Puddle Ducks Privacy Policy

Puddle Ducks Franchising Limited is committed to preserving the privacy of all visitors to our website at www.puddleducks.com. The following privacy policy is provided to inform you on how we use and protect the information that you provide to us through this website and any other interaction with us.

All personal data provided by you will be held by Puddle Ducks Franchising Limited. Our head office address is: The Grain Store, Hollins Farm, Off Twemlow Lane, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire CW4 8GE. Our UK data protection registration number is ZA108154. Full details of our notified purposes can be viewed at the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office www.ico.org.uk

This privacy policy relates to any and all personal data that you provide to us. By visiting, filling in an online form, registering or placing an order, you consent to the collection, use and transfer of your information under the terms of this policy. There are hyperlinks contained within our website which link to other websites owned and operated by third parties. These third parties have their own privacy policies and we recommend that you consider those when using their websites. We do not accept any liability or responsibility in terms of the privacy and security practices of these third party organisations and their websites.

Information that we may collect from you
When you visit, enquire about a franchise, register or order products or services on www.puddleducks.com or when placing an order with us or booking classes or training courses or enquiring about a franchise over the phone you may be asked to provide certain information about yourself, including your name, contact details, health conditions and - if making an online purchase - credit card details. We use a third party specialist secure card processing provider when taking payments. Puddle Ducks Franchising Ltd does not hold your card details.

The internet is not completely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of your personal data transmitted through our website or by email.  Any transmission is at your own risk. Some of the information you provide to us may be considered sensitive personal data as defined by the Data Protection Act (“DPA”) 2018. This covers information like your ethnic or racial origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, sexual life or criminal record for instance. Puddle Ducks Franchising Ltd also considers information relating to bank accounts, national insurance numbers, and other unique documents such as passport numbers as sensitive. It is recommended to send such information using a secure system such as encrypted email. 

All personal data that you provide to us will only be processed following your explicit consent and always in line with the DPA 2018 and any other applicable data protection legislation.

We use third party communication tools such as email software and social media. These platforms report on user behaviour and usage of their products, for example, if you have opened or clicked on a link in an email that we have sent you. They all have their own privacy policies available at request.

Use of your information
Your information will enable us to provide you with access to all parts of our website and to supply the goods or services you have requested. It will also enable us to bill you and to contact you where necessary concerning your orders. We will also use and analyse the information we collect so that we can administer, support, improve and develop our business.

In particular, we may use your information to contact you for your views on our services and to notify you occasionally about important changes or developments to the website or our services. Further, where you have consented, we might also use your information to let you know by email, SMS or post about other products and services which we offer which may be of interest to you. If you change your mind about being contacted in the future, please let us know.

Disclosure of your information & marketing
Your personal data provided by you via our website will only be used within the Puddle Ducks network. This includes all Puddle Ducks franchises and Puddle Ducks Head Office. This is in order to improve our service to you or to contact you by email to let you know of our other services e.g. our online shop.

Security and data retention
We employ security measures to protect your information from access by unauthorised persons and against unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage. We will retain your personal data for as long as is necessary for the required service to be provided to you.  All retained personal data is subject to the controls of our internal data protection policy which is required to be adhered to by all Puddle Ducks franchises and Puddle Ducks Head Office and will be securely disposed of when it is considered to be of no further use.

Data Protection and Online Security - Emergency Contact Details
Puddle Ducks Franchising Limited is a data controller of your personal information. We may process your personal information as a nominated Emergency Contact for the duration that the relevant child attends our classes without your consent as our ‘legitimate interest’ to ensure Puddle Ducks hold contact information in the event of an emergency.

Puddle Ducks will only share your information where we are legally obliged to do so or where an emergency situation requires us to do so.

In order to book a Puddle Ducks class, a parent/guardian of the relevant child must register their details and those of their child/children with us and provide Puddle Ducks with Emergency Contact details.  We will collect the following information about the Emergency Contact:

• Name;
• Relationship to the parent/guardian;
• Contact number;

As the nominated Emergency Contact, Puddle Ducks will only use your information to contact you in the event of an emergency, comply with the law regarding data sharing and comply with our legal obligations around the health, safety and well-being of the children attending our classes.

We will only share this data within the Puddle Ducks group and this includes all Puddle Ducks local teams and Puddle Ducks Head Office.

Puddle Ducks Franchising Ltd will only hold your personal information for the duration that the relevant child for whom you are Emergency Contact for, attends and is a member of Puddle Ducks, or until we are notified that you are no longer their Emergency Contact by the parent/guardian.

As an Emergency Contact you have no rights to access or request any information regarding the relevant child in respect of their activities with Puddle Ducks. Our sole purpose for processing your personal information is that Puddle Ducks are able to contact you in the event of an emergency. 

You are entitled to see the information held about you and you may ask us to make any necessary changes to ensure that it is accurate and kept up-to-date. If you wish to do this, please contact us either in writing at our Head Office address or by email to [email protected].

For more information on what a ‘legitimate interest’ is, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website.

Accessing and updating
You are entitled to see the information held about you and you may ask us to make any necessary changes to ensure that it is accurate and kept up to date. If you wish to do this, please contact us either in writing at our head office address or by email at [email protected].

Changes to our privacy policy
Any changes to our privacy policy in the future will be posted to the website.

Contact
All comments, queries and requests relating to our use of your information are welcomed and should be addressed to [email protected].

The www.puddleducks.com website is operated by:

Puddle Ducks Franchising Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales, whose registered office is at The Grain Store, Hollins Farm, Off Twemlow Lane, Holmes Chapel, Crewe, Cheshire CW4 8GE. Our company registration number is 5879603. Telephone number: 01477 410083

Team Member Privacy Policy
(for Employees, Members and Consultants)

DEFINITIONS

Business, (Our): Puddle Ducks Franchising Limited, whose registered address is The Grain Store, Hollins Farm, Twemlow Lane, Holmes Chapel, CW4 8GE  

Business Owner: Jo Stone / Tracy Townend

Staff: Includes direct employees of the Business Owner, teaching and other staff, as well as any other sub-contractors, i.e. non-direct employees working for the Business Owner

Members: A member otherwise known as partner of the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) should the Business Owner operate as an LLP.

Data Controller: For the purposes of this policy document the data controller is the Business Owner.

1. Overview

1.1 The Company takes the security and privacy of your data seriously. We need to gather and use information or ‘data’ about you as part of our business and to manage our relationship with you. We intend to comply with our legal obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 (the ‘2018 Act’) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) in respect of data privacy and security. We have a duty to notify you of the information contained in this policy.

1.2 This policy applies to current, former and prospective employees, members, workers, volunteers, apprentices and consultants. If you fall into one of these categories, then you are a ‘data subject’ for the purposes of this policy. You should read this policy alongside your contract of employment, members agreement (or contract for services) and any other notice we issue to you from time to time in relation to your data.

1.3 The Company is a ‘data controller’ for the purposes of your personal data. This means that we determine the purpose and means of the processing of your personal data.

1.4 This policy explains how the Company will hold and process your information. It explains your rights as a data subject. It also explains your obligations when obtaining, handling, processing or storing personal data in the course of working for, or on behalf of, the Company.

1.5 This policy does not form part of your contract of employment, members agreement, (or contract for services if relevant) and can be amended by the Company at any time. It is intended that this policy is fully compliant with the 2018 Act and the GDPR. If any conflict arises between those laws and this policy, the Company intends to comply with the 2018 Act and the GDPR.

2. Data Protection Principles

2.1 Personal data must be processed in accordance with six ‘Data Protection Principles.’ It must:

• be processed fairly, lawfully and transparently;
• be collected and processed only for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes;
• be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed;
• be accurate and kept up to date. Any inaccurate data must be deleted or rectified without delay;
• not be kept for longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed; and
• be processed securely.

We are accountable for these principles and must be able to show that we are compliant.

3. How we define personal data

3.1 ‘Personal data’ means information which relates to a living person who can be identified from that data (a ‘data subject’) on its own, or when taken together with other information which is likely to come into our possession. It includes any expression of opinion about the person and an indication of the intentions of us or others, in respect of that person. It does not include anonymised data.

3.2 This policy applies to all personal data whether it is stored electronically, on paper or on other materials.

3.3 This personal data might be provided to us by you, or someone else (such as a former employer, your doctor, or a credit reference agency), or it could be created by us. It could be provided or created during the recruitment process or during the course of the contract of employment (or services) or after its termination. It could be created by your manager or other colleagues.

3.4 We will collect and use the following types of personal data about you:

• recruitment information such as your application form and CV, references, qualifications and membership of any professional bodies, health questionnaire, and details of any pre-employment assessments;
• your contact details and date of birth;
• the contact details for your emergency contacts, next of kin and doctors;
• your gender;
• your marital status and family details;
• information about your contract of employment, members agreement (or contract services) including start and end dates of employment, role and location, working hours, details of promotion, salary (including details of previous remuneration), pension, benefits and holiday entitlement;
• your bank details and information in relation to your tax status including your national insurance number;
• your identification documents including passport and driving licence and information in relation to your immigration status and right to work for us;
• information relating to disciplinary or grievance investigations and proceedings involving you (whether or not you were the main subject of those proceedings);
• information relating to your performance and behaviour at work;
• training records;
• electronic information in relation to your use of IT systems/swipe cards/telephone systems;
• your images (whether captured on CCTV, by photograph or video);
• any other category of personal data which we may notify you of from time to time.

4. How we define special categories of personal data

4.1 ‘Special categories of personal data’ are types of personal data consisting of information as to:

• your racial or ethnic origin;
• your political opinions;
• your religious or philosophical beliefs;
• your trade union membership;
• your genetic or biometric data;
• your health;
• your sex life and sexual orientation; and
• any criminal convictions and offences.

We may hold and use any of these special categories of your personal data in accordance with the law.

5. How we define processing

5.1 ‘Processing’ means any operation which is performed on personal data such as:

• collection, recording, organisation, structuring or storage;
• adaption or alteration;
• retrieval, consultation or use;
• disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available;
• alignment or combination; and
• restriction, destruction or erasure.

This includes processing personal data which forms part of a filing system and any automated processing.

6. How will we process your personal data?

6.1 The Company will process your personal data (including special categories of personal data) in accordance with our obligations under the 2018 Act.

6.2 We will use your personal data for:

• performing the contract of employment, members agreement (or services) between us;
• complying with any legal obligation; or
• if it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or for the legitimate interests of someone else). However, we can only do this if your interests and rights do not override ours (or theirs). You have the right to challenge our legitimate interests and request that we stop this processing. See details of your rights in section 12 below.

We can process your personal data for these purposes without your knowledge or consent. We will not use your personal data for an unrelated purpose without telling you about it and the legal basis that we intend to rely on for processing it.

If you choose not to provide us with certain personal data you should be aware that we may not be able to carry out certain parts of the contract between us. For example, if you do not provide us with your bank account details we may not be able to pay you. It might also stop us from complying with certain legal obligations and duties which we have such as to pay the right amount of tax to HMRC or to make reasonable adjustments in relation to any disability you may suffer from.

7. Examples of when we might process your personal data

7.1 We have to process your personal data in various situations during your recruitment, employment (or engagement) and even following termination of your employment (or engagement).

7.2 For example (and see section 7.6 below for the meaning of the asterisks):

• to decide whether to employ (or engage) you;
• to decide how much to pay you, and the other terms of your contract with us;
• to check you have the legal right to work for us;
• to carry out the contract between us including where relevant, its termination;
• training you and reviewing your performance*;
• to decide whether to promote you;
• to decide whether and how to manage your performance, absence or conduct*;
• to carry out a disciplinary or grievance investigation or procedure in relation to you or someone else;
• to determine whether we need to make reasonable adjustments to your workplace or role because of your disability*;
• to monitor diversity and equal opportunities*;
• to monitor and protect the security (including network security) of the Company, of you, our other staff, customers and others;
• to monitor and protect the health and safety of you, our other staff, customers and third parties*;
• to pay you and provide pension and other benefits in accordance with the contract between us*;
• paying tax and national insurance;
• to provide a reference upon request from another employer;
• to pay trade union subscriptions*;
• monitoring compliance by you, us and others with our policies and our contractual obligations*;
• to comply with employment law, immigration law, health and safety law, tax law and other laws which affect us*;
• to answer questions from insurers in respect of any insurance policies which relate to you*;
• running our business and planning for the future;
• the prevention and detection of fraud or other criminal offences;
• to defend the Company in respect of any investigation or litigation and to comply with any court or tribunal orders for disclosure*;
• for internal administration purposes only - using it to populate its Shark Franchisee Staff database and produce lists of team members for each franchise [Your data will not be passed on to any third parties for marketing purposes].
• for any other reason which we may notify you of from time to time.

7.3 We will only process special categories of your personal data (see above) in certain situations in accordance with the law. For example, we can do so if we have your explicit consent. If we asked for your consent to process a special category of personal data then we would explain the reasons for our request. You do not need to consent and can withdraw consent later if you choose by contacting [insert].

7.4 We do not need your consent to process special categories of your personal data when we are processing it for the following purposes, which we may do:

• where it is necessary for carrying out rights and obligations under employment law;
• where it is necessary to protect your vital interests or those of another person where you/they are physically or legally incapable of giving consent;
• where you have made the data public;
• where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; and
• where processing is necessary for the purposes of occupational medicine or for the assessment of your working capacity.

7.5 We do not expect to process information relating to criminal convictions.

7.6 We might process special categories of your personal data for the purposes in paragraph 7.2 above which have an asterisk beside them. In particular, we will use information in relation to:

• your race, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or gender to monitor equal opportunities;
• your sickness absence, health and medical conditions to monitor your absence, assess your fitness for work, to pay you benefits, to comply with our legal obligations under employment law including to make reasonable adjustments and to look after your health and safety; and
• your trade union membership to pay any subscriptions and to comply with our legal obligations in respect of trade union members.

7.7 We do not take automated decisions about you using your personal data or use profiling in relation to you.

8. Sharing your personal data

8.1 Sometimes we might share your personal data with group companies or our contractors and agents to carry out our obligations under our contract with you or for our legitimate interests.

8.2 We require those companies to keep your personal data confidential and secure and to protect it in accordance with the law and our policies. They are only permitted to process your data for the lawful purpose for which it has been shared and in accordance with our instructions.

8.3 Other activities including processing of data for payroll and pension purposes.

8.4 We do not send your personal data outside the European Economic Area. If this changes you will be notified of this and the protections which are in place to protect the security of your data will be explained.

9. How should you process personal data for the Company?

9.1 Everyone who works for, or on behalf of, the Company has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately, in line with this policy and the Company’s Data Security and Data Retention policies.

9.2 The Company’s Data Protection Officer/Data Protection Manager [the Business Owner] is responsible for reviewing this policy and updating the Board of Directors on the Company’s data protection responsibilities and any risks in relation to the processing of data. You should direct any questions in relation to this policy or data protection to this person.

9.3 You should only access personal data covered by this policy if you need it for the work you do for, or on behalf of the Company and only if you are authorised to do so. You should only use the data for the specified lawful purpose for which it was obtained.

9.4 You should not share personal data informally.

9.5 You should keep personal data secure and not share it with unauthorised people.

9.6 You should regularly review and update personal data which you have to deal with for work. This includes telling us if your own contact details change.

9.7 You should not make unnecessary copies of personal data and should keep and dispose of any copies securely.

9.8 You should use strong passwords.

9.9 You should lock your computer screens when not at your desk.

9.10 Personal data should be encrypted before being transferred electronically to authorised external contacts.

9.11 Consider anonymising data or using separate keys/codes so that the data subject cannot be identified.

9.12 Do not save personal data to your own personal computers or other devices.

9.13 Personal data should never be transferred outside the European Economic Area except in compliance with the law and authorisation of the Data Protection Officer/Data Protection Manager.

9.14 You should lock drawers and filing cabinets. Do not leave paper with personal data lying about.

9.15 You should not take personal data away from Company’s premises without authorisation from your line manager or Data Protection Officer.

9.16 Personal data should be shredded and disposed of securely when you have finished with it.

9.17 You should ask for help from our Data Protection Officer/Data Protection Manager if you are unsure about data protection or if you notice any areas of data protection or security we can improve upon.

9.18 Any deliberate or negligent breach of this policy by you may result in disciplinary action being taken against you in accordance with our disciplinary procedure.

9.19 It is a criminal offence to conceal or destroy personal data which is part of a subject access request (see below). This conduct would also amount to gross misconduct under our disciplinary procedure, which could result in your dismissal.

10. How to deal with data breaches

10.1 We have robust measures in place to minimise and prevent data breaches from taking place. Should a breach of personal data occur (whether in respect of you or someone else) then we must take notes and keep evidence of that breach. If the breach is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals then we must also notify the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours.

10.2 If you are aware of a data breach you must contact the Data Controller immediately and keep any evidence you have in relation to the breach.

11. Subject access requests

11.1 Data subjects can make a ‘subject access request’ (‘SAR’) to find out the information we hold about them. This request must be made in writing. If you receive such a request you should forward it immediately to the Data Protection Officer/Data Protection Manager who will coordinate a response.

11.2 If you would like to make a SAR in relation to your own personal data you should make this in writing to the Data Controller. We must respond within one month unless the request is complex or numerous in which case the period in which we must respond can be extended by a further two months.

11.3 There is no fee for making a SAR. However, if your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive we may charge a reasonable administrative fee or refuse to respond to your request.

12. Your data subject rights

12.1 You have the right to information about what personal data we process, how and on what basis as set out in this policy.

12.2 You have the right to access your own personal data by way of a subject access request (see above).

12.3 You can correct any inaccuracies in your personal data. To do so, you should contact the Data Controller.

12.4 You have the right to request that we erase your personal data where we were not entitled under the law to process it or it is no longer necessary to process it for the purpose it was collected. To do so you should contact the Data Controller.

12.5 While you are requesting that your personal data is corrected or erased or are contesting the lawfulness of our processing, you can apply for its use to be restricted while the application is made. To do so you should contact the Data Controller.

12.6 You have the right to object to data processing where we are relying on a legitimate interest to do so and you think that your rights and interests outweigh our own and you wish us to stop.

12.7 You have the right to object if we process your personal data for the purposes of direct marketing.

12.8 You have the right to receive a copy of your personal data and to transfer your personal data to another data controller. We will not charge for this and will in most cases aim to do this within one month.

12.9 With some exceptions, you have the right not to be subjected to automated decision-making.

12.10 You have the right to be notified of a data security breach concerning your personal data.

12.11 In most situations we will not rely on your consent as a lawful ground to process your data. If we do however request your consent to the processing of your personal data for a specific purpose, you have the right not to consent or to withdraw your consent later. To withdraw your consent, you should contact the Data Controller.

12.12 You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner. You can do this be contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office directly. Full contact details including a helpline number can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website (ico.org.uk). This website has further information on your rights and our obligations.