Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

UpRate Digital Ltd (company number 13367397) (collectively referred to as “UpRate”, “we“, “us” or “our” in this privacy policy) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy will inform you as to how we look after your personal data and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you. This policy explains how UpRate processes personal data if you are:

• Any employee, officer or agent of a Hirer who uses the App on behalf of the Hirer (Hirer Representative)

• A person (whether an agency worker, PAYE worker or self-employed worker (whether or not operating through a limited company)) who uses the App to view available Jobs (Worker)

• A referee who is nominated by a Worker to provide a rating and/or reference for the Worker or whose details are otherwise provided by a Worker, which may include:

  • (a) Site supervisors and managers of sites where the Worker is currently working or has previously worked

  • (b) Supervisors and managers at hirer companies who have previously employed or engaged the Worker

  • (c) Individuals at recruitment companies or employment agencies who have previously provided recruitment services or agency services to the Worker (Referee)

1. Definitions

The capitalised words used in this privacy policy shall have the following meanings:

App

The UpRate application which is accessible by Hirers and Workers via the website and (in the case of Workers only) the mobile application.

Hirer

A firm or body corporate that has subscribed to use the App for the purpose of advertising Jobs to Workers.

Job

A job that is available with a Hirer or the Hirer’s client, whether on a temporary or permanent basis, and whether for an employee, worker or self-employed contractor.

Job Application

An application for a Job that is submitted by a Worker via the App.

Job Post

A post that is published by a Hirer Representative on behalf of the Hirer on the App advertising a Job.

Worker Rating

A rating for a Worker which is aggregated from ratings (between 0-10) of the Worker’s performance that are provided by: (a) Referees where the Worker has provided contact details for such Referees; (b) Hirer Representatives on behalf of Hirers where the Worker has applied for a Job with the Hirer via the App and has been subsequently employed or engaged by the Hirer.

Please also use the Glossary (in section 11) to understand the meaning of some of the terms used in this privacy policy.

2. Important information and who we are

Purpose of this privacy policy

This privacy policy aims to give you information on how UpRate collects and processes personal data through your use of the App, including any personal data you provide when you register an account for the App and (if you are a Worker) when you submit a Job Application via the App.

This privacy policy also applies to Referees who do not use the App but whose contact details are provided by a Worker to allow UpRate to obtain a Worker Rating for that Worker to publish on the App.

The App is not intended for children under the age of 16 and we do not knowingly collect data relating to such children.

Controller

UpRate is the data controller and is the person responsible for your personal data.

Contact details

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact us in the following ways:

Full name of legal entity: UpRate Digital Ltd (company number 13367397)

Email address: support@uprate.digital

Postal address: UpRate Digital Ltd C/O Hawkspare Ltd, Green Street Green Road, Dartford DA28DP

Telephone number: +44 (0) 1474 703187

Information Commissioner’s Office

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

Changes to the privacy policy and your duty to inform us of changes

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Every time you wish to use the App, please check this privacy policy to understand the terms that apply at that time.

It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.

Third-party links

Our App (including Job Posts on the App) may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our App, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

3. The data we collect about you

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data – Data which identifies you, including your name

• Contact Data – Your contact details, including your residential address, email address and telephone number, and (if you are a Hirer Representative) your billing address

• Account Data – Information we collect when you register and use an account for the App, including your username and password, profile picture, your preferences for receiving notifications from the App, your feedback and survey responses

• Technical Data – Electronic information which is automatically logged/stored by processing equipment, including internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and App, and other technology on the devices you use to access the App

• Usage Data – Information about how you use the App, including how you navigate the App and which pages you click on, (if you are a Worker) which Job Posts you view, and (if you are a Hirer Representative) which Job Applications you view. We also collect information about how you respond to our marketing communications, including if you click on any links in our marketing emails

• Marketing and Communications Data – Information regarding your preferences for receiving marketing communications from us

• Customer Services Data – Information relating to your interactions with our customer services team, such as information relating to any complaints you may make or any queries you may raise in relation to use of the App, or any reviews or feedback you provide to us

• Social Media Data – Data we have access to through a social medial platform (including LinkedIn, Facebook and TikTok) when you connect with us or like or follow our social media accounts, including your social media handle, photograph, date of birth, location, occupation, interests and other information and content you publish via your social media accounts

Workers

If you are a Worker, we will also collect, use, store and transfer the following kinds of personal data about you:

Worker Data – Information and evidence provided by the Worker for the purpose of enabling Hirers and/or UpRate to assess their suitability for a Job and/or onboarding the Worker for a Job, including:

• Information relating to the Worker’s work sector, past work experience and site experience, qualifications, certifications, competencies, curriculum vitae

• Any information or evidence required by UpRate and/or a Hirer to verify any of the foregoing or to check the Worker’s right to work in the UK, including date of birth, National Insurance number, passport details and visa information

• Any other information or evidence provided by the Worker (including answers to screening questions)

Ratings Data – Ratings (between 0-10) of the Worker’s performance which are provided by:

1. Referees who have been nominated by the Worker to provide a rating and/or reference

2. Hirer Representatives on behalf of Hirers who have successfully recruited the Worker for a Job through the App

Hirer Representatives

If you are a Hirer Representative, we will also collect, use, store and transfer the following kinds of personal data about you:

• Transaction and Financial Data – Data we collect if you view a Worker’s contact details in the App, including your bank account and payment card details, and details of the payments made by you

Aggregated data and special categories of personal data

We also collect, use and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated Data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific App feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you (for example, if you are a Worker, when we aggregate Ratings Data), we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy policy.

We do not collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data). Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.

If you fail to provide personal data

Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with services). In this case, we may have to cancel a contract you have with us but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

4. How is your personal data collected?

We use different methods to collect data:

Direct Interactions

We will collect the majority of personal data we hold about you when you interact with us directly.

If you are a Worker, we will collect Identity, Contact, Account, Marketing and Communications, Customer Services, Social Media and Worker Data from you when you register an account for the App, respond to a Job Post, submit a Job Application or otherwise correspond with or contact us or interact with our social media accounts.

If you are a Hirer Representative, we will collect Identity, Contact, Account, Marketing and Communications, Customer Services and Transaction and Financial Data from you when you register an account for the App, to view a Worker’s contact details in the App, publish a Job Post or otherwise correspond with or contact us or interact with our social media accounts.

Automated Technologies or Interactions

Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our App and our marketing emails, we will automatically collect Technical and Usage Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. Please see our cookies policy set out below for more information.

Third Parties

Third parties. We will receive personal data about you from various third parties as set out below:

If you are a Worker, we may receive Worker Data from third parties, for example we may engage a third party (such as NOCN and CITB) to allocate “skills cards” to Workers to provide evidence of their competence in a certain role, and we may engage a third party to verify the rights of Workers to work in the UK.

If you are a Referee, we will receive your Identity and Contact Data from Workers who are currently working with you or have worked with you previously for the purpose of obtaining Ratings Data from you in relation to such Workers.

If you are a Worker, we will receive your Ratings Data from Referees and Hirer Representatives who you are currently working with or have worked with previously.

If you are a Hirer Representative and you pay to view a Worker’s contact details in the App, we will receive Transaction and Financial Data from our online payment provider (currently Stripe) who provides payment services to us to allow us to process electronic payments.

We will receive Technical and Usage Data from analytics providers (such as Google Analytics, Meta (pixel) and Hotjar), our marketing service providers (such as Mailchimp and Twilio) and advertising networks (such as Google Adwords and Facebook).

We will receive Social Media Data from the operators of social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Facebook and TikTok who are based both inside and outside of the UK and EEA.

5. How we use your personal data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• Where we need to perform a contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you

• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests

• Where we need to comply with a legal obligation

Generally, we do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data. However, we will obtain your consent before sending direct marketing communications to you via email or text message. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” button in any marketing communication we send to you via email or by contacting us via email. We will also obtain your consent to collect certain Usage and Technical Data when we ask you to consent to our use of cookies.

Purposes for which we will use your personal data

We have set out in the below table a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.

Note that we may process your personal data on more than one legal basis depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal basis we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one is set out in the below table.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

6. Who we share your personal data with

In certain circumstances we will share your personal data with third parties.

If you are a Worker we will share your personal data as follows:

• We will share your personal data with a Hirer when you submit a Job Application for a Job with that Hirer. Please note, that each such Hirer will be a data controller of your personal data and will process your personal data in accordance with their own privacy policy

• We will share your personal data with our group company, Hawks Crane Hire Ltd (HCH), who will use your personal data in its capacity as an employment business or employment agency providing recruitment services to hirers. HCH will be a data controller of your personal data and will process your personal data in accordance with its own privacy policy

If you are a Hirer Representative we may share your personal data with a Worker if they submit a Job Application in response to a Job Post you have published and the Worker is successful in its Job Application.

We also share your personal data with the following third parties:

• IT companies who support our App and provide other business services, such as the third party who hosts our App (currently Microsoft Azure) and the third party who processes payments from Hirers on our behalf (currently Stripe)

• Third parties who provide verification services to us with respect to certain information about Workers, for example we may engage a third party (such as NOCN and CITB) to allocate “skills cards” to Workers to provide evidence of their competence in a certain role, and we may engage a third party to verify the rights of Workers to work in the UK

• Marketing companies who help us manage our marketing communications, such as Mailchimp and Twilio

• Online data analytics companies who provide us with insights into how our App is used and allow us to improve our services, such as Google Analytics, Meta (pixel) and Hotjar

• Online search engines and social media platforms to advertise our services to you while you’re browsing the internet and using social media platforms, such as Google, LinkedIn, Facebook (Meta), TikTok and YouTube

• Third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer or merge parts of our business or assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them

• Third parties where we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data with them in order to comply with any legal obligation, or to protect the rights, property or safety of our business, our customers or others, including HM Revenue & Customs, the police, regulators and other authorities and public bodies

• Professional advisors, including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and accountancy services

Where we share your personal data with a third party for them to process on our behalf, we require those data processors to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

7. International transfers

Some of the third parties we share your personal data with are located outside of the UK, for example, Mailchimp and Stripe. If you are a Worker, we will also share your personal data with a Hirer who is located outside of the UK when you submit a Job Application for a Job with that Hirer.

Whenever we transfer your personal data outside of the UK to third parties who process that data on our behalf, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

• We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data in accordance with UK adequacy regulations

• Where we use certain service providers outside of the UK in countries that have not been granted adequacy, we may enter into standard data protection clauses with such service providers that are recognised or issued in accordance with UK data protection law

Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the UK.

8. Data security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

9. Data retention

How long will you use my personal data for?

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: see section 10 below for further information.

In some circumstances we will anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

10. Your legal rights

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. You have the right to:

Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.

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 as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.

Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios:

• If you want us to establish the data’s accuracy

• Where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it

• Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims

• You have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it

Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.

Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us by email at support@uprate.digital.

No fee usually required

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we could refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

What we may need from you

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

Time limit to respond

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

11. Glossary

Legitimate interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service/product and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting us.

Performance of contract means processing your data where it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract.

Comply with a legal obligation means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that we are subject to.

12. Cookies policy

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive.

Our App uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our App. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our App and also allows us to improve our App.

We use the following cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of our App. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into your account or (in the case of a Hirer Representative who has purchased a subscription to use the App on behalf of the Hirer) make use of e-billing services

• Analytical or performance cookies. These allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our App when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our App works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily

• Functional cookies. These are used to recognise you when you return to our App. This enables us to personalise our content for you and remember your preferences (for example, your notification preferences)

• Targeting cookies. These cookies record your visit to our App, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our App and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests

You can find more information about the individual cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them in the table below. Please note that some of these cookies are placed by third parties over which we have no control. These are likely to be analytical or performance cookies, functional cookies or targeting cookies.

You can block cookies at any time by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of the App.