Privacy Policy

We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected and we strictly adhere to the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (GDPR) unless and until GDPR is no longer directly applicable in the UK, together with the Data Protection Act 2018, any national implementing laws, regulations and secondary legislation as amended or updated from time to time in the UK, and any successor legislation to GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (Data Protection Legislation).

In order for Alchemist Consultants to provide, our services we need to process a certain amount of data, some of which is personally identifiable.

Our Privacy Policy sets out the different kinds of personal data we process, how we collect it, what processing is carried out, who personal data is shared with, how long we keep personal data and how we safeguard it along with details of your rights relating to data protection and how to contact the ICO, the UK’s data protection regulator.

We process data on the following categories of individuals:

• Learners and system users
• Newsletter and marketing subscribers
• Suppliers and subcontractors
• Staff
• Prospective Staff

In order to access our e-portfolio system, Skills Forward to complete training and other associated activities, users require an account. Having an account means Alchemist Consultants is storing the personal data you provide, and we further process this to determine training outcomes and retain certification records as well as analyse content and system usage, improve our products and services and respond to support queries and evaluation comments.    The Skills Forward privacy policy is available here:   https://www.skillsforward.co.uk/privacy 

In addition to a learner record within Skills Forward, Alchemist Consultants apprentices’ data is also stored within the ESFA database, privacy policy is available here:  https://des.fasst.org.uk/pages/privacy-policy.aspx/ 

It is a requirement of the ESF programme that all documents necessary to verify co-financed provision (including those with learner data) are retained until at least December 2030.

Information may also be shared with Ofsted during any inspection process that Alchemist is part of.  The Ofsted privacy policy can be viewed here:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-privacy-notices 

When you fill out a webform to sign up to a newsletter, download a resource, such as an infographic, or enquire about a product, we may ask you to provide certain personal information, including your:

• name;
• email address;
• job title & the organisation you work for; and
• telephone number.

By completing the form and ticking the relevant boxes you are providing your consent for Alchemist Consultants to process your personal data, and this is the legal basis we are relying on to do so.

We will use the information that you give us to send you relevant emails containing Alchemist Consultants news & marketing communications. 

In addition, if you have enquired about a product or service we will use the information you have given to update our customer relationship management system so one of our consultants or advisors can contact you. 

Some automation and profiling may be used to send emails or a series emails based on your indicated preferences and your interactions with the emails we send to you. For example if you have enquired about a particular product we may send you a series of emails outlining features or benefits of that particular product.

We regularly review your interactions with the emails we send you and remove any subscribers who have shown and extended period of inactivity. You can withdraw your consent and unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link at the bottom our email communications.

If you continue to interact with our emails or website, we will retain your data indefinitely so we can continue to send you emails.

We will not sell or pass your information to third parties.

Personal data provided by suppliers is only used for purposes related to the supply of goods or services for which we have contracted.

Information regarding the processing of staff data is available internally via our Managing Director. Where staff provide 3rd party personal details to Alchemist Consultants, for the purposes of being an employment reference, emergency contact, or beneficiary of employment related benefits, these details are used for that purpose only, and processed under legitimate interests.

Should you apply for an advertised job vacancy, or submit a speculative application, either directly or through a recruitment agency or other 3rd party, we will process your data solely for this purpose. We hold all applications on file for a period of 6 months, and may contact applicants regarding other similar opportunities potentially of interest that become available within this time.

Protecting your security and privacy is extremely important to us and we make every effort to secure your information and maintain your confidentiality in accordance all relevant Data Protection Legislation. Our systems are protected by various levels of security technology, which are designed to protect your information from any unauthorised or unlawful access, processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage.

Please note that we may need to disclose your personal information where we:

• are under a legal duty to comply with any legal obligation or in order to enforce or apply our terms and conditions; or
• need to disclose it to protect our rights, property or safety of our customers or others, including the exchange of information with other companies, organisations and/or governmental bodies for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

The GDPR provides you with the following rights:

The right of access

You can ask us to confirm that we process your personal data and provide access to and copies of the information we hold about you by contacting us through our contact page.  We will process your request to access your information and provide this information to you free of charge unless your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive or repetitive, in which case we are entitled to charge a reasonable fee. We may also charge if you request more than one copy of the same information.

We will provide the information you request as soon as possible and in any event within one month of receiving your request, unless there are extenuating circumstances. If we need more information to comply with your request, we’ll let you know.

The right to rectification

If you believe personal data we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, or any of the information you provide to us changes, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can make the necessary changes to the information we hold for you on our database. If you wish to make any changes to your information, please contact us via our contact page.

We will comply with your request within one month of receiving it, unless we don’t feel its appropriate for us to do so in which case we’ll let you know why. We’ll also let you know if we need more time to comply with your request.

The right to erasure

In some circumstances, you have the right to ask us to delete personal data we hold about you. This right is available to you:

• where we no longer need your personal data for the purpose for which we collected it;
• where we have collected your personal data on the grounds of consent and you withdraw that consent;
• where you object to the processing and we don’t have any overriding legitimate interests to continuing processing the data;
• where we have unlawfully processed your personal data (i.e. we have failed to comply with GDPR);
• where the personal data has to be deleted to comply with a legal obligation; and
• where the personal data we process relates to the offer of online services to a child.

There are certain scenarios in which we are entitled to refuse to comply with a request. If any of those apply, we’ll let you know.

To request that your information is deleted, please contact us through the contact us page.

The right to restrict / object to processing

In some circumstances you are entitled to ask us to suppress processing of your personal data. This means we will stop actively processing your personal data but we don’t have to delete it. This right is available to you:

• if you believe the personal data we hold isn’t accurate – we’ll cease processing it until we can verify its accuracy;
• if you have objected to us processing the data (see below) – we’ll cease processing it until we have determined whether our legitimate interests override your objection;
• if the processing is unlawful; or
• if we no longer need the data but you would like us to keep it because you need it to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.

You are entitled to object to us processing your personal data:

• if the processing is based on legitimate interests or performance of a task in the public interest or exercise of official authority;
• for direct marketing purposes (including profiling); and/or
• for the purposes of scientific or historical research and statistics.

In order to object, you must have grounds for doing so based on your particular situation. We will stop processing your data unless we can demonstrate that there are compelling legitimate grounds which override your interests, rights and freedoms or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

If you wish to restrict or object to the processing of your information, please contact us via the contact page.

The right to data portability

You have the right to ask us to provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format so that you are able to transmit the personal data to another data controller. This right only applies:

• to personal data you provide to us;
• where processing is based on your consent or for performance of a contract (i.e. the right does not apply if we process your personal data on the grounds of legitimate interests); and
• where we carry out the processing by automated means.

We’ll respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event within one month from the date we receive it. If we need more time, we’ll let you know.

Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling

Automated decision making means making a decision solely by automated means without any human involvement. We carry out automated decision making using your personal data as detailed under the Newsletter / Marketing Subscribers heading above.

For further information on these rights you can contact the ICO via one of the options on their website https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/.

Our website may contain links to other websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other websites. This privacy policy applies solely to information collected on our website.

Please note that we may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make any changes, these will be shown on our website and will immediately supersede any previously posted information.

If you have any further queries or comments on our Privacy Policy, please get in touch via our contact page.

We always welcome your views about our website and our Privacy Policy.

For whatever reason, should you wish to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, as is your right, you can do by contacting the ICO directly via one of the options on their website https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/.