Business Licensing sits in the Business Hub team within Employment, Social Security and Housing (ESSH).
ESSH is registered with the Office of the Information Commissioner as a Processor.
The Business Hub team is responsible for administering Business Licensing under the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012. The team administers the Law under delegated powers on behalf of the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister is the Controller for this information. ESSH is the Processor on behalf of the Chief Minister.
The Data Protection Law requires us to have a privacy policy which tells you how we process your information. This is the privacy policy for Business Licensing
Personal information is anything that can identify you as an individual, either on its own or by reference to other information.
We are serious about looking after your personal information and protecting your privacy because we want you to have trust and confidence in us and the work we do.
We'd like to explain how we look after your personal information and protect your privacy.
There are rules about what personal information we process. When we say "process" we mean how we collect, record, hold, use, share and ultimately dispose of your information.
You have rights relating to your personal information. Your rights here in Jersey are explained in the
Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018. They are also described below.
All personal data processing we undertake is carried out under the requirements of the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.
Most of the information we process within Business Licensing is not classed as personal information under the Data Protection Law. However, if you are a sole trader then the information we process relating to you is personal information and the Data Protection Law applies. This privacy policy relates to personal information.
All Business Licence records are held in electronic format on our secure systems.
Why we process your personal information
We process your information to provide a public service and meet our statutory obligations under the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012.
This includes processing your application for a business licence. When we process your application, we will check your residential and or employment status. This information is held by another team within ESSH.
Relevant information about you may be sought from, and disclosed to, relevant Government Departments, regulatory bodies and organisations we work in partnership with e.g., Jersey Business. We may use the email address provided by you as part of this application to send you Government of Jersey Business information (including surveys) that may be relevant or of interest to you.
The Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 allows us to make public, the identity of an undertaking, including its name and activity.
In addition, we process your information so that we can:
- provide manpower data to Statistics Jersey who have direct access to our system. They will not publish data which can identify you.
- provide you with information that will be of relevance and use to you such as new or changed services
- make decisions which affect you
- respond effectively to your enquiries
- investigate complaints
Automated decision making
There is no automatic decision making.
Sharing your information
Business Licensing and Housing Control (which includes residential and employment status) are administered through the same database. This means the relevant teams can access each other's data and this is controlled through access permissions. The database is linked to the ESSH database. This means that as a business owner, changes to your name, Social Security number, address, date of birth, place of birth and residential and employment status are automatically updated between the systems.
Other types of information which may be shared
As a business owner your personal data maybe shared under the Tell Us Once initiative. Data shared between Government departments will include your Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Marital Status and Business Name.
We will share with Jersey Business the fact that you have a licence. Jersey Business support us in providing you with advice and guidance in running your business.
We will only share data if we have a legal basis to do so, or if we have your consent to do so.
We won't pass on your details to any marketing companies.
Legal basis for sharing
Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012
Article 25
Requirement for undertakings to have a licence
- A person shall not carry on an undertaking in Jersey unless there is in force such licence or licences as are appropriate for the operation of that undertaking.
Article 38
Register
- The Minister shall keep a register of undertakings in respect of which any licence under this Part has been granted and any person may inspect the register during normal business hours free of charge or take a copy of any part of the register subject to payment of any prescribed fee.
The Business Licensing team make limited business licensing information available to the public on request.
Personal data is processed in accordance with the following processing conditions:
Schedule 2, Article 9, Part 1 – Conditions for processing personal data, Paragraph 4(b) - Public Functions: The processing is necessary for the exercise of any functions conferred on any person by or under any enactment.
How we use information
Sometimes we may use your personal information to:
- send you information relevant to running a business
- respond to Freedom of Information Requests
- enable the maintenance and upgrade of our computer systems by external suppliers
When this occurs, we make every effort to protect your personal information and where possible ensure that the data does not directly identify you.
Types of personal information we process
Information about you that we may process includes:
- your name
- your contact details such as telephone, address or email
- the employee permissions held on your business licence
- records of visits or contacts you've had with us
Where we get your personal information from
We get your personal information from:
- your application when you apply for a business license
- when you speak to us on the phone, face to face or communicate with us by email
- information you provide to us by using our website
- other areas of Government for example Housing Control (ESSH Service Hub) with regard to your residential status
Emails
We may use email to communicate with you in relation to the services we provide or information which may be of interest to you in running your business. For security reasons we will keep any personal information to a minimum in any email we send to you.
If you email us, we may keep a copy of the email as part of your record.
We suggest that you keep the amount of confidential information you send to us via email to a minimum.
We will not share your email address, or your email contents unless it is:
- to provide a service to you
- comply with a legal obligation
- permitted under other legislation
- permitted because you have given your consent
How your information is protected
Protecting your privacy and looking after your personal information is important to us. We work hard to make sure that we have the right policies, training and processes in place to protect our information systems from loss, corruption or misuse.
We take every reasonable step to make sure that we keep your personal information safe in line with best practice, the Data Protection Law and any other relevant Laws.
Our staff:
- have a legal duty to keep your information confidential
- receive annual training in Data Protection
We hold your personal information according to our
retention schedule.
Transferring your information to other countries
There is no requirement to transfer any of your information to countries outside of the European Economic Area.
Telephone calls
Calls to or from our office may be recorded for monitoring and training purposes.
If you leave a message on our voicemail systems, your message will be kept until we are able to return your call or make a note of your message. File notes of when and why you called may be taken for record keeping purposes. We will not pass on the content of your telephone calls, unless is it necessary for us to do so; either to fulfil your request for a service; to comply with a legal obligation, or where permitted under other legislation.
Your rights regarding the personal information we hold about you
Under the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 you have certain rights relating to the information we process about you. These rights are to:
- be told and understand what your information is being used for
- access your record and receive it in an easy to use format
- ask us to make amendments to information we hold about you which is incorrect. We may ask you to provide evidence of information that needs to be changed
- withdraw any consent you may have previously given us
- object to us processing your information. If you do object, then we can only stop processing your information if the Law allows us to
If you want to find out more about your rights or make a complaint about how your information is being handled, contact the Government of Jersey Data Protection Officer using the contact information below.
If you are not satisfied with our response you can contact the Office of the Jersey Information Commissioner.
Access to your record
Information we hold about you can be accessed by:
- you
- staff carrying out their duties
Your personal details will only be given to a third party with your consent, or when the law requires it.
On rare occasions there may be legal restrictions which mean staff may not be able to share some information with you.
You can ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you
You are legally entitled to request a copy of any information that we hold about you. You can
submit a subject access request (SAR) using our online form.
Complaints
If you have an enquiry or concern regarding the Government of Jersey processing your personal data, you can:
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner about the way your information is being used by:
gov.je