Privacy Policy

1. Data Controller

Twelve Trees Care Ltd ("we", "us", "our") is the data controller responsible for your personal data. We are registered in England and Wales and operate from Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

Alvaro Care is the trading brand of Twelve Trees Home Care Limited (company no. 09019518), our CQC-regulated operating company. The brand name is also registered as Alvaro Care Limited (company no. 11692879, registered office 17 Priory Road, Sheffield, S7 1LW).

Contact: admin@alvarocare.co.uk | 0330 1649 900

2. What Data We Collect

We may collect the following personal data:

• Contact information: name, email address, phone number, postal address
• Care assessment data: care needs, health conditions, living arrangements, financial information for funding assessments
• Employment data: CV details, qualifications, references, right to work documentation (for carer applicants)
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, pages visited, cookies (see Section 7)
• Communication records: correspondence with us via phone, email or online forms

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for:

• Responding to care enquiries and arranging assessments
• Providing and managing care services
• Processing carer applications and recruitment
• Complying with CQC regulatory requirements
• Improving our website and services
• Sending service-related communications (not marketing, unless you opt in)

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your data under the following lawful bases (UK GDPR Article 6):

• Consent: when you submit a form or request information
• Contract: to deliver care services you have engaged us to provide
• Legal obligation: CQC reporting, safeguarding, employment law
• Legitimate interests: improving our services and website functionality

Where we process special category data (health information), we rely on explicit consent or the provision of health/social care (Article 9(2)(h)).

5. Data Sharing

We may share your data with:

• Care professionals involved in your care
• The Care Quality Commission (CQC) as required by regulation
• Local authorities for funding assessments
• NHS bodies where relevant to your care
• Our technology providers (hosting, email) who process data on our behalf under strict data processing agreements

We will never sell your personal data to third parties.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected:

• Enquiry data: 2 years from last contact
• Client care records: 8 years after care ends (CQC requirement)
• Employee/carer records: 6 years after employment ends
• Unsuccessful applicant data: 6 months

7. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. We use:

• Essential cookies: required for the website to function (e.g. cookie consent preferences)
• Analytics cookies: to understand how visitors use our site (anonymised)

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using the cookie banner or your browser settings. For more information, see the ICO's guidance on cookies.

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data (Subject Access Request)
• Rectification — correct inaccurate data
• Erasure — request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten")
• Restrict processing in certain circumstances
• Data portability — receive your data in a structured format
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at admin@alvarocare.co.uk. We will respond within one month.

9. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.