Privacy Policy

Ask Your HR is a New Zealand-based HR consultancy, and this Privacy Policy applies to how we collect, hold, use, and disclose personal information in the course of our business. We comply with the Privacy Act 2020 and the 13 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) it sets out.

In this Privacy Policy, "personal information" and "sensitive information" have the meanings given to them under the Privacy Act 2020, and "you" refers to any individual whose personal information we collect — whether you're a client, a client's employee, a website visitor, a job applicant, or someone who otherwise deals with us.

Please check this page from time to time, as we may update this Privacy Policy as our practices or the law change.

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us. We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our functions or activities. We typically collect information about you when you:

• engage us to provide HR, employment relations, health and safety, or immigration advice or services;
• visit our website or submit a form (including a free audit booking or a contact enquiry);
• subscribe to our newsletter or download a resource;
• apply for a role with us;
• attend a webinar, event, or consultation we run; or
• otherwise deal with us in the course of business.

If you're a client, or a subscriber to our updates, we typically collect your name, business or residential address, email address, and phone number.

You don't have to give us personal information. But if you choose not to, we may not be able to provide you with the service you've asked for — for example, we can't book a free audit without a way to contact you.

We also collect information that doesn't, on its own, identify you. When you visit our website, we may record information such as your general location, the date and time of your visit, the pages you view, the documents you download, your browser type, and your IP address, gathered on an aggregate basis to understand how the site is used. This helps us improve the site over time. If you use a form on our website to contact us, we'll also keep a record of the email address or details you provide.

If we ever combine non-personal information with personal information, we treat the combined result as personal information.

Our website may link to other sites. We aren't responsible for the privacy practices of those sites, so it's worth checking their own policies.

Our website may use cookies to understand how visitors use it and to make it easier to navigate. You can usually disable cookies through your browser settings — check with your browser's help documentation if you're not sure how. Some parts of our website may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

Our website uses Google Analytics, which sends website traffic data to Google's servers, including servers located outside New Zealand. Google Analytics doesn't identify you individually or associate your IP address with other data held by Google. We use the reports it provides to understand website traffic and page usage.

By using our website, you consent to this processing as described in Google's Privacy Policy. You can opt out using Google's opt-out tool, or by disabling cookies or JavaScript in your browser.

Our website may also link to or embed social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook. If you interact with these (for example, by clicking "share"), that platform's own privacy policy applies to that interaction.

We'll only collect sensitive information about you — such as health information, ethnicity, or union or professional body membership — with your consent, and only where it's reasonably necessary for what we're doing (for example, supporting a client through a health and safety matter, or a disciplinary process involving a health-related consideration).

We may use personal information for purposes including to:

• provide HR, employment relations, health and safety, or immigration advice and services;
• respond to enquiries and manage your free audit or consultation booking;
• send you newsletters, resources, or information about events;
• maintain our records and administer our business systems;
• comply with our own legal and professional obligations;
• assist a client with employment-related matters, where we're engaged to do so; and
• consider job applications, where you've applied to work with us.

We won't use or disclose your personal information for a purpose unrelated to the above (or, for sensitive information, not directly related) without your consent, unless the law requires or permits it.

We won't disclose your personal information to a third party for direct marketing purposes without your consent. If you no longer want to receive marketing emails or updates from us, you can unsubscribe using the link in any email, or contact us at hello@askyourhr.co.nz.

We may disclose personal information:

• to service providers who support our business (including IT, hosting, email, analytics, and payment providers), on a confidential basis and only for the purpose we've engaged them for;
• to regulatory bodies, professional advisers, or other parties where necessary in connection with our services;
• where required or authorised by law.

Some of our service providers, including Google Analytics, store or process information on servers located outside New Zealand. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure those providers protect your personal information consistently with the Information Privacy Principles, as required under IPP 12.

Where we engage external providers, we take reasonable steps to ensure they're only authorised to use personal information for the limited purpose we've specified, and that they handle it consistently with our obligations under the Privacy Act 2020.

As an outsourced HR provider, a core part of our work involves handling personal information about our clients' employees on our clients' behalf. This may include an employee's name, address, date of birth, job title, immigration status, IRD number, terms of employment, and records relating to performance, absence, disciplinary matters, or grievances. This can include sensitive information, such as health information.

We collect this information at the request of, and with the authorisation of, our client (your employer), often indirectly rather than from you directly. Where we collect your personal information indirectly in this way, we'll take reasonable steps to ensure you're told what's been collected, why, who holds it, and how to access or correct it, consistent with our obligations under Information Privacy Principle 3A.

We use employee information only for purposes related to the employment relationship we've been engaged to support, or as otherwise required or permitted by law. We won't disclose an employee's personal information to a third party without consent, unless disclosure is to a government body, regulator, or another party required or permitted by law.

If you're an employee of one of our clients, you can request access to, or correction of, your personal information in the same way set out below.

If you'd like to access the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it, please contact us in writing at hello@askyourhr.co.nz. We may ask for identification for security purposes, and a reasonable fee may apply for providing copies of information.

We'll respond within a reasonable timeframe in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020. If you're an employee of one of our clients, we may notify your employer that a request has been made. We may decline a request in the circumstances permitted under the IPPs, and if we do, we'll give you our reasons in writing.

If a privacy breach occurs that has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to you, we'll notify both you and the Privacy Commissioner as soon as practicable, in accordance with our obligations under the Privacy Act 2020.

If you have a concern about how we've handled your personal information, please contact us at hello@askyourhr.co.nz with details of your concern, including relevant dates and any supporting documents. We'll acknowledge your complaint promptly and investigate it, and let you know the outcome within a reasonable time.

If you're not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz.

We take reasonable steps to keep personal information secure and protected against unauthorised access, use, or disclosure. Information we hold is stored on secure servers located in New Zealand and/or overseas, where our service and software providers operate, and access is limited to authorised staff and contractors who need it to do their work.

While we take reasonable precautions, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we can't guarantee the absolute security of information sent to us online.

We retain personal information for as long as we're providing services to you. We retain client and employee records for a minimum of seven years after our engagement with a client ends, consistent with standard professional record-keeping practice, unless the law requires a longer period or you ask us to delete your information sooner (and we're not required to keep it).

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle personal information, please contact us at: