GEA PRIVACY POLICY
This policy relates to the privacy and the data protection practices which apply to Graham Ellis Associates and our website www.geaonline.co.uk
GEA aim to protect our clients, employees and website users’ privacy whilst providing a personalised and valuable service. Collecting personal information is necessary if we are to satisfy the expectations and requirements of our users, i.e. to communicate and to enable an interactive service. In this policy we explain what information we collect; what we do with it and what controls you have.
All information provided to us will be managed sensitively and distributed in accordance with agreed protocols. Any personal information provided to us is treated in accordance with the Data Protection Act and our Privacy Policy.
INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We collect, process and store personal data only if it is directly provided to us by you. You may do this in your capacity as the user of this website, by enquiring in relation to our goods or services, becoming a customer or supplier, or potential supplier.
Personal information covers any information which relates to you as an identifiable person. Below are examples of the type of data that this may include:
- Identity Data including forenames, last name, maiden name, date of birth, gender, marital status and username or similar identifier.
- Contact Data may include invoicing; purchase order; home or work address, email address and telephone numbers, personal or job title and position.
- Financial Data may include bank account and payment card details.
- Transaction Data may include payments for products and services you have purchased form us, or in relation to payments that we have made to you.
- Technical Data may include internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zoning and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices used to access this Website.
- Profile and Usage Data may include enquiries submitted by you, purchases information, feedback, and survey responses and how you use our website, products and services.
- Marketing Data may include details of any preference that you have advised us of in relation to marketing communications.
We may also collect non-personal data such as Aggregated Data which is data that may be obtained from your personal data, but which does not directly or indirectly identify you. This may include Usage Data detailing how you use our Website and the features and areas that you have interacted with.
HOW WE STORE AND PROTECT DATA
We are committed to protecting our employees, clients and users’ privacy. We adopt appropriate data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures to protect against unauthorised access, alteration, or destruction of personal data we store.
All client and project data is stored on a secured system.
All computers are protected against virus attacks and malware by security software which provides advanced email security, antivirus, antispam protection, TLS encryption, Data Leak Prevention, Documents Services and Attachment Management security software. We have a secure hardware firewall between our internal systems and the outside world. All devices and connections are password protected.
The length of time that we retain, and store data depends on the purpose for which it was collected. We will only store data for as long as is required to fulfil that purpose, or for the purpose of satisfying legal requirements.
It is a legal requirement that we keep certain data about our customers and suppliers for at least six years. The type of data includes contact, identity, financial and transactional data.
Where you have requested that we provide you with marketing materials, we will retain your data until such time as consent is withdrawn by you.
SHARING PERSONAL INFORMATION DATA
Certain projects may require us to share personal information data with third parties such as contractors, sub-contractors, insurers, photographers, recruitment agencies, regulatory bodies. This information will be shared as per the project requirements or individual basis and in prior agreement with you. Should you not wish for us to share this information please inform your Project Manager or Practice Manager in case of employees.
At times we may use third party service providers to help us operate our business and the site or administer activities on our behalf, such as sending out surveys and marketing emails. We may share your information with these third parties for those limited purposes if you have given us your permission.
We also use social media – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to share our practice news, industry updates, project updates, testimonials and case studies. Every effort will be taken to anonymise our social media updates, on the occasion that a reference must be made this will be done with prior permission.
DATA UPDATE
It is important that the data we hold about you is up to date. And therefore, please notify us if your data changes, so that we can update our records.
MARKETING
We may contact individuals who have expressed an interest in our services at an event to respond to their enquiry. Opportunity to unsubscribe/opt-out of such communication will be provided with every email.
We may use a project as a case study, including client feedback/testimonials, photographs, and video where available for marketing purposes via brochures, postcards, website, and social media where prior permission has been granted.
At times we may invite you to networking events. You will be provided with an opportunity to opt-out/ unsubscribe from further correspondence should you not wish to receive these invitations.
LINKS TO SOCIAL MEDIA OR OTHER WEBSITES
Our website and emails may contain links to third party sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Government Websites which we have no control over; if you visit those sites you should check you are happy with their own privacy policies and terms of use before providing any personal information. Additionally, if you linked to our website from a third party, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of that third party site.
CONSENT
By using our services and website clients, staff and users consent to the collection and use of personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Data Protection regulations. If you do wish to do so or have any questions relating to our Privacy Policy please let us know via our Contact Us Page.
GDPR TEAM
Graham Ellis – Senior Partner
Reece Purdy – Partner, Project Manager and Practice Manager
Nick Dickinson – Junior Quantity Surveyor – Georgie Ellis – Trainee Building Surveyor
Lorna Ellis – Accounts Department
