How we handle your data at the Information & Records Management Society

As a professional membership body, we handle very basic information about you in order to provide our membership benefits and wider services to you. On this page you can find information on how we handle your data, why we need and who we have to share it with (if anyone at all).

Who are ‘we’?

When we outline to you how we take care of your data you’ll notice we use the words ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’. This means we are referring to The Information & Records Management Society Ltd (IRMS) . We are a limited company registered in England & Wales under company reference 12914034. We are also registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) under registration number Z8774506.

We are, in almost all circumstances, the ‘Data Controller’ of your personal data. We are responsible for taking care of your data and ensuring that anyone we work with, who might need to access your data, also takes care of it and follows our rules. If there is ever a situation where another organisation or person is the Data Controller of your data, we will let you know.

How and why we process your data:

There are many ways in which you will interact with us, these include but will not be limited to:

• To administer your membership

• To deliver your benefits of membership

• To make you aware of your membership benefits and offers

• To host and maintain it in an electronic system

• To operate this website

• To manage your attendance at an IRMS event (if applicable)

• To administer your Accreditation, Fellowship or Awards (if applicable)

In the majority of cases your personal data will be managed within the IRMS website hosted by YourMembership and processed by the IRMS or Moore Engage who provide us with administrative support.

To administer your membership:

What we collect: We collect minimal personal data in order to be able to identify you as an individual member. This includes your name, address, job title, contact details and payment information. Your membership information is processed as part of your membership agreement, which can be cancelled either at renewal or during the year.  

Why we collect it: Formal notices about your membership will be sent to your designated email address unless you request a paper copy. Such notices typically consist of membership confirmation and renewals, annual reports, details of the AGM and executive nominations. We process your information as part of the terms of membership under contract and in some limited circumstances as a legitimate interest or a legal obligation (tax).

Who we share it with: Moore Engage our ‘processor’ and they help us to administer your membership on our behalf and we have a contract with them for the service which outlines how this information will be processed and protected.

Potential employers may also enquire with us to validate your membership status (including accreditation). We verify status only; no contact information is given out for this purpose.

How long we keep it: If you leave the IRMS, details about your membership are kept on record for 6 years from the date of your membership lapse. Where you are accredited or a Fellow, please see below how long we keep a record on file for you.  

To deliver your benefits of membership:

What we collect: Most benefits can be delivered using very minimal levels of personal data about you. For example, your name and email address. Where we may need to collect more to deliver that benefit or service, we will outline this to you.

Why we collect it: We process your personal details in order to ensure you are provided with the various benefits of membership to which you receive and have agreed to as part of your membership agreement of the IRMS.

Who we share it with: Most of your benefits are delivered by the IRMS and are outlined here, however, some are delivered by third parties to whom the IRMS has a partnership with under formal contract.

Bulletin = In order to send you a paper copy of the Bulletin, where you have elected to receive one via this method, your name and address are provided to G & C Media and Visual Print & Design to coordinate and deliver the paper bulletins respectively. For those receiving electronic bulletins only an access link is emailed directly to you from a member of the IRMS Executive. This mailing list is auto-generated for those whom remain opted in to receive them.

Jobs Board = This is provided to the IRMS by YourMembership. While you can access this from the IRMS website the admin and hosting of data used for the JobsBoard sits within YourMembership. The Privacy Notice for this service can be found here.

To contact you about your membership and your benefits

What we collect: We collect your contact details (your preferred email address).

Why we collect it: As part of the membership agreement, we will contact you in order to inform you about how you can use your benefits of membership. This includes when new benefits are launched and when obsolete ones are removed. We will often contact you via email and you can control what and how you receive this information via your membership account and settings on the IRMS website.

Who we share it with: Your contact details are stored on the IRMS website hosted by YourMembership. We do not use any other email newsletter platforms.

How long we keep it: Your contact details for Membership Admin purposes are removed when you no longer are a member. For those that wish to remain on a wider marketing list your email address will remain on the list until you tell us otherwise.

To administer your attendance at events and training courses

What we collect: Administration of IRMS events is done electronically through the IRMS website for members and non-members alike. We typically collect your name and basic contact details in order to book you onto the event but where catering is provided we may also need to collect any dietary requirements you may have.

Why we collect it: We need to know who will be at any of our events and if they are members or non-members. Only where we are legally required to manage allergy and dietary requirements will we ask for this information. If you do not provide us with this information please note we cannot guarantee that your dietary needs will be met.

Who we share it with: Where the event is hosted by the IRMS then we share it with no-one.  Where we are using someone else’s property, we need to provide the venue with details of who will be attending for safety and operational reasons so you can be allowed in. Each event will detail who this is and what they are doing with it.

Where you are attending an IRMS training provider course or event, they will handle the majority of your data and will only contact us to verify your membership and your suitability for the discount.

Attendance at an IRMS Webinar: If you register to attend an IRMS Webinar, the webinar itself is run by the IRMS however we use a third-party platform (Livestorm) to deliver the webinar and manage your attendance. We have collated all the details of how the platform operates and how the IRMS uses your data to manage your attendance here. 

Attendance at IRMS Conference: If you attend IRMS Conference your details are collected by and shared with Revolution Events Ltd. A specific privacy notice will be provided to you when you register for the conference you are looking to attend.

How long we keep it: Should you leave the IRMS, this information (as part of your membership record) is kept for up to 6 years from the date of your membership has lapsed. Specific event information is deleted shortly after your attendance at the event unless specifically stated in the event privacy notice.

To administer your Accreditation, Fellowship or any Awards (if applicable)

To apply for accreditation, fellowship or an award we have a legitimate interest to collect information about you, your career, qualifications and where applicable, references from others. Accreditation & Fellowship application information is kept confidential and not shared outside of the IRMS unless you request us to do so.

Each programme will outline specifically how they use and store your personal data as part of the application process. Where you wish to withdraw from the process before anything is awarded, you can do so, and your data will be destroyed unless otherwise outlined.

Accreditation = Your application data is shared with our assessors in order to assess your application and/or interview you. This data is not published. If an employer wishes to confirm your accreditation status with us we will confirm to them the dates your accreditation was awarded and if it was removed. Your application records are kept for the life of your membership plus 6 years. A record of your name and dates you were accredited will remain on file from the date awarded plus 50 years. More information is available at www.irms.org.uk/accreditation.

Fellowship = Your name and nomination statements are shared with the College of Fellows as part of the recruitment process. Your contact details are not shared without your consent. If awarded, your name will appear on the list of Fellows available from the IRMS website. Your nomination statements are kept for 13 months after the date of the nomination. A record (your name and date Fellowship was awarded) will be kept on the IRMS Fellowship roll indefinitely as part of the historical record. More information is available at www.irms.org.uk/fellowship.

Awards = Awards information (typically your name and email address) may be shared with our awards ceremony organisers, Revolution Events Ltd, with whom the IRMS has a partnership contract with. Your nomination statements are kept for 13 months after the date of the nomination. A record (your name and date of the award) will be kept on the IRMS Awards roll indefinitely as part of the historical record. More information is available at www.irms.org.uk/awards.

To send you details of offers from our partners relating to your membership or the wider profession

What we collect: We collect your contact details (your preferred email address).

Why we collect it: Where you have given us permission, we will send you information on our partners and third parties where they are offering services that may be of use to you (relating to the IRM profession or your professional development). These will also be things outside of the normal benefits of membership. These will be communicated to you via the method you have selected, and your details will not be shared with them.

Who we share it with: Where you provide information as part of your event attendance a separate privacy notice will be provided as we may seek to share your data with the event sponsor(s).However, this will only be done where you have consented.

How long we keep it: Should you leave the IRMS, your membership record is kept for up to 6 years from the date of your membership has lapsed. However, your contact email address is kept for longer if you have consented to still receive updates from the Society. You can opt-out of these updates at any time. 

To host and maintain this information in an electronic system

We use 4 main systems to either manage your member record or to support our services. These are outlined below with a summary of where the data is hosted and the controls in place to protect that data.

QuickBooks & ReceiptBank (to manage our accounts):

• Used by the IRMS & Moore Engage for financial bookkeeping & invoice management

• Hosted in the US under the privacy shield programme (we have contacted Moore Engage about this in light of the Schrems judgement)

• Information on their policies, procedures and security controls can be found at https://quickbooks.intuit.com/eu/gdpr/

YourMembership (to manage your membership record):

• Used by the IRMS & Moore Engage to administer your membership and provide online resources to you.

• Hosted in the US with signed Standard Contract Clauses in place (signed 2021)

• Information on their policies and procedures can be found at www.yourmembership.com/legal

IMIS (a legacy membership database):

• This was used by IRMS and Moore Engage to administer your membership and finances. From the end of 2017, this system will contain legacy information only. 

• Hosted in the UK as part of the Moore Engage contract with the IRMS.

• More information on the system can be found at http://www.advsol.com/ASI/imis20/about/legal.aspx

Microsoft 365 (to communicate and collaborate):

• Used by the IRMS and our partners to store, communicate and collaborate on IRMS projects and work.

• Storage of personal data on Microsoft 365 is avoided wherever possible but is unavoidable for things like Accreditation, Awards & Fellowship administration and email communications.

• Hosted in the US as part of the Microsoft 365 Terms and Conditions with signed Data Processing Terms in place

To operate this website:

Like most interactive websites, our site uses cookies to operate the site. Where possible, we have deactivated some of the additional cookies YourMembership offers with their systems therefore we only use necessary functional cookies.

How we use cookies: The IRMS website (www.irms.org.uk) uses some cookies to assist in the way the website operates and functions. These cookies do not record any information on other sites that you visit and are not categories as 'privacy intrusive'. The cookies we use fall into 3 categories;

• A session cookie allows visitors to access session specific data that pertains specifically to the visitor's web session. This information is only available during that session. Session cookies are required to browse the site and do not contain any personal or visitor/user information.

• A "persistent” cookie is an optional cookie that is used to remember the user the next time they visit the site. For example, this is used in instances where a member chooses the “Remember Me” option when they log in.

Below is a list of the specific cookies used on the site and their primary purpose. 

How do I change my cookie settings?

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

To find information relating to other browsers, visit the browser developer's website.

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Your rights:

The majority of the information we hold on you as current members is accessible via the IRMS website directly by you. If you wish to correct information, have it deleted or access your information please sign into your account and head to the settings section of your account.

If you are not currently a member of the IRMS, and therefore do not have an account, please contact info@irms.org.uk outlining what you would like to do, and we will process this accordingly.

Similarly, if you have a concern about your personal data you can contact the Data Protection Officer via info@irms.org.uk or engaging with them or any member of the IRMS team through your online membership profile.

FAO Data Protection Officer of the IRMS
Information & Records Management Society Ltd
St James House,
Vicar Lane,
Sheffield,
S1 2EX

Version Control: 

Version 3.1 February 2024