Terms and Conditions
Terms of Business
These terms apply to all sales of AQR products and services, unless we agree otherwise in writing. Please read these terms carefully before placing your order. AQR Active Quality Recruitment Ltd t/a AQR International (AQRI) Registered Office at The Meadows, Church Road, Dodleston , Chester CH4 9NG, UK. Email: headoffice@aqr.co.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 1244 572050, www.aqrinternational.co.uk , Company Reg. No. 3392161, VAT No. 691 733903 Content:
- Definitions and Interpretation
- Basis of contract
- Client’s Obligations
- Liability
- Intellectual Property
- Confidentiality
- Data Protection
- Termination
- General
Definitions and Interpretation
Assessment – any of the questionnaires or tests made available by the Company or the Client to a Candidate further to this Contract, including Restricted Products; Assessment Data – any data relating to the Candidate (including Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data) collected through the Candidate’s use of the Products or Assessments which is not Research Data; Candidate – any respondent to any Assessment; The Client – the person(s), firm or company who purchases the Products and/or Services from the Company or is otherwise given access to the Company’s Products and/or Services; The Company – Active Quality Recruitment Ltd registered in England under company number 3392161; Conditions – these terms and conditions of supply of goods and services; Contract – any contract entered into between the Company and the Client further to an Order for the sale and purchase of the Products and/or Services, incorporating these Conditions; Data Protection Laws – The UK and EU GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act 2018; Delivery Point – the place where delivery of the Products and/or Services is to take place under condition 5; Distributor – a Client that acts as a distributor or reseller of Products or Services of the Company; Ethical Guidelines – the ethical guidelines displayed on the Website; Force Majeure any event affecting the performance by the Company of its obligations under the Contract arising from acts, events or omissions beyond its reasonable control, including: acts of God, governmental actions, war or national emergency, acts of terrorism, protests, riot, civil commotion, fire, explosion, flood, storm, earthquake, epidemic, lockouts, strikes or other labour disputes (whether or not relating to either party’s workforce), or restraints or delays affecting carriers or inability or delay in obtaining supplies of adequate or suitable materials; Identification Data any data relating to the Candidate collected during the Client’s use of the Products, or collected by the Company during the Client’s use of the Products used to identify a Candidate and may include the Candidate’s name, email address and other contact details; Intellectual Property Rights copyright, rights to inventions, related rights, trademarks, service marks, trade, business, domain names, patents, rights in trade dress or get-up rights in goodwill or to sue for passing off, unfair competition rights, rights in designs, rights in computer software, algorithms, database right, topography rights, moral rights, rights in confidential information (including know how and trade secrets), and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications for and renewals or extension of such rights, and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection in any part of the world; Assessment Platform the online Assessment system for Active Quality Recruitment Ltd. Assessment products; Order a request or order for the supply of the Products and/or Services placed by the Client with the Company; Output any reports the Company produces and provides to the Client: (i) about Candidates; or (ii) further to any consultancy Services undertaken by the Company; Personal Data shall have the meaning ascribed to it in the EU & UK GDPR and UK Data Protection Act 2018 and includes Sensitive Personal Data; Privacy Policy the privacy policy displayed on the Website; Products any products or systems (including Restricted Products) supplied to the Client by the Company (including any part or parts of them); Licensed Trained User an identified user who is qualified by means of licensing to use the AQR Products and has undergone the relevant training and consultancy, and as such has been approved by, the Company in accordance with the Company’s licensing procedures; Research Data any optional biographical data, Personal Data, Sensitive Personal Data, and other data, including equality and diversity data such as gender, age and cultural background provided by the Candidate or Client; AQR Products any psychometric tests or materials (including: online assessments, question booklets, assessment data extracts and assessment reports) referred to in an Order which at the time of purchase are identified: in the current catalogue; in other sales literature; on the Website, in our training materials; or on the tests or materials themselves, as requiring trained users to administer and/or interpret them; Sensitive Personal Data shall have the meaning ascribed to it in the EU & UK GDPR and UK Data Protection Act 2018 Services any services provided to the Client pursuant to a Contract including without limitation: i) the provision of access to or links to Products; ii) and/or training courses to be supplied to the Client by the Company (including any part or parts of them); and/or iii) other services related to the Products; Taxes any sales, use, consumption, value added, withholding or similar tax whether chargeable in the United Kingdom or by a jurisdiction or taxing authority outside of the United Kingdom; Website www.aqrinternational.co.uk; Working Hour an hour during a day (other than a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday or other day we notify you of when AQR is generally closed for business) when banks in London are open for business. Headings will not affect the construction of these Conditions. Use of the words include, including, in particular, or any similar expression are illustrative and do not limit the sense of the words following those terms. The singular tense of a defined term also includes the plural.
- The additional terms and conditions set out in the appendices to these Conditions shall also apply according to the type of Service being provided to the Client.
- If there is any conflict or inconsistency between a term in the main part of these Conditions and a term in any of its appendices, the term in the main part of these Conditions shall take precedence, unless the appendix, or term contained in such appendix, is expressly stated to take precedence over the main part of these Conditions.
Basis of Contract
- Conditions
The Contract embodies the entire agreement between the Company and the Client in respect of the matters referred to in it and supersedes any previous agreements between the parties. If the Client places an Order, the Order shall only be deemed to be accepted when the Company issues written confirmation of the Order at which point and on which date, the Contract shall come into existence. If the Client requests the supply of Products or Services the Client will be deemed to have accepted these Conditions which shall be incorporated into the contract. These Conditions apply to the Contract to the exclusion of any other terms that the Client seeks to impose or incorporate, or which are implied by trade, custom, practice or course of dealing, except to the extent that such terms cannot be excluded in accordance with applicable law. Any quotation given by the Company shall not constitute an offer. Each Order by the Client from the Company shall be deemed to be an offer by the Client to purchase Products and/or Services subject to the Contract.
- Order Acceptance
Purchases of AQR Products and Services must be made by, or on behalf of, a Licensed User Trained organisation. Unless they are requesting Bureau Service – AQR managed assessment service. AQR Products and Services must be used in compliance with the Ethical Guidelines. The Ethical Guidelines are subject to change without prior notice. The Company reserves the right to refuse to supply AQR Products and Services Products to the Client or Licensed User Trained organanisation and/or suspend access to the AQR Products and Services if the Client or the Licensed User Trained fails to comply with the Ethical Guidelines. No Order placed by the Client shall be deemed to be accepted by the Company until a written confirmation of Order by way of an invoice is issued by the Company or (if earlier) the Company delivers the Products and/or Services to the Client on which date the Contract comes into existence. The Client is responsible for ensuring that any purchase orders or other internal requirements of the Client are processed prior to placing an Order with the Company including setting up Assessments on any Assessment Platform system made available to the Client. When ordering AQR Products and Services, the Client must quote the License Number and his or her Company Name as registered with AQR, if applicable. Orders may be refused by the Company if the delivery address is not that relating to a Registered User. Any quotation is valid for a period of 30 days provided that the Company has not previously withdrawn it. The Company, at its absolute discretion, may require a Client to pay at the point Orders are accepted by the Company.
- Products and Services Descriptions
The description of our Products or Services is set out in our Order. Any other descriptions issued by us (including those contained in our brochures) are provided for the sole purpose of giving you an approximate idea of our Products or Services and do not form part of the Contract. If our Products or Services do not conform to those specified in the Contract, you must notify us in writing within 14 days from the date of delivery of our Products or Services to you, failing which you will be deemed to have accepted them as being in accordance with the Contract and must pay the full agreed price.
- Delivery
Any delivery date suggested by us is intended to be an estimate only unless we state otherwise in writing. If no date is so suggested, delivery will be made within a reasonable time. The Company shall not be liable for any delay in delivery of the Products and/or Services that is caused by a Force Majeure event or the Client’s failure to provide the Company with adequate delivery instructions or any other instructions that are relevant to the supply of the Products and/or Services. Provision of web-based electronic assessment Products and/or Services provided by the Company will be subject to Service Level Agreement.
- Price and Payment
Unless otherwise agreed by the Company in writing, the price for the Products and/or Services shall be those set out in the Company’s current price list, valid as at the date of Order, as available on request from the Company. Unless otherwise stated, our price is exclusive of any expenses or value added, sales taxes or other taxes which will be charged (and payable by you – UK only) at the applicable rate at the time of invoice. For customers outside of UK there may be taxes payable to your own domestic taxation authorities on any transaction with us, it is the customer responsibility to ensure that these are declared and paid. If we have provided you with a discount to our published prices (e.g. based on your usage or a distributorship agreement), we reserve the right to withdraw such discount at any time if our fees are not paid by their due date. Prices and specifications of Products and/or Services are correct at the time of publication in our catalogue or other relevant literature but are subject to change without notice. Unless specified otherwise, invoices are due for payment within 28 days of the invoice date without any deductions including, but not limited to, bank charges. Time for payment shall be of the essence. The Company reserves the right to introduce a reasonable fee for the settlement of amounts due by debit/credit card/PayPal; any such fee will be disclosed on the Company’s current price list or on its Website. In the event of late or non-payment, we may suspend the provision of our Products or Services and/or charge you default interest at a rate of 1.0% per month accruing on a daily basis from the due date for payment until the date on which payment is made and the costs in pursuing a debt recovery procedure.
- Cancellation of Orders and Return Of Products
Client has right to return unused products within 14 days from the Order date. The Company will not accept any Products for return without prior notice and such request must be received in writing within 14 days of despatch by the Company and such product will be returned to the Company within one week of such authorization having been given by the Company. No request for return or exchange of Products can be considered unless they are tendered to the Company in unaltered condition. Returns should be despatched by the Client via traceable means to provide proof of despatch and delivery. Client is liable for return postage of goods, if applicable. Services delivered by the Company but not utilized by the Client or Candidates will not be refundable. Any complaint made by the Client must be received by the Company within 30 days after the date of delivery of the Products or Services.
- Client’s Obligations
The Client represents, warrants and undertakes that:
- in the event that the Client is not a Licensed Trained User, it shall ensure that only a Licensed Trained User uses AQR Products and Services in accordance with the Ethical Guidelines; and
- the Client shall not, and shall ensure that the Licensed Trained User shall not, make the AQR Products and Services available for administration by any individual who is not a Licensed Trained User.
The Client represents, warrants and undertakes that it shall:
- not copy, reproduce, modify or adapt, translate, disassemble or, reverse engineer, create derivative works from, frame, mirror, republish, download, display, transmit, or distribute all or any portion of Product and/or Services (as applicable) in any form or media or by any means, except as permitted in accordance with the Contract;
- administer the Products and/or any Services (including any related materials), in compliance with all relevant laws, procedures or guidelines applicable in the jurisdiction in which the assessment is being administered;
- comply with applicable law with respect to the Contract; and
- that it enters into the Contract as a business customer and is not a consumer for the purposes of any consumer protection regulation.
- Liability
Unlimited Liability Nothing in these terms shall exclude or limit either party’s liability for (a) death or personal injury caused by its negligence or (b) for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation. Consequential and other losses Neither party shall be liable for any of the following losses or damage (whether or not such losses or damage were foreseen, direct, indirect foreseeable, known or otherwise): (a) loss of profits (whether actual or anticipated), (b) loss of revenue, (c) loss of anticipated savings, (d) loss of business, (e) loss of opportunity, (f) loss of goodwill, or (g) any indirect, special or consequential loss or damage howsoever caused. Some jurisdictions do not permit the exclusion or limitation of liability and, as such, some portion of the above limitation may not apply. In such cases, the party’s liability is limited to the greatest extent permitted by law. Total Liability the Company’s total liability to the Client in respect of all other losses arising under or in connection with the Contract, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise shall not exceed the amount actually received by the Company under this Contract with the Client during the prior 12 months. The Client shall not rely on any skill or judgement on the part of the Company or any of its agents as regards the suitability of the Products and/or Services for any particular purpose and the Client shall use its own skill and judgement to satisfy itself that the Products and/or Services are of merchantable quality and suitable for the purpose of the Client. This condition shall apply notwithstanding that an employee of the Company or its agent may at any time have made representations or given opinions, whether in writing or otherwise, as to the suitability of any Products and/or Services for any particular purpose. The Company gives no warranties and shall not be liable to either the Client or any third parties as to the appropriateness of the Products and/or Services including but not limited to the completeness or accuracy of any computer scored reports. The Company excludes all liability for any disparate impact or disparate treatment and sexual or racial discrimination by the Client in connection with the use of any Products and/or Services provided by the Company.
- Intellectual Property
All Intellectual Property Rights arising out of or in connection with the Contract (including any Intellectual Property Rights subsisting in the Identification Data, Assessment Data, Research Data and any other data created or collected in connection with the Contract, material produced by the Company in connection with the Contract and the Output) are the absolute property of AQR, except as otherwise expressly stated in the Contract. Subject to payment by the Client of all sums due under the Contract, AQR hereby grants to the Client a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sub-licensable license to use the Output for the Client’s own internal human resource management purposes. All Intellectual Property Rights and other ownership rights in any material provided to the Company by the Client shall be retained by and vest in the Client. All Intellectual Property Rights and other ownership rights in any materials provided by the Company to the Client shall be retained by and vest in AQR. Upon written request by the Client provided such data has not already been anonymized in accordance with paragraph 2 of Appendix 1, the Company shall provide to the Client a copy of the Identification Data and Assessment Data within a reasonable time period of such a request. On provision of the Identification Data and Assessment Data, the Company shall grant to the Client a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sub-licensable license of the Intellectual Property Rights subsisting in the Identification Data and Assessment Data for the Client’s own internal human resource management purposes.
- Confidentiality
Non-disclosure The Contract, its content, the matters to which it relates and information exchanged, whether in tangible or intangible form, and whether disclosed orally or in writing, pursuant to it are confidential between the parties. Each party will apply no lesser security measures and degree of care than those which the receiving party applies to its own confidential information and which the receiving party warrants as providing adequate protection from unauthorized disclosure, copying or use. Exceptions Notwithstanding the foregoing, an obligation of confidentiality will not exist in relation to any information which: (a) is already in the public domain through no act or omission of the receiving party; (b) is independently developed by the receiving party, which independent development can be evidenced in writing; or (c) is required to be disclosed pursuant to a legal obligation providing the receiving party first consults with the disclosing party to agree an appropriate course of action. Return of Confidential Information On expiry or termination of the Contract, each of us shall return to the other, the other’s confidential information upon request.
- Data Protection
Where Candidates provide the Company with Personal Data about themselves in connection with these terms, the Company shall use such Personal Data in the manner and for the purposes detailed in the Privacy Policy. The Company warrants that it has made all necessary registrations of its particulars where required, in accordance with the Data Protection Laws. The Client warrants that it has made all necessary registrations of its particulars where required, in accordance with the Data Protection Laws and/or any local applicable data laws to which the Client is subject. In respect of any Personal Data that is processed in connection with the Contract, the parties agree that the Client shall be data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Laws and/or any local applicable data laws to which such party is subject. AQR shall be data processor and each party shall comply with its respective obligations required by the Data Protection Laws and/or any local applicable data laws to which such party is subject and shall only process such Personal Data in connection with the Contract. The Client warrants that all fair processing notices have been given to any Candidates and explicit consents obtained (as applicable) in accordance with the Data Protection Laws, and/or any local applicable data laws to which the Client is subject, for the Client to provide any Identification Data to the Company and for the Company to process such Identification Data for the purpose of providing the Products and/or Services. To the extent that the Company processes Personal Data as a data processor on behalf of the Client, and except to the extent that this condition 13.6 conflicts with the Company’s obligations as a data controller, the Company shall process such Personal Data strictly in accordance with the instructions of the Client and shall undertake any other measures reasonably requested by the Client for the Client’s compliance with the Data Protection Laws and/or any local applicable data laws to which the Client is subject. The Client shall indemnify the Company against all liabilities, costs, expenses, damages and losses (including any direct losses, all interest, penalties and legal costs (calculated on a full indemnity basis) and all other professional costs and expenses) suffered or incurred by the Company arising out of or in connection with the Client’s breach of the Data Protection Laws and/or any local applicable data laws to which the Client is subject.
- Termination
Either party may terminate this Contract immediately in the event that the other party: (a) is in breach of any of its obligations under this Contract and either the breach is: (i) not capable of remedy; or (ii) capable of remedy but the other has failed to remedy the breach within 30 days of being given written notice asking for it to be remedied; (b) does not act in accordance with the Ethical Guidelines; or (c) acts in a way that is likely to bring the other party into disrepute or damage its reputation; (d) suspends or threatens to suspend its business; (e) is unable to pay its debts as they fall due in accordance with s.123 of the UK Insolvency Act 1986, or similar event in any other jurisdiction; (f) offers to make any arrangement or composition with or for the benefit of its creditors (save for the purposes of solvent reconstruction or amalgamation); (g) has a petition filed or an order made for its winding up; or (h) is the subject of a bankruptcy petition or order; (i) has an application made or order made for the appointment of an administrator. Upon termination of the Contract for any reason:
- the relationship between the parties and any licences granted under the Contract shall cease;
- any provision which expressly or by implication is intended to come into or remain in force on or after the termination of the Contract, shall continue in full force and effect;
- such termination shall be without prejudice to any rights or remedies of either party which may have accrued up to the date of termination;
- any pre-paid online credit units, meters, offline dongle units or prepaid subscription fees remaining on your account shall expire and shall not be refunded; and
- all sums owing pursuant to the Contract shall become due.
- If you terminate the Contract in the absence of any default by us, you shall pay us the cancellation charges specified in the schedules or if none are specified, a reasonable allocation of our fees based on the percentage of work completed by us up to the date of termination.
- General
Each right or remedy of a party under the Contract is without prejudice to any other right or remedy whether under the Contract or not. If any provision (or part of any provision) of the Contract is found by any court or tribunal to be void or unenforceable, that provision or part provision shall be deleted and the validity and enforceability of the other provisions shall continue in full force. If any invalid or illegal provision of the Contract would be valid, enforceable and legal if some part of it were deleted, the provision shall apply with the minimum changes to make it valid, enforceable and legal. The Company reserves the right to defer the date of delivery or payment or to immediately terminate the Contract if it is prevented from performing its obligations under the Contract due to any Force Majeure event. Neither party shall assign or otherwise transfer its rights or responsibilities under the Contract to any third party without the other party’s prior written consent. We may, however, sub-contract our duties to our group companies, approved distributors, partners, associates or other qualified subcontractors but we will remain at all times responsible to you for their performance. A third party shall not have the right to enforce any term of the Contract without our prior written agreement which agreement must refer to this clause. The Contract and any dispute arising out of it (whether contractual or non-contractual) shall be governed by English law and the parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. Last updated: February 2021 © 2021 Active Quality Recruitment Ltd. All rights reserved.
Service Level Agreement
Complementing Terms of Business
These service levels apply where the Client is purchasing web-based electronic assessment Services from the Company:
- Subject to the Client meeting the Client’s obligations under this Contract, the Company shall use all reasonable endeavors to ensure that the web-based electronic assessment service is available to the Client throughout the term of this Contract. The Company will schedule downtime between 8am and 8pm UK time on Saturdays as necessary or on other days/times, if required. Such downtime will be notified on the Company Website or other such website as notified to the Client from time to time and via email to the project administrator, Registered User or other designated employee of the Client.
- Identification Data and Assessment Data will be made available to the Client for a period of Registered User account duration from the date the Candidate completes the Assessment or until the date the assessment is anonymized at the request of the Client, whichever is earlier. Reports may be run against this data subject to the fees set out in the Company’s current price list.
- The Company’s Head Office support (“Head Office Support”) will be provided to the Client between the hours of 8.30am and 5.30pm UK time Monday to Friday except UK public holidays or other days we notify you of when AQR is generally closed for business (“Normal Working Hours”). Queries should be in the first instance directed to headoffice@aqr.co.uk
- Queries received via email at headoffice@aqr.co.uk by the Head Office during Normal Working Hours will be typically responded to within two Working Hours of the email receipt.
- The Company makes no guarantee of resolving the problem.
- If the problem is outside the Company standard SLA, the Company will generate a price quote and time estimate for work to be performed based on the results of an investigation, if applicable.
- The Client must give specific consent for work to proceed at the agreed price and the Company may decline to perform such requested work.
- The Company does not guarantee fee-based work. If the Client experiences further problems the Client must submit a new request.
- Network uptime, excluding planned downtimes notified to the Client by the Company in accordance with paragraph 1, shall be as follows:
- 99% availability based on network average during the hours of 8.30am on Monday to 5.30pm on Friday UK time except UK public holidays and 98.59% availability at other times;
- Company shall not be liable for any defect or failure in the performance of the web-based electronic assessment for reasons beyond the Company’s control including but not limited to link failures, power difficulties, telephone outages, network overload, issues related to Client systems, default or failure of a third party, government actions, failure in the supply of a third party’s access line or any event of Force Majeure.
The Company reserves the right to terminate the use of any bespoke reports, bespoke Products or Assessment Platform systems previously delivered to Clients in the event that the reports or Assessment Platform systems have, in the absolute discretion of the Company, low usage or activity. The Company will provide the Client with at least 90 days’ notice prior to terminating the use of such reports or Assessment Platform systems.
Additional Terms and Conditions for Booking Open or In-house Training Programmes
Open Training Programmes and Prices
- The details of the design and content of programmes and the prices are correct at the time of publication, but are subject to change without notice.
- Invoices will be raised upon booking a programme and all invoices will be payable within 28 days of the invoice date unless the course start date is less than 28 days from the invoice date in which case the course fees will be payable immediately. In any event, programme fees should be paid in full prior to the commencement of the course.
- The Company reserves the right to cancel or reschedule programmes without penalty or liability if there are insufficient bookings, or for reasons outside its control. The Company will try to notify participants as soon as reasonably possible if a course has to be cancelled.
In-house Training Programmes and Prices
- The details and requirements for the in-house programmes will be agreed at the time the programme is booked. Unless otherwise agreed, in addition to the agreed programme fees, the Client shall be responsible for providing, and the cost of, the following:
- the training venue, audiovisual equipment and wireless broadband internet connectivity;
- all meals and refreshments during the programme;
- travel and accommodation for the trainer(s) and, when required, observers;
- the cost of transport by courier of equipment and materials to and from the venue; and
- volunteers for administration and feedback practice.
Cancellation Policy
- In respect of cancellation by the Company, a full refund will be given upon return to the Company of any pre-course materials already despatched.
- Training programme bookings are to be paid 28 days prior to the commencement of the course. Immediate payment by credit card will be required for any Booking made within 28 days of the programme start date.
- The full programme fee will be payable for any cancellation by a participant for any reason within 14 days of the start of the training course. 50% course fee will be payable for any cancellation by a participant for any reason within 28 days of the start of the training programme. No fees will be payable, except a charge for any programme material already despatched, for any cancellation received in writing more than 28 days before the programme start date
- Transfers from one programme to another on an alternative date are treated as cancellations. A booking is then required for the new programme date at the full price (applicable to Open Training Programmes)
- Participant substitutions can be accepted, without charge, at any time provided that the substitute fills the entrance requirement and has completed any pre-course study.
Qualification of Participants
- Registrants on qualification programmes should note that successful completion of such courses requires participants to demonstrate an understanding of the underlying principles and competence in the selection, administration and feedback of the instrument(s) concerned. Whilst the Company will make every effort to ensure a high standard of training and impartiality in such awards, no guarantee is given that every participant attending will receive such qualification
Last updated: 11 May, 2018.
© 2018 Active Quality Recruitment Ltd. All rights reserved.
Additional Terms and Conditions for Purchasing Downloadable Resource Licenses
This End User License Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into effective as of the date of purchase by and between you (the “Licensee”) and Active Quality Recruitment Limited, its affiliates, representatives, successors and permitted assigns (the “Licensor”), a UK based company located at The Meadows, Church Road, Dodleston, Chester CH4 9NG
RECITALS
WHEREAS, the Licensor owns all downloadable material and all collateral materials that accompany it and retains full and complete title to “Downloadable Resources” and all updates and subsequent copies. Regardless of the media or form in which the copies may exist, including copies made in violation of the terms of this License.
WHEREAS, The ”Downloadable Resources” are protected by the International Copyright and intellectual property laws.
WHEREAS, Licensor desires to grant Licensee a license to use the “Downloadable Resources” as specified in this Agreement.
WHEREAS, Licensee wishes to use the “Downloadable Resources” under the conditions set forth in this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises set forth herein, Licensee and Licensor hereby agree as follows
LICENSE.
Licensor hereby grants to Licensee a non-exclusive, non-assignable, non-transferable, and revocable license to use the “Downloadable Resources” to train its employees, customers and clients in the subject matter of the materials. The foregoing includes the right to use the materials in connection with providing such training to customers and clients but it does not include the right to authorise persons to reproduce the “Downloadable Resources”. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Licensee agrees to the following:
- Licensor owns all right, title and interest in all elements and all forms of embodiment including without limitation the design, software and copyright of The “Downloadable Resources”
- The “Downloadable Resources” will not be re-sold, lent, rented, assigned or transferred to any party in any form nor used to produce any other commercial product either for sale, lease, rent or to give away.
- The “Downloadable Resources” may not be duplicated for any purpose other than for archiving. The Licensee is not entitled to allow persons who attend training sessions to retain copies of the printed from the “Downloadable Resources” and will ensure that electronic versions of the materials are not distributed to or retained by participants.
- The “Downloadable Resources” will not be made available over the Internet.
- The “Downloadable Resources” will be used only in live, face to face or telephonic instructor-led situations and will not be used to provide any form of distance learning other than live voice-to-voice training. The Licensee may not make the “Downloadable Resources” available to people who have not attended a live, instructor-led training course.
- The Licensee has rights to use “Downloadable Resources” to produce derivative works but only with acknowledgement of copyright of the original source materials.
- The Licensee will, if questioned, acknowledge the true copyright holder and supply a copy of this Agreement to ensure that participants do not violate the copyright.
TRANSFER OF RIGHTS.
Licensee may not transfer any rights granted under this license to any third party.
TERM.
This License is effective for an infinitive period from the date of purchase. Licensor may terminate this Agreement and all rights and licenses granted hereby:
- immediately on written notice in the event of transfer or use of the “Downloadable Resources” in violation of this Agreement,
- if Licensee fails to comply with any material provision of this Agreement and does not correct such failure within thirty days of written notice of such failure.
- upon the terms and conditions set out in any other agreement between the parties or pursuant to which Licensee has been granted rights to use the “Downloadable Resources”.
Upon termination the Licensee has no further right to the “Downloadable Resources”, shall cease to use any portion of them for any purpose and must return it to Licensor, or provide Licensor with evidence that the materials haves been destroyed.
This Agreement is binding upon, and shall inure to the benefit of the parties themselves. Licensee may not transfer or assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement to any person without the prior written consent of Licensor.
ACCURACY OF INFORMATION.
While Licensor tries to ensure this information in the “Downloadable Resources” is current and accurate, it offers no warranty that the information is error free. Licensee agrees that Licensor will not be liable for any claims or damages arising from any errors or inaccuracies in the “Downloadable Resources” and the documents used in connection with it.
HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES.
The “Downloadable Resources” are not designed to recommend specific actions for every individual or a group. These materials are strictly reference material and make no implied or actual recommendations on how to provide workshops to everyone.
AQR recommends to run a workshop pre-assessment ensuring that clients are ready for the development experience.
Accordingly, without limiting the applicability of certain sections of this Agreement, Licensor specifically disclaims any express or implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Licensee agrees that Licensor will not be liable for any claims or damages arising from the use of the “Downloadable Resources” in any context.
LIMITED WARRANTY.
Licensor does not represent or warrant that the “Downloadable Resources” will meet your requirements or that the operation of the “Downloadable Resources” will be continuous or error free, virus free or that any defects are correctable.
LIMITED LIABILITY.
Licensee is responsible for the selection and use of and results obtained from the “Downloadable Resources”. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, Licensor shall not be liable for any indirect, special, exemplary, incidental or consequential damages or any damages resulting from the use of the “Downloadable Resources” however caused including, without limitation, damages for personal loss or damage, loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information or other pecuniary loss, lost data, loss of computer time, failure to realize expected savings, and any other commercial or economic loss of any kind and arising in consequence of use of the “Downloadable Resources” , failure to perform, or other breach under this Agreement, irrespective of whether Licensor has advance notice of the possibility of such damages. Licensor’s total liability including, but not limited to, any possible liability for indemnity, defence and hold harmless obligations shall not exceed the total amount paid to Licensor under this agreement.
ALLOCATION OF RISK.
Licensee agrees that the above warranties and limitations of liability reflect the allocation of risk among the parties and the price of the “Downloadable Resources”.
INDEMNIFICATION.
Licensee agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Licensor from and against any claim in excess of the limitation set forth in this Agreement, and this limitation shall apply even in the event of breach of contract, active or passive negligence, or otherwise of Licensor, or any claim of failure of essential purpose.
GENERAL.
This Agreement and any dispute arising out of it (whether contractual or non-contractual) shall be governed by English law and the parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
This Agreement is considered to contain all such standard copyright and other protections as are commonly known in the trade and that violation of copyright law and/or international treaty provisions may result in both civil and criminal penalties.
FORCE MAJEURE.
Neither party shall be liable for any delay or failure in performance due to Force Majeure, which shall mean acts of God, earthquake, labour disputes, and changes in law, regulation or government policy, riots, war, fire, epidemics, transportation difficulties or other occurrences which are beyond either party’s reasonable control.
ENTIRE AGREEMENT.
This Agreement is entered into with the understanding that it embodies the entire agreement between the parties pertaining to the subject matter of this Agreement and there are no representations, warranties or other commitments pertaining to the subject matter of this Agreement that are not embodied in this Agreement in its entirety. If any terms or conditions of a purchase order conflict with those of this Agreement, then those terms and conditions in this Agreement shall supersede those in the purchase order.
HEADINGS.
The headings for each Section are stated for convenience only and are not to be construed as limiting.
Guidelines for the Ethical use of Psychometric Assessment Instruments
For the purposes of these guidelines, we refer to individuals taking assessments as “Participants” and those that choose to use our tests for the purposes of assessing participants must be registered users of AQR. AQR and its associated companies are referred to herein as “us”, “our” or “AQR”.
All users of our psychometric tools and/or their outputs are expected to follow our guidelines for ethical practice, detailed below as a minimum. All such use of psychometric assessments should also comply with all local statutory and regulatory requirements. Our assessments should only ever be used for its assessment purposes such as recruitment, development, self-awareness, training & coaching. They should not be used for other purposes including, for example, clinical or forensic assessment. If you are in any doubt, please consult with your normal contact with us.
Communicating with Participants
- All participants should receive a briefing on the following before completing a psychometric assessment:
- The nature of the assessment;
- Why and how the assessment is being used;
- How long the participants’ results will be retained for;
- Who will have access to the participants’ results (which will include the test publisher, when: the administration of the assessment is delivered online, when participant data is entered on the test publisher’s platform for scoring or when the participants’ data is otherwise submitted to the test publisher for any purpose); and
- If feedback is being offered, when and in what format?
- Participants should be given ample opportunity to ask questions regarding the assessment process and receive an honest and professional response.
- It is often good practice to offer feedback to participants. In the event that participants are given feedback, this should be provided in compliance with any applicable statutory or regulatory requirements and the participant should be informed when and how the feedback will be delivered. In selection, you should consider whether it is most appropriate to give feedback before or shortly after a selection decision is made.
- Participants should be invited to reveal any factor or special requirement which might make the assessment(s) less suitable for them (e.g. a disability). If there is such an issue, appropriate adjustments to the assessment process should be made. These steps, for example, might be expected to include consulting the participant well before any assessment about what steps could be made to appropriately accommodate them and their disability. Where appropriate you should request any documents that can be legally provided on the nature of the disability and means of appropriate accommodation and seek expert opinion on the most appropriate forms of accommodation. Contact us to establish what adjustments are possible for a given assessment.
- Participants should never be forced to undertake an assessment, but the consequences of non-participation should be clearly explained (e.g. elimination from the recruitment process or development scheme).
Administration and Use of Data
- Assessments should only be used if they are appropriate for the purpose and will provide relevant data. It is the registered user who makes the choice to assess participants with our assessments and it is their responsibility to choose tests which are appropriate and relevant for a given purpose. Steps to ensure relevance could include relating assessments to established criteria for a job, consulting and gathering information from relevant subject matter experts and/or job holders, conducting various research studies to show the relevance of the tests.
- Careful consideration should be given before using psychometric assessment instruments with current employees in making promotion and placement decisions. Where more direct evidence of performance is available (e.g. appraisal reports and other personnel records), these should be used in conjunction with appropriate psychometric assessment instruments that are relevant to the job role or position.
- Some of the reports such as Assessor Report or Coaching Report should only be used by Licensed User Trained users (for interpretation purposes and to provide more detailed feedback to the candidate).
- Where reports are provided by us in order to deliver feedback to the participant, we also include an Individual Development Report which is self-contained and may be given directly to the candidate. The participant should be given the opportunity of seeking clarification or further explanation with respect to the feedback report should they wish to. It should be noted that any feedback offered to participants should be delivered in compliance with any applicable statutory or regulatory requirements. Registered users should think about whether they give blanket feedback to all participants. The timing of feedback in a selection context may in some instances be better after a selection decision is made rather than before. All successful applicants that are hired might appropriately be given feedback, while it may be more appropriate to only offer feedback to the rejected candidates where they specifically request it.
- Psychometric data may only be used for purposes previously agreed to by the participant and in accordance with our Privacy Policy and other Terms of Business, contained on our website, manuals and other relevant literature published and updated by us from time to time.
- Psychometric data should be used in conjunction with other data on the individual in any assessment process and should either be integrated with data from other relevant sources (e.g. structured interviews, work sample exercises, performance ratings, etc.) or used as one stage of a selection process containing other appropriate measures.
- In large-scale assessment processes, where sufficient numbers permit, regular reviews of assessment results and their impact on decisions taken with respect to participants from different groups (e.g. race, gender, age etc.) should ideally be undertaken.
Security of Materials
- All assessment materials (including sample questionnaires and feedback reports) must be stored securely and only be accessible to qualified users.
- Where the qualified user moves from their current employer or department they should, where possible, ensure that any restricted materials are transferred to another qualified user. If there are no qualified users to whom these products can be entrusted you should contact us immediately to discuss training to become a licensed trained user (https://aqrinternational.co.uk/licensed-user-training) or, where appropriate, discuss the safe return of materials to us.
- All data stored (on file or electronically) must be held according to the requirements of any applicable legislation with respect to the storage, use and confidentiality of personal data.
- It is an infringement of ethical guidelines and of international copyright law to copy, modify, translate or in any way replicate, in whole or in part, the products supplied by us. The user confirms that all steps reasonably necessary shall be taken to ensure that none of our products under their control will be used in a way that would infringe our copyright or trademarks and will report to us any such infringements that they become aware of.
Responsibility for Competence
- Users are responsible for maintaining their own level of competence in the use of psychometric assessment tools.
- Users should not offer services which lie outside their competence.
- Users are responsible for maintaining their knowledge of current legal and best practice requirements regarding the use of psychometric tools.
- Users should seek appropriate advice when required, particularly as circumstances begin to challenge their professional expertise.
- Users should strive to ensure that those working under their direct supervision also comply with each of the requirements of this standard and that they are not required to work beyond the limits of their competence.
Research
- We encourage evidence-based practice in the use of our assessments. In addition to our own extensive research programs, we encourage independent research on our assessments by appropriately-qualified independent researchers who are registered as users.
Last updated: 6 October 2017.
GDPR and AQR Assessments
What is GDPR?
On May 25, 2018 a new data privacy law called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in the European Union (EU) impacting how businesses collect, process and store personal data of individuals who reside in the EU.
The GDPR is based on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights which states that every individual has a right to protection of his/her personal data, that such data must be processed fairly for specified purposes based on the individual’s consent or other legitimate basis, and the individuals have rights of access to and correction of inaccurate information.
Jan 2021 Post Brexit
The UK has adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), tailored by the Data Protection Act 2018 into UK law.
The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement contains a bridging mechanism that allows the continued free flow of personal data from the EU/EEA to the UK (The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement bridging mechanism for personal data (Part Seven, Article FINPROV.10A). EU adequacy decisions for the UK would allow for the ongoing free flow of data from the EEA to the UK. Should this not be the case AQR has contingency plans in plans to move its data servers to the UK and set up Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) as an alternative transfer mechanism to safeguard against any interruption to the free flow of EU to UK personal data.
Primary responsibility for compliance with the GDPR falls on what the Regulation calls Data Controllers which includes businesses that collect, process and store personal data of individuals. AQR users/customers are generally Data Controllers because they collect, store and use personal information provided to them by candidates completing an assessment. The GDPR also imposes compliance obligations on Data Processors like AQR who process personal information for and on behalf of Data Controllers.
AQR are fully aware of the requirements of the GDPR and have taken steps to assure we comply with our obligations as a Data Processor. At the same time, we want you to know that our support team is ready to assist you in your obligations as a Data Controller.
Why does the GDPR affect your assessment practices?
The use of tests or assessments are inevitably linked to the personal information of test candidates. Although the personal information collected through the AQRTEST.COM websites is very limited, the GDPR puts constraints on how any personal data is collected and how it is done. The storage of the data must be carefully managed and candidates have increased rights to access their personal data and request its correction and erasure at any given time. Data Processors like AQR are obliged to assure that the directions and instructions from Data Controllers regarding the processing of test candidates’ personal information are fulfilled. Therefore, AQR has implemented the following to meet GDPR requirements as a Data Processor:
- Privacy Policy
We have updated our Privacy Policy on AQRTEST.COM which includes information about individual data and their rights. We have also acknowledged the requirement for having a Privacy Policy written in a simple language so that any young person of age min. 13 can read it and understand it.
In a situation where there is an assessment of n individual younger than age 13, we would require a consent by an authorised person with parental responsibilities. The system now has a checkbox to a schedule page “This assessment is for Under-13s and I have consent from their Guardians”.
- Additional features on a customer account:
- Option to archive a schedule – AQR has provided customers (data controllers) with rights to anonymise their candidate data as soon as it is no longer required in an identifiable format
- Option to archive an individual – AQR has provided customers (data controllers) with rights to anonymise an individual data but not the full schedule, if personal data of other participants is still required (i.e. distance travelled report/longitudinal study)
- Export data will no longer be sent via an email but it will download on a user machine for them to save the data on files
Data Processing Agreements:
AQR customers, data controllers, have a right to ensure that AQR’s data processing is compliant with the GDPR. This can be managed via a ‘Data Impact Assessment’ and/or Data Processing Agreement. AQR is happy to share our templates with our customers, alternatively we are happy to review customer’s templates. Any agreement between data processor and data controller will need to be in English or bilingual. English being one of the main languages.
Responding to Candidate Requests:
The GDPR Articles 15 through 20 provides rights to data subjects (which includes job applicants, employees or others who provide you with personal information) to take charge of their own personal data. Data Controllers are obliged to take steps to assure these rights are respected and facilitated through data management processes. These will include responding to requests you may receive from data subjects for copies of their personal information in your possession or control, correction of any errors in their personal information, erasure of their personal information in certain circumstances, restrictions on processing of their personal information and delivering their personal information to them or to another Data Controller. Data Processors are expected to support those efforts and we want you to know the AQR Support team will provide the assistance you need to fulfill your obligations as a Data Controller.
Data Security & Record Keeping:
The main risk is of a data breach. The steps we have taken to mitigate this are as follows:
All data on our assessment platform AQRTEST.COM is stored on database servers hosted by Amazon Web Services using data-centres in Germany.
The database servers are redundant with automatic failover and located behind firewalls that only allow access from the application/web servers plus a backup server within one of the AWS data-centres.
The application/web servers are behind firewalls that only allow access via SSH using private keys from the developers’ deployment systems. Development and test machines do not touch live data (either directly or via backups). Live data never leaves the AWS datacentres.
Database backups take place in two phases: the server is snapshotted once per week and stored within the AWS data-centre. And a database export is taken nightly and stored within AWS, automatically deleted after 30 days. All access to AWS is locked down with Two-Factor Authentication.
AQRTEST.COM is build upon Ruby on Rails, running on Linux
All web communications are over SSL, so encrypted.
Control of anonymising personal data including names and email addresses of candidates lies with the data controller. AQR has provided facilities on its web platform for controllers to manage this.
AQR as ‘Data Controller’:
AQR plays a function of a data controller when we keep your data on our CRM/Files, when we use this data to contact you with regards to our products, services or marketing.
As part of GDPR, any piece of personal information needs a consent from you for us to use it. Our CRM system is fully GDPR compliant and logs records of confirmed consent (or not).
All new contacts receive requested to confirm their information is correct and whether or not they consent to communications, automatically when we enter them onto our systems.
Contacting AQR:
As an SME, AQR isn’t required to hold a DPO, however, AQR has GDPR trained individuals, who will be happy to assist in relation to GDPR enquiries.
In the first instance, data subjects should contact their data controllers and when data controllers require additional information to what’s already available, they can contact AQR on headoffice@aqr.co.uk
Privacy Policy
IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE
Please read the following Privacy Policy to understand what information you provide us with, how this information is processed and the purposes for which such processing is undertaken by AQR Ltd., its subsidiaries and holding companies and their subsidiaries, where “subsidiary” and “holding company” have the meanings given in section 1159 of the UK Companies Act 2006, and its agents and sub-contractors from time to time (together “AQR.“, “our“, “we” or “us“).
Active Quality Recruitment Limited, referred to as AQR International, The Meadows, Church Road, Dodleston Chester CH4 9NG, UK and its associated companies, respects your privacy and is committed to protect the personal information that we hold about you. The information which you provide will be kept in accordance with the EU & UK GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act 2018. More details on this can be found at https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/.
AQR is a data controller for the purpose of the GDPR (the “UK Act“) with respect to personal data about you that we receive from you in general communications and via our website. We may also act as a data processor when dealing with your data data for the provision of psychometric Assessment and reporting services. This may either be via a Licensed user of our assessments or as a direct Client or individual Customer. Licensed Users will manage their client’s data as ‘Controllers’ using AQR’s system to process their client’s data. AQR will facilitate this process on behalf of direct Clients or Customers based on their instructions.at time of order.
What information about you do we process?
We process information about you which is necessary for the purposes of the provision of psychometric Assessment and reporting services (“Services“), the sale and provision of such Services are governed by our Terms of Business. We may provide these Services to you as the person or company that has purchased our Services (“Client“) or you may provide responses (“Participate“) in any of our psychometric Assessments (“Assessments“) as a “Participant” for whom one of our Clients has requested an Assessment.
If you provide any personal information to us through our website or Participate in any Assessment, the information you provide to us will be treated in accordance with this Privacy Policy and the UK Act.
You may give us information about you by filling in forms on our website at www.aqrinternational.co.uk (“Website“), by corresponding with us by phone, email or otherwise, or through our psychometric Assessment Platform –– www.aqrtest.com – as you may be invited by us or our Client (“Assessment Platform“).
You may provide personal information to us when you register to use our Website, use Assessment Platform, complete one of our Assessments, subscribe to our information services, place an order on our site, post in discussion boards, enter a competition, promotion or survey, and when you report a problem with our Website.
Information you give to us when using our Website
The information you give to us when using our Website may include your name, occupation, company for which you work, business address, home address, email address and phone number.
Please refer to our Cooke Policy for more information and also the section below on information you give to us when using our Website or ordering services
If you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence.
Information you give to us when Participating in an Assessment or using our Assessment Platform
Clients may provide personal information about you in relation to Assessments in which they would like you to Participate. This information may include a Participant’s name, email address and other contact details. You may also provide such information and/or additional information to us as a Participant.
You may take part in Assessments through our Assessment Platform or in a paper and pencil format as a Participant.
When you Participate in an Assessment or use and Assessment Platform we will ask you to provide responses that may constitute personal data. We categorize such data as follows:
- “Identification Data” which means information such as your name, email address and other contact details;
- “Assessment Data” which means your responses in Assessments, this may include information such as:
- behaviours;
- competencies;
- interests.
- “Research Data” which means responses to questions about you and which may include information such as:
- your gender;
- your age;
- your cultural background;
- your qualifications;
- your work experience; and
- details regarding your employment, responsibilities and work.
Identification & Assessment Data – As the data processor, we will hold the above mentioned data in accordance with the Organisation’s instructions The data may be used for monitoring or analysis, as instructed by the Organisation. Only the Assessment Data is used to create results and personal reports. Demographic and personal data does not affect the results of the assessment in any way.
Research Data may include sensitive personal data (as defined in the UK Act). Research Data does not form part of the Assessment and is only used for research purposes (once aggregated and anonymized) in order to monitor our tests and questionnaires for fairness and maintain a high standard of Assessment.
Any sensitive personal data shall be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy and the UK Act and we shall ensure that it is treated securely with regard to its nature.
If you choose not to answer these questions, it will not keep you from taking the assessment or affect the results of the assessment in any way. AQR International will use this data only in an anonymised format for research and monitoring purposes (described below) in which case AQR International we will be the data controller of this Optional Personal Information. An Organisation might be able to use this information in a personalised format for the purpose of profiling and assessment. Any information regarding the use of personal data by an Organisation should be directed to a contact person at an Organisation. In this situation, AQR international is data processor and an Organisation is data controller of this Optional Personal Information
You must provide Identification Data as this is required in order for us to administer the Assessment, provide the results to the Client who requested that the Assessment is made available to you, and for the purposes set out in the section entitled “For what purposes do we process information about you?”
For what purposes do we process information about you?
We are committed to keeping your personal information confidential and secure. The personal data you supply to us is likely to differ depending upon whether you are a Client or a Participant.
Information you give to us when using our Website or ordering services
We will use the information you give to us in the course of providing Services to you as a Client for the following reasons:
- to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us and to provide you with the information, products and Services that you request from us and billing you for the products and services provided;
- to provide you with information about further Assessments, reports and services we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about;
- to notify you about changes to our service;
- to ensure that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer.
Personal information provided by you in relation to each of your visits to our Website will be used:
- to administer our site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;
- to better understand Website usage including what areas of our Website users prefer;
- to improve our site to ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer; and
- as part of our efforts to keep our site safe and secure.
This information is stored in log files and is used for aggregated and statistical reporting.
If you use the contact us pages, subscribe to our mailing lists or purchase online from us all personal data you provide to us via our website is logged within our internal GDPR compliant Personal information management system (PIMS) and you will receive a request for consent from us on logging of this information
If you order online from us:
AQR do not disclose buyers’ information to third parties other than when order details are processed as part of the order fulfilment. In this case, the third party will not disclose any of the details to any other third party.
Payment information – AQR does not access, directly use or retain any credit card details from these transactions. Payment can be made at the point of order on the website using a secure payment facility via PayPal or Stripe (to which you are directed when you click on the “Checkout”.) Please refer to their privacy polices
Paypal – https://www.braintreepayments.com/en-gb/legal/braintree-privacy-policy
Stripe – – https://stripe.com/gb/privacy
Cookies are used on this shopping site where they are strictly necessary for the site functionality. They are used to aid navigation, and to keep track of the contents of your shopping cart. If you log in to an account, your logged-in status is recorded in a temporary cookie. If you select the ‘Remember Me’ Option in the checkout, a cookie will be used to remember your details. You can turn off cookies by blocking them in your browser Privacy settings. If you turn off cookies, you will be unable to place orders or benefit from the other features that use them.
Data collected by this site is used to:
- Take and fulfil customer orders.
- Administer and enhance the site and service.
- Only disclose information to third-parties for payment and goods delivery purposes.
Information you give to us when Participating in a pen & paper or online Assessment using our Assessment Platform
We process Identification Data and Assessment Data provided in relation to your Participation in Assessments for the purpose of providing Services to our Clients. This may include processing this data in order to:
- identify your Assessment and responses;
- produce Assessment reports for our Client who has made this Assessment available to you.
We will compile a report containing the Results Data, potentially combined with the Organisation Provided Data and/or Benchmark Data (which will be given to the authorised representatives of the Organisation (“Report Data”).
We may use an anonymised combination of your Assessment Data, Results Data, Organisation Provided Data, and Research Data (where provided) for the following purposes:
– To develop and improve our assessments and services we offer;
– To ensure that our assessments remain fair and objective and to prevent unfair discrimination;
– To create aggregate benchmark measurements against industry-recognised differences for particular groups, jobs, and industries (“Benchmark Data”).
We may disclose aggregated and anonymised results of our research to third parties. This information will not identify any individual or organisation.
The Assessment reports and services we provide to our Clients may be used by them for purposes which may include the selection and development of individuals in an employment or human resources context.
We may also provide a copy of the Assessment Data to our Clients for use by them for their own internal human resource management purposes.
Clients are entitled to use the personal information that we provide to them as part of our Services for their own purposes; however, such Clients are obliged to process such personal information in accordance with their own obligations under the GDPR, other data protection laws (as applicable) and in accordance with our Terms of Business . You will have rights with respect to the manner in which our Clients process such personal information provided by us to them.
Marketing
We do not send marketing communications to Participants who are only registered as Participants; however, we may contact you if you have provided us with your contact details and are a Client or prospective Client of our Services.
However if you have made contact with us via our website, i.e. use the contact us pages, subscribe to our mailing lists or purchase online from us all personal data you provide to us via our website is logged securely within our internal GDPR compliant CRM system and you will receive a request for consent from us on logging of this information. This will include an option to give consent for marketing communication. You can withdraw that consent at any time.
To whom may we disclose information about you?
Information about you will be disclosed to our Clients in the context of the provision of Services to them in connection with the Assessment(s) in which you have Participated.
To facilitate the Assessment process, information about you may also be passed to other companies within the wider AQR Ltd. group from time to time and their respective suppliers from time to time which includes providers of:
- systems to facilitate the service such as email services and enquiry response services;
- cloud-based services;
- human resource and other Assessment services;
- web based accounting systems; and
- professional advisors and auditors.
We may also pass data containing your information but which is not identifiable to you in an anonymized and/or statistically aggregated form to our approved agents as described above, current or future potential Clients or research institutions.
Due to the international nature of Internet-based Assessment and training services, we may from time to time appoint third parties to process data containing information about you on our behalf as a data processor, or store such information in, or transfer it to persons located in, countries outside of the European Economic Area (“EEA“). These countries may not have data protection laws equivalent to those which are in force in the EEA to protect your information. Where we transfer your information to such third party data processors and/or third parties outside of the EEA, we shall ensure that they provide sufficient guarantees in respect of the technical and organizational security measures, and take reasonable steps to ensure their compliance with those measures in order to ensure your information is adequately protected in accordance with the UK Act.
- In the event that we sell any part of our business or assets of our business, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective buyer of the business or assets. We may also disclose your personal data to a vendor of another business or assets that we are acquiring or to a joint venture or merger partner.
- If our assets are acquired by a third party, personal information held about our Clients and Participants will be one of the transferred assets.
- If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our Website Terms of Use or our applicable Terms of Business and other agreements; or to protect our rights, property, or safety or those of our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
From whom do we receive information about you?
We receive information that you submit to us and we may receive information from our Clients who may be your coach, trainer, employer or potential employer.
Third Party Contact Details
As part of our Assessment process, we may request or you may volunteer contact details of a third party, for example, someone who can answer questions about your work in order to generate a 360 feedback report. You should inform such third party that you intend to disclose this information and obtain their prior consent to such disclosure.
If we have contacted you as a result of your details being disclosed to us by a Participant in our Assessment process, we confirm that we will use that information and any subsequent information you may submit to us in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Electronic Communications, Website Usage and Cookies
A cookie is a small information file that is sent to your computer and is stored on your hard drive. Our Website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our Website. This helps us to provide you with a better user experience when you use our Website. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them please see our Cookie Policy.
The transmission of information via the internet either by or to our Assessment Platform is encrypted in order to keep any information you enter such as address and your name secure. The encryption uses an SSL certificate which ensures the connection between your browser and the web server is secure and none of the information can be intercepted. This confirms that we are doing the utmost to keep your data secured. However, data transfers via the internet can never be completely riskless. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to or from us via our Website or by email. If you use electronic means in order to transfer personal information to us, any such transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorized access.
For how long do we keep information about you?
We will generally keep information about you for as long as is necessary for the purposes (referred to above) for which we process that information. We may however destroy, delete or anonymize any information about you as we consider appropriate from time to time. We will anonymize Assessment Data on a request from the Client that originally ordered the Assessment.
Assessment data is being controlled by AQR customers (controllers) where controllers chose which data and for how long is being stored in an identifiable format.
Where we are data controller for assessment data we will anonymize any data stored about you at appropriate intervals
Protecting Your Personal Information
We take appropriate steps to protect Personal Information. We have appropriate technical, administrative, and physical security controls in place to protect Personal Information from unauthorised access, improper use or disclosure, unauthorised modification or unlawful destruction or accidental loss.
Access to your Personal Information
If you took an assessment at the request of an Organisation, please contact that Organisation directly if you would like access to your Personal Information or to exercise any of your other rights that you may have in relation to your Personal Information.
When we are the data controller of your Personal Information, you may contact us in order to find out what information we hold about you or to access, cancel or correct any information that we hold about you. You may request access to your information as mentioned above by printing and completing a Subject Access Request Form and sending it back to us via post or email. The purpose of this form is to ensure that you give us all the necessary information to enable us to comply with your request. You do not have to use this form, but if you do not, we encourage you to provide all the information requested on the form with your request.
Questions or Complaints
Questions about the results of your assessment or the Organisation’s use of your Personal Information should be sent directly to the Organisation at whose request you are taking the assessment.
If you have any questions about this Notice or how we process your personal information, please email us at headoffice@aqr.co.uk.
We agree that for any disputes regarding our data protection policies and related actions regarding Personal Information from EU, UK or Swiss data subjects that cannot be resolved with us directly, AQR will cooperate with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, EU data protection authorities (DPAs) and Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner and will comply with information and advice the DPAs and/or Commissioner may provide in relation to such unresolved complaints. Complaints from outside of these areas may also be addressed directly to the data protection authority in your country.
Sanctions
AQR International’s products and services are subject to the UK sanctions law. As a result, prohibited individuals, or those located in certain countries (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria), are not authorised to take assessments on our systems. Please contact us at headoffice@aqr.co.uk with any questions
Changes to our Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated Privacy Policy will be published on our Website and, where appropriate, notified to you by email or our newsletter. You should refer to the Privacy Policy from time to time in order to keep yourself up to date with regard to the way we process your personal information.
Contact Information
If you wish to contact us, please send an email to headoffice@aqr.co.uk.
Translations of this Privacy Policy into languages other than English may be provided for information and convenience for a fee. For the definitive and binding version, please refer to the English language version which shall prevail in the case of any discrepancies between it and the translated versions.
Last updated: February 2021
© 2021 Active Quality Recruitment Ltd. All rights reserved.
Website Terms of Use
WEBSITE TERMS OF USE:
(www.aqrinternational.co.uk) (the “Website”)
Important Legal Notice
ATTENTION: This legal notice applies to the entire contents of this Website and to any correspondence between Active Quality Recruitment Limited, and its subsidiaries and holding companies and their subsidiaries where “subsidiary” and “holding company” have the meanings given in section 1159 of the UK Companies Act 2006 and its agents and sub-contractors from time to time (“Us”, “AQR “, “our” and/or “We”) and you. Please read these terms carefully before using this website. Use of our Website includes accessing, browsing, or registering to our Newsletter/ Programmes and doing so indicates that you accept these terms regardless of whether or not you choose to register with Us. This notice is issued by Active Quality Recruitment UK Limited trading as AQR Ltd and AQR International.
General
Access to and use of the Website, and the information and search services available through the Website, are subject to these terms and conditions of use (the “Terms of Use“). By accessing any part of this Website, you are agreeing to these Terms of Use in full. If you do not accept these Terms of Use in full, you must leave this Website immediately.
These Terms of Use refer to the following additional terms, which also apply to your use of our Website:
- Our Privacy Policy, which sets out the terms on which We process personally identifiable information which We may collect from you, or that you provide to Us. By using our Website, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all such information provided by you is accurate.
- Our Cookie Policy, which sets out information about the cookies We use on our Website.
- If you purchase psychometric assessment services from Us, our Terms of Business will apply to the sale of such services (“Services“).
- Our Ethical Guidelines for the use of Psychometric Assessment Instruments (“Ethical Guidelines“), which set out the guidelines for our clients’ administration of our assessments the use of any Services provided to you. When using our Services, you must comply with the Ethical Guidelines.
Certain aspects of these Terms of Use may be supplemented by expressly designated legal notices or specific terms located on particular pages of this Website (“Specific Notices“).
These Terms of Use in conjunction with the Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Ethical Guidelines, Terms of Business and any Specific Notices shall prevail over any other terms of use in any other document or order that you place. No variation of such documents shall be effective unless agreed in writing between you and Us.
We may revise these Terms of Use at any time by updating this page. You should check this Website from time to time to review the then current Terms of Use, because they are binding on you.
About Us
Our Website is operated by Active Quality Recruitment Limited otherwise known as AQR International or AQR. AQR is registered in England and Wales under company number 3392161. Its registered office is at The Meadows, Church Road, Dodleston , Chester CH4 9NG, UK. AQR’s VAT number is 691 733903.
Disclaimer
While we endeavour to ensure that the information on this Website is correct, We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the material on this Website. The material on this Website may be out of date, and We do not make any commitment to update this material. We may make changes to the material on this Website or to any services, products or prices described in it, at any time without notice.
We also do not warrant that this Website, or websites which are linked to this Website, are free from computer viruses or any other malicious or impairing computer programs.
The content, information and material on this Website is provided “as is” without any conditions, warranties or other terms of any kind. Accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted by law, We provide you this Website on the basis that We exclude all representations, warranties, conditions and other terms which but for these Terms of Use may have effect in relation to this Website, except to the extent that such terms have been given expressly.
Intellectual Property and Content
The copyright and other intellectual property rights in all content and material on this Website (including without limitation photographs, logos, trademarks and graphical images) are owned by AQR its affiliates, holding or subsidiary companies, or licensors, unless otherwise stated or indicated. All rights which are not expressly granted in these Terms of Use are reserved.
No part of this Website may be reproduced or stored in any other website or included in any public or private electronic retrieval system or service.
Use of any extracts from this Website is prohibited. In particular, you are not, in any event, permitted to:
- publish, distribute or otherwise reproduce in any format any of the content or copies of the content of this Website;
- use any content from this Website in connection with any business or commercial enterprise including, without limitation, any media business or enterprise except as permitted by our Terms of Business; or
- modify, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or create derivative works based on any software or any documentation accompanying such software or other content available on or through this Website.
If you breach any of these Terms of Use, your permission to use this Website automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any downloaded or printed extracts from this Website.
Service Access
While we endeavour to ensure that this Website is normally available 24 hours a day, We will not be liable if for any reason this Website is unavailable at any time or for any period. Access to this Website may be suspended temporarily and without notice in the case of system failure, maintenance or repair, reasons beyond our control or any other reason.
You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our Website through your internet connection are aware of these Terms of Use and that they comply with them.
Visitor Material and Conduct
Any material you transmit or post to this Website or supply to Us in relation to the Website will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. We will have no obligations in relation to such material. You retain all of your ownership rights in your content, but you provide to Us (and our designees) a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable license to use, copy, disclose, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and otherwise use such material and all data, images, sounds, text and other things embodied in any such material for any and all commercial or non-commercial purposes, and you confirm that you have all necessary rights and licenses to enable Us to do so.
We also have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who claims that any content posted or uploaded by you to our Website constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or of their right to privacy.
We will not be responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content or accuracy of any content posted by you or any other user of our Website.
You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from this Website any material or doing anything in connection with your use of this Website:
- which constitutes or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offence, gives rise to civil liability, or otherwise be contrary to the law of or infringe the rights of any third party anywhere in the world;
- that is in any way threatening, defamatory, offensive or obscene, indecent, seditious, pornographic, abusive, liable to incite racial hatred, discriminatory, menacing, scandalous, inflammatory, blasphemous, in breach of confidence, copyright, privacy or any other rights or which may cause annoyance or inconvenience;
- for which you have not obtained all necessary licenses and/or approvals;
- which is technically harmful (including without limitation, computer viruses, logic bombs, Trojan horses, worms, harmful components, corrupted data or other malicious software or harmful data);
- which involves misusing the Website (including without limitation by hacking) or which attempts to affect the performance or functionality of any computer facilities of or accessed through the Website;
- which involves sending any unsolicited advertising or other promotional material, commonly referred to as “Spam”.
You must not attempt to gain unauthorized access to our Website, the server on which our Website is stored or any server, computer or database connected to our Website. You must not attack our Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack. By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and We will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them or locate anyone posting any material in breach of these Terms of Use. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our Website will cease immediately.
You shall fully indemnify AQR. from time to time, our officers, directors, employees, shareholders affiliated companies including its subsidiaries and agents for any loss or damage suffered as a result of a breach of your obligations in the above two paragraphs.
Links to and from Other Websites
Any links to third party websites on this Website are provided solely for your convenience. If you use these links, you leave this Website. We have not reviewed all of these third party websites and do not control, and are not responsible for these websites or their content or availability. We do not, therefore, endorse or make any representations about these websites, or any material found there, or any results that may be obtained from using them. If you decide to access any of the third party websites linked to this Website you do so entirely at your own risk.
If you would like to create a link to this Website, please contact us first at headoffice@aqr.co.uk to request permission. Any links to this Website may only be on the basis that you link to, but do not replicate, the home page of this Website, and subject to the following conditions:
- you do not remove, distort or otherwise alter the size or appearance of our trading names and logos;
- you do not create a frame or any other browser or border environment around this Website;
- you do not in any way imply that We are endorsing any products or services other than our own;
- you do not misrepresent your relationship with Us, nor present any other false information about Us;
- you do not otherwise use any trademarks and trading names displayed on this Website, including Active Quality Recruitment Ltd, AQR, or AQR International, without our express prior written permission;
- you do not link from a website that is not owned by you; and
- your website does not contain content that is distasteful, offensive, controversial or, in our opinion, is or is likely to be detrimental to our reputation, infringes any intellectual property or other rights of any other person or otherwise does not comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
We expressly reserve the right to revoke any right which We grant to link to the Website at any time including without limitation for breach of any of these Terms of Use and to take any action that We deem appropriate.
You shall fully indemnify AQR our officers, directors, employees, shareholders, affiliated companies, including its subsidiaries and agents for any loss or damage, suffered as a result of a breach of your obligations in this paragraph entitled “Links to and from Other Websites”.
Liability
We and any other party (whether or not involved in creating, producing, maintaining or delivering this Website), and any of our group companies and the officers, directors, employees, shareholders or agents of any of them, exclude all liability and responsibility for any amount or kind of loss or damage (including without limitation, any direct, indirect, punitive or consequential loss or damages, or any loss of income, profits, goodwill, data, contracts, use of money, or loss or damages arising from or connected in any way to business interruption), and whether in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with:
- this Website or its use;
- your, or any participant’s, inability to use this Website or the results of any psychometric assessments provided through it; and/or
- any websites linked to this Website or the material on such websites.
If you are a consumer, please note that we only make our Website available to you for domestic and private use. You agree not to use our Website for any commercial or business purposes, and We have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.
We will not be liable for any loss or damage due to virus, distributed denial-of-service attack, or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, software, data or other property on account of your access to, use of, or browsing this Website or your downloading of any material from this Website or any websites linked to this Website.
Nothing in this legal notice shall exclude or limit our liability for:
- death or personal injury caused by negligence (as such term is defined by the UK Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977);
- fraud;
- misrepresentation as to a fundamental matter; or
- any liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
If your use of material on this Website results in the need for servicing, repair or correction of any of your equipment, software or data, you shall be responsible for any related costs.
Different limitations and exclusions of liability will apply to liability arising as a result of the supply of any Services by Us to you, which will be set out in our Terms of Business.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction
If you are a consumer, please note that these Terms of Use, its subject matter and its formation, are governed by English law. You and We both agree to that the courts of England and Wales will have non-exclusive jurisdiction. However, if you are a resident of Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in Northern Ireland, and if you are resident of Scotland, you may also bring proceedings in Scotland.
If you are a business, these Terms of Use, its subject matter and its formation (and any non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by English law. We both agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
Miscellaneous
If any provision of these Terms of Use is held by any court or other competent authority to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, the validity of the other provisions and the remainder of the provision in question shall not be affected.
Any notice required or permitted to be given by us to you shall be made by email in accordance with the details that you have submitted to Us. Any notice that you give to Us must be sent to our address given below, in writing.
Contact Information
We are always pleased to hear from you. All comments, queries and requests regarding our Services are welcomed.
You can either send an email to headoffice@aqr.co.uk
Last updated: February 2021
© 2021 Active Quality Recruitment Limited. All rights reserved.
Online Shop - Additional Terms and Conditions
ONLINE SHOP TERMS & CONDITIONS
About Us
This website is owned and operated by AQR International* If you have any suggestions or comments or if you need to contact us, please email us using the contact us page or use the details below.
Our Contact details:
*Active Quality Recruitment Ltd t/a AQR International, The Meadows, Church Road, Dodleston , Chester CH4 9NG, UK
Tel: +44 1244 572050
Email: headoffice@aqr.co.uk
Company number: 3392161
VAT No. 691733903
Making A Purchase
Browse our shop, and add any items that you wish to buy into the shopping cart. After you have finished your selection, click on ‘Checkout’ and you will be asked for a few details that we need to be able to complete the order.
All orders must be paid in full before goods are shipped or online products or assessments set up.
Payment can be made at the point of order on the website using a secure payment facility via PayPal (to which you are directed when you click on the “Checkout”.
Your order will typically be confirmed within 1 UK working day of receipt from the website. You will also receive a paid invoice acknowledging receipt of payment.
For assessments and other online products this will be followed by a further email giving details of how to access the product
For goods your order will typically ship within two working days of receipt.
If you do not wish to pay online, you may contact us and provide card details or we can invoice you. Invoices can be paid via credit/debit card, BACS or Cheque (UK sterling accounts only)
However unless you already have a client account set up with us we will still require payment in advance.
Shipping & Handling
Prices quoted on our secure shop exclude delivery charges, and UK VAT (where applicable). These are added at checkout.
The shop will determine location for VAT purposes according to billing address entered.
Shipping charges: A flat rate is applied to deliveries dependant on location and size of order. This is added at checkout
We deliver our physical products using local UK postal service and International Couriers
We can use priority services for International delivery so that your products can be shipped to you as quickly and securely as possible at additional cost but typically we use cheaper optional services as part of the secure shop checkout process. So please call or email us if you have an urgent delivery requirement.
All our prices are DDU (Delivery Duty Unpaid), so you may be required to clear your local import customs authority and possibly be required to pay import duties. It is your responsibility to provide an accurate local delivery address with local contact details, and the ability for someone to accept and sign for your parcel delivery.
Tax Charges
For orders made from the UK 20% VAT is added. All other orders are VAT free. All other orders are VAT free. There may be taxes payable to the Customer’s domestic taxation authorities on transactions. It is the customers responsible to ensure these are declared and paid.
Privacy
AQR do not disclose buyers’ information to third parties other than when order details are processed as part of the order fulfilment. In this case, the third party will not disclose any of the details to any other third party.
Payment information – AQR does not access, directly use or retain any credit card details from these transactions. Payment can be made at the point of order on the website using a secure payment facility via PayPal or Stripe (to which you are directed when you click on the “Checkout”.) AQR does not access, directly use or retain any credit card details from these transactions.
Collection of Personal Data during the ordering process is subject to AQR’s wider Privacy policy.
Cookies are used on this shopping site where they are strictly necessary for the site functionality. Please refer to our Cookie Policy for further information
Order Cancellations, Refunds and Returns
Your rights to return goods are protected under the EU Distance Selling Directive. You are entitled to cancel your order and return goods within 14 working days for a full refund. For goods the refund includes the cost of delivery.
Where assessments or online products are ordered, a full refund will only be made if the product has not been accessed using the links provided on purchase.
To request a refund contact us by email or telephone and quoting the order number supplied to you. Your refund will be paid within 30 days.
You are responsible for the cost and risk of loss or damage when returning any goods ordered,
This cancellation policy does not affect your rights when we are at fault – for example, if goods are faulty. Any goods returned should be in saleable condition.
These terms apply to your order. We may change our terms and conditions from time to time.
None of these terms affect your legal rights and these are not diminished in any way. If any term is held to be invalid under any applicable statute or rule of law, that term is automatically omitted from the terms to minimum extent necessary to comply with the law and without affecting the validity or enforceability of the remainder.
Last updated: February 2021
© 2021 Active Quality Recruitment Ltd. All rights reserved.