The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) respects the privacy of the individuals with whom it communicates and recognizes the importance of protecting the privacy of all personal information. We take every precaution to ensure the privacy, accuracy and security of the personal information provided to us.
Collection and use of personal information
Personal contact information is provided to the Institute voluntarily by subscribers to our publications and e-alert notifications, or by those who wish to receive other information materials, products and tools. Contact information is also collected by Institute staff from time to time from public sources for people in the public domain (e.g. senior officials of government departments, workers’ compensation boards and health and safety associations) who may be interested in our research evidence, tools and activities.
The contact information is entered and stored in a secure corporate contact database, which is maintained by an administrator. The information is used to send out the IWH products, tools and/or information requested, as well as to inform people from time to time about other IWH products, tools, activities and information that may be of interest to them.
Collection and use of credit card information
Some of the Institute’s products/tools and services have an associated fee. When a transaction requires payment and the purchaser pays over the phone or by mail, we collect personal contact plus credit card information or banking information from personal/institutional cheques. This information is used for billing/payment purposes only. It is not shared and is kept in a secure environment in the Institute’s financial services area. If the purchaser pays through our website using PayPal, no credit card information is requested or stored by IWH.
Collection and use of website data
The Institute maintains a primary corporate website (www.iwh.on.ca), the DASH (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand) website (dash.iwh.on.ca), and several additional sites configured as subdomains of iwh.on.ca, including for example, the websites of the PREMUS 2016 conference (premus2016.iwh.on.ca) and the CARWH 2016 conference (carwh2016.iwh.on.ca).
We use Google Analytics to monitor web traffic and collect usage statistics. Google Analytics collects the domain name locations of our visitors, as well as information on what is being downloaded from the site, the number of pages viewed, the length of their visit and where the visitors came from (e.g. referring sites). This information is presented in aggregate form for trend analysis and system administration. It does not contain anything that can identify users personally. Google’s privacy policy is available at: www.google.com/intl/en/privacy.
Occasionally, the Institute collects information from those who download a particular tool or guide. This information is used for research purposes, and to track and improve our content and delivery. We may also contact these people from time to time to tell them about other information available from the Institute that may be of interest to them.
Our websites contain links to other external sites. The Institute is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these external sites. We encourage users to read the privacy statements of each website to which we may link. These websites may collect personally identifiable information.
Collection and use of survey data
Participation in online surveys or use of feedback forms on the IWH website is completely voluntary, and the user can choose whether or not to disclose requested contact information. This information is destroyed once the data has been aggregated for reporting purposes.
Consent
All personal information collected is protected through compliance with privacy legislation. This means you will be informed that your information is being collected, the purpose for which it is being collected and your right to access that information. Should the intent for the collected information change, the Institute will contact the individuals to obtain consent for the new purpose.
Personal information is not disclosed to anyone other than IWH personnel (who have signed an agreement to keep information confidential as a term of their employment) and to those acting as our agents (such as a mailing house) to provide our product(s)/service(s). We do not sell, share or lease our mailing lists.
We will only disclose personal information we maintain when required to do so by law or in special cases when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) our rights or property.
Safeguards and access
Access to contact information is restricted to IWH employees, who have signed an agreement to keep information confidential as a condition of their employment. The servers on which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.
IWH promotes an individual’s right of access to personal information about themselves. IWH will provide access to information upon request.
Revisions and notifications
Updated: July 2017
Major revision: January 2012 (from previous version dated 2004)
Any changes to our privacy policy will be posted on our website.
Who to contact
For questions about the Institute’s Communications Privacy Policy, please contact:
Uyen Vu
Communications Manager
uvu@iwh.on.ca