Privacy Policy

CivilServiceCareers.org

Privacy, Cookies, Terms and Refunds

How we operate the website, use information, manage memberships and protect our content.

This page brings together the privacy notice, cookie information, website terms of use, membership terms, cancellation and refund policy, copyright rules and important disclaimers for CivilServiceCareers.org.

By using the website, submitting information or purchasing a membership, you agree to the relevant parts of these terms.

CivilServiceCareers.org is an independent career guidance website. It is not part of, operated by, endorsed by or formally affiliated with the UK Civil Service, any government department or GOV.UK.

About CivilServiceCareers.org

CivilServiceCareers.org is the business and website name used by the operator of this website.

In this policy:

• “we”, “us” and “our” mean the operator of CivilServiceCareers.org;
• “the website” means CivilServiceCareers.org and its content;
• “you” and “user” mean anyone who visits, uses or purchases access to the website;
• “member content” means content that requires an active paid membership to access.

The operator of CivilServiceCareers.org decides how personal information collected through the website is used and is the data controller for that information.

Questions about this policy, personal information, membership access, cancellation or refunds can be sent to:

Business correspondence is handled electronically. Where a postal correspondence address is legally required for a particular request or transaction, contact us by email and the relevant address will be provided.

What this page covers

This page applies when you:

• browse the website;
• read free or member-only guidance;
• purchase monthly or annual membership;
• receive emails connected with the website;
• leave a comment;
• submit a question for possible publication;
• send a CV, personal statement, application answer or other document for review;
• contact us about access, support, privacy or another matter.

Information collected through the website

We do not ask visitors to provide personal information merely to read public pages. However, information may be collected automatically by WordPress, our hosting and security systems, Google Analytics, Kit and other services needed to operate the website.

Website and technical information

When you visit the website, technical systems may process information such as:

• your IP address;
• the date and time of your visit;
• the pages you viewed;
• the page or website that referred you;
• your approximate location, such as country, region or city;
• your browser, device and operating system;
• screen size and language settings;
• login, session and membership status;
• security events, failed login attempts and suspected misuse;
• website performance and error information.

This information may be collected in server logs, security logs, cookies or analytics reports.

Membership and payment information

Membership and related emails are managed through Kit. When you subscribe, Kit and its payment providers may process information such as:

• your name;
• your email address;
• the membership option purchased;
• the amount and date of payment;
• subscription status;
• renewal and cancellation information;
• payment confirmation and transaction references;
• billing information required by the payment provider.

Full payment card details are handled by Kit and its payment service providers. CivilServiceCareers.org does not normally receive or store your full card number or card security code.

Emails and enquiries

If you contact us, join an email list, purchase access or request support, we may process:

• your name and email address;
• the content of your message;
• previous correspondence;
• membership and payment details relevant to your enquiry;
• technical information needed to investigate an access problem;
• whether an email was delivered, opened or clicked, where Kit provides this information.

You can unsubscribe from optional marketing emails using the unsubscribe link included in those emails.

We may still send essential service messages relating to an active membership, payment, cancellation, security issue or request you have made.

Comments

If you leave a comment, WordPress may collect the information entered into the comment form together with your IP address, browser information and moderation data.

Your chosen display name and the content of an approved comment may be visible publicly. Do not include private information that you do not want published.

Questions submitted for publication

You may submit a career, application, interview or workplace question for possible response and publication on the website.

Questions may be edited for length, spelling, readability, anonymity and relevance before publication. Names, employers, departments, locations and other identifying information may be removed.

Do not submit information that identifies another person without their permission. Do not include security-classified information, commercially confidential information or details that could place you or another person at risk.

CVs, personal statements and other documents

You may choose to send a CV, personal statement, behaviour example, application answer or other document for review.

These documents may contain personal information about you, your employment, education, health, disability, workplace circumstances or other people.

Only send information that is necessary for the requested review. You should remove unnecessary details such as:

• home addresses;
• personal telephone numbers;
• National Insurance numbers;
• employee numbers;
• security clearance information;
• full names of colleagues;
• confidential employer information;
• medical records that are not necessary for the request.

Working copies of submitted documents and personal information are deleted promptly after the requested conversation or review has been completed.

Temporary or residual copies may remain for a limited period in email systems, security records or automated backups until those systems overwrite or securely remove them. We do not intentionally retain submitted application documents for unrelated purposes.

How we use personal information

We may use personal information to:

• provide and manage website access;
• create, maintain and administer memberships;
• process payments, renewals, cancellations and refunds;
• send purchase confirmations and essential service emails;
• respond to enquiries and support requests;
• review documents or questions voluntarily submitted to us;
• moderate and publish comments or submitted questions;
• protect the website, members and content from fraud, abuse and unauthorised access;
• diagnose technical problems;
• understand how the website is used;
• improve the structure, performance and content of the website;
• maintain accounting, legal and transaction records;
• establish, exercise or defend legal rights;
• comply with legal obligations.

Our lawful bases for using information

UK data protection law requires a lawful basis for the use of personal information. The basis depends on why the information is being used.

We do not use solely automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on users.

Sensitive information

We do not normally ask users to provide health information, political opinions, trade union information, religious beliefs, ethnic information or other legally protected categories of personal information.

However, users sometimes include health, disability or workplace information in a question, CV, personal statement or request for guidance.

Where you voluntarily provide such information, it will only be used as far as reasonably necessary to deal with your request. Do not send more information than is required.

Comments and published questions

Submitting a comment or question does not guarantee that it will be published.

We may refuse, edit, anonymise, close or remove a contribution where it:

• contains unnecessary personal information;
• identifies another person without a proper reason;
• is abusive, threatening, discriminatory or harassing;
• is defamatory or makes an unsupported allegation about an identifiable person;
• contains confidential or security-sensitive information;
• infringes copyright or another person’s rights;
• advertises or promotes an unrelated product or service;
• is misleading, unlawful, repetitive or irrelevant;
• creates a legal, privacy or safety risk.

By submitting material for publication, you confirm that you are entitled to submit it and grant CivilServiceCareers.org a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to edit, reproduce, publish, format and retain that material as part of the website.

You continue to own any copyright you hold in your original contribution.

You may ask us to remove or anonymise personal information contained in a published contribution. Whether the full contribution can be removed will depend on the circumstances, legal obligations and whether the information has already been incorporated into wider anonymous guidance.

Who receives personal information

We do not sell personal information.

Information may be processed by organisations that help operate the website, including:

• WordPress and website plugins, which provide website, comment and content-management functions;
• our hosting, backup, domain, security and performance providers;
• Kit, which manages memberships, subscriber information, email communications and related transactions;
• Kit’s payment service providers, which process payments and billing information;
• Google Analytics, which provides information about website use and performance;
• email and communication providers, where you contact us directly;
• professional advisers, regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or public authorities, where disclosure is legally required or reasonably necessary to protect legal rights.

Service providers are permitted to use information only in accordance with their contractual and legal responsibilities.

International transfers

Some service providers, including Kit and Google, may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, the provider or relevant parties are expected to use an appropriate legal mechanism, such as:

• a UK adequacy regulation;
• the UK International Data Transfer Agreement;
• the UK Addendum to approved contractual clauses;
• another safeguard permitted by UK data protection law.

You may contact us if you want further information about the safeguards relevant to a particular service.

Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small files or identifiers stored on a device when a website is used. Similar technologies include pixels, local storage and other tools that store information or recognise a browser or device.

Essential website cookies

WordPress, Kit, security services and membership functions may use essential cookies to:

• keep the website functioning;
• maintain login sessions;
• recognise membership access;
• protect forms and accounts from abuse;
• prevent fraud and unauthorised access;
• remember necessary website or security settings;
• process a transaction or service requested by the user.

Disabling essential cookies may prevent login, membership access, comments or other website functions from working correctly.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the website and to improve its content, structure and performance.

Analytics information may include:

• the number of website visits;
• pages viewed;
• time spent on pages;
• general user journeys through the website;
• device, browser and operating-system categories;
• approximate geographic information;
• referring websites or search engines;
• website speed, errors and exit pages.

Our purpose in using analytics is to produce statistical information about use of the website and make improvements. We do not use Google Analytics for making decisions with legal or similarly significant effects on individual visitors.

You can object to Google Analytics measurement by installing Google’s free Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. You can also restrict or delete cookies using your browser settings.

Email technologies

Emails sent through Kit may contain tracking technologies that report whether an email was delivered, opened or clicked.

This information may be used to assess whether communications are useful, manage inactive subscribers and improve future emails.

You can unsubscribe from optional emails using the link provided in the email.

Embedded and third-party content

Some pages may contain content, forms or features supplied by another website. Those services may use their own cookies or collect technical information when the feature is loaded or used.

The relevant provider’s own privacy and cookie information will apply to its processing.

We do not currently operate personalised advertising or an affiliate-link programme on CivilServiceCareers.org.

How long information is kept

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for any legal, accounting, security or dispute-related requirement.

Retention is determined using factors including:

• whether a membership remains active;
• whether the information is needed to provide access or support;
• whether a payment, refund or dispute remains unresolved;
• tax and accounting record requirements;
• the risk of fraud, abuse or legal claims;
• whether consent has been withdrawn;
• whether the information has been published;
• the retention settings of the service provider involved.

Typical treatment includes:

• Submitted CVs and application documents: working copies are deleted promptly when the requested review or conversation is complete.
• Membership and transaction information: retained while needed to administer access and afterwards where required for legal, tax, accounting, refund or dispute purposes.
• Optional email subscription information: retained until you unsubscribe or the list is cleaned, with a limited suppression record retained where necessary to respect your opt-out.
• Support correspondence: retained until the issue has been resolved and for a reasonable period where follow-up, security or legal evidence may be needed.
• Comments and published questions: may remain while the relevant page or discussion remains available, subject to moderation and data-protection rights.
• Security logs: retained for a limited period appropriate to fraud prevention, website security and investigation.
• Analytics information: retained according to the configured Google Analytics retention period and only for as long as reasonably necessary for analysis and improvement.

Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and lawful basis involved, you may have the right to:

• ask whether we hold personal information about you;
• request a copy of your personal information;
• ask for inaccurate information to be corrected;
• ask for information to be deleted;
• ask for use of information to be restricted;
• object to particular uses of your information;
• receive certain information in a portable format;
• withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis;
• complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

To exercise a right, email [email protected].

We may need to ask for enough information to confirm your identity and locate the relevant records. We will not ask for more identification than is reasonably necessary.

Some rights are subject to legal exceptions. For example, information may need to be retained to comply with a legal obligation, deal with a transaction or defend a legal claim.

Complaining about the use of personal information

Please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to investigate and resolve your concern.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

You can find information about making a complaint on the Information Commissioner’s Office website.

CivilServiceCareers.org membership

CivilServiceCareers.org offers monthly and annual paid membership options.

Membership provides access to the member-only content available across the website during the active membership period. It is full-site member access rather than a separate purchase of each individual article.

The current price, billing period and features of each membership option are displayed before purchase.

Recurring payments

Monthly and annual memberships are recurring subscriptions.

Unless cancelled, the membership renews automatically at the end of each billing period using the payment method connected with the subscription.

A monthly membership is normally charged each month. An annual membership is normally charged once each year.

The checkout information and purchase confirmation form part of your membership agreement and should be checked before payment.

Cancelling membership

You can cancel a recurring membership using the subscription-management or cancellation link included in relevant emails sent by Kit.

You can also request cancellation by emailing [email protected] from the email address connected with the membership.

Cancellation stops future renewal payments. Unless otherwise stated or legally required, membership access continues until the end of the billing period that has already been paid for.

Deleting an email, no longer using the website or failing to log in does not automatically cancel a recurring subscription.

You should cancel before the next renewal date if you do not want the next payment to be taken.

Membership access

Membership is personal to the purchaser. Login details and member access must not be shared with another person or organisation.

We may suspend or restrict access where:

• a payment fails or is reversed;
• the subscription expires or is cancelled;
• an account appears to be shared;
• there is suspected fraud or unauthorised access;
• a user attempts to copy, scrape or redistribute protected content;
• a user materially breaches these terms.

Where reasonably possible, we will give the member an opportunity to resolve an access or payment issue before permanent action is taken.

Changes to member content

The website is updated over time. Articles may be added, corrected, expanded, combined, replaced or removed.

Membership provides access to the member content made available during the active membership period. It does not transfer ownership of the content or guarantee that every individual page will remain unchanged or available permanently.

Cancellation and refunds

Digital membership and member content

Membership gives immediate access to digital content.

Except where the law requires otherwise, payments for digital access are non-refundable once access has been supplied.

By requesting immediate access at checkout, you may be asked to confirm that:

• you want the digital content or service to begin immediately; and
• you understand that your normal 14-day cancellation right may be lost once digital supply begins.

This does not remove statutory rights where digital content or a service is faulty, materially unavailable, not as described or otherwise does not meet the standards required by law.

A refund or other remedy may be considered where:

• you have been charged twice for the same membership period;
• a payment was taken after a properly completed cancellation;
• a technical fault attributable to us prevents meaningful access and cannot be resolved within a reasonable time;
• the law requires a refund, price reduction, repeat performance or another remedy.

Not using the membership, changing your mind after accessing the content, failing to cancel before renewal or not achieving a desired application or interview result does not automatically create a right to a refund.

Cancellation of a recurring subscription normally prevents future payments. It does not normally produce a partial refund for the remaining days of a billing period that has already started.

Refund enquiries should be sent to [email protected] with the email address used for purchase, the approximate payment date and an explanation of the issue.

Physical goods and other non-digital purchases

CivilServiceCareers.org currently focuses on digital guidance and membership access.

If physical goods are offered in the future, consumers purchasing online will receive the cancellation, return and refund rights required by applicable UK distance-selling and consumer-protection law.

Where the standard distance-selling rules apply, this will normally include the right to notify us of cancellation within 14 days after receiving the goods and a further period in which to return them.

Legal exceptions may apply to personalised goods, sealed items opened after delivery, perishable goods and other categories excluded by consumer law.

Nothing in this policy removes any consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Permitted use of the website

You may use the website and member content for your own personal career development, job applications, interview preparation and workplace understanding.

You may:

• read public and legitimately unlocked member content;
• take personal notes;
• use the guidance to create your own original application material;
• print a reasonable amount for your own personal use;
• share links to public pages.

You must not:

• share a member account or login details;
• allow another person to use your paid access;
• attempt to bypass or disable a content restriction;
• copy, republish or redistribute member content;
• resell, license or commercially exploit website content;
• copy large parts of the website into another website, course, book, database or service;
• use automated tools to scrape, harvest or systematically download content;
• use the content to build a competing product or service;
• use website content to train, fine-tune, evaluate or supply a generative artificial-intelligence model without written permission;
• include website content in a commercial AI dataset, retrieval system or knowledge base without written permission;
• introduce malware, malicious code or harmful automated requests;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to the website, server, accounts or data;
• impersonate another person;
• use the website for an unlawful, fraudulent or abusive purpose.

Normal indexing of public pages by legitimate search engines is permitted where it respects our technical instructions and does not expose member-only content.

Nothing in these terms prevents use that is expressly permitted by law and cannot lawfully be restricted.

Copyright and intellectual property

Unless otherwise stated, the original text, examples, explanations, layouts, downloads, branding and member materials on CivilServiceCareers.org are protected by copyright and other intellectual-property rights.

Purchasing membership does not transfer ownership of any content.

Members receive a limited, personal, non-exclusive and non-transferable right to access and use member content during an active membership for their own preparation.

All rights relating to text and data mining, automated extraction, machine learning and artificial-intelligence training are expressly reserved to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Requests to reproduce or license content should be sent to [email protected].

Career and recruitment disclaimer

The website provides general career, application, interview and workplace information.

It does not guarantee:

• that an application will pass a sift;
• that a candidate will be invited to interview;
• that a test score will improve;
• that a candidate will be offered a role or promotion;
• that a particular answer will receive a particular score;
• that every department or vacancy will use the same process.

Civil Service recruitment methods, Success Profiles, online tests, grade expectations, vacancy requirements and departmental processes can change.

You should always check:

• the relevant job advert;
• the application instructions;
• messages in your Civil Service Jobs account;
• the official information provided by the recruiting department;
• current GOV.UK guidance where applicable.

Example answers are learning tools. They should not be copied and presented as your own experience.

You remain responsible for ensuring that every application, personal statement, CV and interview answer is truthful and accurately represents your own work and experience.

Workplace guidance disclaimer

Workplace articles provide general information and practical guidance. They are not a substitute for advice based on the full facts of an individual case.

CivilServiceCareers.org does not provide legal, medical, financial, psychological or trade-union advice.

Before making an important decision about a grievance, disciplinary process, sickness absence, occupational health, discrimination, dismissal, resignation, settlement, pension or employment claim, consider obtaining advice from an appropriate professional, recognised trade union, ACAS, solicitor, medical professional or other suitable organisation.

Accuracy and availability

We aim to provide useful, detailed and accurate information. However, content may contain an error, become outdated or require correction.

We may update or remove content without notice where this is necessary to correct an issue, reflect a changed process, improve the website or protect legal rights.

We do not guarantee that:

• the website will always be available without interruption;
• every browser, device or accessibility tool will work perfectly;
• all member content will remain unchanged;
• every technical fault will be resolved immediately;
• external websites linked from our pages will remain available or accurate.

Planned maintenance, security work, hosting faults, internet failures and circumstances outside our reasonable control may temporarily affect access.

Liability

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful. This includes rights and remedies that consumers cannot legally waive.

Subject to those protections, CivilServiceCareers.org is not responsible for:

• a recruitment, promotion, assessment or workplace decision made by another organisation;
• a user submitting inaccurate or misleading information;
• loss caused by relying on outdated information where current official instructions were available;
• the conduct, availability or content of an external website;
• loss arising from unauthorised account sharing or failure to protect login details;
• indirect or unforeseeable losses that were not reasonably foreseeable when the relevant contract was made.

You are responsible for deciding whether guidance is appropriate to your circumstances and for obtaining professional advice where needed.

External links

The website may link to GOV.UK, Civil Service Jobs, government departments, professional organisations or other third-party websites.

Links are provided for convenience and additional information. We do not control third-party websites and are not responsible for their content, availability, security, privacy practices or subsequent changes.

A link does not necessarily mean that CivilServiceCareers.org endorses the organisation, product, service or every statement on the linked page.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the website and information against unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, loss and disclosure.

No online system can be guaranteed completely secure. Users should:

• use a secure email account;
• protect membership and email login details;
• avoid sharing passwords;
• remove unnecessary personal information from submitted documents;
• contact us promptly if they believe an account has been compromised.

Changes to this page

This page may be updated when:

• the website introduces or removes a service;
• a provider or membership process changes;
• the law or official guidance changes;
• we identify information that requires clarification;
• we change how information is used.

Where a change materially affects an active paid subscription or the way personal information is used, we may provide additional notice by email, through the website or through the relevant service provider where appropriate.

Governing law

These terms and any dispute relating to CivilServiceCareers.org are governed by the law of England and Wales.

The courts of England and Wales will have jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory right a consumer has to bring a claim in another part of the United Kingdom or in their country of residence.

Contact CivilServiceCareers.org

Contact us about:

• personal information or privacy rights;
• membership access;
• subscription cancellation;
• duplicate or incorrect payments;
• refund requests;
• copyright and licensing;
• removal or anonymisation of a published submission;
• an error in this policy.