Privacy Policy
Universal Safety Consultants Ltd
Last updated: July 2025
1. Introduction
Universal Safety Consultants Ltd (USC) is committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you visit our website (usc.org.uk), make an enquiry, or engage us for consultancy or training services.
USC complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data controller. Our ICO registration number is Z7520177.
Note: In this policy, 'you' or 'your' refers to individuals within organisations for or to whom we provide services, including contract administrators, staff, partners, and other persons whose personal data we may process in connection with our services.
2. Who We Are
Data Controller: Universal Safety Consultants Ltd
Registered Office: Miller and Co, Laporte Way, Luton, LU4 8FE
Email: info@usc.org.uk
Telephone: 0344 880 3881
Website: www.usc.org.uk (hosted by Squarespace Inc.)
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us using the details above.
3. What Personal Data We Collect
We may collect and process the following personal data:
- Name and job title
- Organisation name and address
- Contact information including telephone number and email address
- Invoice and billing information
- Information provided in enquiries submitted via our website contact form
- Information relevant to the delivery of consultancy or training services
- Website usage data collected via cookies and analytics tools (see Section 8)
Our website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect personal data relating to children.
4. How We Collect Your Personal Data
We collect personal data in the following ways:
- When you submit an enquiry via our website contact form
- When you contact us by telephone or email
- When you engage us to provide consultancy or training services
- When you attend one of our training courses
- Automatically via cookies when you visit our website (see Section 8)
5. Our Lawful Basis for Processing Your Data
Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following:
- Contract: where processing is necessary to fulfil a contract with you or to take steps prior to entering into a contract
- Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as responding to enquiries, managing client relationships, and improving our services
- Legal obligation: where we are required to process your data to comply with a legal obligation
- Consent: where you have given us explicit consent to process your data for a specific purpose, such as sending you marketing communications
6. How We Use Your Personal Data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
- To respond to enquiries and provide information about our services
- To deliver consultancy and training services to you or your organisation
- To manage our business relationship with you, including invoicing and account management
- To verify your identity and for fraud prevention purposes
- To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations
- To send you marketing communications about our services, where you have given your consent or where we have a legitimate interest in doing so
- To improve our website and services
7. Sharing Your Personal Data
We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes.
We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver our services, including:
- IT and website service providers (including Squarespace Inc., our website platform)
- Invoicing and accounting service providers
- Professional advisors such as accountants and solicitors
We may also disclose your personal data where required by law, including to:
- Government bodies, regulators and law enforcement agencies
- Courts and tribunals in connection with legal proceedings
- Insurers where required
All third parties with whom we share your data are required to handle it in accordance with UK GDPR and to use it only for the purposes for which it was shared.
8. Cookies and Website Analytics
Our website (usc.org.uk) is hosted by Squarespace Inc. and uses cookies — small text files placed on your device when you visit our website. Cookies help us understand how visitors use our site and enable certain website functionality.
We use the following types of cookies:
- Essential cookies: required for the website to function correctly
- Analytics cookies: used to collect anonymous information about how visitors use our website, including which pages are most visited. This data is used to improve our website.
- Preference cookies: used to remember your settings and preferences
Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), we are required to obtain your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device. Our website displays a cookie consent notice when you first visit.
You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.
For more information about how Squarespace handles data, please visit: www.squarespace.com/privacy
9. How Long We Keep Your Data
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law.
- Client and contract records: up to 6 years following the end of the contract, in accordance with our legal and contractual obligations
- Enquiry data: up to 12 months if no contract is entered into
- Financial and invoicing records: 6 years in accordance with HMRC requirements
- Marketing consent records: until consent is withdrawn
After the relevant retention period, personal data is securely deleted or anonymised.
10. How We Protect Your Data
We take the security of your personal data seriously. We have put in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against unauthorised access, loss, destruction or alteration. These include:
- Restricting access to personal data to authorised personnel only
- Using secure, encrypted systems for storing and transmitting data
- Regular review of our data protection practices
Our website is hosted by Squarespace Inc., which maintains industry-standard security measures. However, please be aware that no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure.
11. Your Rights Under UK GDPR
Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
- The right to be informed: you have the right to know how your personal data is being used (as set out in this policy)
- The right of access: you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (a Subject Access Request). This is provided free of charge.
- The right to rectification: you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data
- The right to erasure: you can ask us to delete your personal data where we have no legitimate reason to continue holding it
- The right to restrict processing: you can ask us to hold your data but stop processing it in certain circumstances
- The right to data portability: you can ask us to transfer your data to another organisation in a commonly used format
- The right to object: you can object to our processing of your personal data where we are relying on legitimate interests as our lawful basis
- Rights related to automated decision-making: you have the right not to be subject to decisions made solely by automated processing
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@usc.org.uk or write to us at our registered office address.
We will respond to all requests within one calendar month. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.
12. How to Make a Complaint
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us in the first instance at info@usc.org.uk and we will do our best to resolve the matter.
If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
- Website: www.ico.org.uk
- Telephone: 0303 123 1113
- Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
13. Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any website you visit.
14. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The date at the top of this policy indicates when it was last updated. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
If we make significant changes to this policy, we will notify you where appropriate.
15. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data protection practices, please contact us:
Universal Safety Consultants Ltd
Miller and Co, Laporte Way, Luton, LU4 8FE
Email: info@usc.org.uk
Telephone: 0344 880 3881
Website: www.usc.org.uk