Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy applies to the website www.hecukhouse.co.uk, operated by HEC Alumni UK on behalf of HEC Alumni. HEC Alumni is a French non-profit association (association loi 1901) whose registered office is located at 9 avenue Franklin Roosevelt, 75008 Paris, France.

The HEC UK House is located at 43 Parker Street, London, WC2B 5PS, UK. The premises are leased and operated by HEC Alumni as part of its charitable mission: all activities carried out at the HEC UK House are conducted on a not-for-profit basis and serve a purpose of general interest, supporting the professional development, networking, and community of HEC graduates and the wider community in the United Kingdom.

As a non-profit organisation, we are committed to protecting your privacy and handling any information about you responsibly and transparently, in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This Website is an informational website. We do not collect, store, or process personal data through the Website itself. This policy explains what limited information may be processed as a result of visiting our site and how we handle any contact made via email.

2. What Information We Collect

2.1 Information We Do Not Collect

This Website does not:

• Require you to create an account or register
• Collect any personal data through forms on the Website
• Use tracking cookies or analytics tools that identify individuals
• Process payment information
• Use third-party advertising or marketing trackers

2.2 Information Collected Automatically (Server Logs)

When you visit our Website, our web host (Kinsta) may automatically collect standard technical data as part of normal server operations. This may include:

• Your IP address (anonymised where possible)
• Browser type and version
• Pages visited and date/time of your visit
• Referring website

This data is collected solely for the purposes of maintaining website security and performance. It is not used to identify individuals and is not shared with third parties for marketing purposes. For more information, please refer to Kinsta’s Privacy Policy: https://kinsta.com/legal/privacy-policy/

2.3 Information You Provide by Email

If you contact us via our email address (ukhouse@hecalumni.fr), we will receive the personal data you include in your message, such as your name and email address. This information is used solely to respond to your enquiry and is not stored in any database or CRM beyond our standard email system.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

Where any personal data is processed (for example, when you contact us by email), we rely on the following legal bases under the UK GDPR:

• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): responding to enquiries and managing the security of our Website is in our legitimate interests and does not override your rights and freedoms.
• Contract (Article 6(1)(b)): where you request a quote or booking, processing your details is necessary to take steps prior to entering into a contract.

4. Cookies

Our Website uses only essential technical cookies necessary for the website to function. We do not use analytical, marketing or profiling cookies.

Essential cookies may be set by our hosting provider (Kinsta) or the website platform (WordPress) to ensure the website operates correctly. These cookies do not track you across other websites and do not collect personal data for marketing purposes.

By continuing to use our Website, you consent to the use of these essential cookies. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect the functionality of the Website.

5. Third-Party Services and Links

Our Website is hosted by Kinsta and built on WordPress. These services may process technical data as described in their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review:

• Kinsta Privacy Policy
• WordPress.org Privacy Policy

Our Website contains links to third-party websites, including hecalumni.fr. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to read their privacy policies.

6. Data Retention

We do not maintain databases of personal data collected through this Website. Any email correspondence is retained only as long as necessary to manage your enquiry, and in accordance with our standard email retention practices.

7. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights:

• Right of access: you may request a copy of any personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: you may request that inaccurate data is corrected.
• Right to erasure: you may request that we delete personal data where there is no compelling reason for us to continue processing it.
• Right to restrict processing: you may ask us to limit how we use your data.
• Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Right to data portability: where applicable, you may request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at ukhouse@hecalumni.fr. We will respond within one month of receiving your request.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

• Website: https://ico.org.uk
• Helpline: 0303 123 1113

8. International Data Transfers

HEC Alumni is a French association. Any email correspondence sent to ukhouse@hecalumni.fr may be stored on servers located in the European Economic Area (EEA). The UK and EEA maintain mutual adequacy arrangements that ensure personal data transferred between them is subject to equivalent protections.

9. Children’s Privacy

This Website is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated date at the top. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

11. Contact Us

Email: ukhouse@hecalumni.fr
Website: www.hecukhouse.co.uk