1. Interpretation
1.1 Definitions:
Automated Decision-Making (ADM): when a decision is made which is based
solely on Automated Processing (including profiling) which produces legal effects
or significantly affects an individual.
Automated Processing: any form of automated processing of Personal Data
consisting of the use of Personal Data to evaluate certain personal aspects
relating to an individual, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning
that individual's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal
preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements. Profiling is
an example of Automated Processing.
Company name: Elize Partners AG
Company Personnel: all employees, workers, contractors, consultants,
directors, members and others.
Consent: agreement which must be freely given, specific, informed and be an
unambiguous indication of the Data Subject's wishes by which they, by a
statement or by a clear positive action, signify agreement to the Processing of
Personal Data relating to them.
Controller: the person or organisation that determines when, why and how to
process Personal Data. It is responsible for establishing practices and policies in
line with the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP). We are the Controller of all
Personal Data relating to our Company Personnel and Personal Data used in our
business for our own commercial purposes.
Criminal Convictions Data: means personal data relating to criminal convictions
and offences and includes personal data relating to criminal allegations and
proceedings.
Data Subject: a living, identified or identifiable individual about whom we hold
Personal Data. Data Subjects may be nationals or residents of any country and
may have legal rights regarding their Personal Data.
Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA): tools and assessments used to
identify and reduce risks of a data processing activity. DPIA can be carried out
as part of Privacy by Design and should be conducted for all major system or
business change programmes involving the Processing of Personal Data.
Explicit Consent: consent which requires a very clear and specific statement
(that is, not just action).
Personal Data: any information identifying a Data Subject or information relating
to a Data Subject that we can identify (directly or indirectly) from that data alone
or in combination with other identifiers we possess or can reasonably access.
Personal Data includes Special Categories of Personal Data and
Pseudonymised Personal Data but excludes anonymous data or data that has
had the identity of an individual permanently removed. Personal data can be Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 3
factual (for example, a name, email address, location, or date of birth) or an
opinion about that person's actions or behaviour.
Personal Data Breach: any act or omission that compromises the security,
confidentiality, integrity, or availability of Personal Data or the physical, technical,
administrative or organisational safeguards that we or our third-party service
providers put in place to protect it. The loss, or unauthorised access, disclosure
or acquisition, of Personal Data is a Personal Data Breach.
Privacy by Design: implementing appropriate technical and organisational
measures in an effective manner to ensure compliance with the FADP.
Privacy Notices (also referred to as Fair Processing Notices) or Privacy
Policies: separate notices setting out information that may be provided to Data
Subjects when the Company collects information about them. These notices may
take the form of general privacy statements applicable to a specific group of
individuals (for example the website privacy policy) or they may be stand-alone,
one-time privacy statements covering Processing related to a specific purpose.
Processing or Process: any activity that involves the use of Personal Data. It
includes obtaining, recording or holding the data, or carrying out any operation
or set of operations on the data including organising, amending, retrieving, using,
disclosing, erasing or destroying it. Processing also includes transmitting or
transferring Personal Data to third parties.
Pseudonymisation or Pseudonymised: replacing information that directly or
indirectly identifies an individual with one or more artificial identifiers or
pseudonyms so that the person, to whom the data relates, cannot be identified
without the use of additional information which is meant to be kept separately
and secure.
Related Policies: The Company's policies, operating procedures or processes
related to this Data Protection Policy and designed to protect Personal Data.
Special Categories of Personal Data: information revealing racial or ethnic
origin, political opinions, religious or similar beliefs, trade union membership,
physical or mental health conditions, sexual life, sexual orientation, biometric or
genetic data.
2. Introduction
This Data Protection Policy (“the Policy”) sets out how Elize Partners AG ("we", "our",
"us", "the Company") handles the Personal Data of our customers, suppliers,
employees, workers and other third parties.
This Policy applies to all Personal Data we Process regardless of the media on which
that data is stored or whether it relates to past or present employees, workers,
customers, clients or supplier contacts, shareholders, website users or any other Data
Subject.
This Policy also applies to all Elize Partners AG Personnel ("you", "your"). You must
read, understand and comply with this Policy when Processing Personal Data on our
behalf and attend training on its requirements. This Policy sets out what we expect Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 4
from you for Elize Partners to comply with applicable law. Your compliance with this
Policy is mandatory. Related Policies are available to help you interpret and act in
accordance with this Policy. Any breach of this Policy may result in disciplinary action.
We will store your Personal Data securely in accordance with our obligations under
data protection laws and will regularly review the purposes for which we are retaining
your data. We will cleanse data periodically to the extent it is (or part of it is) no longer
relevant for the legitimate purposes for which it was originally collected.
Where you have a specific responsibility in connection with Processing such as
capturing Consent, reporting a Personal Data Breach, conducting a DPIA as
referenced in this Policy or otherwise then you must comply with the Related Policies.
3. Scope
We recognise that the correct and lawful treatment of Personal Data will maintain
confidence in the organisation and will provide for successful business operations.
Protecting the confidentiality and integrity of Personal Data is a critical responsibility
that we take seriously at all times.
The Data Privacy Officer (DPO) is responsible for overseeing this Data Protection
Policy. That post is held by Luca Carbone, with the following contact details:
Email address: Compliance@elizepartners.com
Please contact the DPO with any questions about the operation of this Data Protection
Policy or the FADP or if you have any concerns that this Data Protection Policy is not
being or has not been followed. In particular, you must contact the Company in the
following circumstances:
(a) if you are unsure of the lawful basis which you are relying on to process
Personal Data (including the legitimate interests used by the Company) (see
paragraph 5);
(b) if you need to rely on Consent and/or need to capture Explicit Consent (see
paragraph 6);
(c) if you need to draft Privacy Notices (see paragraph 7);
(d) if you are unsure about the retention period for the Personal Data being
Processed (see paragraph 11);
(e) if you are unsure about what security or other measures you need to implement
to protect Personal Data (see paragraph 12);
(f) if there has been a Personal Data Breach (see paragraph 13);
(g) if you are unsure on what basis to transfer Personal Data outside the EU (see
paragraph 14); Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 5
(h) if you need any assistance dealing with any rights invoked by a Data Subject
(see paragraph 15);
(i) whenever you are engaging in a significant new, or change in, Processing
activity which is likely to require a DPIA (see paragraph 19) or plan to use
Personal Data for purposes other than what it was collected for;
(j) if you plan to undertake any activities involving Automated Processing including
profiling or Automated Decision-Making (see paragraph 20);
(k) if you need help complying with applicable law when carrying out direct
marketing activities (see paragraph 21); or
(l) if you need help with any contracts or other areas in relation to sharing Personal
Data with third parties (including our vendors) (see paragraph 22).
4. Personal data protection principles
We adhere to the principles relating to Processing of Personal Data set out in the
FADP, which require Personal Data to be:
(a) Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner;
(b) collected only for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes;
(c) adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the
purposes for which it is Processed;
(d) accurate and where necessary kept up to date;
(e) not kept in a form which permits identification of Data Subjects for longer
than is necessary for the purposes for which the data is Processed;
(f) Processed in a manner that ensures its security using appropriate
technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised or
unlawful Processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage;
(g) not transferred to another country without appropriate safeguards being
in place; and
(h) made available to Data Subjects and allow Data Subjects to exercise
certain rights in relation to their Personal Data.
5. Lawfulness, fairness, transparency
We process your Personal Data in a lawfully, fairly and transparent manner.
The FADP restricts our actions regarding Personal Data to specified lawful
purposes. These restrictions are not intended to prevent Processing but ensure
that we Process Personal Data fairly and without adversely affecting the Data
Subject. Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 6
The FADP allows Processing for specific purposes, some of which are set out
below:
(a) the Data Subject has given his or her Consent;
(b) the Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with the
Data Subject;
(c) to meet our legal compliance obligations;
(d) to protect the Data Subject's vital interests; or
(e) to pursue our legitimate interests for purposes where they are not
overridden because the Processing prejudices the interests or
fundamental rights and freedoms of Data Subjects.
6. Consent
We only process Personal Data on the basis of one or more of the lawful basis
set out in the FADP, which include Consent.
A Data Subject consents to Processing of their Personal Data if they indicate
agreement clearly either by a statement or positive action to the Processing.
Consent requires affirmative action so silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity are
unlikely to be sufficient. If Consent is given in a document which deals with other
matters, then the Consent must be kept separate from those other matters.
Data Subjects must be able to withdraw their Consent to the Processing at any
time and withdrawal must be promptly honoured. Consent may need to be
refreshed if you intend to Process Personal Data for a different and incompatible
purpose which was not disclosed when the Data Subject first consented.
When processing Special Category Data or Criminal Convictions Data, we will
usually rely on a legal basis for processing other than Explicit Consent or Consent
if possible. Where Explicit Consent is relied on, we will issue a Privacy Notice to
you to capture Explicit Consent.
We need to evidence Consent captured and keep records of all Consents in
accordance with Related Policies so that the Company can demonstrate
compliance with Consent requirements.
7. Transparency (notifying Data Subjects)
The FADP requires Controllers to provide detailed, specific information to Data
Subjects depending on whether the information was collected directly from Data
Subjects or from elsewhere. The information must be provided through
appropriate Privacy Notices which must be concise, transparent, intelligible,
easily accessible, and in clear and plain language so that a Data Subject can
easily understand them.
Whenever we collect Personal Data directly from Data Subjects, including for
human resources or employment purposes, we provide the Data Subject with all Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 7
the information required by the FADP including the identity of the Controller, how
and why we will use, Process, disclose, protect and retain that Personal Data
through a Privacy Notice which we present when the Data Subject first provides
the Personal Data.
When Personal Data is collected indirectly (for example, from a third party or
publicly available source), we provide the Data Subject with all the information
required by the FADP as soon as possible after collecting or receiving the data.
We also check that the Personal Data was collected by the third party in
accordance with the FADP and on a basis which contemplates our proposed
Processing of that Personal Data.
8. Purpose limitation
Personal Data must be collected only for specified, explicit and legitimate
purposes. It must not be further Processed in any manner incompatible with
those purposes.
You must not use Personal Data for new, different or incompatible purposes from
that disclosed when it was first obtained, unless you have informed the Data
Subject of the new purposes and they have Consented where necessary.
9. Data minimisation
Personal Data must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in
relation to the purposes for which it is Processed.
You may only Process Personal Data when performing your duties and you
cannot Process Personal Data for any reason unrelated to your duties.
You may only collect Personal Data that you require for your duties and must not
collect excessive data. Ensure any Personal Data collected is adequate and
relevant for the intended purposes.
You must ensure that when Personal Data is no longer needed for specified
purposes, it is deleted or anonymised in accordance with the Company's data
retention policy.
10. Accuracy
Personal Data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. It must
be corrected or deleted without delay when inaccurate.
You will ensure that the Personal Data we use and hold is accurate, complete,
kept up to date and relevant to the purpose for which we collected it. You must
check the accuracy of any Personal Data at the point of collection and at regular
intervals afterwards. You must take all reasonable steps to destroy or amend
inaccurate or out-of-date Personal Data. Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 8
11. Storage limitation
Personal Data must not be kept in an identifiable form for longer than is necessary for
the purposes for which the data is processed.
The Company has a Data Retention policy to ensure Personal Data is deleted after a
reasonable time for the purposes for which it was being held, therefore, you must
comply with the Company's policy on data retention.
You must not keep Personal Data in a form which permits the identification of the Data
Subject for longer than needed for the legitimate business purpose or purposes for
which we originally collected it, including for the purpose of satisfying any legal,
accounting or reporting requirements.
You will take all reasonable steps to destroy or erase from our systems all Personal
Data that we no longer require in accordance with the Company's data retention policy.
This includes requiring third parties to delete that data where applicable.
12. Security integrity and confidentiality
Personal Data must be secured by appropriate technical and organisational
measures against unauthorised or unlawful Processing, and against accidental
loss, destruction or damage.
We will develop, implement and maintain safeguards appropriate to our size,
scope and business, our available resources, the amount of Personal Data that
we own or maintain on behalf of others and identified risks (including use of
encryption and Pseudonymisation where applicable). We will regularly evaluate
and test the effectiveness of those safeguards to ensure security of our
Processing of Personal Data. You are responsible for protecting the Personal
Data we hold. You must implement reasonable and appropriate security
measures against unlawful or unauthorised Processing of Personal Data and
against the accidental loss of, or damage to, Personal Data. You must exercise
particular care in protecting Special Categories of Personal Data and Criminal
Convictions Data from loss and unauthorised access, use or disclosure.
You must follow all procedures and technologies we put in place to maintain the
security of all Personal Data from the point of collection to the point of destruction.
You may only transfer Personal Data to third-party service providers who agree
to comply with the required policies and procedures and who agree to put
adequate measures in place, as requested.
You must maintain data security by protecting the confidentiality, integrity and
availability of the Personal Data, defined as follows:
(a) Confidentiality means that only people who have a need to know and are
authorised to use the Personal Data can access it;
(b) Integrity means that Personal Data is accurate and suitable for the purpose for
which it is processed; and Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 9
(c) Availability means that authorised users are able to access the Personal Data
when they need it for authorised purposes.
You must comply with and not attempt to circumvent the administrative, physical
and technical safeguards we implement and maintain in accordance with the
FADP.
13. Reporting a Personal Data Breach
The FADP requires Controllers to notify any Personal Data Breach to the Federal
Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) and, in certain
instances, the Data Subject.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected Personal Data
Breach and will notify Data Subjects or any applicable regulator where we are
legally required to do so.
If you know or suspect that a Personal Data Breach has occurred, do not attempt
to investigate the matter yourself, immediately contact the Company. You should
preserve all evidence relating to the potential Personal Data Breach.
14. Transfer limitation
The FADP restricts data transfers to countries outside the EU to ensure that the level
of data protection afforded to individuals by the FADP is not undermined. You transfer
Personal Data originating in one country across borders when you transmit, send, view
or access that data in or to a different country.
You may only transfer Personal Data outside the EU if one of the following conditions
applies:
(a) the EU has issued regulations confirming that the country to which we transfer
the Personal Data ensures an adequate level of protection for the Data
Subject's rights and freedoms;
(b) appropriate safeguards are in place such as binding corporate rules (BCR),
standard contractual clauses approved for use in the EU, an approved code of
conduct or a certification mechanism, a copy of which can be obtained from the
Company;
(c) the Data Subject has provided Explicit Consent to the proposed transfer after
being informed of any potential risks; or
(d) the transfer is necessary for one of the other reasons set out in the FADP
including the performance of a contract between us and the Data Subject,
reasons of public interest, to establish, exercise or defend legal claims or to
protect the vital interests of the Data Subject where the Data Subject is
physically or legally incapable of giving Consent and, in some limited cases, for
our legitimate interest. Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 10
15. Data Subject's rights and requests
Data Subjects have rights when it comes to how we handle their Personal Data. These
include rights to:
(a) withdraw Consent to Processing at any time;
(b) receive certain information about the Controller's Processing activities;
(c) request access to their Personal Data that we hold;
(d) prevent our use of their Personal Data for direct marketing purposes;
(e) ask us to erase Personal Data if it is no longer necessary in relation to the
purposes for which it was collected or Processed or to rectify inaccurate data
or to complete incomplete data;
(f) restrict Processing in specific circumstances;
(g) challenge Processing which has been justified on the basis of our legitimate
interests or in the public interest;
(h) request a copy of an agreement under which Personal Data is transferred
outside of the EU;
(i) object to decisions based solely on Automated Processing, including profiling
(ADM);
(j) prevent Processing that is likely to cause damage or distress to the Data
Subject or anyone else;
(k) be notified of a Personal Data Breach which is likely to result in high risk to their
rights and freedoms;
(l) make a complaint to the supervisory authority;
(m) in limited circumstances, receive or ask for their Personal Data to be transferred
to a third party in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format;
and
You must verify the identity of an individual requesting data under any of the
rights listed above (do not allow third parties to persuade you into disclosing
Personal Data without proper authorisation).
16. Accountability
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures in an effective
manner, to ensure compliance with data protection principles. We are also responsible
for, and must be able to demonstrate, compliance with the data protection principles.
The Company must have adequate resources and controls in place to ensure and to
document FADP compliance including: Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 11
(a) implementing Privacy by Design when Processing Personal Data and
completing DPIAs where Processing presents a high risk to rights and
freedoms of Data Subjects;
(b) integrating data protection into internal documents including this Data
Protection Policy, Related Policies, or Privacy Notices;
(c) regularly training Company Personnel on the FADP, this Data Protection Policy,
Related Policies and data protection matters including, for example, Data
Subject's rights, Consent, legal basis, DPIA and Personal Data Breaches. We
maintain a record of training attendance by Company Personnel; and
(d) regularly testing the privacy measures implemented and conducting periodic
reviews and audits to assess compliance, including using results of testing to
demonstrate compliance improvement effort.
17. Record keeping
The FADP requires us to keep full and accurate records of all our data Processing
activities.
You must keep and maintain accurate corporate records reflecting our
Processing including records of Data Subjects' Consents and procedures for
obtaining Consents.
These records should include, at a minimum, the name and contact details of the
Controller, clear descriptions of the Personal Data types, Data Subject types,
Processing activities, Processing purposes, third-party recipients of the Personal
Data, Personal Data storage locations, Personal Data transfers, the Personal
Data's retention period and a description of the security measures in place. To
create the records, data maps should be created which should include the detail
set out above together with appropriate data flows.
18. Training and audit
We are required to ensure all Company Personnel have undergone adequate
training to enable them to comply with data privacy laws. We must also regularly
test our systems and processes to assess compliance.
You must regularly review all the systems and processes under your control to
ensure they comply with this Policy and check that adequate governance controls
and resources are in place to ensure proper use and protection of Personal Data.
19. Privacy by Design and Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)
We are required to implement Privacy by Design measures when Processing
Personal Data by implementing appropriate technical and organisational
measures (like Pseudonymisation) in an effective manner, to ensure compliance
with data privacy principles. Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 12
You must assess what Privacy by Design measures can be implemented on all
programmes, systems or processes that Process Personal Data by considering
the following:
(a) the state of the art;
(b) the cost of implementation;
(c) the nature, scope, context and purposes of Processing; and
(d) the risks of varying likelihood and severity for rights and freedoms of Data
Subjects posed by the Processing.
You should conduct a DPIA when implementing major system or business
change programs involving the Processing of Personal Data including:
(a) use of new technologies (programs, systems or processes), or changing
technologies (programs, systems or processes);
(b) Automated Processing including profiling and ADM;
(c) large-scale Processing of Special Categories of Personal Data or Criminal
Convictions Data; and
(d) large-scale, systematic monitoring of a publicly accessible area.
A DPIA must include:
(a) a description of the Processing, its purposes and the Controller's legitimate
interests if appropriate;
(b) an assessment of the necessity and proportionality of the Processing in relation
to its purpose;
(c) an assessment of the risk to individuals; and
(d) the risk mitigation measures in place and demonstration of compliance.
20. Automated Processing (including profiling) and Automated DecisionMaking
Generally, ADM is prohibited when a decision has a legal or similar significant effect
on an individual unless:
(a) a Data Subject has Explicitly Consented;
(b) the Processing is authorised by law; or
(c) the Processing is necessary for the performance of or entering into a contract.
If certain types of Special Categories of Personal Data or Criminal Convictions
Data are being processed, then grounds (b) or (c) will not be allowed, but the
Special Categories of Personal Data and Criminal Convictions Data can be Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 13
Processed where it is necessary (unless less intrusive means can be used) for
substantial public interest like fraud prevention.
If a decision is to be based solely on Automated Processing (including profiling),
then Data Subjects must be informed when you first communicate with them of
their right to object. This right must be explicitly brought to their attention and
presented clearly and separately from other information. Further, suitable
measures must be put in place to safeguard the Data Subject's rights and
freedoms and legitimate interests.
We must also inform the Data Subject of the logic involved in the decision making
or profiling, the significance and envisaged consequences and give the Data
Subject the right to request human intervention, express their point of view or
challenge the decision.
A DPIA must be carried out before any Automated Processing (including
profiling), or ADM activities are undertaken.
21. Direct marketing
We are subject to certain rules and privacy laws when marketing to our
customers.
For example, a Data Subject's prior consent is required for electronic direct
marketing (for example, by email, text or automated calls). The limited exception
for existing customers known as "soft opt-in" allows organisations to send
marketing texts or emails if they have obtained contact details in the course of a
sale to that person, they are marketing similar products or services, and they
gave the person an opportunity to opt out of marketing when first collecting the
details and in every subsequent message.
The right to object to direct marketing must be explicitly offered to the Data
Subject in an intelligible manner so that it is clearly distinguishable from other
information.
A Data Subject's objection to direct marketing must be promptly honoured. If a
customer opts out at any time, their details must be suppressed as soon as
possible. Suppression involves retaining just enough information to ensure that
marketing preferences are respected in the future.
22. Sharing Personal Data
Generally, we are not allowed to share Personal Data with third parties unless
certain safeguards and contractual arrangements have been put in place.
You may only share the Personal Data we hold with another employee, agent or
representative of our group (which includes our subsidiaries and our ultimate
holding company along with its subsidiaries) if the recipient has a job-related
need to know the information.
You may only share the Personal Data we hold with third parties, such as our service
providers, if: Elize Partners AG – Data Protection and Privacy Policy 14
(a) they have a need to know the information for the purposes of providing the
contracted services;
(b) sharing the Personal Data complies with the Privacy Notice provided to the
Data Subject and, if required, the Data Subject's Consent has been obtained;
(c) the third party has agreed to comply with the required data security standards,
policies and procedures and put adequate security measures in place;
(d) the transfer complies with any applicable cross-border transfer restrictions; and
(e) a fully executed written contract that contains FADP-approved third party
clauses has been obtained.
23. Review of this Data Protection Policy
We will review this policy and its procedures annually to ensure we are in compliance
with relevant new or amended laws, regulations or guidance. Additionally, we will
regularly monitor compliance with this policy, including by carrying out audits.