provision, to provide a service on our behalf, to perform related services or to assist us in analysing how our service is used we ensure that:

They have access to personal information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.
We only use third parties which are either located in the UK, EU or EEA, or have been certified to the obligations and standards equivalent to those in the EEA, which means they lawfully transfer and protect the personal data of UK and EU/EEA residents.

By using the service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

In the event that a dispute arises with regards to the international transfer of data, you agree that the courts of Northern Ireland shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the matter.

Children’s privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13 (“Children”). However, Employers For Childcare Trading Limited may process data relating to children (names, dates of birth) however this is a necessary requirement of administering a Childcare Voucher scheme and the personal data is limited to only that which is essential and a necessary requirement of administering a Childcare Voucher scheme subject to the requirements set out in legislation and HMRC guidance.

Communications

Childcare Voucher scheme updates and client feedback

In addition to the lawful processing of your data for the purposes of administering a Childcare Voucher scheme, whether as a parent, childcare provider or an employer, we may also send you electronic updates on the provision of the Childcare Voucher service to you. We will send you these using the information provided by you at registration. We will do this on the basis that there is a legitimate interest to share communication with you for the purposes of providing and administering the Childcare Voucher scheme. We may also contact you to ask for your feedback on the service that we provide so that we can ensure you continue to receive the best possible service. You may opt out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from us by following the unsubscribe link or instructions provided in any email we send.

Newsletters

We may also gather your personal information to contact you with newsletters containing updates, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to you in the context of the work of Employers For Childcare in supporting parents with dependent children to get into work and stay in work, promoting family friendly working policies, and as a social enterprise. We will never share or sell personal data with third parties outside of Employers For Childcare unless use of a third party is required for the administration of a service, for example, use of SendInBlue to send e-newsletters.

We will only send you this material with your consent unless there is a legitimate interest to share communication with you for the purposes of providing and administering the Childcare Voucher scheme. You may opt out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from us by following the unsubscribe link or instructions provided in every email we send.

Examples of newsletter content include:

Updates on the work of Employers For Childcare including new services or awards and accolades
Invitations to events
Invitation to enter Family Friendly Employer Awards
Invitations to participate in research.

Completing customer satisfaction surveys and research

Employers For Childcare uses a third party, SurveyMonkey, as a tool to gather feedback from users about their experience of Employers For Childcare, or for other research purposes. For more information, see the SurveyMonkey privacy notice. As a service user you may receive requests for feedback. No service user is under any obligation to provide feedback in order to continue to use the service.

We will only use the information gathered for the purposes that it is requested and will use the information only in ways that will not identify anyone.

In the case of our research, data will be aggregated for data analysis and generation of statistics. Personal identification data will then be deleted unless an individual has provided their explicit consent that it can be used for another purpose, for example, added to a newsletter mailing list.

Attending an Employers For Childcare event

Employers For Childcare may use a third party, Eventbrite, to manage event registrations. For more information, see the Eventbrite privacy notice

Individuals’ names and company names may be shared as part of a delegate list for networking purposes, no contact details will be shared. This will only be done with the consent of the individual concerned, however. Delegate lists used by us for communication before and during events for planning and reminder purposes, and may be used to contact delegated about future events that may be of interest to them. Consent will be sought where appropriate.

Group photographs may be taken at events and can be used for post event communications and in reports such as Employers For Childcare’s Social Impact Report. Event attendees will be made aware of this and can advise Employers For Childcare if they do not wish to be visible in any photograph.

Employers For Childcare also uses the electronic platform Zoom for the purposes of virtual meetings and events. Where we take a recording of a meeting, such as for notetaking and security purposes, or to share with individuals who could not otherwise attend, we will make this clear in advance to attendees. Where a recording is made exclusively for notetaking and security purposes, the recording is deleted within one week of the meeting and is not shared or distributed. Access to any recordings on our Zoom platform is password protected and limited to senior management only.

For more information, see: Zoom privacy notice

Changes to this privacy notice

We may update our privacy notice from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new privacy notice on this page.

You are advised to review this privacy notice periodically for any changes. Changes to this privacy notice are effective when they are posted on this page.

This privacy notice is a living document that will develop over time. It was last updated on: 5 August 2022.

Your rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulations, you have rights as an individual which you can exercise in relation to the information we hold about you.

Employers For Childcare tries to be as open as it can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. Individuals can find out if we hold any personal information by making a ‘subject access request’. If we do hold information about you that you are entitled to we will engage with you and endeavour to:

give you a description of it
tell you why we are holding it
tell you who it could be disclosed to
let you have a copy of the relevant information in an intelligible form
remove your data if this would not prevent the administration of a service we are contracted to deliver.

To make a request for any personal information we may hold you need to put the request in writing: by emailing subject_request@employersforchildcare.org

Complaints or queries

Employers For Childcare endeavours to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.

This privacy notice was drafted with brevity and clarity in mind. It does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of Employers For Childcare’s collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. If you want to make a complaint about the way we have processed your personal information, or if you have a query, you can contact us.

You can also report a concern to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Further information is available here: https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

When you email us

Any email sent to us, including any attachments, may be monitored and used by us for reasons of security and for monitoring compliance with office policy. Email monitoring or blocking software may also be used. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send to us is within the bounds of the law.

Emails may be shared within Employers For Childcare to ensure that a query is addressed to, and resolved by, the correct Department.

When you contact us via social media

Employers For Childcare uses a variety of social media outlets to engage with stakeholders. We cannot guarantee that information shared through these media will be private, for example, if you share your contact details in an unsecure and public space then these may be viewed by parties other than Employers For Childcare. Please do not share personal information in a public forum. For the relevant privacy notices, please see:

Facebook privacy notice

Twitter privacy notice

LinkedIn privacy notice

If you send us a private or direct message via social media the message will be stored but will not be shared with any other organisations.

When you visit our office: CCTV

Employers For Childcare has CCTV cameras installed which video record covering the front door and entrance hall, and the front car park. These are for security purposes allowing for the premises to be monitored when no staff are present, and acting as a deterrent to any potential criminal activity. Outside of the office, four staff from the Senior Management Team are able to view the CCTV footage on secure devices, enabling them to check this should the alarm go off. The CCTV is stored in a secure room that is accessible only by passcode and requires sign in. Cameras have been positioned to avoid capturing the images of persons not visiting the premises. Recordings are retained for 28 days, long enough for any incident to come to light and the incident to be investigated, after which they are automatically erased. Except for law enforcement bodies, images will not be provided to third parties. Employers For Childcare has completed a Data Protection Impact Assessment in relation to the use of CCTV cameras.

Job applicants, current and former Employers For Childcare employees

What will we do with the information you provide to us?

All of the information you provide during the process will only be used for the purpose of progressing your application, or to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements if necessary. We will not share any of the information you provide during the recruitment process with any third parties for marketing purposes or store any of your information outside of the European Economic Area. The information you provide will be held securely by us and/or our data processors whether the information is in electronic or physical format. We will use the contact details you provide to us to contact you to progress your application. We will use the other information you provide to assess your suitability for the role you have applied for.

What information do we ask for, and why?

We do not collect more information than we need to fulfil our stated purposes and will not retain it for longer than is necessary. The information we ask for is used to assess your suitability for employment. You don’t have to provide what we ask for but it might affect your application if you don’t.

We ask you for your personal details including name and contact details. We will also ask you about your previous experience, education, referees and for answers to questions relevant to the role you have applied for. Our recruitment team will have access to all of this information.

You will also be asked to provide equal opportunities information. This is not mandatory information – if you don’t provide it, it will not affect your application. This information will not be made available to any staff outside of our recruitment team, including hiring managers, in a way which can identify you. Any information you do provide, will be used only to produce and monitor equal opportunities statistics.

We might ask you to attend an interview. Information will be generated by you and by us. For example, you might complete a written test or we might take interview notes. This information is held by Employers For Childcare.

If you are unsuccessful following assessment for the position you have applied for, we may ask if you would like your details to be held on a reserve list. If you say yes, we would proactively contact you should any further suitable vacancies arise.

If we make a conditional offer of employment we will ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. You must successfully complete pre-employment checks to progress to a final offer. We are required to confirm the identity of our staff, their right to work in the United Kingdom and seek assurance as to their trustworthiness, integrity and reliability.

You will therefore be required to provide:

Proof of your identity.
Proof of your qualifications.
AccessNI check.

We will contact your referees, using the details you provide in your application, directly to obtain references. If we make a final offer, we will also ask you for the following:

Bank details – to process salary payments
Emergency contact details – so we know who to contact in case you have an emergency at work
Details required for the purposes of pension enrolment.

We may also seek information to assist in securing your membership of relevant health or other occupational benefit schemes.

How long is the information retained for?

If you are successful, the information you provide during the application process will be retained by us as part of your employee file for the duration of your employment plus 6 years following the end of your employment. This includes your criminal records declaration, fitness to work, records of any security checks and references. If you are unsuccessful at any stage of the process, the information you have provided until that point will be retained for 12 months. Information generated throughout the assessment process, for example interview notes, is retained by us for 12 months. Equal opportunities information is retained for three years whether you are successful or not. These timeframes are in line with the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998.

Jurisdiction

This Policy shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Northern Ireland, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

How to contact us

If you want to request information about our privacy policy you can contact us.

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