PRIVACY POLICY

Website Privacy Policy

The Institution of Structural Engineers is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected.

This policy explains how the Institution protects your privacy when using its web services, the information it collects and the procedures in place to safeguard your privacy.

This privacy statement applies to data collected by the website of The Institution of Structural Engineers including that collected for IStructE Ltd and The Institution of Structural Engineers Benevolent Fund (our associated organisations).

Personal information the Institution collects about you

You can browse Institution websites without disclosing any information about yourself. The Institution uses aggregate information and statistics for the purposes of monitoring website usage in order to help develop its website and services. These statistics do not include information that can be used to identify any individual. The pages you look at and activities you undertake are recorded against an anonymous identifier. If you register with the website and log in, this anonymous activity may be automatically linked to your account, if such an association can be reliably made.

By entering your details in any field requested, such as your name, email address, postal address, telephone number or mobile number you enable The Institution of Structural Engineers and its associated organisations to provide you with the service(s) you select.

In all cases, the Institution will only request information necessary to provide you with the services you have requested.

How the Institution uses your personal information

When the Institution collects information from you, it will tell you the reasons for doing so. Communications about Institution products and services or engineering-related issues will always be offered on an opt-in basis and you will be able to change your mind about receiving them at any time.

The Institution will share your personal information with the police and other law enforcement agencies for the purpose of crime prevention or detection if the organisation requesting the data is able to demonstrate that the data will assist in the prevention or detection of crime, or that the Institution is legally obliged to disclose it. This is done on a strictly case-by-case basis and through a tightly controlled process to ensure compliance with data protection legislation.

Third Parties who process your data

The Institution uses third parties to help host the website, communicate with stakeholders, power emails, etc.

Sometimes it is necessary to share your data with them in order to get these services to work well. Your data is shared only when strictly necessary and according to the safeguards and good practices detailed in this privacy policy.

Below are details of the Institution’s main third-party service providers, the data they collect (or that is shared with them) where they store the data and why they need it:

·         iLand – a secure cloud hosting provider used to host the website. All data is stored encrypted in transit and at rest (UK)

·         Google Analytics – used to track anonymised use of the website and for reporting on user activities (US)

·         Sendgrid – used for sending, storing and tracking of the emails send by the website (US)

·         SagePay – used for processing the payments made through the website (UK)

Protecting your information

Up-to-date industry procedures are used to protect your personal information alongside Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption technology. The Institution has appropriate security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of information that has been collected from you via its websites. The internet, however, is not a secure medium of communication and the Institution cannot guarantee the security of any information you input on its websites or send via the internet.

Cookies

A cookie is a simple text file that is stored on your computer or mobile device by a website’s server and only that server will be able to retrieve or read the contents of that cookie. Each cookie is unique to your web browser. It will contain anonymous information such as a unique identifier and the site name and some digits and numbers. It allows a website to remember things such as your preferences or what’s in your shopping basket.

Further information about the Institution’s use of Cookies.

Access your data

Under data protection legislation you are entitled to ask to see any personal information that The Institution of Structural Engineers holds about you.

To make a ‘Subject Access request’ for your personal information held by The Institution of Structural Engineers or its associated organisations, complete the Subject Access Form.

When submitting a request please be as specific as possible when describing both the information you wish to receive and its possible sources.

Data protection legislation allows the Institution to ask you for further clarification where appropriate.Your request cannot be processed until clarification has been provided.

The Institution and its associated organisations will use the personal information you provide to reply to your request and any subsequent internal review, complaint or appeal about its handling in accordance with data protection legislation, and Institution privacy and data handling procedures. On some occasions, the Institution may need to share information with other organisations, including the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Information Rights Tribunal, and other legal representatives for these purposes.

A record of your request will be held on records for up to two years after it is made, or any review or appeal is complete, for the purposes of managing any subsequent correspondence and establishing and defending legal rights.