Skills 2 Grow Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Skills 2 Grow collects, uses, stores and protects personal information when you use our website, contact us, purchase a service, join our business community, create a directory listing or participate in a WhatsApp community.
1 Who we are
Skills 2 Grow is responsible for deciding how and why personal information covered by this Privacy Policy is used.
For the purposes of applicable UK data protection law, Skills 2 Grow is the data controller for personal information that it collects and controls.
Skills 2 Grow is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office where registration is legally required.
2 Scope of this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy applies when you:
- Visit the Skills 2 Grow website.
- Submit an enquiry or contact form.
- Contact us by email, telephone or WhatsApp.
- Book a consultation, workshop or service.
- Purchase a subscription or other service.
- Join the Skills 2 Grow Business Community.
- Create or manage a Skills 2 Grow Directory account.
- Join a Skills 2 Grow WhatsApp group or community.
- Attend an event, meeting, workshop or webinar.
- Submit a review, testimonial, nomination or case study.
- Communicate or otherwise interact with Skills 2 Grow.
3 Personal information we may collect
The information collected will depend on how you interact with Skills 2 Grow.
Identity and contact information
- Your name.
- Your business or organisation name.
- Your job title or business role.
- Your email address.
- Your telephone or WhatsApp number.
- Your business or correspondence address.
- Your county, town, service area or general location.
Membership and account information
- Your membership status and start date.
- Your selected membership or service.
- Subscription, cancellation and renewal information.
- Directory username, profile and account details.
- Coupon codes and membership benefits issued to you.
- Records of community access and communications.
Business directory information
- Your business description.
- Your services, prices and service areas.
- Your business website and social-media links.
- Logos, photographs, videos and other uploaded media.
- Qualifications, awards, insurance, licences or accreditations you choose to display.
- Reviews, testimonials or other information submitted for publication.
Payment and transaction information
- Payment status and transaction dates.
- Amounts charged, refunded or outstanding.
- Invoice and subscription reference information.
- Limited payment information supplied to us by our payment processor.
Skills 2 Grow does not normally receive or store your complete payment-card number. Card payments are processed by the relevant payment provider.
Communications
- Emails and WhatsApp messages.
- Contact-form submissions.
- Telephone call notes.
- Support requests and complaints.
- Messages or reports concerning community conduct.
- Feedback, reviews and survey responses.
Technical and website information
- IP address.
- Browser, device and operating-system information.
- Pages visited and referring website.
- Approximate location derived from technical data.
- Cookie and analytics information.
- Security, access and website-performance records.
4 How we collect personal information
We may collect information:
- Directly from you when you contact or communicate with us.
- When you complete a website, booking, checkout or directory form.
- When you purchase a membership or service through Stripe or another payment provider.
- When you join or participate in a WhatsApp group or community.
- When you upload or publish information through the business directory.
- Automatically through cookies, website logs and similar technology.
- From publicly available business websites, directories or social-media profiles.
- From another person where they provide your details for a legitimate business purpose, referral or introduction.
Where another person supplies information about you, we expect them to have an appropriate reason and authority to do so.
5 How we use personal information
We may use personal information to:
- Create, administer and support your membership.
- Process payments, subscriptions, cancellations and refunds.
- Issue membership confirmation and directory coupon codes.
- Enrol you into the appropriate county WhatsApp Business Community.
- Create, administer and display directory listings.
- Provide consultations, workshops, training and other requested services.
- Respond to enquiries, messages and support requests.
- Communicate important membership or service information.
- Moderate communities and investigate reported misconduct.
- Protect members, Skills 2 Grow and its services.
- Prevent fraud, misuse and unlawful activity.
- Maintain accounting, tax and business records.
- Improve our website, services and member experience.
- Invite you to provide feedback or a review.
- Send marketing where permitted by law.
- Establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
- Comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
6 Our lawful bases
We only use personal information where there is an appropriate lawful basis.
| Lawful basis | When it may apply |
|---|---|
| Contract | Where processing is necessary to provide a membership, directory listing, consultation, workshop or another service you have requested. |
| Legitimate interests | Where reasonably necessary to operate, protect and improve Skills 2 Grow, respond to business enquiries, prevent misuse, manage communities or maintain appropriate records, provided your interests and rights do not override those interests. |
| Legal obligation | Where information must be used or retained to comply with tax, accounting, regulatory, court or other legal requirements. |
| Consent | Where you have given a clear choice, including certain marketing, testimonials, optional photographs or other uses for which consent is appropriate. |
Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not make earlier processing unlawful.
7 Payments and Stripe
Skills 2 Grow may use Stripe to process subscriptions, payments, invoices, free trials, cancellations and refunds.
When you enter payment details, that information is submitted to Stripe and processed under Stripe's own privacy and security arrangements.
Stripe may provide Skills 2 Grow with limited transaction information, which may include:
- Your name and email address.
- Your billing country or address.
- The payment method type and limited identifying details.
- Payment, refund and subscription status.
- Transaction, invoice and customer reference numbers.
Skills 2 Grow does not normally have access to or store your complete card number or card security code.
You should review Stripe's own privacy information for further details about how Stripe handles payment data.
8 Skills 2 Grow Business Directory
Members are responsible for creating and maintaining their own directory accounts and listings using the coupon code supplied by Skills 2 Grow.
You should only publish information that you are comfortable making publicly available. Avoid publishing private home addresses, personal telephone numbers or other private information unless you intentionally wish to display them.
Directory information may remain visible until you edit or remove it, your account is closed, your membership ends, or Skills 2 Grow removes the listing in accordance with its terms.
Search engines and third-party websites may retain cached or copied versions after information has been removed from the Skills 2 Grow website. Skills 2 Grow does not control those independent copies.
9 WhatsApp groups and communities
Access to a county Skills 2 Grow WhatsApp Business Community is a core membership benefit.
Depending on your WhatsApp settings and the platform's functionality, other participants may also be able to see:
- Your WhatsApp profile name.
- Your profile photograph.
- Your status or profile information.
- Your business details.
- Messages you post within the group.
By asking to join or accepting an invitation, you acknowledge that this information may be visible to other participants.
Skills 2 Grow prohibits members from using telephone numbers obtained through the community for unsolicited private marketing, spam, harassment or other unauthorised purposes.
Members must obtain permission before privately contacting another participant, unless the person has clearly invited or requested the relevant contact.
Skills 2 Grow may suspend or cancel the membership of anyone who misuses another member's contact details.
If you receive unwanted contact, you should consider blocking the sender through WhatsApp and reporting the matter to Skills 2 Grow.
WhatsApp is operated by a separate provider and processes information under its own terms and privacy arrangements. You should review and manage your WhatsApp privacy settings before joining.
10 Marketing communications
Skills 2 Grow may send service messages that are necessary to administer your membership, account, booking or requested service. These are not necessarily marketing messages.
Separate marketing communications may include:
- News and business updates.
- Workshops and event opportunities.
- Membership or service offers.
- New directory or community features.
- Relevant Skills 2 Grow services.
We will send electronic marketing only where permitted by applicable law.
You can opt out at any time by:
- Using an unsubscribe link where provided.
- Emailing contact@skills2grow.co.uk .
- Asking us to stop through WhatsApp or another communication channel.
Opting out of marketing will not prevent us from sending essential messages about an active membership, payment, account, booking or requested service.
11 Website information and cookies
The Skills 2 Grow website may use cookies and similar technologies to:
- Enable essential website functions.
- Maintain security and prevent misuse.
- Remember preferences.
- Understand how visitors use the website.
- Measure website performance.
- Support embedded or third-party website features.
Essential cookies may operate because they are necessary for the website or a service you request.
Non-essential analytics, advertising or similar cookies should only operate where the required consent has been obtained.
More information should be provided through the Skills 2 Grow Cookie Policy and website cookie-control tool.
12 Who we may share information with
Skills 2 Grow does not sell your personal information.
Information may be shared where reasonably necessary with:
- Payment processors such as Stripe.
- Website, directory and hosting providers.
- Email, communication and customer-management providers.
- WhatsApp or other communication-platform providers.
- Analytics, security and technical-support providers.
- Accountants, insurers and professional advisers.
- Government authorities, regulators, courts or law enforcement where legally required.
- A purchaser or successor if Skills 2 Grow or part of its business is transferred or reorganised.
Service providers should receive only the information reasonably necessary for their role and may be required to protect it appropriately.
Information intentionally published in a directory listing is shared publicly in accordance with the member's listing selections.
13 International data transfers
Some technology, payment, website, email or communication providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, Skills 2 Grow will seek to use providers and arrangements that include an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism or other suitable safeguards where required.
Third-party providers may also determine their own international processing arrangements under their respective privacy policies.
14 How long information is kept
Personal information is retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including contractual, legal, accounting, tax, security and dispute-resolution purposes.
Retention periods may vary according to the type of information.
| Information | General retention approach |
|---|---|
| Membership and account records | While membership is active and for a reasonable period afterwards for administration, accounting and dispute purposes. |
| Payment and invoice records | For the period required by applicable tax, accounting and legal obligations. |
| Enquiries and communications | For as long as reasonably required to respond, provide support and maintain an appropriate business record. |
| Directory information | While the listing or account remains active and for a limited period afterwards where necessary for backup, security or dispute purposes. |
| Marketing preferences | Until you withdraw consent or opt out, while retaining a limited suppression record where necessary to respect your choice. |
| Community incident records | For as long as reasonably necessary to protect members, document decisions and manage any dispute or legal concern. |
Information that is no longer required may be securely deleted, anonymised or otherwise removed from active systems.
15 Information security
Skills 2 Grow takes reasonable organisational and technical measures intended to protect personal information against:
- Unauthorised access.
- Accidental loss.
- Improper alteration.
- Unlawful disclosure.
- Destruction or misuse.
Measures may include access controls, passwords, secure payment providers, software updates, restricted administration access and appropriate backups.
No internet, email, website or messaging system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You should also take reasonable steps to secure your own accounts, devices and passwords.
16 Your data-protection rights
Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have the right to:
- Ask for confirmation that we process your personal information.
- Request access to personal information held about you.
- Ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected.
- Ask for information to be deleted in certain circumstances.
- Ask us to restrict the use of information in certain circumstances.
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Object to direct marketing at any time.
- Request the transfer of certain information in a portable format.
- Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
- Raise a concern with the Information Commissioner's Office.
These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exemptions.
To exercise a right, email: contact@skills2grow.co.uk .
We may need to request information that reasonably verifies your identity before responding. We will not normally charge a fee, although a reasonable fee may be permitted where a request is manifestly unfounded, excessive or repetitive.
17 Questions and complaints
Please contact Skills 2 Grow first if you have a question or concern about how your personal information has been handled.
We will consider the matter and aim to resolve legitimate concerns appropriately.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, which is the UK's independent data-protection regulator.
Information about raising a concern is available through the Information Commissioner's Office website.
18 Third-party websites and services
The Skills 2 Grow website, directory, emails or WhatsApp communities may contain links to independent websites, businesses or services.
Skills 2 Grow is not responsible for the privacy, security or content practices of independent third parties.
You should review the privacy information of any third-party website or service before providing personal information.
19 Changes to this Privacy Policy
Skills 2 Grow may update this Privacy Policy when its services, legal obligations, technology or data-handling arrangements change.
The latest version will be published on the Skills 2 Grow website with its effective or updated date.
Where a change is particularly important, we may also provide notice by email, through the website or through another appropriate communication channel.
20 Contact Skills 2 Grow
Contact us with privacy questions, data requests or concerns using the details below.
This Privacy Policy should be reviewed periodically and updated to reflect the technology, plugins, analytics, marketing systems and service providers actually used by Skills 2 Grow. Consider obtaining professional legal or data protection advice where required.
