Content & Editorial Team
Carelink Foundation
Sägereistrasse 20
CH-8152 Glattbrugg
Phone + 41 44 876 50 50
Screen Design & Layout
furrerhugi.
Schauplatzgasse 39
CH-3011 Bern
Photos (black and white)
Patrick Rohr
www.patrickrohr.ch/photojournalist
Andre Veith
www.andre-veith.ch
Privacy Policy
September 2023 Version / Carelink Foundation
We respect your privacy, and data protection is important to us. This Privacy Policy informs our company’s customers and the users of this website, in accordance with Swiss and EU data protection laws, about the nature, scope, and purpose of the collection and use of personal data. We always provide you with transparent information about why we need your data and whether—and for how long—we store it.
We have implemented technical and organizational measures to ensure that data protection regulations are complied with by both us and our external service providers. Personal data must be processed lawfully, in good faith, and in a manner that is transparent to the data subject.
We operate in accordance with the principles of the DSG, namely transparency, purpose limitation, fairness, data minimization, limited retention periods, data accuracy, data security, privacy by design, and privacy by default.
Data protection is a key priority for the Carelink Foundation. This Privacy Policy explains how and for what purpose the Carelink Foundation collects and processes personal data. Personal data refers to any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual. The Carelink Foundation processes all data in accordance with applicable legal provisions, in particular the Swiss Data Protection Act (DSG) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Carelink Foundation implements appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect personal data from loss, destruction, unauthorized access, and misuse.
This Privacy Policy primarily covers the following:
- What personal data do we collect and process;
- For what purposes do we use your personal data;
- Who has access to your personal data;
- How does our data processing benefit you;
- Duration of the processing and storage of your personal data;
- Your rights regarding your personal data;
- and our contact information.
Please note that the Carelink Foundation may amend this Privacy Policy at any time without prior notice. The most current version published on the Carelink Foundation’s websites at www.carelink.ch and www.careandpeer.ch (hereinafter the “Websites”) shall apply.
Terms
Personal Data
Personal data, as defined by the DSG and the GDPR, is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person; a natural person is considered identifiable if they can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by association with an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or one or more specific characteristics that reflect the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of that natural person. Examples of personal data include names, addresses, email addresses, etc.
Personal data requiring special protection
Certain types of personal data are considered particularly sensitive under data protection law. These include, primarily but not exclusively, health data, biometric characteristics, and DNA profiles.
We process special-category personal data only if it is absolutely necessary for the provision of a service, if you have voluntarily disclosed such data, or if you have consented to its processing. Such data is generally not disclosed to third parties or transferred abroad.
Processing
“Processing” means any handling of personal data, regardless of the means or methods used, including, in particular, the collection, storage, retention, use, modification, disclosure, archiving, deletion, or destruction of data.
Person in Charge
The controller is the person who determines the purposes and means of processing, i.e., the person who decides whether personal data will be processed at all and what essential conditions apply to such processing.
Order Processor
A data processor is a person who carries out data processing on behalf of another party. Although the processor decides independently to conduct its business and to process data on behalf of the controller, the decision to carry out this processing in the first place remains with the controller. The controller has the right to issue instructions to the processor.
Person in Charge
The Carelink Foundation is responsible for the data processing described in this Privacy Policy:
Carelink Foundation
Sägereistrasse 20
8152 Glattbrugg
Tel.: +41 44 876 50 50
Email: info@carelink.ch
If you have a data protection-related concern, you can contact the Carelink Foundation using the address information provided above.
Legal Basis for Data Processing
The processing of personal data is based on different legal grounds depending on the purpose of the processing. In Switzerland, data processing is generally permitted unless it is prohibited by law (DSG or GDPR).
Data processing is permitted for the purpose of fulfilling a contract, regardless of—or even against—the data subject’s wishes.
Furthermore, legitimate interests allow us to process data. Legitimate interests can be of both a non-material and an economic nature. Direct marketing, for example, is considered a recognized purpose. This includes contacting individuals with promotional information, for example, by phone, email, or mail.
Furthermore, any data processing that is based on your consent or is necessary to comply with domestic or foreign laws is permitted.
Collection and Processing of Personal Data
The Carelink Foundation processes, in particular, personal data that it receives from its customers, their employees, and other business partners and individuals in the course of its services and business activities, and/or that it collects from users of its website during its operation. Such personal data includes, in particular, names and contact information, sociodemographic data, data related to the use of the website, and any other information that customers, their employees, other business partners, and individuals provide to the Carelink Foundation. With regard to customers’ employees and other individuals, such personal data also includes information about the mental or physical health of the employee or the individual concerned.
You often provide us with personal data yourself, for example, by communicating with us and thereby transmitting and making data available to us.
This occurs, for example, in the following situations:
- You enter into a contract with us;
- You need psychosocial support following a care-related event
- You can sign up for other services, such as our newsletter.
The provision of personal data is primarily voluntary. However, for the purpose of contract processing and fulfillment, or in the event of a care-related incident, we must collect and process certain personal data. There are also statutory retention requirements. Otherwise, we cannot enter into, fulfill, or continue the contract in question. The processing of personal data is generally permitted for the purpose of fulfilling a contract.
If you provide us with information about other people (friends or family members), we will assume that you are authorized to do so and that this information is accurate. You also ensure that these other people have been informed of this Privacy Policy.
Data Collected
Personal data can also be collected automatically, for example, online. This often includes behavioral and transactional data, as well as technical data (time of website visit, payment history, etc.).
Personal data may be collected independently in the following cases, for example:
- You enter into a contract online;
- You visit one of our websites or use one of our apps;
- You subscribe to our newsletter or otherwise interact with one of our electronic promotional messages at
.
We can derive additional personal data from existing personal data—for example, by analyzing behavioral and transaction data. Such derived personal data often consists of preference data.
Data Received
We may receive personal data from contractual partners, provided that you have consented to its transfer to us. We may also obtain personal data about you from public sources.
Purpose of data processing
First and foremost, the Carelink Foundation processes personal data in connection with the provision of its services, the conclusion and administration of contractual relationships with its customers and other business partners, and the operation of its websites.
The Carelink Foundation may also process personal data for other purposes, provided that this is permitted by law and the Carelink Foundation has a legitimate interest in such data processing.
In addition, the Carelink Foundation may process personal data based on your consent (e.g., sending newsletters following your subscription). You may revoke this consent at any time. However, revoking your consent does not affect any data processing that has already taken place.
In particular, the Carelink Foundation processes personal data for the following purposes:
- Fulfillment of their contractual obligations
- Management and processing of your business relationships
- Communication with its customers, their employees, and other business partners
- Product and service offerings, quality assurance, and the ongoing development of their products and services
- Maintenance, Provision, and Improvement of Their Websites
- Statistical purposes
Contract Processing
We also want to ensure that the contract is fulfilled to your complete satisfaction. We therefore process personal data for the purpose of fulfilling the contract and for all matters directly or indirectly related to it. The purpose of contract processing generally encompasses everything that is necessary or appropriate to conclude, execute, and fulfill a contract. Contract processing may also include the agreed-upon personalization of services, where applicable.
Information and Marketing
We also process personal data to maintain relationships and for marketing purposes, for example, by sending written or electronic communications. Such communications may be personalized.
These may include the following messages:
- Newsletter
- electronic messages
- Information by mail
- Annual reports, magazines, and other printed materials;
- Invitations to Events
You can withdraw your consent for marketing purposes at any time. For newsletters and other electronic communications, you must give your explicit consent anyway.
Safety and Prevention
We want to ensure your safety and ours and prevent misuse. To ensure your and our safety and to prevent misuse, we process personal data for security purposes, to ensure IT security, to prevent theft, fraud, and misuse, and for evidentiary purposes. We will therefore collect, analyze, and store your personal data for security purposes.
Legal Obligations
If there are legal obligations—for example, regarding retention or disclosure—we will comply with them. Otherwise, we will not disclose your personal data.
Legal Compliance
To enforce our claims, we process your personal data, for example, to preserve evidence or to assess the prospects of a potential lawsuit. Upon request, we will disclose your personal data to government authorities.
Use of the Carelink Foundation Website
Log data and device-specific information
When you visit and use the Carelink Foundation’s websites, the site’s provider automatically collects and stores log data and device-specific information that your browser automatically transmits to the Carelink Foundation. This data and information includes, among other things, your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, the website from which an accessing system reaches the Carelink Foundation’s websites (known as the referrer), information about your device and its settings, as well as the date and time of your visit.
Cookies
The Carelink Foundation’s websites use cookies. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer or mobile device via a web browser when you visit the Carelink Foundation’s websites. When you revisit one of the websites, the website recognizes you without knowing who you are. The purpose of this recognition is to make it easier for you to use the website. By using cookies, the Carelink Foundation can provide you with more user-friendly services that would not be possible without cookies.
However, you can configure your browser to disable cookies, store them only for the duration of a session, or delete them early. Most browsers are set by default to accept cookies. If you disable cookies, you may not be able to use all features of the websites to their full extent.
You can find more information about cookies on websites such as https://allaboutcookies.org/.
Google Analytics
The Carelink Foundation’s websites use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC (hereinafter “Google”), USA. Google Analytics also uses cookies to analyze your use of the websites. The information collected is generally transmitted to a Google server in the United States and stored there. The IP anonymization feature is enabled on the Carelink Foundation’s websites. This causes Google to truncate your IP address within member states of the European Union or in other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area before it is transmitted to the United States. Only in exceptional cases is the full IP address transmitted to a Google server in the United States and truncated there.
Google uses the information collected in this manner to evaluate your use of the websites, to compile reports on website activity for the Carelink Foundation, and to provide other services related to website and Internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required by law or where such third parties process the data on Google’s behalf. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics is not combined with other data held by Google.
Social Media
We operate pages and other online presences on social media platforms and other third-party platforms, and in this context, we process data about you. In doing so, we receive data from you and from the platforms (e.g., statistics). The platform providers may analyze your usage and process this data together with other data they hold about you. The platforms also process this data for their own purposes (e.g., marketing and market research purposes and to administer their platforms), and act as separate data controllers for this purpose. For more information on processing by the platform operators, please refer to their respective privacy policies.
We currently use the following platforms; the identity and contact information of each platform operator can be found in the respective privacy policy:
YouTube
www.youtube.com
Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de
www.linkedin.com
Privacy Policy: https://de.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy
We have the right, but are not obligated, to review third-party content before or after it is published on our websites, to delete content without notice, and, if necessary, to report it to the provider of the relevant platform.
Some of the platform operators may be located outside Switzerland. Information on the transfer of data abroad can be found below.
Collection of Contact Information
If you contact us using the contact form or the order form for application materials, the information you provide—such as your email address, last name, first name, and any other information you voluntarily provide—such as your address, phone number, etc.—will be stored so that we can use it to process and respond to your inquiry. For more information regarding data processing, please see the section below titled “Disclosure and Handling of Personal Data.” We will delete the data collected in this context once storage is no longer necessary, or we will restrict processing if statutory retention requirements apply. This data will not be disclosed to third parties without your consent.
Newsletter
By subscribing to the newsletter, you agree to receive the newsletter and to the processing of your data by our mailing service provider. Based on our legitimate interests in optimizing and analyzing our offerings, we collect data on the open and click-through rates of our newsletters and store this information linked to your email address.
The newsletter is sent by the mailing service provider CleverReach GmbH, Schafjückenweg 2, D-26180 Rastede. Data processing is based on the GDPR.
You can revoke your consent to receive the newsletter at any time. You’ll find the unsubscribe link at the end of each newsletter.
Transfer of Data Abroad
In the course of its business activities and the processing of personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy—to the extent permitted and required by law—the Carelink Foundation may – disclose personal data to trusted third parties (hereinafter the “third-party recipients”) who process your personal data on behalf of the Carelink Foundation. In particular, these may include service partners of the Carelink Foundation (e.g., IT service providers, third parties involved in the execution or organization of events, providers of support services, and customers abroad).
Third-party recipients may be located in Switzerland or abroad. If the relevant country does not provide adequate legal data protection, the Carelink Foundation ensures, in accordance with legal requirements, that personal data is adequately protected in line with Swiss data protection standards (in particular by entering into EU Model Clauses and/or through the existence of so-called Binding Corporate Rules).
Sharing Your Personal Information
We may share your personal data within our foundation. This sharing may be for internal administrative purposes.
To Third Parties
We may also share your personal data with companies outside our foundation if we use their services. These service providers primarily process your personal data on our behalf as data processors. We require our data processors, through a data processing agreement (DPA), to process your personal data exclusively in accordance with our instructions and to implement appropriate data security measures.
We require your consent to disclose your personal data to other third parties for their own purposes, unless there is a legal basis that requires us by law to disclose such data.
Please also review our cookie policy regarding the independent collection of data by third-party providers whose tools we have integrated into our websites and apps.
We receive data that is subject to professional confidentiality.
Switzerland and the EU
We process and store personal data in Switzerland and in the European Union. The GDPR provides a level of data protection equivalent to that in Switzerland.
Personal data may be transferred abroad (or made accessible from abroad) without further action only if the country in question provides a level of protection that is adequate from Switzerland’s perspective.
Countries outside the EU often do not have laws that protect your personal data to the same extent as in Switzerland or the EU. If we transfer your personal data to such a country, we will ensure that your personal data is protected in an appropriate manner.
One way to ensure adequate data protection is through contractual measures that guarantee the necessary protection of your personal data abroad. Standard contractual clauses (approved by the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner, EDÖB) are often used. Contractual measures often do not fully compensate for weaker or absent legal protection, so your consent would be required.
Transfers to Third Countries
Our website incorporates services from companies based in the United States or with ties to the United States. You must consent to this data processing. In this case, unrestricted access to your personal data by U.S. authorities cannot be ruled out. There is no legal recourse available. In the following cases, we cannot adequately ensure the protection of your personal data, even through standard data protection clauses.
This also includes, but is not limited to, social media service providers (see above)
However, for all of the aforementioned companies with headquarters or branches in the United States, it cannot be ruled out that they may be required to grant U.S. authorities access to your personal data (U.S. CLOUD Act), even if the data is not stored in the United States.
Therefore, such data processing takes place only with your explicit consent.
Currently, data is only transferred to Germany—a country with an adequate level of data protection. We are unable to list any other countries at this time.
Retention Period for Personal Data
The Carelink Foundation stores personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfill contractual and legal obligations or for the other purposes for which the data is processed (e.g., for the duration of the business relationship, contract performance, and beyond that in accordance with statutory retention and documentation requirements). Should we wish to store your data for a longer period, we will ask for your consent.
Rights of the Data Subject
You have the right at any time to request information from the Carelink Foundation regarding what personal data the Carelink Foundation holds about you and how it is processed. This right applies only to your own personal data. If a document or file contains personal data of third parties in addition to your own personal data, such data will be removed or anonymized in an appropriate manner. The Carelink Foundation does not disclose personal data of its clients’ employees to the clients. This is subject to any agreement to the contrary between the client, the employee, and the Carelink Foundation, or the employee’s express consent to the disclosure of his or her information to the client.
In addition, you have the right at any time to request that the Carelink Foundation correct or delete your personal data and/or restrict the processing of such data. This is subject to any statutory restrictions that the Carelink Foundation may invoke in this regard (e.g., a legal obligation or the Carelink Foundation’s overriding interest in retaining or processing certain personal data).
You may also request to revoke any consent at any time. Please note that exercising these rights may conflict with contractual agreements and may, for example, result in additional costs.
Legal Remedies
You can also enforce your rights through the courts or file a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority. In Switzerland, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) is responsible for this. For more information, visit: http://www.edoeb.admin.ch.