Privacy Commitment Policy

Introduction

The Homecare Association is strongly committed to respecting privacy, and this statement details our approach on such issues. By using this website (or “site”) or submitting any personal data, you agree to the use by the Homecare Association of such data in accordance with this privacy statement and current legislative requirement. If you have questions on privacy issues, please email us at [email protected].

At the Homecare Association, privacy and confidentiality of personal information is protected, whether provided through paper based, electronic communication or on the telephone. We are committed to protecting your privacy and providing a secure online experience. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to transmit and store information about you. When you enter personal information online, we encrypt that information using Secure Socket Layer technology (SSL), thereby offering the highest level of encryption or security possible for particularly sensitive data.

Data Collection

We only collect identifiable personal data or information for the provision of the services ordered or requested by each individual. For example, a visitor to our site may choose to provide information such as name, title, office address, office email address and telephone number to:

  • register for certain areas of the site;
  • contact us for further information;
  • order publications or reference materials;
  • enter surveys;
  • participate in mailing list initiatives; and
  • register for events and conferences.

In addition, visitors are able to send emails to us through our portals. Messages will contain the user’s screen name and email address, as well as any additional information the user may wish to include in the message.

Use of Data

When an individual provides personal data to us, we use it solely for the purposes for which it is provided as stated at the point of collection (or as is obvious from the context of collection).

We do not collect or compile personally identifying information for dissemination or for general sale to outside parties for consumer marketing purposes. We may host mailings on behalf of third parties, these will only be sent where we have explicit permission to do so. However, we partner with a few selected third party suppliers, to provide you, with information about goods or services we feel may of interest based on your selected preferences and where these goods and services form part of your membership benefits.

Sensitive Data

We do not usually seek any sensitive personal data. Sensitive personal data includes data relating to: race or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or other similar beliefs; physical or mental health; sexual orientation or unspent criminal record. In some circumstances, we may be legally required to request certain sensitive personal data, and if you choose to submit such data for any reason, we will obtain your explicit consent to its collection and relevant use of such data.

Data Controller

The Homecare Association, a company limited by guarantee is registered in England under registration no. 03083104 and with its registered address at Sutton Business Centre, Restmor Way, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 7AH is the data controller of any personal data collected through this website, and will process such data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). The Homecare Association is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office – Registration reference Z7339713.

Disclosure to Third Parties

Our policy is not to share personally identifiable information with any third parties, unless required by law, or explicitly requested by the individual or otherwise as set out in this section. We recognise that your information is personally sensitive, commercially valuable and we take all reasonable measures to protect your data while it is in our care.

Personal data, which has been submitted to the Homecare Association, may be disclosed to other organisations where this is necessary to meet the purpose for which the individual has submitted the information. By submitting personal data to the Homecare Association, the individual is providing explicit consent to the transfer of such data for the fulfilment of their voluntary requests. This data is not shared for any secondary or unrelated purposes, or shared with any third party, unless otherwise disclosed at the point of collection and we have obtained explicit permission.

We may subcontract some functions such as distribution of publications and organisation of events and conferences, so if an individual submits personal data as part of a request relating to these areas, we may disclose certain data to third parties in order to fulfil these obligations (e.g. when ordering a publication, we display the party fulfilling the order). We ensure that data is protected by an industry standard SSL/TLS encrypted connection; and a regularly maintained PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) certification.

Security

We have implemented accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personally identifiable data and information from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. In particular, we ensure that all appropriate confidentiality obligations and technical and organisational security measures are in place to prevent any unauthorised or unlawful disclosure or processing of such information and data and the accidental loss or destruction of or damage to such information and data. Only authorised Homecare Association personnel are provided access to personally identifiable information and these employees have agreed to ensure confidentiality of this information. The Homecare Association’s policy is to use secure socket layer technology for the protection of credit card information and other sensitive information submitted through web forms. Where we use external supporting system suppliers we ensure that security standards are maintained to prevent data loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or destruction.

Access to Information

If you would like to update any personal data you have submitted to us, please do so via the original registration method or please email us at [email protected].

When personally identifiable information is retained, we do not assume responsibility for verifying the on-going accuracy of the content of personal information. When the Homecare Association is informed that any personal data collected is no longer accurate, we will make appropriate corrections based on the updated information provided by the authenticated individual.

If you would like details of the information that you have submitted to us through this site, you have a right of access to such information and you may contact us via the above email address. We may charge for a request for access in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Unsubscribe

Should individuals subsequently choose to unsubscribe from their original preferences, mailing lists or any registrations, we will provide instructions, on the appropriate webpage, portal or in communications to the individual, or the individual may contact by email to [email protected].

Data Retention

The personal data you submit to us will only be retained for as long as is required for the purposes for which it was collected or as required by statutory requirement.

For example, contact information about individuals (such as information generated though registration for access to areas on a web site) will be kept as long as the information is required to completely service the contact request or until a user requests that we delete that information. Mailing list information, discussion posts and email are kept for only the period considered reasonable to facilitate the individual’s requests or governed by statutory requirement.

Cookies and Log Files

When accessing our web sites we use small text files called "cookies" which are placed on your hard drives to assist in providing a more customised website experience. For example, a cookie can be used to store registration information in an area of the site so that a user does not need to re-enter it on subsequent visits to that area. Cookies will not be used to track individual visitors to our site. Most cookies are stored only for the duration of the visit, the user will be warned and consent obtained before storing for a longer period.

All the information collected is completely anonymous and is used to measure site effectiveness and to improve the customer user experience. However, browsers now permit users to opt-out and in most cases, a visitor may refuse a cookie and still fully navigate our web sites.

In order properly to manage our website we may anonymously log information on our operational systems, and identify categories of visitors by items such as domains and browser types. These statistics are reported taken together to our webmasters. This is to ensure that our website presents the best web experience for visitors and is an effective information resource.

Third Party Links

There may be pages on our sites that include links to websites which are owned and operated by third parties and so which do not operate under this privacy statement. When you access links to other websites, this privacy statement and our privacy practices no longer apply. We encourage visitors to review each site’s privacy policy before disclosing any personally identifiable information.

Homecare Association Ltd. The registered company address of the Homecare Association is Sutton Business Centre, Restmor Way, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 7AH. Registered in England. Company registration number: 03083104. VAT no: 684 9337 83.