Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy – www.simplynetworkinguk.com
www.simplynetworkinguk.com

This statement discloses the privacy practices for Simply Networking UK Ltd (SNUK) and its network of websites and services.

This statement is our notification of:

• What personally identifiable information of yours we collect through our websites, blogs and services.
  
• The organization collecting the information.
  
• How the information is used.
  
• With whom the information may be shared.
  
• What choices are available to you regarding collection, use, and distribution of the information?
  
• The kind of security procedures that are in place to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under our control.
  
• How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.
  

Information Collection and Use

We will not sell, share or rent information to other parties, in any manner that is different from what is disclosed in this statement; unless this issue was discussed with our client when the information was obtained.

Registration

In order to gain access to some areas of our website a visitor must first complete the registration form. During registration a user is required to give certain information – such as contact name, business name, business address, telephone and email address. We use this information only for validations when placing material as a Member or adding information around the SNUK website, it will not be used for any reason not previously discussed with the rightful owner of this information – You!

Membership

We request information from users on our Membership and Registration forms. Here a user is asked to provide contact information; the information is used for billing purposes of sales and requisites only. If we have trouble processing an order, we will use this information to contact the user, as per initial agreement.

Log Files

We use IP addresses to analyse trends, administer the site and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information. They are used only to increase our own awareness, feasibility studies and statistical analysis for the benefit of the client (demographic information). They will never be disclosed to ‘Third Parties’ without the prior consent or knowledge of the client.

Sharing

We will share aggregated demographic information only with our partners. This is not linked to any personal information that can identify any individual person or enterprise.

It is our belief and understanding that Pay Pal does not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes, this is the reason we have opted for Pay Pal to be our on-line mode of currency transaction in the future.

We partner, on occasion, with another party to provide specific services for our clients. When the client requests these services, we will share names, or contact information that is necessary for the third party to provide these services. This information is given in good faith and the client will always be made aware that such information will be requested, prior to any interaction on behalf of SNUK. Permission to use said information will always be requested from the owner if deemed to be in any way contrary to the information contained within the Data Protection Act 1998.

The aforementioned parties are not allowed to use any personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing these services on our behalf.

Links

The Simply Networking UK website contains links to other (3^rd party) sites; please be aware that SNUK will not accept any responsibilities for the privacy practices of these linked sites nor do we validate any of the site content. We encourage all users to be cautious when they leave the Simply Networking UK site and to automatically read the privacy statements of each and every 3^rd party website that asks for and collects personally identifiable information. This privacy policy applies solely to information collected by this website and covers the information given to SNUK by the client.

Security

This web site takes every precaution to protect our user’s information. When user’s submit sensitive information via the web site, your information is protected both online and off-line – SNUK Ltd adheres to the Data Protection act (1998).

We also do everything in our power to protect user-information off-line. All of our users’ information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is restricted in our offices.

Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job are granted access to personally identifiable information.

Furthermore, ALL employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices as well as any new policies that are added as required. Our employees are notified and/or reminded about the importance we place on privacy, and our Policies covering this matter on a regular basis.

Finally, the files that we store personally identifiable information on are kept in a secure environment with Back-Up hard drives stored securely off premises in different locations.

Correction/Updating Personal Information

If a user’s personally identifiable information changes (such as address and postal code) or if a user no longer desires our service, we will correct, update or remove that user’s personal data. This can usually be done via the ‘Contact’ button on our site or by emailing:

Notification of Changes

If we change this privacy policy we will post those changes on our Blog home page so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, we would notify users by way of an email. Users will always have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.

Questions:

Please contact us via the ‘Contact’ button on the website or E-mail:

sales@simplynetworkinguk.com should you have any questions about this privacy policy.

 

Corporate Manslaughter / Homicide Act

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has now been on the statute books for three months. For those not fully acquainted, the Ministry of Justice has an excellent website (www.justice.gov.uk ) where its Guide to the Act can be found.  While the purpose of the Act seems quite clear – to allow the prosecution of large corporations where deficiencies amounting to gross negligence in their management of health and safety processes have resulted in the death of an employee or other person, history suggests that it is smaller businesses that will bear the brunt of prosecutions.

With few exceptions, all employers fall within the scope of the Act and so face the prospect of unlimited fines upon conviction.  Where gross negligence is shown, and this is essential for any prosecution to be successful, there is the distinct and cheerless prospect of a company’s insurer then refusing to cover any subsequent civil damages claim on the grounds that the insured has breached his contract of insurance.  Bereaved families are likely to seek to recover damages from the company’s assets, which will be sufficient (if the business has managed to survive the fine in the first instance) to ensure its closure.  While the Act is limited to the prosecution of businesses, it seems unlikely that owners and senior managers will escape subsequent prosecution for breaches of their duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act, with the further prospect of substantial personal fines or even imprisonment.

Avoiding prosecution and conviction should be a priority for all businesses, owners and managers. Yet anecdotal evidence suggests that many businesses have given little thought and even less action to the fairly complex legal relationships that now exist, in health and safety terms, between Employers and Employees, Clients and Subcontractors. Following a fatality, it is now feasible that a business could find itself prosecuted because of negligence by others in the chain of liability, perhaps, for example, where different companies are working alongside each other in the same workplace but have failed to provide each other with adequate information about each other’s activities, negligence by management to provide such information as well as to ask for it. 

Employers not only need to have robust documented health and safety systems for their own staff but must also ensure that these are effectively implemented; it is almost certain that to have the former without the latter will constitute gross negligence.  However, their subcontractors must also have robust systems and processes in place, and this legislation is forcing all businesses and organisations to verify that this is the case. In the motor vehicle recovery industry, recent legislation regarding working time and drivers’ hours has forced many Recovery Operators to subcontract to other operators, either within their territory to cover manpower shortages, or outside their territory to ensure the onward transit of Members.  Yet many have not taken steps to confirm that subcontractors have robust safety systems in place nor have they Satisfactory documentary evidence to prove it should the need arise.

Personal experience and anecdotal evidence suggest that standards of implementation of health and safety systems are not uniform, and for many the legislation is an inconvenience best avoided.  What is needed to avoid allegations of gross negligence is compliance with the spirit of the legislation, which means having the required systems fully and effectively implemented.

The main benefit of compliance with the spirit of the legislation is that the records generated e.g. plant maintenance, training, will provide a sound defence in the event of the worst happening; how can you have an effective defence if you don’t have effective records?  Furthermore, although HASAW Act permits employers with fewer than five employees not to document their health and safety policy, how can you provide adequate evidence that you have addressed health and safety if your arrangements aren’t documented?  So the first requirement in avoiding a charge of gross negligence is to have a documented and effective health and safety system in place.  ‘Effective’ means having clearly defined arrangements and responsibilities, risk assessments demonstrating that risks have been eliminated or reduced to as low a level possible, safe systems of work, and training records which reflect the safe systems of work; (note that risk assessments must conform to the standard laid down in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, as well as in specific Regulations e.g. COSHH 1999)

However, this is not enough.  The second criterion you must meet is to be able to demonstrate that your system is fully operational at all levels in your business. This is achieved partly through the records created but also through management’s monitoring of the system using techniques such as safety competence appraisals and workplace inspections (including at remote situations such as at other employers’ sites), safety audits and regular management reviews and planning.

If you have the above in place, you may not necessarily avoid a fatality but it is probable that you will avoid becoming an early victim of this new legislation.

Lack of time is usually the busy manager’s worst enemy and is one of the main reasons why health and safety systems tend to be undeveloped or underdeveloped.  However, off-the-shelf or generic packages can be used, provided they are customised to a business’s specific requirements, conform to the legislative criteria and are industry and company specific.  Further information can be obtained by contacting Murray Duncan who is the author of this article.

 

E: – enquiries@tqma.co.uk  T:  01738 631770 / 0771 275 1866                                           

Murray Duncan is Principal Consultant with Tayside Quality Management Associates