Trainee Privacy Statement

This is the privacy notice of Restaurant and Hospitality Skillnet operated through Restaurants Association of Ireland partnership clg. In this document, “we”, “our”, or “us” refer to Restaurant and Hospitality Skillnet.

We are company number 56224 registered in Ireland

Our registered office is at 11 Bridge Court, Citygate, Saint Augustine Street, Dublin 8

The Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet was established in 2017 by the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) to provide training to those working in restaurants and the wider hospitality industry, from owners to managers, head chefs to commis chefs, and front of house service staff.

Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet focuses on supporting those in employment within the Restaurant and Hospitality Industry. The Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet also participate in the Skillnet Ireland Employment Activation programme. This initiative is designed exclusively for unemployed people and includes free training in skills in demand by companies combined with direct access to employers through meaningful work placements.

Introduction

1. This is a notice to inform you of our policy about all information that we record about you. It sets out the conditions under which we may process any information that we collect from you, or that you provide to us. It covers information that could identify you (“personal information”) and information that could not. In the context of the law and this notice, “process” means collect, store, transfer, use or otherwise act on information.
2. Compliance with the data protection rules is a legal obligation. In addition, our compliance with the data protection rules helps individuals to have confidence in dealing with us and helps us to maintain a positive reputation in relation to how we handle personal information.
3. “Data controllers” are the people who or organisations which determine the purposes for which, and the manner in which, any personal data is processed, who/which make independent decisions in relation to the personal data and/or who/which otherwise control that personal data.
4. We regret that if there are one or more points below with which you are not happy, your only recourse is to leave our website immediately.
5. We take seriously the protection of your privacy and confidentiality. We understand that all visitors to our website are entitled to know that their personal data will not be used for any purpose unintended by them and will not accidentally fall into the hands of a third party.
6. We undertake to preserve the confidentiality of all information you provide to us, and hope that you reciprocate.
7. Our policy complies with the Data Protection Act 2018 (Act) accordingly incorporating the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
8. The law requires us to tell you about your rights and our obligations to you in regard to the processing and control of your personal data. We do this now, by requesting that you read the information provided at knowyourprivacyrights.org
9. Except as set out below, we do not share, or sell, or disclose to a third party, any information collected through our website.

Data Controller

•  Data protection provides rights to individuals with regard to the use of their personal information (personal data) by organisations, including Skillnet Ireland. Irish and EU laws on data protection govern all activities we engage in with regard to our collection, storage, handling, disclosure and other uses of personal data.
• Compliance with the data protection rules is a legal obligation. In addition, our compliance with the data protection rules helps individuals to have confidence in dealing with us and helps us to maintain a positive reputation in relation to how we handle personal information.
• The data protection rules that apply to us are currently contained in the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU Regulation 679/2016) (the “GDPR”), in the Data Protection Act 2018, in the EPrivacy Regulations 2011 and in related legislation (together the “DPAs”).
• “Data controllers” are the people who or organisations which determine the purposes for which, and the manner in which, any personal data is processed, who/which make independent decisions in relation to the personal data and/or who/which otherwise control that personal data.
  For the purposes of the GDPR, Skillnet Ireland is the data controller with regard to the personal data described in this Privacy Statement.

The bases on which we process information about you

The law requires us to determine under which of six defined bases we process different categories of your personal information, and to notify you of the basis for each category.

To use your information lawfully, we rely on one or more of the following legal bases:

• Performance of a contract
• Legal obligation
• Protecting the vital interests of you or others
• Public interest
• Our legitimate interests
• Your consent

To meet our regulatory and legal obligations, we collect some of your personal information, verify it, keep it up to date through regular checks, and delete it once we no longer have to keep it. We may also gather information about you from third parties to help us meet our obligations.

Currently, the Trainee Profile Form collects Trainee Personal Data using ‘Consent’ as the legal basis for processing. Skillnet Ireland has made the decision to change our lawful basis of processing from Consent to Legitimate Interest. We have completed a Legitimate Interest Assessment to reach this decision. This assessment details why processing of the Trainee Personal Data is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interest pursued by Skillnet Ireland or by a third party on our behalf. As we are no longer using Consent, we do not require a consent box on the Trainee Profile Form.

If you do not provide the information we need, or help us keep it up to date, we may not be able to provide you with our services.

If a basis on which we process your personal information is no longer relevant, then we shall immediately stop processing your data.

If the basis changes then if required by law, we shall notify you of the change and of any new basis under which we have determined that we can continue to process your information.

1.          Information we process because we have a contractual obligation with you

When you sign up to our training services or otherwise agree to our terms and conditions, a contract is formed between you and us.

In order to carry out our obligations and deliver effective Training & Support service to you, under that contract we must process the information you give us. Some of this information may be personal information. Specific data we collect from Trainee Profile Forms can include but are not limited to:

• First Name, Last Name
• Email address and phone number;
• Gender and age range;
• Date of birth
• County of residence;
• Education level, NFQ level attained and details of their employment status;
• Company name and address;
• Occupational category
• Company Role if Applicable
• Company or Home Address and Billing address
• Residential status
• Disability status
• Sign up time and date
• Newsletter subscription (only if you have opted-in)
• Transaction data
• Banking Details
• Cookies (please refer to Cookie Policy section)
• Google Analytics

The details of the Trainee Profile Forms directly onto the Sonraí database managed by Skillnet Ireland (see ‘Keeping your information safe’). Skillnet Ireland also undertake compliance activities with the Networks to ensure that public funds are being allocated in an appropriate manner and this includes reviewing or using the Trainee Personal Data on Sonraí.

We may use personal data in order to:

• verify your identity for security purposes
• sell services to you
• provide you with our services
• provide you with suggestions and advice on services and how to obtain the most from using our website
• seek funding on your behalf
• comply with requirements imposed by Training Accreditation bodies
• comply with requirements imposed by Skillnet Ireland and the related Funding Agencies
• provide personnel, payroll and pension administration services in connection with our employees
• get and retain clear and opt-in consent for further marketing
• for provision of the enforcement of legal rights for the protection of both our interests
• for provision of billing, payment, remittance or receipt/payment of money on your behalf

We process this information on the basis there is a contract between us, or that you have requested we use the information before we enter a legal contract.

2.          Information we process with your consent

Through certain actions when otherwise there is no contractual relationship between us, such as when you browse our website or ask us to provide you more information about our business, including job opportunities and our services, you provide your consent to us to process information that may be personal information.

Wherever possible, we aim to obtain your explicit consent to process this information, for example, by asking you to agree to our use of cookies.

Sometimes you might give your consent implicitly, such as when you send us a message by e-mail to which you would reasonably expect us to reply.

Except where you have consented to our use of your information for a specific purpose, we do not use your information in any way that would identify you personally. We may aggregate it in a general way and use it to provide class information, for example to monitor the performance of a particular page on our website.

If you have given us explicit permission to do so, we may from time to time pass your name and contact information to selected associates whom we consider may provide services or products you would find useful.

We continue to process your information on this basis until you withdraw your consent, or it can be reasonably assumed that your consent no longer exists.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by instructing us at Niamh.omalley@rai.ie. However, if you do so, you may not be able to use our website or our services further.

3.          Information we process for the purposes of legitimate interests

We may process information on the basis there is a legitimate interest, either to you or to us, of doing so.

Where we process your information on this basis, we do after having given careful consideration to:

• whether the same objective could be achieved through other means
• whether processing (or not processing) might cause you harm
• whether you would expect us to process your data, and whether you would, in the round, consider it reasonable to do so

We have conducted a ‘necessary legitimate interests’ balancing test which involved identifying the ‘necessary legitimate interests’ of Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet, those attending the courses (data subjects), Skillnet Ireland, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the interests of the general public in our being able to process the personal data necessary to provide funding to member companies and to ensure that funding is being used appropriately etc. We also identified any potential inconveniences or risks to data subjects and concluded that the many identified legitimate interests outweighed any potential risks to data subjects (which are very low). We have ensured that we collect the minimum amount of personal data necessary to achieve our legitimate purposes.

For example, we may process your data on this basis for the purposes of:

• record-keeping for the proper and necessary administration of our organisation, including Accountants for Accounting, Audit and Regulatory reasons.
• providing Contracted Trainers your data (contact details & role details) to contact you for course customisation to ensure courses are tailored to your specified requirements
• providing Skillnet Ireland your data for the processing and funding of the related programme
• providing Trainers your data (contact details, role detail and survey feedback) in advance of courses for course customisation and final preparation.
• providing Course Organiser who Books a group onto a course the personal data of the attendees booked by them including Course Confirmations, Copies of Survey Responses, Attendance Logs, Evaluation From, Feedback including KPI & Certificates
• providing for the evaluation process of activities by evaluating feedback response forms from each course
• providing the Certification bodies with whom we work your data for the purposed of reviewing assessments and processing certification
• responding to unsolicited communication from you to which we believe you would expect a response
• protecting and asserting the legal rights of any party
• providing Revenue Commissioners details for tax compliance reasons
• insuring against or obtaining professional advice that is required to manage organisational risk
• protecting your interests where we believe we have a duty to do so.

4.          Information we process because we have a legal obligation

We are subject to the law like everyone else. Sometimes, we must process your information in order to comply with a statutory obligation.

For example, we may be required to give information to legal authorities if they so request or if they have the proper authorisation such as a search warrant or court order.

This may include your personal information.

What are the data protection principles?

a. We process personal data fairly, lawfully and transparently. We have a valid legal basis for our processing of personal data. We are transparent with individuals about our processing of their
personal data.
b. We only collect personal data for specified, identified and necessary legitimate purposes.
c. We only process the personal data that we have collected for the purposes which we have identified or for purposes that are compatible with the purposes that we have identified.
d. The personal data that we collect, and process must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes.
e. The personal data that we collect, and process must be accurate and (where necessary) kept up to date.
f. We do not keep personal data any longer than is necessary, bearing the purpose for which we collected it. This includes that we keep personal data in a form which permits identification of the
data subject for no longer than is necessary.

g. We keep personal data safe and secure from unauthorised access, deletion, disclosure or other unauthorised uses. This includes not just keeping data safe and secure from persons outside our
organisation, but also from people within our organisation who have no need to access or use the personal data. We are also careful when transferring personal data outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”, being the EU plus Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland), and make sure that we have a valid legal basis on which to transfer that data. Transfer can include using a cloud server that is located outside the EU or allowing people who are located outside the EEA access to personal data that is stored within the EEA.
h. We comply with data subjects’ rights of information about, and (separately) access to, their personal data and with their other data protection rights, including rights to correct or erase their personal data, rights “to be forgotten”, rights to object to processing (including profiling), rights against automated decision-making and (under the GDPR) rights to data portability.

Security of your personal data

• We take appropriate security measures against unlawful or unauthorised processing of personal data, and against the accidental loss of, or damage to, personal data.
• We have procedures and technologies to maintain the security of all personal data from the point of collection to the point of destruction. Personal data will only be transferred to a data processor if he agrees to comply with those procedures and policies, or if he puts in place adequate measures himself. In addition, we have
  appropriate written agreements in place with all our data processors.
• Skillnet Ireland operates and manages a bespoke database ‘Sonrai’ to store your personal data. This is a cloudbased solution and information is hosted in a North European Data Centre. ‘Sonraí’ uses the Microsoft Azure platform to securely store our data. The file server is backed up to the cloud and backups are located in a datacentre in Slough, UK. All data uses AES-256-bit encryption.
• We maintain data security by protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the personal data, defined as follows:
  A. Confidentiality means that only people who are authorised to use the data can access it.
  B. Integrity means that personal data should be accurate and suitable for the purpose for which it is
  processed.
  C. Availability means that authorised users should be able to access the data if they need it for authorised
  purposes. Personal data should therefore be stored on Skillnet Ireland’s central computer system instead
  of individual PCs or devices.

Specific uses of information you provide to us

1.          Information provided on the understanding that it will be shared with a third party

Our website allows you to post information with a view to that information being read, copied, downloaded, or used by other people.

In posting personal information, it is up to you to satisfy yourself about the privacy level of every person who might use it.

We do not specifically use this information except to allow it to be displayed or shared.

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Once your information enters the public domain, we have no control over what any individual third party may do with it. We accept no responsibility for their actions at any time.

Provided your request is reasonable and there is no legal basis for us to retain it, then at our discretion we may agree to your request to delete personal information that you have posted. You can make a request by contacting us at niamh.omalley@rai.ie.

2.          Complaints regarding content on our website

If you complain about any of the content on our website, we shall investigate your complaint.

If we feel it is justified or if we believe the law requires us to do so, we shall remove the content while we investigate.

If we think your complaint is vexatious or without any basis, we shall not correspond with you about it.

3.          Information relating to your method of payment

We store information about your debit or credit card or other means of payment when you first provide it to us.

We do not store this payment information in order to make repeat purchasing of goods and services easier next time you visit our website.

We take the following measures to protect your payment information:

• We keep your payment information encrypted on our servers.
• We do not keep all your payment information so as:
  • to prevent the possibility of our duplicating a transaction without a new instruction from you;
  • to prevent any other third party from carrying out a transaction without your consent
• Access to your payment information is restricted to authorised staff only.
• If we ask you questions about your payment information, we only show the last four digits of the debit or credit card number, so that you can identify the means of payment to which we refer.

We automatically delete your payment information after 7 days or immediately after the payment is processed via Elavon.

4.          Information about your direct debit

In a rare occasion when a direct debit is agreed the following applies.

When you agree to set up a direct debit arrangement, the information you give to us is passed to our own bank Allied Irish Banks (AIB) for processing according to our instructions. We do keep a copy.

We keep this information only for the duration of the direct debit arrangement.

We are registered under the direct debit guarantee scheme. This provides for the customer’s bank to refund disputed payments without question, pending further investigation. Direct debits can only be set up for payments to beneficiaries that are approved originators of direct debits. In order to be approved, these beneficiaries are subjected to careful vetting procedures. Once approved, they are required to give indemnity guarantees through their banks.

5.          Job application, internships and employment

If you send us information in connection with a job application, we may keep it for up to three years in case we decide to contact you at a later date.

If we employ you, we collect information about you and your work from time to time throughout the period of your employment. This information will be used only for purposes directly relevant to your employment. After your employment has ended, we will keep your file for six years before destroying or deleting it.

6.          Sending a message to our support team

When you contact us, whether by telephone, through our website or by e-mail, we collect the data you have given to us in order to reply with the information you need.

We record your request and our reply in order to increase the efficiency of our organisation.

We keep personally identifiable information associated with your message, such as your name, phone number and email address so as to be able to track our communications with you to provide a high-quality service.

7.          Complaining

When we receive a complaint, we record all the information you have given to us.

We use that information to resolve your complaint.

If your complaint reasonably requires us to contact some other person, we may decide to give to that other person some of the information contained in your complaint. We do this as infrequently as possible, but it is a matter for our sole discretion as to whether we do give information, and if we do, what that information is.

We may also compile statistics showing information obtained from this source to assess the level of service we provide, but not in a way that could identify you or any other person.

8.          Affiliate and business partner information

This is information given to us by you in your capacity as an affiliate of us or as a business partner.

It allows us to recognise visitors that you have referred to us, and to credit to you commission due for such referrals. It also includes information that allows us to transfer commission to you.

The information is not used for any other purpose.

We undertake to preserve the confidentiality of the information and of the terms of our relationship.

We expect any affiliate or partner to agree to reciprocate this policy.

Use of information we collect through automated systems when you visit our website

9.          Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer’s hard drive by your web browser when you visit any website. They allow information gathered on one web page to be stored until it is needed for use on another, allowing a website to provide you with a personalised experience and the website owner with statistics about how you use the website so that it can be improved.

Some cookies may last for a defined period of time, such as one day or until you close your browser. Others last indefinitely.

Your web browser should allow you to delete any you choose. It also should allow you to prevent or limit their use.

Our website uses cookies. They are placed by software that operates on our servers, and by software operated by third parties whose services we use.

When you first visit our website, we ask you whether you wish us to use cookies. If you choose not to accept them, we shall not use them for your visit except to record that you have not consented to their use for any other purpose.

If you choose not to use cookies or you prevent their use through your browser settings, you will not be able to use all the functionality of our website.

We use cookies in the following ways:

• to track how you use our website
• to record whether you have seen specific messages we display on our website
• to record your answers to surveys and questionnaires on our site while you complete them

10.      Personal identifiers from your browsing activity

Requests by your web browser to our servers for web pages and other content on our website are recorded.

We record information such as your geographical location, your Internet service provider and your IP address. We also record information about the software you are using to browse our website, such as the type of computer or device and the screen resolution.

We use this information in aggregate to assess the popularity of the webpages on our website and how we perform in providing content to you.

If combined with other information we know about you from previous visits, the data possibly could be used to identify you personally.

11.      Our use of re-marketing

Re-marketing involves placing a cookie on your computer when you browse our website in order to be able to serve to you an advert for our products or services when you visit some other website.

We may use a third party to provide us with re-marketing services from time to time. If so, then if you have consented to our use of cookies, you may see advertisements for our products and services on other websites.

Disclosure and sharing of your information

12.      Information we obtain from third parties

Although we do not disclose your personal information to any third party (except as set out in this notice), we sometimes receive data that is indirectly made up from your personal information from third parties whose services we use.

13.      Third party advertising on our website

Third parties may advertise on our website. In doing so, those parties, their agents or other companies working for them may use technology that automatically collects information about you when their advertisement is displayed on our website.

They may also use other technology such as cookies or JavaScript to personalise the content of, and to measure the performance of their adverts.

We do not have control over these technologies or the data that these parties obtain. Accordingly, this privacy notice does not cover the information practices of these third parties.

14.      Credit reference

To assist in combating fraud, we share information with credit reference agencies, so far as it relates to clients or customers who instruct their credit card issuer to cancel payment to us without having first provided an acceptable reason to us and given us the opportunity to refund their money.

15.      Data may be processed outside the European Union

Our websites are hosted in Ireland.

We may also use outsourced services in countries outside the European Union from time to time in other aspects of our business.

Accordingly, data obtained within Ireland or any other country could be processed outside the European Union.

For example, some of the software our website uses may have been developed in the United States of America.

We use the following safeguards with respect to data transferred outside the European Union:

• the processor is within the same corporate group as our business or organisation and abides by the same binding corporate rules regarding data processing.

Access to your own information

16.      Access to your personal information

• At any time, you may review or update personally identifiable information that we hold about you, by contacting us.
• To obtain a copy of any information that is not provided on our website you may send us a request at Niamh.omalley@rai.ie, telephone 01 6779901 or post to Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet, 11 Bridge Court, Citygate, St. Augustine Street, Dublin 8.
• After receiving the request, we will tell you when we expect to provide you with the information, and whether we require any fee for providing it to you.

17.      Removal of your information

If you wish us to remove personally identifiable information, you may contact us at Niamh.omalley@rai.ie

This may limit the service we can provide to you.

18.      Verification of your information

When we receive any request to access, edit or delete personal identifiable information we shall first take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting you access or otherwise taking any action. This is important to safeguard your information.

19.      Other protection rights

You have the right to:

• object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground.
• object to automated decision-making including profiling, that is not to be subject of any automated decision-making by us using your personal data or profiling of you.
• request the restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal data about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.
• request transfer of your personal data in an electronic and structured form to you or to another party (commonly known as a right to “data portability”). This enables you to take your data from us in an electronically useable format and to be able to transfer your data to another party in an electronically useable format.

Other matters

20.      Use of site by children

• We do not sell products or provide services for purchase by children, nor do we market to children.
• If you are under 18, you may use our website only with consent from a parent or guardian
• We collect data about all users of and visitors to these areas regardless of age, and we anticipate that some of those users and visitors will be children.
• Such child users and visitors will inevitably visit other parts of the site and will be subject to whatever on-site marketing they find, wherever they visit.

21.      Encryption of data sent between us

We use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates to verify our identity to your browser and to encrypt any data you give us.

Whenever information is transferred between us, you can check that it is done so using SSL by looking for a closed padlock symbol or other trust mark in your browser’s URL bar or toolbar.

22.      How you can complain

• If you are not happy with our privacy policy or if have any complaint, then you should tell us by email. Our address is Niamh.omalley@rai.ie
• If a dispute is not settled, then we hope you will agree to attempt to resolve it by engaging in good faith with us in a process of mediation or arbitration.
• If you are in any way dissatisfied about how we process your personal information, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commissioner. This can be done at https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/complaints/1592.htm

23.      Retention period for personal data

Except as otherwise mentioned in this privacy notice, we keep your personal information for periods which depend on the nature of the service/work we have done for you:

• Trainee Personal Data will be held on Sonraí for a period of three years from the end of the preceding calendar year. In practice, this means that depending on when a trainee attended training, their data will be held for between 2 years and 1 day (min) to 2 years and 364 days (max)
• Contractors/ Trainers/ Vendors personal information will be retained by us for the duration of working relationship (12 months)
• Accreditation organisations very depending on organisation in question
• Legal obligations which include NERA & Revenue can be stored to six years.

Otherwise, personal information will only be retained as far as:

• to provide you with the services you have requested;
• to comply with other law, such as mentioned above.
• to support a claim or defence in court.

24.      Keeping your information safe

We take appropriate security measures against unlawful or unauthorised processing of personal data, and against the accidental loss of, or damage to, personal data.

• IT – emails and other electronic data is stored in secure cloud system We operate and manage a bespoke database ‘Sonrai’ to store your personal data. This is a cloud-based solution and information is hosted in a North European Data Centre. ‘Sonraí’ uses the Microsoft Azure platform to securely store our data. The file server is backed up to the cloud and backups are located in a datacentre in Slough, UK. All data uses AES-256-bit encryption. All IT systems are Firewall and virus protected.
• Document Storage- document are stored in locked office and cabinets.
• CCTV – We do not record or retain CCTV footage, but the building does use CCTV systems which may include your personal data.
• Data Disposal – We do not hold sensitive data, but it is our policy to use shredding machines for security. Data is disposed after 3-year period or if you request to do so.

25.      Compliance with the law

Our privacy policy has been compiled so as to comply with the law of every country or legal jurisdiction in which we aim to do business. If you think it fails to satisfy the law of your jurisdiction, we should like to hear from you.

However, ultimately it is your choice as to whether you wish to use our website.

26.      Review of this privacy policy

We may update this privacy notice from time to time as necessary. The terms that apply to you are those posted here on our website on the day you use our website. We advise you to print a copy for your records.

If you have any question regarding our privacy policy, please contact us.