Privacy Policy

2. SCOPE

2.1 
This Policy applies to all data subjects (i.e. persons (whether a natural or juristic person) to which the personal information relates), and the personal information SKS processes and collects, whether it was provided to SKS through the use of its website, or through any other form of communications with SKS, such as email, telephone, or otherwise.

3. SKS AND ITS CONTACT DETAILS

3.1 
The responsible party/controller is SKS, a private company incorporated and registered in terms of the laws of the Republic of South Africa, with registration number 2019/312228/07. 
 

3.2 
SKS’ registered address is situated at 300 Acacia Road, Darrenwood, Randburg, Gauteng, 2194 and its principal place of business is situated at Unit 27, Block B, Willow Road Business Park, 141 – 145 Willow Road, Fairview, Port Elizabeth.

4. PERSONAL INFORMATION

4.1 
Personal Information/Data, in terms of The General Data Protection Regulation and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 collectively, refers to information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person and where it is applicable, an identifiable, existing juristic person. 
 

4.2 
Such information may include, but is not limited to: -
 

4.2.1 
a name, age and/or gender; 
 

4.2.2 
an identification or registration number;
 

4.2.3 
national and/or social origin;
 

4.2.4 
financial and/or economic information;
 

4.2.5 
any identifying number, symbol, e-mail address, physical address, telephone number, location information, online identifier or other particular assignment to the person;
 

4.2.6 
correspondence sent by the person that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature or further correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence; and
 

4.2.7 
the personal opinions, views or preferences of the person.

5. PROCESSING

5.1 
Processing, in terms of The General Data Protection Regulation and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 collectively, refers to any operation, activity or set of operations performed on personal information, whether or not by automatic means, which activity may include, but is not limited to: -
 

5.1.1 
collection, receipt, structuring, recording, organisation, collation, storage, updating or modification, adaptation, retrieval, alteration, consultation or use;
 

5.1.2 
disclosure or dissemination by means of transmission, distribution or making available in any other form; and
 

5.1.3 
merging, linking, restriction, degradation, erasure or destruction.
 

5.2 
Where SKS obtains consent to process the data subject’s personal data, Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR and section 11(1)(a) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, as amended, serves as the legal basis for data processing.
 

5.3 
Insofar as the data subject’s personal data is processed because processing is required to fulfil a contract or as part of a contract-like relationship with the data subject, Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR and section 11(1)(b) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, as amended, serves as the legal basis for data processing.
 

5.4 
Insofar as SKS processes the data subject’s personal data to fulfil a legal obligation, Article 6(1)(c) of the GDPR and section 11(1)(c) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, as amended, serves as the legal basis for data processing.
 

5.5 
As a legal basis for data processing, Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR and section 11(1)(f) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, as amended, is taken into further consideration if the processing of the data subject’s personal data is required to protect a legitimate interest of SKS or a third party and the data subject’s interests, basic rights and freedoms do not require personal data to be protected.

6. WEBSITE PROTECTION

6.1 
SKS’ website uses Transport Layer Security encryption for security reasons and for the protection of the transmission of confidential content, such as the inquiries data subject’s send to SKS as the site operator. 
 

6.2 
Data subjects can recognize an encrypted connection in their browser's address bar when it changes from "http://" to "https://" and the system-specific lock icon is displayed in your browser's address bar.

7. THE INFORMATION BEING COLLECTED, THE SOURCE FROM WHICH IT IS COLLECTED AND THE PURPOSE FOR ITS COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

7.1 
SKS collects the personal information from the data subject when it:
 

7.1.1 
voluntarily provides SKS with information;
 

7.1.2 
accesses or participates on SKS' website;
 

7.1.3 
registers on SKS' website;
 

7.1.4 
purchases or enquires about the products/services sold by SKS;
 

7.1.5 
makes general enquiries, lodges complaints, and communicates with SKS.
 

7.2 
Some information is collected by SKS when it is provided to SKS by the data subject. Other information is automatically collected when accessing SKS’ website by SKS’ IT Systems, which information generally takes the form of technical information such as the data subjects internet browser, operating system or the time of the data subject’s visit to the website.
 

7.3 
This data is collected to ensure the proper functioning of SKS’ website and may be used to analyse how data subjects make use of SKS’ website.

7.5 CONTACT FORM

7.4.1 
Some information is collected by SKS when it is provided to SKS by the data subject.
 

7.4.2 
Should a data subject send SKS an inquiry using the contact form on SKS’ website, the data subject’s information, as contained in the contact form, including the contact information the data subject provides therein, will be stored by SKS or in certain instances, SKS’ holding company or its subsidiaries, for the purpose of responding to the data subject’s inquiry and any follow-up questions which may arise by virtue of SKS’ response to the inquiry.
 

7.4.3 
SKS will not share the information provided by the data subject without the data subject’s consent.
 

7.4.4 
The data subject’s delivery of information to SKS is entirely voluntary and a failure to provide such information means SKS will be unable to address the data subject’s inquiry.
 

7.4.5 
The information contained in the contact form is processed exclusively based on your consent in terms of Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR and section 11(1)(a) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, which consent may be revoked at any time.
 

7.4.6 
A further legal basis for the processing of the data is SKS’ legitimate interest in responding to the data subject’s inquiry in accordance with Article 6 (1)(f) of the GDPR and section 11(1)(f) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, as amended.
 

7.4.7 
Should the data subject’s contact with SKS be aimed at concluding or entering into a contract, Article 6 (1)(b) of the GDPR and section 11(1)(b) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, as amended, is an additional legal basis for the processing of the data subject’s personal information.
 

7.4.8 
SKS will retain the information provided by the data subject on the contact form until such time as the data subject requests its deletion, revokes its consent in respect of its storage, or the purpose for its storage has been fulfilled.
 

7.4.9 
Any mandatory statutory provisions, in particular those regarding statutory information retention periods, remain unaffected by this provision.

7.5  REGISTRATION ON SKS’ WESBITE

7.5.1 
The data subject does not have to provide SKS with personal information in order to visit or access the freely available sections of its website.
 

7.5.2 
However, certain services on SKS' website are only accessible by data subject who have registered with SKS. Data subjects may elect to register on SKS' website to gain access to additional functions offered by SKS.
 

7.5.3 
SKS will require certain mandatory personal information from the data subject in order to complete the registration. The data subject’s registration information will only be used by SKS for the purpose of delivering the respective offer or service for which the data subject has have registered. 
 

7.5.4 
The mandatory information requested during registration must be provided in full, failing which SKS will reject the data subject’s registration.
 

7.5.5 
SKS will process the data subject’s registration information, such as the data subjects email address, to inform the data subject about important changes, which include but are not limited to changes in the scope of the offers made by SKS, or technically necessary changes.
 

7.5.6 
SKS will process the data provided during registration exclusively based on the data subject’s consent in terms of Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR and section 11(1)(a) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, which consent may be revoked at any time.
 

7.5.7 
The information collected by SKS during a data subject’s registration will be stored by SKS as long as the data subject is registered on SKS’ website.
 

7.5.8 
The data subject’s registration information will be subsequently deleted should the data subject cancel its registration with SKS. However, statutory retention periods remain unaffected.

7.6 COOKIES ANALYTICS AND THIRD-PARTY TOOLS

7.6.1 
When visiting SKS’ website, statistical analyses may be made data subject’s internet browsing behaviour.
 

7.6.2 
SKS utilises cookies and analytics to analyse the data subject’s internet browsing behaviour. The data collected through cookies and analytics is anonymous and SKS will be unable to identify you based on the data which is collected in this manner.
 

7.6.3 
Cookies are small text files that are stored on the data subject’s device and saved by the data subject’s browser.
 

7.6.4 
Cookies usually contain the name of the domain from which the cookie file was sent and information about the age of the cookie and an alphanumerical identifier. This enables SKS to identify the data subject’s device and make possible default settings available immediately.
 

7.6.5 
The majority of the cookies used by SKS are known as session cookies, which are automatically deleted at the end of the data subject’s visit to SKS’ website.
 

7.6.6 
SKS also uses cookies that are stored in the data subject’s device memory until such time as they are deleted. These cookies are used so the data subject’s default settings and preferences may be recognised during the data subject’s next visit to SKS’ website.
 

7.6.7 
Cookies assist SKS in improving the functionality of its website and provides the data subject with a more user-friendly service that is specific to the data subject’s needs. This information is also used to identify and remedy errors in order to make adjustments or improvements as well as to identify and track abuse.
 

7.6.8 
Cookies which are necessary to allow electronic communications or to provide certain functions that data subjects wish to use and are stored pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR and section 11(1)(f) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, as amended, as SKS has a legitimate interest in the storage of cookies to ensure an optimized service provided free of technical errors.
 

7.6.9 
Most web browsers are set up so that the data subject automatically accepts cookies. However, the data subject can deactivate cookie storage or set up its web browser so that it notifies the data as soon as cookies are sent. It is also possible to delete already stored cookies manually using the web browser settings.
 

7.6.10 
Data subjects may object to processing in this manner, or may prevent the processing entirely via their internet settings.
 

7.6.11 
However, SKS hereby provides notification that the data subject may only have access to a restricted version of SKS’ website, or not at all, if the data subject rejects the storage of cookies or deletes the necessary cookies.

8. REQUESTS FOR CONSENT TO PROCESS PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR PURPOSES OF DIRECT MARKETING BY ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

8.1 
Where SKS wishes to process the data subject’s personal information for the purpose of direct marketing by electronic communication it will in terms of section 69(2) of the Act provide the data subject with a request for written consent in a form similar to Form 4 of the Regulations Relating to the Protection of Personal Information, which form may be accessed at –
 

8.1.1 
https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/docs/20181214-gg42110-rg10897-gon1383-POPIregister.pdf 

9. TRANSFER OF INFORMATION TO A THIRD PARTY AND THE LEVEL OF PROTECTION AFFORDED TO THE INFORMATION BY SUCH THIRD PARTIES

9.1 
As a rule, the data subject’s information will be forwarded to the relevant department of SKS, where it will be further processed depending on the services the data subject requires.
 

9.2 
SKS is a subsidiary of SKS Welding Systems GmbH.
 

9.3 
Information collected by SKS may be transferred to its holding company, or any of the holding company’s subsidiaries for processing, but only to the extent necessary for the purposes stated in this Policy, or if the other acts as a service provider, or processor who is bound by SKS’ instructions.
 

9.4 
Using technical and organizational measures, SKS ensures compliance with data protection obligations and also commits its external service providers to such obligations.
 

9.5 
SKS’ holding company, as well as the holding company’s subsidiaries are also subject to, and bound by, the European General Data Protection Regulations, which effectively upholds the principles for reasonable processing. This ensures that, notwithstanding the possible transfer of the data subject’s information, the data subject’s privacy will always be protected.
 

9.6 
Service providers located in Germany process the data on SKS’ behalf. External service providers are carefully selected and regularly reviewed by SKS to ensure that your privacy is protected.
 

9.7 
The providers commissioned by SKS are obliged by SKS to treat the data subject’s data exclusively in accordance with applicable data protection law, be it the Protection of Personal Information Act, or the General Data Protection Regulations.
 

9.8 
The transfer of data to processors is based on Art. 28 para. 1 of the General Data Protection Regulations and section 72 of the Protection of Personal Information Act.

10. THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO AND THE RIGHT TO RECTIFY THE INFORMATION COLLECTED BY SKS

10.1 
SKS hereby provides notification that a data subject who may prove their identity has the right to request confirmation from SKS, free of charge, as to whether it holds personal information on that data subject.
 

10.2 
Should SKS hold personal information in respect of a data subject, SKS hereby notifies the data subject further that the data subject may request the record or a description of the personal information about the data subject held by SKS, including information about the identity of all third parties, or categories of third parties, who have, or have had, access to the information.
 

10.3 
Should a data subject require the direct transfer of personal information to another responsible party/controller, SKS will only do so where such transfer is technically feasible and does not carry with it an excessive expense.
 

10.4 
In response to any requests for records or descriptions of personal information about the data subject, SKS undertakes to deliver its response within a reasonable time and in a manner and form which is understandable.
 

10.5 
Should personal information be disclosed to the data subject in response to any requests as aforesaid, the data subject is hereby notified of its right to request correction or deletion of the personal information, in line with section 24 of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, as amended.

11. RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

11.1 
SKS hereby provides notification that data subjects may, in terms of section 11(3)(a) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, object, at any time, to the processing of personal information, where SKS processes personal information: -
 

11.1.1 
In order to protect a legitimate interest of the data subject;
 

11.1.2 
Where processing is necessary for the proper performance of public law duty by a public body; and
 

11.1.3 
Where processing is necessary for pursuing the legitimate interests of the responsible party, or of a third party to whom the information is supplied.
 

11.2 
In terms of the Regulations Relating to the Protection of Personal Information: -
 

11.2.1 
A data subject who wishes to object to the processing of personal information, in terms of section 11(3)(a) of the Protection of Information Act, must submit the objection to the responsible party in a form similar to form 1
 

11.2.2 
The Form 1 document may be accessed at https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/docs/20181214-gg42110-rg10897-gon1383-POPIregister.pdf.