Our commitment to Privacy
Online Privacy Policy and EU GDPR compliance
Your online privacy and security is very important to the UKSOC.
Personal information collection
When you are on www.uksoc.com or other UKSOC sites, and are asked for personal information, you are sharing that information with the UKSOC alone unless stated otherwise.
We may collect the following information from visitors
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- IP addresses for analytics purposes (we do not store these with your profile or membership record)
- Any information volunteered by the visitor, such as name, address, email address, etc.
Google Analytics
When someone visits uksoc.com we collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour ‚- such as which pages are visited, and how long is spent on each one. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. We collect this information in a way which does not personally identify anyone. These website statistics are collected by Google Analytics. This system also provides us with non-
See below for more information about cookies, and here for a way to opt out of Google Analytics on all websites you visit.
Cookies on the UKSOC site
Your web browsers allows control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
Sharing information
The UKSOC will not disclose any of your personally identifiable information, except when we have your permission to do so, or under special circumstances, such as when we believe in good faith that the law requires it. The UKSOC may share individual information to our agents for mail distribution purposes and such agents will be bound not to further transmit this information or use it in any other way. The UKSOC may also use such information itself to contact people for marketing or administrative purposes. From time to time, we agree with other like minded organisations to write to some of each other‚’s supporters, for the mutual benefit of both; in this case marketing material is exchanged but not your individual information.
We use the information we collect about visitors to the site to help us with understanding more about how our site is used and to be able to send you appropriate communications.
What does UKSOC do with the personal information you provide?
If you provide us with personal information (for example, when creating your profile, or enrolling on a course) your details are stored securely and used only for the purpose for which you have signed up. We do not pass your details to other organisations without your express consent (except if you use our secure financial pages ‚- in which case they are passed to our financial partners for payment processing and validation purposes only).
The information you give us will be stored on a database and may be used by us where appropriate. This data helps us to know what campaigns and appeals are working well and informs future activity across the organisation, helping us to be more effective in our activities. It is also used for routine administration such as distribution of the members‚’ newsletter, membership renewals and regular purchases.
Who else can access your personal information?
If you use our secure financial pages to join the UKSOC or to pay money to us online, you will be redirected to one of our reputable financial partner companies: PayPal or Royal Bank of Scotland. These companies handle all the secure financial transactions on the UKSOC website on our behalf. The information you provide as part of any online financial transaction (such as your credit card number and contact information) is collected only so that the transaction can take place.
Information security
When you give the UKSOC personal information, we take steps to ensure that your information is treated securely. Unfortunately, it is not possible to guarantee the total security of any data transmitted over the Internet. While we strive to protect your personal information, the UKSOC cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us, and you therefore do this at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems.
Once we receive your data, we do everything we can to make sure that it is secure on our systems.
This privacy statement explains how we (UKSOC) collect information from you via the website or in any manner expressly described in the privacy statement and how this information is then used. When you provide us with your personal data in the manner described, you consent to the processing of all such personal data as set out in the privacy statement. Please read this privacy statement carefully and revisit this page from time to time to review any changes that we may have made. If you have any questions or comments about how we handle your personal information, please e-
Giving information for other people
When you give us information about another person, the other person must have agreed to let:
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- us process all their personal data; and
- you receive any data protection notices for them.
When you send information for someone else, you are confirming that you have told them :
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- which data they must give;
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- which information is voluntary; and
- how they can access and, if necessary, correct the data we hold about them.
The information we collect during registration or enrolment
When you register with us, you (or the person registering for you) must tell us :
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- your full name;
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- your address;
We also request other information including your title, middle name, phone number and email address, but you do not have to give us these details (except that you must provide us with an e-
The information we collect when you access course materials
We collect information about how you use course materials to monitor your learning and improve our users’ learning experience.
The information we collect when you enter competitions
From time to time we may run competitions and promotions on the website. If you enter these, we may ask for your name, address, e-
Other information we collect
If you require a free information pack, we ask you to provide us with the information on the “request more information” form on the website, including :
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- Title;
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- Full name;
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- Full address;
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- An indication of courses in which you are interested;
- Where you heard about us.
You can also decide to give us your home and mobile telephone numbers and your email address but you only need to do this if you want us and/or our approved learning providers to contact you about UKSOC developments and offers.
If you do not register as a member but use one of our online tests to test your skills, we ask you to provide your full name. This information is not retained by us but is used only when sending you your test results.
You may also provide personal data through:
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- calls to our helplines;
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- letters and e-
mails;
- letters and e-
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- customer feedback forms;
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- our messaging system; or
- any conference, chatroom, message board, *Paging, web space or other learning or communications facility operated by us.
*Please be aware that ‘Paging’ is where others using UKSOC forums and chat can send a message direct to your computer whilst you are also in the UKSOC forums and chat area.
We may record calls to helplines for quality and training purposes only. We will store calls for about three months and we will keep them confidential. In general, if you contact us, we may keep a record of your query or complaint for a reasonable time in case you contact us again.
Sensitive personal data
When you register as a member or learner, you do not have to provide us with sensitive personal information. Where we invite you to provide such information, we will ask you to consent to our proposed uses of such data.
At enrolment you may be asked for sensitive personal information. If you do not wish to provide this information you may select the “Not Known/Not Provided” option.
You may also volunteer sensitive personal data to us or our approved learning providers, for example, when you submit a query or comment to us via the website or some other means of communication. If you do so, you explicitly consent to our using such information as described in this Privacy Statement.
Sensitive personal data includes details of your :
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- race or ethnic origin;
- mental health status
- physical disability status
- criminal records (including information about criminal proceedings and suspected criminal activities).
How we use the information we collect
We use your personal information :
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- to answer your queries or complaints;
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- to deliver our membership services, for example on-
line tools to test your skills, chatrooms, message boards and social media facilities;
- to deliver our membership services, for example on-
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- to support your learning;
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- to provide course materials;
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- to carry out administration;
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- for general statistics and research;
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- for obtaining any relevant professional advice;
- as may be required by law or in connection with legal proceedings (including where we intend to take legal proceedings), or as may be necessary to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights.
Third parties and sponsors
To achieve the purposes set out in this privacy statement we may need to give your information to our service providers (including our approved learning providers), agents, professional advisors and auditors and to your tutor(s). When you enrol on a course, we will tell you which of our approved learning providers will be delivering and supporting your learning. Following registration and/or enrolment via the website, all of our approved learning providers will have access to your name and contact details to help us deliver our services to you.
We may also give your information to third parties who may take over part or all of the UKSOC business in the future, but only for the purposes outlined in this privacy statement. If your employer, trade organisation or other group is sponsoring you, we may give the personal information we have collected to your sponsor to monitor your learning.
Communications between you and your tutor using any of the tools or functions we make available to you (including unopened messages sent via our messaging system) may be monitored by UKSOC staff to check the quality of tutor support. UKSOC staff and auditors may also access these communications when we want to investigate or audit learner funding arrangements.
Keeping you informed
We, and our approved learning providers, will use your information to send you regular updates about :
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- our services and materials;
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- additions to the website; and
- specific activities such as customer feedback surveys and competitions.
If you wish to join UKSOC but do not wish to receive this information, un-
If you have not registered as a member but are simply requesting a free information pack, you can invite us to send you updates by ticking the appropriate boxes on the “request more information” page. If you change your mind about us contacting you for this purpose, please ring us on 0800 772 0762 or e-
We will never use your sensitive data for marketing purposes or to target you for customer feedback purposes without your express consent.
Requests for information
If you have not registered as a learner or member but are simply making an enquiry or request for information, we will use your personal information to reply to your enquiry or request. We will not use this information for marketing purposes without your permission or unless you invite us to do so.
Protecting your personal information
As a data controller, we are required to take appropriate technical measures to protect your personal information including making a regular backup of our system and data. We have security measures in place to make sure any personal information we collect is secure. Your account is password protected and all information including your password is on a secure server, which only a limited number of employees and sub-
Even though we take appropriate technical steps to protect your security, you should remember that data transmission over the Internet cannot always be guaranteed as 100% secure so you use the website at your own risk.
Please look at the terms and conditions on this website for our policy on purging emails and webspace. The terms and conditions tell you when we may close your account and delete all your records, files and information.
Keeping your personal data
We keep personal data :
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- for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for;
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- as required by law; or
- to enforce or defend legal claims.
Sometimes we will keep information that you have deleted, for example messages sent by you to your tutor, as a record of your learning experience. We will keep this information for a reasonable time.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files which are sent to your browser by a web server and stored on your personal computer’s hard disk. We use cookies on our site to :
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- cut down the number of times you have to type in data;
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- record the success of advertising, to target advertising and to track visitor usage; and
- track responses to regular customer surveys and to make sure you do not see the same survey more than once.
The cookies used on the website do not collect your personal information.
You can disable cookies but if you do, you may not be able to use certain features on our site and you may need to enter your password more frequently. If you want to know how to remove cookies from your browser, go to the ‘All About Cookies’ website.
In general, we use third parties to conduct online surveys on our behalf. We do not issue the cookies used in these online surveys and these cookies may require your browser to connect to sites that are not run by us. You can find out more about the cookies used in online surveys conducted on our behalf by clicking through to the website of the third party that is conducting the online survey.
Transparent gif files
Some of our web pages may contain invisible electronic tags that allow us count users that have visited certain pages. These files are only used to identify which advertisements bring customers to our website and you cannot be identified by them. They are not issued by us but by the relevant advertising provider. You can find out more about cookie type devices issued by third party advertisers by clicking through to the website operated by the relevant advertiser.
In any event, you can find out more information about electronic tags, if you go to the ‘All About Cookies’ website.
Our policy for children
Our website is not designed for or directed at children under the age of 16. No one whose date of birth indicates that they are under 16 years will be able to register on-
We will not use information collected from people under 19 for marketing.
Although anyone can take part in competitions and promotions, we will send notice of a win or prize directly to the parent or guardian identified during registration. Where a winner is under 19, we will not publish his or her personal details unless we have obtained the consent of the parent or guardian during registration.
Your rights
You have the right to ask for a copy of all the information we hold about you (we will charge you a small fee of £20 for this) and to correct any inaccuracies. To obtain a copy of this information, please ring us on 0800 772 0762 or e-
Links
Our website contains links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of other sites and we advise you to read the privacy statement of every website that collects personal information from you.
Copyright and Limitations on Use
© 2022 UKSOC . All rights reserved. The information available through our Web sites is the property of UKSOC or its partners and licensors and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Republication or redistribution of UKSOC content, including by framing or similar means is prohibited without the prior written consent. The UKSOC logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of UKSOC and its affiliates.
Disclaimer of Warranties and Liability
The Web sites include facts, views, opinions and recommendations of individuals and organisations that we have deemed may be of interest to you. However, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of, or otherwise endorse the views, opinions or recommendations of others.
Last Updated : 2 January 2022