PRIVACY & COOKIES

Privacy Statement

The care-4 service is provided by The Grass Roots Group UK Limited, referred to as ‘we’ or ‘us’ in this statement.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Statement of Privacy applies to the care-4 service and governs data collection and usage. By using the care-4 website (the “Site”) and signing up to the care-4 service, you consent to the data practices described in this statement.


Collection of your Personal Information

We collect personally identifiable information, such as your e-mail address, name, home or work address or telephone number. We also collect anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as your postal code, age, gender, preferences, interests and favourites.

There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by us. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring website addresses. This information is used by us for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the care-4 Site.

We encourage you to review the privacy statements of websites you choose to link to from this Site so that you can understand how those websites collect, use and share your information. We are not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on external websites accessed from this site.

 
Use of your Personal Information

We collect and use your personal information to operate the care-4 website and deliver the services you have requested. 

 
Monitoring for Compliance

We reserve the right at all times to monitor, review or retain information concerning your use of the Scheme to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions, your Employer's Scheme Rules and any legal or regulatory requirements e.g. pursuant to our prevention of fraud or anti-money laundering policies. We may disclose any suspected non-compliance to your Employer, regulators or any law enforcement agency. 

 
Telephone Conversations and Internet Use

For quality control and training purposes, we may record your telephone conversations or monitor your Internet use with us.

By using the care-4 Site you accept the site’s terms of use (including our cookie policy) which can be found on the site. Please read these.


We may pass your information to others:

We may provide your Employer or other companies or organisations, such as HMRC, with information about the utilisation of the Scheme, and we may provide them with Scheme information about you if required e.g. to resolve a tax or PAYE related query.

 

If you have consented to us doing so, we may, from time to time, contact you on about a particular offering that we consider may be of interest to you (e.g. child related promotions). Your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) will not be transferred to any third party for marketing purposes without your prior consent. In addition, we may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis.

 

In order to deliver the care-4 services we will need to share your data with other companies in our Group, our service providers, your Employer and your nominated care provider(s). We may also use your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services available from us and our affiliates. We may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

All such third parties are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information at all times.

  • We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.
  • We keep track of the websites and pages our customers visit via this site, in order to determine what services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising to customers whose behaviour indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.
  • We may disclose your personal information, without notice, only in accordance with this policy or if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on us or the site; (b) protect and defend our rights or property; and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of care-4, or the public, d) to our professional advisers for the purpose of obtaining professional advice; e) to our third party agents who assist in the provision of the Scheme.

Use of Cookies

The care-4 Site uses "cookies" to help you personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. 

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize care-4 pages, or register with care-4 site or services, a cookie helps care-4 to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on. When you return to the same care-4 Site, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the care-4 features that you customized. 

You have the ability 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. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Site, the services or other websites you visit. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
 

Security of your Personal Information

We secure your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. We secure the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other websites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.
 

Changes to this Statement

We will occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect company and customer feedback. We encourage you to periodically review this Statement to be informed of how we are protecting your information. This version is date stamped for ease of reference.
 

Contact Information

The Grass Roots Group UK Limited welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy. If you believe that we have not adhered to this Statement, please contact us at LegalHelpDesk@grg.com. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.
 

Complaints Handling Policy

To request a copy of our Complaints Handling Policy, please email info@care-co.uk
 

Your Right to Information

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you may request details of personal information which we hold about you. A statutory fee may be payable in accordance with that Act. If you want to make a request, please write to us at: Data Protection Officer, Grass Roots Group, Pennyroyal Court, Station Road, Tring, Herts, HP23 5QY. 

USEFUL THINGS TO NOTE...

Should I continue paying into my account if I'm now spending less on childcare?
If you are likely to require childcare in the future, we recommend that you continue with your salary reductions (remembering that you can choose to reduce the value temporarily if required).
 
Can I reduce my monthly salary deduction temporarily?
Yes – this can be done either via your online care-4 account or, if your employer operates a Flexible Benefits scheme, through your Benefits Provider platform. The value can subsequently be increased as and when required.

If I leave the scheme can I re-join?
Yes, you can choose to temporarily leave the scheme (i.e. pause your salary reductions) but please be aware that in line with new Tax Free Childcare regulations, you must ensure that you restart reductions within 12 months - if you fail to do so then unfortunately you will be unable to re-join the scheme.
  
Are the funds in my account safe?
Yes. All funds received from our clients in respect of childcare payments are deposited and held in specifically designated bank accounts which are used solely for the purpose of handling care-4 client funds. The operational procedures we have in place illustrate that all such funds are client monies. 
 
Should you require further assistance please contact us either via email at: info@care-4.co.uk or by calling our helpline on 0344 800 1444.