Health and Safety Files ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of everyone who uses this website. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and what rights you have in relation to it.
This policy is issued in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"). By using this website or submitting an enquiry through it, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy.
SECTION 01Who is responsible for your information
Health and Safety Files is the responsible party in respect of personal information collected through this website. We provide occupational health and safety documentation and audit services to businesses in South Africa.
All enquiries relating to this policy, to the personal information we hold, or to the exercise of any right set out below, should be directed to:
- Email: info@healthandsafetyfiles.co.za
- Website: www.healthandsafetyfiles.co.za
- Territory of operation: Republic of South Africa
We respond to privacy enquiries within a reasonable period, and in any event within the timeframes prescribed by POPIA.
SECTION 02Information we collect
We collect only the information necessary to respond to your enquiry and to provide the services you request.
Information you provide directly
When you complete the call-back request form on this website, you provide the following:
- Your full name
- Your company name
- Your email address
- Your telephone number
- Your industry sector
- A description of the safety files or services you require
- Your preferred time to be contacted
- Any additional notes you choose to provide
- Your website address, if you choose to supply it
If you contact us directly by email, we receive whatever information is contained in that correspondence.
Information collected automatically
Like most websites, this site records limited technical information when you visit, including your IP address, browser type and version, device type, the pages you view, the time and duration of your visit, and the website or advertisement that referred you.
This information is collected through the third-party services described in Section 05.
SECTION 03Why we collect it, and on what basis
We process personal information for the following purposes:
- To respond to your enquiry — to contact you, understand your requirements, and provide a quotation
- To provide our services — to compile safety documentation, conduct audits, and deliver the work you engage us for
- To communicate with you — about work in progress, and about compliance matters relevant to work we have performed
- To improve this website — to understand how visitors use the site and which pages are useful
- To measure our advertising — to understand which advertisements result in enquiries
- To meet legal obligations — where retention or disclosure is required by law
Our lawful basis for processing is your consent, given when you submit an enquiry; the necessity of processing to conclude or perform a contract with you; and our legitimate interests in operating and improving our business, balanced against your rights.
We do not use your information for automated decision-making that produces legal consequences for you.
SECTION 04How we share information
We do not sell personal information. We do not rent, trade, or otherwise make personal information available to third parties for their own marketing purposes.
We share personal information only in the following circumstances:
- With service providers who process information on our behalf and under our instruction, as described in Section 05
- Where required by law, including in response to a lawful request by a regulator, court or law enforcement authority
- Where necessary to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim
Where a service provider processes information on our behalf, we require that it be processed only for the purposes we specify and subject to appropriate security safeguards.
SECTION 05Third-party services and cookies
This website uses the following third-party services. Each may collect or process information as described.
Netlify
Netlify hosts this website and receives and stores submissions made through our contact form. Netlify processes this information on our behalf so that we can respond to your enquiry.
Google Ads
We use Google Ads to advertise our services. The Google tag on this site records visits and measures which advertisements lead to enquiries. This may involve cookies set by Google. We do not receive your identity from Google; we receive aggregated measurement information.
Google Fonts
Typefaces used on this site are delivered by Google Fonts, which requires your browser to request those files from Google's servers. This involves the transmission of your IP address.
Managing cookies
You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings, and you can opt out of personalised Google advertising through Google's Ads Settings. Blocking cookies will not prevent you from using this website or submitting an enquiry.
SECTION 06Transfers outside South Africa
The service providers described above operate internationally, and information processed through this website may be stored or processed on servers located outside the Republic of South Africa.
Where personal information is transferred across borders, we rely on the provider's contractual undertakings and data protection commitments, which require a level of protection substantially similar to that required by POPIA. By submitting an enquiry through this website, you consent to such transfers for the purposes set out in this policy.
SECTION 07How long we keep information
We retain personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes set out in this policy, or for as long as the law requires.
- Enquiries that do not result in work — retained for up to 12 months from the date of the enquiry, after which they are deleted
- Client records and completed work — retained for 5 years from completion, in line with ordinary business record-keeping practice and applicable legislation
- Records required by law to be kept longer — retained for the period the relevant legislation prescribes
- Website technical information — retained by our service providers in accordance with their own retention periods
You may ask us to delete your information sooner. We will do so unless we are legally required to retain it, or unless it is needed to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.
SECTION 08How we protect information
We take appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to prevent the loss of, damage to, or unauthorised destruction of personal information, and to prevent unlawful access to or processing of it.
These measures include serving this website over an encrypted connection, restricting access to enquiry information to those who need it to do their work, and selecting service providers that maintain recognised security standards.
No method of transmission or storage is entirely secure. While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a security compromise affecting your personal information occurs, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA.
SECTION 09Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- Be informed that we are collecting your personal information, and of the purpose for which it is collected
- Request access to the personal information we hold about you
- Request correction of information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading or unlawfully obtained
- Request deletion of information we are no longer entitled to retain
- Object to the processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds
- Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal
- Not receive unsolicited direct marketing, and to require us to stop sending it
- Complain to the Information Regulator
To exercise any of these rights, email info@healthandsafetyfiles.co.za. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. There is no charge for a request unless it is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
SECTION 10Complaints
If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information or a request relating to it, we would prefer the opportunity to resolve it directly. Please contact us first at info@healthandsafetyfiles.co.za.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa, which is the supervisory authority responsible for POPIA. Contact details are published on the Regulator's website at inforegulator.org.za.
SECTION 11Children
This website and our services are directed at businesses and are not intended for children. We do not knowingly collect personal information relating to children. If you believe we have inadvertently done so, contact us and we will delete it.
SECTION 12Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, our service providers, or the law. The version published on this page is always the current one, and the date below indicates when it was last revised.
Where a change materially affects how we process personal information already collected from you, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to your attention.