Privacy Policy
Introduction
Synergy Healthcare Research takes privacy seriously. This privacy policy sets out how we use and protect your personal information and your rights in relation to the personal data we hold. This privacy policy applies to our website and the products and services which are offered by Synergy Healthcare Research.
If you have any requests or queries at any time concerning your personal information or our practices, please email us at info@synergyresearch.co.uk or write to us at Synergy Healthcare Research, 8 Baltic Street East, London EC1Y 0UP. This is our registered office address. We are registered as a company in England and Wales and our company number is 4026321.
For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the Act”), the data controller is Synergy Healthcare Research registered as a company in England and Wales under company number 4026321 at registered office address 8 Baltic Street East, London EC1Y 0UP.
how we collect your information
We may collect your personal data in a number of ways, for example:
– If you consent to take part in market research, you will be given details of the information we would like to collect at the time you give consent. We may collect data:
– from the information you provide to us, or one of our agents or contractors when you initially consent to take part in market research
– when you sign to receive your incentive for face-to-face research
– if you enter your personal details into an online questionnaire
– as a voice recording of an interview for a face-to-face or telephone research project
– as a video recording of an interview for a face-to-face project
– if, as part of a market research project, you send details about yourself to us (e.g. a daily diary study, where paper or video diaries are kept as part of the research project)
– We may be passed your data, lawfully by our clients, who would like us to ask you if you would like to participate in market research, advisory boards, or other projects
– We collect personal information from you when you fill in an enquiry form on our website
– We may collect your data from publicly available sources
– We collect personal data from you when you apply for a job, or make an enquiry about employment at Synergy
– We also collect information automatically about your visits to our website, such as browsing patterns (please see section on cookies). However, information collected in this way is only used in aggregate form rather than being linked to identifiable individuals.
the types of information we collect
We may collect the following types of personal data about you
– contact and communications information, including:
– your contact details (including email address(es), telephone numbers and postal address(es))
– records of communications and interactions we have had with you
– biographical, educational and social information, including:
– your name, title, gender, nationality and date of birth
– your image and likeness, including as captured in videos of research that takes place at viewing studios
– your voice, for example as captured as part of an audio-recording of market research
– lifestyle information and social circumstances
– your interests and extra-curricular activities
– financial information, including:
– your bank account number(s), name(s) and sort code(s) which are used for paying your incentive if you take part in market research
– work related information, including:
– your personal data captured in the work product(s), notes and correspondence you create while engaged in a market research project for Synergy
– details of your professional activities and interests;
– your involvement with and membership of sector bodies and professional associations;
– and any other information relevant to your interaction with Synergy.
Where this is necessary, (for example for a particular research project), we may also collect special categories of data, including:
– information revealing your racial or ethnic origin
– information concerning your health and medical conditions (for example, for a project exploring particular medical conditions)
– information concerning your sexual life or orientation (for example, for a project exploring particular medication conditions that can affect intimate relationships)
However, this will only be undertaken where and to the extent it is necessary to complete a project. You will be made aware of what type of special category data we wish to collect at the time you give consent. It is within your rights to decline to give this information.
The bases for processing your personal data, how that data is used and who it is shared with
We use your personal data for the following:
– To process your enquiry and provide the most appropriate response
– To send you information about our services which are applicable to you
– To request information about your services
– To contact you in order to take part in market research
– To pay you in connection with your taking part in market research or other engagement with us
– To process your job application or enquiry regarding employment
– For other administrative purposes, for example to update you about changes to your terms and conditions of engagement
– For internal record-keeping, including the management of any incentive amounts, and adverse event reporting
– We may also use information in aggregate form to help us analyse, develop and manage the website
legitimate interests
We process your personal data because it is necessary for our (or sometimes a third party’s) legitimate interests. Our “legitimate interests” include our interests in running Synergy in a professional, sustainable manner, in accordance with all relevant ethical, educational, charitable, legal and regulatory duties and requirements (whether or not connected directly to data protection law). In this respect, we use your personal data for the following:
– Where you have given consent to process your data for a specific purpose
– To meet contractual obligations entered into by you
– In response to a job application or enquiry you have made
– To provide you with information about us (where you have asked for this)
– For the purposes of management planning and forecasting, research and statistical analysis
– To monitor (as appropriate) use of Synergy’s IT and communications systems in accordance with Synergy’s IT Policy
legal obligations
We process your personal data for our compliance with our legal obligations, notably those in connection with employment, charity law, tax law and accounting, and child welfare. In this respect, we use your personal data for the following:
– To meet our legal obligations (for example, with regards to adverse event reporting)
– For accounting purposes
– For the prevention and detection of crime, and in order to assist with investigations (including criminal investigations) carried out by the police and other competent authorities.
special categories of data
We process special categories of personal data (such as data concerning health, religious beliefs, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation) only with your express consent to do so.
In particular, we process the following types of special category personal data for the following reasons:
– Your physical or mental health or condition(s) where this is a focus of a particular research project, as well as for forecasting, research and statistical analysis
– Your racial or ethnic origin for forecasting, research and statistical analysis
We will process special categories of personal data for lawful reasons only, where you have given us your explicit consent to do so, in circumstances where consent is appropriate. You will be made aware of what type of special category data we which to collect at the time you give consent. It is within your rights to decline to give this information.
sharing your information with others
For the purposes referred to in this privacy notice and relying on the bases for processing as set out above, we may share your personal data with certain third parties. We may disclose limited personal data (including in limited cases special category) to a variety of recipients including:
– other employees, agents and contractors (e.g. third parties processing data on our behalf – although this is not sharing your data in a legal sense, as these are considered data processors on our behalf)
– external auditors or inspectors
– our advisers (where it is necessary for us to obtain their advice or assistance, including insurers, lawyers, accountants, or other external consultants)
– if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal information in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our terms of use and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of us, our customers, or others (e.g. by a court order, government body, law enforcement agency or other authority of competent jurisdiction, for example HM Revenue and Customs or police). This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction
– companies that sponsor our research, in the event that you report a side effect or product complaint during an interview. We are required to pass on to any pharmaceutical company that sponsors market research any details of side effects or product complaints relating to their products that are mentioned during the interview. This is to help them learn more about the safety of their medicines. If this happens, we need to collect details and report the side effects or product complaint. If you take part in market research and mention an adverse event or product complaint, you will be asked if you give permission for us to pass your or your doctor’s details to the company’s drug safety department for them to follow up. This will have no impact on the confidentiality and anonymity associated with the interview itself
– third parties and their advisers in the unlikely event that those third parties are acquiring or considering acquiring all or part of Synergy, or we are reconstituting
– In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal information to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets
– If our company, or substantially all of our assets, are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by us about our customers will be one of the transferred assets
How long your information is kept
Personal data relating to market research will be kept for 12 months following the end of each market research project, except where we have notified you we intend to keep it for longer (and you have not objected).
If you sign a consent form to take part in market research, your name, the date, and the amount you received as an incentive will be kept indefinitely for accounting and audit purposes. This will have no impact on the confidentiality and anonymity associated with the interview itself. All other personal data will be destroyed as above.
Information recorded in connection to adverse event reporting may be stored indefinitely, in order to comply with laws around adverse event reporting. This will have no impact on the confidentiality and anonymity associated with the interview itself. All other personal data will be destroyed as above.
Personal data relating to job applications will be kept for 12 months following the end of the recruitment process.
We will ensure all personal data is disposed of in a secure manner.
All other data will be held until instructed otherwise.
Where do we store your personal information?
The information that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination within the European Economic Area (“EEA”). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers. Such staff maybe engaged in, among other things, responding to your enquiry and the provision of support services. By submitting your personal information, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your information is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.
Controlling your personal information
We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so.
You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to Synergy Healthcare Research, 8 Baltic Street East, London EC1Y 0UP. If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the above address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.
Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. Although we try to protect your information, the internet is not completely secure and we therefore cannot guarantee the security of the information transmitted via the website and any transmission is at your own risk.
Cookies
A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.
We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.
Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
Links
Our website may contain links to enable you to visit other websites of interest easily. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
Data Protection Officer
For any queries about Data Protection, please contact us on dpo@synergyresearch.co.uk.
lodging a complaint
If you would like to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority please contact Directors Charlotte Sugden Heron or Lucy Howells. They can be contacted at our business address: Synergy Healthcare Research, 8 Baltic Street East, London, EC1Y 0UP
Changes to our policy
We reserve the right to make changes to our Privacy Policy, and we will post those changes on this page. Please review this page on a regular basis for changes. We will use information in accordance with the Privacy Policy Statement under which the information was collected.
contacting us
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, or if you want to know what information we have collected about you, please email us at info@synergyresearch.co.uk. You can also correct any factual errors in that information or require us to remove your details from any list under our control
your rights
You can find out more about your rights under applicable data protection legislation from the Information Commissioner’s Office website available at www.ico.org.uk. If you are not satisfied with how we are processing your personal data, or how we deal with your complaint, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner: www.ico.org.uk. The ICO does recommend you seek to resolve any issues with the data controller initially prior to any referral.
