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Privacy notice

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when rightsnet collects personal information.

In this policy

We use the name rightsnet, which is the trading name of Lasa Charity UK Limited, a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity Reg No: 800140.

Rightsnet, Advicelocal and AIMS are rightsnet projects. 

rightsnet's websites are: rightsnet.org.uk; advicelocal.uk; universalcreditinfo.net; pipinfo.net; wcainfo.net; a2j.tech and revenuebenefits.org.uk

NB: Revenuebenefits.org.uk is delivered in partnership with the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group. Their privacy notice can be viewed at: litrg.org.uk/privacy-notice

Visitors to our websites

When someone visits a rightsnet website we use a third party service, 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 that does not personally identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to 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, this will be clearly stated. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it.

rightsnet websites do not automatically capture or store personal information, other than logging a user's Internet Protocol (or IP) address and session information such as the duration of their visit, the type of browser and platform they use. This information is recognised by the web server and is only used for system administration and to provide anonymised statistics that rightsnet uses to evaluate use of the website.

Use of cookies

When you visit any of our websites, the pages you view, along with small text files called ‘cookies', are downloaded onto your computer.

Each time you visit a rightsnet website your computer will download a session cookie. This cookie only remains on your computer until you close your browser.  This cookie is not used to identify you personally in any way.  We use session cookies to compile anonymous, aggregated statistics that allow us to understand how visitors use the site. This information helps us improve the site's structure and functionality.

Your computer will also download a persistent cookie when you first visit the site. These remain in your browser's cookie store between browsing sessions.  Persistent cookies allow us to recognise repeat visitors to the site. Persistent cookies are also used to allow registered users to use the site without logging in on every visit, to highlight new content to the visitor, and to save information about how the website is displayed (stylesheet choices).

You may opt to view our site without cookies by adjusting your browser's settings. See your browser's Help menu for information on how to do this. If you disable cookies some functions of the site may no longer work correctly.

The above information on how we use cookies applies to rightsnet services only. We do not have any control over cookies set by external websites.

rightsnet's websites use Google Analytics to collect aggregated statistical information. Google set their own cookies. Please see Google's Privacy Policy for details of the information Google collects, and details of how to opt out of providing it.

Your continued use of rightsnet's websites indicates your consent to our use of cookies.

People who use our services

If you subscribe to or purchase our services, the details you provide will be processed by us to facilitate your access to the service. We only use these details to provide the service the person has requested and for other closely related purposes. For example, we might use information about people who have subscribed to a service to carry out a survey to find out if they are happy with the level of service they received. When people do subscribe to our services, they can cancel their subscription at any time.

If you register with our discussion forum, the details you provide will be processed by us to facilitate your access to the forum. If you post a message in the forum, the message will display your registered screen name and organisational details. The forum also allows other registered users to message you.

If you complete an electronic email contact form, your personal information - which includes your name, organisation, email address and any other details you provide to us which identify you as an individual (including a postcode that you've entered into our advicelocal search) - will be processed by us to respond to your feedback and any query or other matter you have raised.

If you complete a vacancy submission form, your personal information (which includes your name, organisation, email address and any other details you provide to us which identify you as an individual) will be processed by us to respond to your booking/submission and any query or other matter you have raised.

Personal information sent by email or electronic means may not be confidential. Under the General Data Protection Regulation 2018, you have the right to make a formal request in writing for access to personal information (or "personal data") held about you by rightsnet, to inspect it and to have it corrected, or removed if it is wrong. Please direct your requests to: Data Protection Working Group, rightsnet, 4th Floor, 18 St Cross Street, London EC1N 8UN.

Our email newsletters

We keep users of our rightsnet and revenuebenefits websites up-to-date with changes on the site and new services through email newsletters. We use a third party provider, MailChimp, to deliver our newsletters. We gather statistics around email opening and clicks using industry standard technologies to help us monitor and improve our newsletter. For more information, please see MailChimp's privacy notice: mailchimp.com/legal/privacy. As a subscriber to our email newsletters you may unsubscribe at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions contained in the newsletter.

People who contact us via social media

Your use of social media to message us is governed by the social media service provider's Terms & Conditions and privacy policy.

People who email us

We use Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt and protect email traffic in line with government guidelines. If your email service does not support TLS, you should be aware that any emails we send or receive may not be protected in transit.

We will also monitor any emails sent to us, including file attachments, for viruses or malicious software. 

People who make a complaint to us

When we receive a complaint from a person we make up a file containing the details of the complaint. This normally contains the identity of the complainant and any other individuals involved in the complaint.

We will only use the personal information we collect to process the complaint and to check on the level of service we provide.

We will keep personal information contained in complaint files in line with our retention policy. This means that information relating to a complaint will be retained for seven years from date of its closure. The complaint will be retained in a secure environment and access to it will be restricted according to the ‘need to know' principle.

rightsnet tries to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive 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.

If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

How we share your information outside of rightsnet

If you request a quote for one of our services, purchase a product or service or apply for a job with us, your personal information may be shared with and processed by a third party service provider or authorised user, for the purposes of administration. Authorised users include providers of Finance services, and our website designer.

Your information may be disclosed to enable us to deliver our service to you, and also when we believe in good faith that the disclosure is: required by law; to protect the safety of our employees, the public or rightsnet property; required to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order or legal process; in the event of a merger, asset sale, or other related transaction; or for the prevention or detection of crime (including fraud).

We may also share your information with regulatory bodies in the UK or if applicable, overseas, to prevent and detect fraud.

Job applicants, current and former rightsnet employees

rightsnet is the data controller for the information provided during our recruitment process unless otherwise stated. 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. The information you provide will be held securely by us and/or our data processors whether the information is in electronic or physical format. If you have any queries about the process or how we handle your information , please contact us.

We will use the contact details you provide to us to contact you to progress your application, to contact the referees you specify, and to make safeguarding checks with your consent. We do not collect more information than we need to fulfil our stated purposes and will not retain it for longer than is necessary.

For successful applications, the information you provide will be retained by us as part of your employee file for the duration of your employment plus seven years following the end of your employment. If you are unsuccessful at any stage, the information you have provided until that point will be retained for one month from the closure of the application process.

Your rights

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you have rights as an individual, which you can exercise in relation to the information we hold about you. You can read more about these rights at: ico.org.uk/for-the-public/is-my-information-being-handled-correctly

Access to personal information

rightsnet 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' under the Data Protection Act 1998. If we do hold information about you we will: give you a description of it; tell you why we are holding it; tell you who it could be disclosed to, and let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

To make a request for any personal information we may hold you need to put the request in writing addressing it to our Data Protection Working Group.

If we do hold information about you, you can ask us to correct any mistakes by, once again, contacting the Data Protection Working Group.

Links to other websites

This privacy notice does not cover the links within our websites that link to other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.

Changes to this privacy notice

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. This privacy notice was last updated on 28 July 2020. This privacy notice does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of rightsnet's collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests for this should be sent to: Data Protection Working Group, rightsnet, 4th Floor, 18 St Cross Street, London EC1N 8UN.

How to contact us

If you want to request information about our privacy policy, please contact us or write to: Data Protection Working Group, rightsnet, 4th Floor, 18 St Cross Street, London EC1N 8UN.