During the referral process, you will be processing the personal data of your clients. You are responsible for the correct handling of this data as set out in the Data Protection Act (2018).

This declaration is for any individual submitting a referral on behalf of an applicant, such as a teacher, careers adviser, support worker, job coach or parent. It is important that you read this declaration carefully so that you are happy you understand its content.

We will ask you to confirm your agreement by ticking a box in the Consent section of your referral. By ticking this box, we will consider that you accept the terms of the declaration set out below and the use of the Skills Training Network website and privacy policy; we cannot process your referral unless you do so.

a. How we verify the information you provide

If we, or a training provider, have any reason to believe that you have:

• left out any relevant information, including your contact details or any important information about your client that is needed to process your referral
• given false or misleading information

We may take any necessary steps to check with you and other parties whether the information you have provided is accurate or complete.

We have the right to cancel your referral if we determine (having carried out any necessary checks), or have reasonable belief, that your referral contains false information.

If you have any reason to believe that information we hold about you is not true, complete and accurate, you must tell us.

b. How many places can you have?

If you make a referral to more than one training programme, your client may secure more than one confirmed place. If this happens, we, and the course providers, will ask your client to accept one and withdraw from any others.

You can make referrals to as many programmes as you like, but your client can only be enrolled on one programme. 

c. Your contract

Your referral is a contract between you and us, and when your client accepts an offer from a course provider, there will be a separate contract between them and the course provider. No one else can enforce any part of these respective contracts under the terms of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or any other legislation.

d. If we make a mistake

We try to process referrals efficiently and accurately. However, we are not responsible for any mistakes or delays, or any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of any mistakes or delays, which are due to the acts or omissions of course providers or which are otherwise outside of our reasonable control.

e. What you can expect after making a referral

When you make a referral, the course provider will contact you and your client directly. It can sometimes take up to two weeks to receive a response from the course provider. In some cases, the provider may decide to only contact your client. When they contact you, they may require you to give further information about your client, such as their barriers to employment, work experience or date of birth. The course provider should also provide you with or make available to you relevant information about course information, payment incentives, requirements and any other relevant information such as how enrolling on this programme might affect your client’s benefits. They should also inform you of your right to cancel your referral should you or your client change your mind. 

If you do not receive the required information, or you wish to make a complaint, or if you are not clear about anything relating to your referral and the information provided, you should contact the course provider directly to ask for further advice.

f. If the programme cannot be offered

If your client becomes a participant of a programme, under your contract with the course provider, they must do all they can to provide the employability services in accordance with the contract they have with your client. If the course provider is unable to provide these services for any reason, they should do all they can to keep the disruption to your client’s education to a minimum, for example, by offering your client a place on a suitable alternative course or providing assistance to help your client find a suitable alternative place elsewhere.

g. Cancelling your referral

You have the right to cancel your whole referral. If you let us know within 14 days of the date on our official welcome email to you, we will inform the course provider of your withdrawal. 

To do this, please contact hello@skillstrainingnetwork.org. 

h. How we may use your personal information

When you agree to this declaration, by ticking a box to submit your referral, you will be confirming that you understand and agree to how your and your client’s personal information will be used, as explained in these terms and our privacy policy.

We limit access to the personal information contained within your referral to course providers, certain organisations who have statutory or regulatory responsibilities and to trusted, non-commercial organisations to enable research about the employability sector.

When you submit a referral, Skills Training Network Ltd may use your and your client’s personal information for the following purposes:

Managing your referral to a training programme

• We share all the personal information in your referral with the course providers that you have referred to, so that they can consider and process your referral.

Reporting to organisations with responsibilities for employability

• Personal information may be provided to organisations that have either statutory or regulatory responsibilities for ensuring the effective operation of the employability sector or monitoring the effectiveness of government policies for employability. We will only supply personal information that identifies you for these purposes if the provision of statistical analysis is not suitable, the disclosure will not have a direct impact on your referral and the uses of personal information provided are agreed under contractual terms.

Providing and enabling analysis and research about the employability sector

• We will retain a copy of your referral and use it, sometimes in combination with other information we hold for the purpose of producing statistical analysis and research into our application and referral processes. Any statistical analysis reports published will not allow any individual to be identified.

Other uses of personal information

• Prevention and detection of crime – to prevent and detect crimes of any nature, we may share personal information we hold with relevant bodies, such as government departments, local authorities, the NHS and law enforcement agencies
• Surveys – we may send you surveys to ask for your opinions or to inform you about the development of Skills Training Network’s services. Your responses will not be disclosed by Skills Training Network Ltd to anyone else in a manner that identifies you.

Further information

Please see our privacy policy for a more detailed explanation about our uses of personal information, including the following:

• Our uses of personal information considered sensitive under Data Protection legislation, such as ethnicity and disabilities
• Your rights in respect of your personal information, such as how to access a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• How to manage your privacy and restrict uses of your personal information.
• Our legal basis for using your personal information.
• How long we retain your personal information.
• Who to contact if you have a concern or question about our uses of personal information.

Consent

Before submitting a referral on behalf of someone else, an agent must:

• have all necessary authority to complete and submit a referral on behalf of the applicant
• ensure the applicant has sufficient time to read and understand the applicant declaration, our website terms and conditions, and our privacy policy.

We have the right to cancel a referral if we determine (having carried out any necessary checks), or have reason to believe, that an agent has not fully complied with these requirements.