Employee Privacy Policy
Employee Privacy Policy
I. OVERVIEW
1. MindsBeam Technologies Inc. and its affiliates worldwide (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Company”, “We”, “Us”, “Our”) is dedicated to protecting and respecting the legal rights of privacy and data protection of its former and current employees and contractors ("You”, “Your” or “the Employee”), while collecting, storing, using and transmitting the Personal Data.
2. The Company takes the security and privacy of Your data seriously. We need to gather and use information or ‘data’ about You as part of Our business and to manage Our relationship with you. We have a duty to notify You of the information contained in this Data Protection Policy for Employees (“Policy”).
3. This Policy applies to current and former employees of the Company and job applicants. If You fall into one of these categories then You are a ‘Data Subject’ for the purposes of this Policy. You should read this Policy alongside Your contract of employment and any other notice We issue to You from time to time in relation to Your data.
4. The Company has a separate umbrella Privacy and Data Protection Policy which lays down the security measures and data retention terms followed by the Company. A copy of the Privacy and Data Protection Policy can be obtained from https://www.mindsbeam.com/privacy-policy
5. The Company is a ‘data controller’ for the purposes of Your Personal Data. This means that We determine the purpose and means of the processing of Your Personal Data.
6. This Policy explains how the Company will collect, hold and process Your information. It explains Your rights as a Data Subject. It also explains Your obligations when obtaining, handling, processing or storing Personal Data in the course of working for, or on behalf of, the Company.
7. By accepting employment with MindsBeam, You expressly acknowledge that You have read, understand and agree to all of the terms of this Policy as outlined below and as it may be modified by Us from time to time with or without prior notice. Your current and/or former employment with the Company and/or communicating any information in a manner explained in this Policy will mean that You have understood that the Company will collect and use Your Personal Data as described in this Policy and You expressly consent to the terms of this Policy.
II. DATA PROTECTION PRINCIPLES
1. Personal data must be processed in accordance with the following 7 (seven) ‘Data Protection Principles.’ The Personal Data must:
be processed fairly, lawfully and transparently;
be collected and processed only for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes (purpose limitation);
be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed (data minimisation);
be accurate and kept up to date. Every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that Personal Data that is inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (accuracy);
be kept in a form which permits identification of Data Subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the Personal Data is processed; Personal Data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the Personal Data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organizational measures required by applicable laws in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals (storage limitation);
be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the Personal Data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organizational measures (integrity and confidentiality); and
We are accountable for these principles and must be able to demonstrate that We are compliant (accountability).
III. HOW WE DEFINE PERSONAL DATA
1. The GDPR applies to the processing of Personal Data that is wholly or partly, by automated means or the processing other than by automated means, of Personal Data which forms part of, or is intended to form part of, a filing system.
2. Personal data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“Data Subject’’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person ("Personal Data”).
3. This Policy applies to all Personal Data whether it is stored electronically, on paper or on other materials.
4. This Personal Data might be provided to Us by You, or someone else (such as a former employer, Your doctor, or a credit reference agency), or it could be created by Us. It could be provided or created during the recruitment process or during the course of the contract of employment or after its termination. It could be created by Your manager or other colleagues.
5. We will collect and use the following types of Personal Data about You:
recruitment information such as Your application form and CV, references, qualifications and membership of any professional bodies and details of any pre-employment assessments;
Your contact details like name, phone number, residential and permanent address, email ID and date of birth;
the contact details for Your emergency contacts;
Your gender, race, ethnicity;
Your marital status and family details;
health and disability data;
information about Your contract of employment including start and end dates of employment, role and location, User id/ employment number, working hours, details of promotion, salary (including details of previous remuneration), pension, benefits and holiday entitlement;
Your bank details and information in relation to Your tax status including Your tax identification number;
Your identification documents including passport and driving license and if relevant, information in relation to Your immigration status and right to work for Us;
information relating to disciplinary or grievance investigations and proceedings involving You (whether or not You were the main subject of those proceedings);
information relating to Your performance and behaviour at work;
training records;
electronic information in relation to Your use of IT systems/swipe cards/telephone systems;
Your images (whether provided by You for records, captured on CCTV, by photograph or video); and
any other category of Personal Data which may be collected during the course of Your employment with Us.
IV. HOW WE DEFINE SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF PERSONAL DATA
‘Special categories of Personal Data’ are types of Personal Data consisting of information as to:
Your racial or ethnic origin;
Your political opinions;
Your religious or philosophical beliefs;
Your trade union membership;
Your genetic or biometric data;
Your health;
Your sex life and sexual orientation; and
any criminal convictions and offenses.
We may hold and use any of these special categories of Your Personal Data in accordance with the law.
V. HOW WE DEFINE PROCESSING
‘Processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed on Personal Data or on sets of Personal Data, whether or not by automated means, such as:
collection, recording, organization, structuring or storage;
adaption or alteration;
retrieval, consultation or use;
disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available;
alignment or combination; and
restriction, destruction or erasure.
This includes processing Personal Data which forms part of a filing system and any automated processing.
VI. HOW WILL WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
1. The Company will process Your Personal Data (including special categories of Personal Data) in accordance with its obligations under the GDPR and other applicable data protection laws.
2. We will use and process Your Personal Data for:
performing the contract of employment between us;
complying with any legal obligation; or
if it is necessary for Our legitimate interests (or for the legitimate interests of someone else). However, We can only do this if Your interests and rights do not override ours (or theirs). You have the right to challenge Our legitimate interests and request that We stop this processing. See details of Your rights in section 12 below.
3. We can process Your Personal Data for these purposes without Your knowledge or consent. We will not use Your Personal Data for an unrelated purpose without telling You about it and the legal basis that We intend to rely on for processing it.
4. If You choose not to provide Us with certain Personal Data, You should be aware that We may not be able to carry out certain parts of the contract between Us. For example, if You do not provide Us with Your bank account details, We may not be able to pay You. It might also stop Us from complying with certain legal obligations and duties which We have such as to pay the right amount of tax to the tax authority or to make reasonable adjustments in relation to any disability You may suffer from.
5. To the extent permissible under the applicable law, We may use and disclose any non-personal data (data which does not contain any information that can be used to identify a natural person) for any purpose, any non-personal data. However, in the event We combine any non-personal data with Personal Data, then We will only use and disclose such combined information for the purposes described above while it is so combined.
VII. EXAMPLES OF WHEN WE MIGHT PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA
1. We have to process Your Personal Data in various situations during Your recruitment, employment (or engagement) and even following termination of Your employment (or engagement).
2. For example (and see section 7.6 below for the meaning of the asterisks):
to decide whether to employ (or engage) You;
to decide how much to pay You, and the other terms of Your contract with Us;
to check You have the legal right to work for Us;
to carry out the contract between Us including where relevant, its termination;
training You and reviewing Your performance*;
to decide whether to promote You;
to decide whether and how to manage Your performance, absence or conduct*;
to carry out a disciplinary or grievance investigation or procedure in relation to You or someone else;
to determine whether We need to make reasonable adjustments to Your workplace or role because of Your disability*;
to monitor diversity and equal opportunities*;
to monitor and protect the security (including network security) of the Company, of You, Our other staff, customers and others;
to monitor and protect the health and safety of You, Our other staff, customers and third parties*;
to pay You and provide pension and other benefits in accordance with the contract between Us*; paying tax and national insurance;
to provide a reference upon request from another employer;
to pay trade union subscriptions*;
monitoring compliance by You, Us and others with Our policies and Our contractual obligations*; to comply with employment law, immigration law, health and safety law, tax law and other laws which affect Us*;
to answer questions from insurers in respect of any insurance policies which relate to You*; running Our business and planning for the future;
the prevention and detection of fraud or other criminal offenses;
to defend the Company in respect of any investigation or litigation and to comply with any court or tribunal orders for disclosure*;
for any other reason which We may notify You of from time to time.
3. We will only process special categories of Your Personal Data (see above) in certain situations in accordance with the law. For example, We can do so if We have Your explicit consent. If We asked for Your consent to process a special category of Personal Data, then We would explain the reasons for Our request. You do not need to consent and can withdraw consent later if You choose by contacting privacy@mindsbeam.com.
4. We do not need Your consent to process special categories of Your Personal Data when We are processing it for the following purposes, which We may do:
where it is necessary for carrying out rights and obligations under employment law;
where it is necessary to protect Your vital interests or those of another person where You/they are physically or legally incapable of giving consent;
where You have made the data public;
where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims; and
where processing is necessary for the purposes of occupational medicine or for the assessment of Your working capacity.
5. We might process special categories of Your Personal Data for the purposes in paragraph 7.2 above which have an asterisk beside them. In particular, We will use information in relation to:
Your race, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or gender to monitor equal opportunities;
Your sickness absence, health and medical conditions to monitor Your absence, assess Your fitness for work, to pay You benefits, to comply with Our legal obligations under employment law including to make reasonable adjustments and to look after Your health and safety; and
Your trade union membership to pay any subscriptions and to comply with Our legal obligations in respect of trade union members.
6. We do not take automated decisions about You using Your Personal Data or use profiling in relation to You.
VIII. SHARING YOUR PERSONAL DATA
1. Sometimes We might share Your Personal Data with group companies or Our contractors and agents to carry out Our obligations under Our contract with You or for Our legitimate interests.
2. We require those companies to keep Your Personal Data confidential and secure and to protect it in accordance with the law and Our policies. They are only permitted to process Your data for the lawful purpose for which it has been shared and in accordance with Our instructions.
3. We do not rent, share, list or sell the Personal Data with any third parties, except as necessary for our legitimate professional and business needs, to carry out Your requests, and/or as required or permitted by an applicable law. The Personal Data may be shared with the third parties only if it is for the purposes identified above or in the event You consent for the sharing of such Personal Data. We will take all the reasonable steps to prevent or stop unauthorized use or disclosure of the Personal Data by the third parties.
4. Further, We may disclose information about You: (i) if we are required to do so by law or legal process, (ii) to law enforcement authorities or other government officials, or (iii) when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent or illegal activity. We may disclose Personal Data to third party rights owners, or others in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) respond to any authority, having the right to receive such information under law; or (b) protect the rights, property or personal safety of the users or the general public.
5. In the event of any proposed or actual reorganization, sale, merger, joint venture, assignment, amalgamation or any other type of acquisition, disposal or financing of all or any portion of the Company or of any Company assets, We may disclose or transfer Your Personal Data to such third party. Should such an event take place, We will endeavor to direct the transferee to use the Personal Data in a manner that is consistent with this Policy.
6. We are part of a global network of companies and in common with other professional service providers, We use third parties located in other countries to help Us run Our business. As a result, the Personal Data may be transferred outside the countries where We, Our clients and Our employees are located. The Personal Data may be transferred internally to Our affiliates and externally to third parties (including payroll processors, payment partners and service providers) across international borders for the purposes described in this Policy. This may include transfers to countries that may not have laws that provide the same degree of protection for the Personal Data as Your home country. In accordance with applicable legal requirements, We take appropriate measures to facilitate adequate protection for any Personal Data so transferred, only in accordance with legally approved transfer mechanisms that are appropriate under applicable data protection laws, including the GDPR and the UK Act.
7. Further, We may engage third parties who will be working with or for the Company, and who have or may have access to the Personal Data to perform their functions but may not use it for other purposes. The Company may act as a data processor or a data controller depending on the service being provided and the amount of control the Company has over the purpose(s) and means of the data processing.
IX. HOW SHOULD YOU PROCESS PERSONAL DATA FOR THE COMPANY?
1. Everyone who works for, or on behalf of, the Company has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately, in line with this Policy and the Privacy and Data Protection Policy.
2. The Company’s Data Protection Officer/Data Protection Manager Hiraash Thawfeek ("Data Protection Officer”) is responsible for reviewing this Policy and updating the Board of Directors on the Company’s data protection responsibilities and any risks in relation to the processing of data. You should direct any questions in relation to this Policy or data protection to this person.
3. You should only access Personal Data covered by this Policy if You need it for the work You do for, or on behalf of the Company and only if You are authorised to do so. You should only use the data for the specified lawful purpose for which it was obtained.
4. You should not share Personal Data informally.
5. You should keep Personal Data secure and not share it with unauthorised people.
6. You should regularly review and update Personal Data which You have to deal with for work. This includes telling Us if Your own contact details change.
7. You should not make unnecessary copies of Personal Data and should keep and dispose of any copies securely.
8. You should use strong passwords.
9. You should lock Your computer screens when not at Your desk.
10. Personal Data should be encrypted before being transferred electronically to authorised external contacts.
11. Consider anonymising data or using separate keys/codes so that the Data Subject cannot be identified.
12. Do not save Personal Data to Your own personal computers or other devices.
13. Personal Data should never be transferred outside the European Economic Area except in compliance with the law and authorisation of the Data Protection Officer.
14. You should lock drawers and filing cabinets. Do not leave paper with Personal Data lying about.
15. You should not take Personal Data away from Company’s premises without authorisation from Your line manager or Data Protection Officer.
16. Personal Data should be shredded and disposed of securely when You have finished with it.
17. You should ask for help from Our Data Protection Officer if You are unsure about data protection or if You notice any areas of data protection or security We can improve upon.
18. Any deliberate or negligent breach of this Policy by You may result in disciplinary action being taken against You in accordance with Our disciplinary procedure.
19. It is a criminal offense to conceal or destroy Personal Data which is part of a subject access request (see below). This conduct would also amount to gross misconduct under Our disciplinary procedure, which could result in Your dismissal.
X. HOW TO DEAL WITH DATA BREACHES
1. We have robust measures in place to minimize and prevent data breaches from taking place. Should a breach of Personal Data occur (whether in respect of You or someone else) then We take notes and keep evidence of that breach. If the breach is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, then We also notify the applicable Supervisory Authority of the jurisdiction in which the employee is situated within 72 (seventy-two) hours.
2. If You are aware of a data breach, You must contact the Data Protection Officer immediately and keep any evidence You have in relation to the breach
XI. SUBJECT ACCESS REQUESTS
Data Subjects can make a ‘subject access request’ (‘’SAR’’) to find out the information We hold about them. This request must be made in writing. If You receive such a request, You should forward it immediately to the Data Protection Officer who will coordinate a response.
If You would like to make a SAR in relation to Your own Personal Data, You should make this in writing to the Data Protection Officer. We shall respond within [1 (one)] month of the request being made, unless the request is complex or numerous in which case the period in which We respond can be extended by a further period of [2 (two)] months.
There is no fee for making a SAR. However, if Your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, We may charge a reasonable administrative fee or refuse to respond to Your request.
XII. YOUR DATA SUBJECT RIGHTS
1. You have the right to information about what Personal Data We process, how and on what basis as set out in this Policy.
2. You have the right to access Your own Personal Data by way of a subject access request (see above).
3. You can correct any inaccuracies in Your Personal Data by contacting the Data Protection Officer.
4. You have the right to request that We erase Your Personal Data where We were not entitled under the law to process it or it is no longer necessary to process it for the purpose it was collected. To do so, You should contact the Data Protection Officer.
5. While You are requesting that Your Personal Data is corrected or erased or are contesting the lawfulness of Our processing, You can apply for its use to be restricted while the application is made. To do so, You should contact the Data Protection Officer.
6. You have the right to object to data processing where We are relying on a legitimate interest to do so and You think that Your rights and interests outweigh Our own and You wish Us to stop.
7. You have the right to object if We process Your Personal Data for the purposes of direct marketing.
8. You have the right to receive a copy of Your Personal Data and to transfer Your Personal Data to another data controller. We will not charge for this and will in most cases aim to do this within one month.
9. With some exceptions, You have the right not to be subjected to automated decision-making.
10. You have the right to be notified of a data security breach concerning Your Personal Data.
11. In most situations We will not rely on Your consent as a lawful ground to process Your data. If We do however request Your consent to the processing of Your Personal Data for a specific purpose, You have the right not to consent or to withdraw Your consent later. To withdraw Your consent, You should contact the Data Protection Officer.
XIII. POLICY REVIEW
1. We may modify this Policy or the Privacy and Data Protection Policy from time to time to reflect Our current privacy and data protection practices. When We make changes to this Policy, We will notify You of the same. Any changes to the processing of Personal Data as described in this Policy affecting You will be communicated to You through an appropriate channel, depending on how We normally communicate with You.
XIV. PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION CONCERNS
1. If You are concerned about the handling of Your Personal Data, or if You have any complaints or queries related to Your Personal Data or Our Policy, please contact Our Data Protection Officer:
Email: privacy@mindsbeam.com
Address: 2093 Philadelphia Pike #1777 Claymont, Delaware 19703