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Privacy notice

Privacy notice

Last update December 2023

Welcome to the Giant privacy notice.

This privacy notice provides information on how Giant collects and processes your personal data and when you visit our website and portals.

For all employees of Giant (and past employees and those who apply to become employees) please visit our GDPR Notice at the following link https://www.giantpay.co.uk/gdpr-notice.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHO WE ARE

At Giant, our business is made up of different legal entities including but not limited to the following Giant companies (together with their direct legal subsidiaries):

  • Giant Group plc;
  • Giant Precision Limited;
  • Giant Accounts Limited;
  • Giant Screening Limited; and
  • Giant Finance plc.

When we mention "Giant", we are referring to the relevant company at Giant responsible for processing your data which will be clear to you when you use our website and Giant is the controller responsible for this website.

We have appointed a data protection officer (DPO). If you have any questions about this privacy notice or our data protection practices please contact the DPO, Mr Mark McAllister.

 

Contact Details

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or our privacy practices, please contact our DPO by calling us on 0330 024 0946 (+44 330 024 0946) from outside the UK). Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm. Or email us at hello@giantgroup.com. Alternatively, you can also write to us at our registered office address:

Fourth Floor
90 High Holborn
London
WC1V 6LJ

  

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 includes first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.
  • Contact Data includes email address and telephone numbers.
  • Technical Data includes 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 platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this website.
  • Usage Data includes information about how you use our website, products and services.
  • Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.

 

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 website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy notice.

Where we need to 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, biometric data and any information about criminal convictions and offences), we will collect these only subject to a specific purpose and with consents.

  

HOW IS YOUR PERSONAL DATA COLLECTED?

We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:

Direct interactions. You may give us your Identity and Contact Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:

  • create an account on our website;
  • subscribe to our service or publications;
  • request marketing to be sent to you;
  • use our website portals for services;
  • enter a survey; or
  • give us feedback or contact us.

Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, we will automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies and other similar technologies. Please see our cookie policy further down for more information.

 

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 the 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 although we will get your consent before sending third party direct marketing communications to you via email or text message. You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us.

 

PURPOSES FOR WHICH WE WILL USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We have set out below, in a table format, 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 for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground, we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.

 

Purpose/Activity

Type of data

Lawful basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest

To register you as a new customer

(a) Identity

(b) Contact

Performance of a contract with you

To manage our relationship with you which will include:

(a) Notifying you about changes to our terms or privacy notice

(b) Asking you to leave a review or take a survey

(a) Identity

(b) Contact

(c) Profile

(d) Marketing and Communications

(a) Performance of a contract with you

(b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

(c) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to keep our records updated and to study how customers use our products/services)

To enable you to complete a survey

(a) Identity

(b) Contact

(c) Profile

(d) Usage

(e) Marketing and Communications

(a) Performance of a contract with you

(b) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how customers use our products/services, to develop them and grow our business)

To administer and protect our business and this website (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, support, reporting and hosting of data)

(a) Identity

(b) Contact

(c) Technical

(a) Necessary for our legitimate interests (for running our business, provision of administration and IT services, network security, to prevent fraud and in the context of a business reorganisation or group restructuring exercise)

(b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

To deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you

(a) Identity

(b) Contact

(c) Profile

(d) Usage

(e) Marketing and Communications

(f) Technical

Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how customers use our products/services, to develop them, to grow our business and to inform our marketing strategy)

To use data analytics to improve our website, products/services, marketing, customer relationships and experiences

(a) Technical

(b) Usage

Necessary for our legitimate interests (to define types of customers for our products and services, to keep our website updated and relevant, to develop our business and to inform our marketing strategy)

To make suggestions and recommendations to you about services that may be of interest to you

(a) Identity

(b) Contact

(c) Technical

(d) Usage

(e) Profile

(f) Marketing and Communications

Necessary for our legitimate interests (to develop our products/services and grow our business)

 

PROMOTIONAL OFFERS FROM US

We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage and Profile Data to form a view on what we think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which products, services and offers may be relevant for you (we call this marketing).

You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or purchased services from us and you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.

 

OPTING OUT

You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by following the opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you or by contacting us at any time.

 

HOW WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We may share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table above.

  • companies within Giant.
  • benefits providers.
  • HMRC or any other local tax authority.
  • accountants, Solicitors, and any other professional advisers we may instruct from time to time.
  • third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy notice.

We require all third parties 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.

 

INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS

We may transfer, store and process your personal data outside the UK and outside the European Economic Area. Some overseas countries do not have data protection legislation equivalent to GDPR. However, in such circumstance your data will be treated at all times in line with GDPR requirements and will only be transferred internationally on an accepted lawful basis such as the standard contractual clauses mandated by GDPR. For specific details about your specific data, please contact our DPO.

We will share your personal information with third parties where required by law, where it is necessary to administer the working relationship with you or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so.

When we ask other entities at Giant to process your data outside the United Kingdom and outside the European Union, we will:

  • ensure that such Giant companies process personal data using the same systems, procedures and policies as those used by Giant in the United Kingdom. Your personal data will be protected by the same technical and organisational measures as we use in the United Kingdom;
  • manage, control and oversee the work done by Giant companies to ensure compliance with these safeguards;
  • ensure that processing of personal data by Giant companies is performed subject to a contract with Giant company in the United Kingdom that includes the provisions required by Article 28(3) of the General Data Protection Regulation.

CCTV

We have several security measures in place at our offices, including CCTV in some locations and office access controls. Where we use CCTV, there are signs in our office showing that CCTV is in operation. The images captured are securely stored and only accessed on a need to know basis (e.g. to look into an incident).  CCTV recordings are typically automatically overwritten after a short period of time unless an issue is identified that requires investigation (such as a theft). We require visitors to our offices to report to receptionist who will co-ordinate with the member of staff who is expecting a visitor.

 

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS

Your privacy and our compliance to data protection laws are very important to us and we work hard to ensure you don’t have to feel concerned, but if you do want to complain about our use of personal data, please send an email with the details of your complaint to: hello@giantgroup.com

We will look into and respond to any complaints we receive.

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data including the right to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk).

 

DATA RETENTION

We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

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 requirements.

 

COOKIE POLICY

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

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.

We use the following cookies:

  • Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website, use a shopping cart or 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 website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
  • Functionality cookies. These are used to recognise you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
  • Targeting cookies.These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website 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:

 

Cookie Title

Cookie Name

Purpose

GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Google Analytics

_ga

_gid

 

 

These cookies are used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. They are included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports.

These cookies will expire after 2 years.

The main purpose of these cookies is: Analytical / Performance

These cookies enables us to:

(a)   Improve the performance of our site.

(b)   Estimate our audience size and usage pattern.

(c)   Recognise you when you return to our site.

Crazy Egg Inc, analytics

_ceir

 

This cookie is used by click4assistance.com to provide web analytics that track how our visitors interact with click4assistance quick-chat.

This cookie will expire after 4 years.

The main purpose of this cookie is: Analytical / Performance

This cookie enables us to:

(a)   Improve the performance of our site.

Cookie Preferences

 

cookie-agreed

This cookie is created to store your cookie preferences for our site and prevent the cookie banner from showing once you have agreed for cookies to be used.

This cookie will expire after 1 year.

The main purpose of this cookie is: Functionality

This cookie enables us to:

(a)   Store information about your preferences, and so allow us to customise our site to fit your needs.

(b)   Allow you to use our site in a way that makes your browsing experience more convenient.

Newsletter Preferences

 

giant-newsletter-seen

This cookie is created to when close or dismiss our newsletter pop-up, it prevents our site from showing you the same information multiple times.

This cookie will expire after 1 year.

The main purpose of this cookie is: Functionality

This cookie enables us to:

(c)   Store information about your preferences, and so allow us to customise our site to fit your needs.

(d)   Allow you to use our site in a way that makes your browsing experience more convenient.

 

We do not share the information collected by the cookies with any third parties, other than those aforementioned.

You can block cookies 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 our website.

Except for essential cookies, all cookies will expire after 1 year.