Privacy & GDPR Policy

This privacy policy sets out how The Safer Food Group (TSFG) uses and protects any information that you supply when you use our website.

TSFG is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected in line with the recent change to legislation associated with GDPR. Should we ask you to provide information by which you can be identified when using this website, you can then be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement and in line with GDPR legislation.

TSFG may change this policy from time to time by updating this page.
You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from 25th May 2018

What we collect

When you register on a course with TSFG, you provide the following personal information:

• Name and date of birth
• Employer information where applicable (i.e. when a learner is linked to a business account).
• Contact information including email, home address and phone number
• Employment information relevant to course choice such as industry or sector

Registering for a course forms the contract with TSFG and therefore the lawful basis by which we are permitted to use your data - you are paying for our services and we are providing you with learning materials required to pass an academic qualification. We do not retain any information that you provide for payment purposes. We only use your contact details to get in touch with you with information relating to your courses (awards) - for instance, legislative updates, industry updates and reminders about your certificate renewal dates.

New learners: We will ask for your permission to contact you for marketing purposes. If you give us permission, we will use email to communicate items that we feel may be of interest to you, including industry and company information, updates and offers. If you do not wish to receive these communications, you will be given the opportunity to unsubscribe, by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of each email or using the unsubscribe option within your personal account settings.

Existing learners: If you became a learner with TSFG before the introduction of GDPR, we will show you your marketing communication choice on your admin page. You will also be able to use the unsubscribe link if we send you any marketing communications.

What we do with the information we gather

We use this information to create your learner/business account, which is unique to you. Some of this information, alongside the details of courses you have passed, forms your academic achievement data - we use this information in the following way:

• Internal record keeping and academic verification
• Supply of essential information to our accreditation agency upon successful completion of courses (see Qualifi website for further details: qualifi.net/privacy-policy)
• Supply of information to your employer if you are taking a course linked to a business account that is paid for and managed by your employer. This is strictly limited by business need.
• Supply of information to our business partners who sell and distribute our courses only if you have purchased a course through a third-party business partner. This is strictly limited by business need.
• Supply of data to third party suppliers who provide services to The Safer Food Group, specifically and solely to enable them to undertake these services. At the time of publication of this policy we have one third party supplier, MailChimp, who undertakes email services on our behalf (see Mailchimp website for further details: mailchimp.com).
• Analysis of data via Google analytics.
• Communication with you about legal and industry course updates and course renewal information.

We use wider information such as your interests and industry to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:

• We may use the information to improve our products and services.
• We may use the information to provide you with updates to course material that are relevant to your industry or role.
• We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.
• With your permission, we may periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.

Controlling your personal information

You may choose to restrict the use of your personal information in the following ways:

• If you have agreed to us using your personal information for marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by changing your preferences within your Learner Details page (using the personal details link) or writing to or emailing us.
• If we contact you for marketing purposes, you can unsubscribe from future contact by using the unsubscribe link.

Outside of marketing we may need to contact you from time to time for reasons connected with your study (for instance, to alert you to critical course renewal dates). Unsubscribing from marketing messages does not affect this communication. We will not sell, share or lease your personal information to third parties other than those specifically detailed above, unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so.

You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to The Safer Food Group, Unit 2 Integrity House, Lower Lumsdale, Matlock, DE4 5EX, or email us at . You can also check this information yourself by logging into your learner/business account and viewing your Learner Admin/Business Admin page. You can also request that we delete your learner account and remove all personal and academic data by writing to us or emailing using the details above, or using the Delete Account link on the Learner Details page.

Account and Data Deletions

All dormant accounts will have non-critical information removed on a rolling basis after a five year dormancy period. This time scale has been specified to allow a suitable grace period for course renewals. After this period, we will retain a small portion of critical personal data, to enable learners to continue to access their academic records (this data includes name, date of birth, award, pass mark and date). This does not affect the individual’s ‘right to disappear’ – academic records will be removed at the specific request of a learner, using the Delete Account link, and in this case we will not be able to retrieve these details at a later date.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. Our website hosting service, our online payment service suppliers and our email service provider have been audited to ensure their compliance with data security laws and best industry practice.

Use of Cookies

A cookie is a small non-executable text file that is placed on your computer when you browse a website. Our website uses two kinds of cookies; first party ’session cookies’ which retain information for the duration of your visit, for example if you’re completing more than one form you only need to provide your information once; and first party ‘persistent cookies’ which remain on your computer after your visit and help us monitor what parts of the site you visit so that we can keep improving our website in accordance with your preferences. Our cookies don’t hold any personal or confidential information about you. Most browsers are set to automatically accept cookies.

Links to other websites

Our website contains links to other websites. In general, these links are supplied to provide supplementary information relevant to course material. TSFG is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these other websites. No personal information is passed between TSFG and these other websites, however visitors should check the privacy policy statements of these sites to understand their policies. It is the responsibility of the user to keep their personal information private and confidential.

Business data

Whilst business data is not subject to the same GDPR legislation as personal learners’ data, TSFG will apply the same rigorous security measures to the information we hold about businesses. We do not require businesses to subscribe or unsubscribe to marketing communications, but if you would like to opt out of receiving marketing communications please email us at

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the above address (see Controlling your personal information). We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.