Data Protection Notice

1. An overview of data protection

General information

The following information will provide you with an easy to navigate overview of what will happen with your personal data when you visit our website. The term “personal data” comprises all data that can be used to personally identify you. For detailed information about the subject matter of data protection, please consult our Data Protection Notice, which we have included beneath this copy.

Data recording on our website

Who is the responsible party for the recording of data on this website (i.e. the “controller”)?

The data on this website is processed by the operator of the website, whose contact information is available under section “Information Required by Law” on this website.

How do we record your data?

We collect your data as a result of your sharing of your data with us. This may, for instance be information you enter into our contact form.

Our IT systems automatically record other data when you visit our website. This data comprises primarily technical information (e.g. web browser, operating system or time the site was accessed). This information is recorded automatically when you access our website.

What are the purposes we use your data for?

Generally, we need your data to prepare for or implement a contract. A portion of the information is generated to guarantee the error free provision of the website. Other data may be used to analyse your user patterns.

What rights do you have as far as your information is concerned?

You have the right to receive information about the source, recipients and purposes of your archived personal data at any time without having to pay a fee for such disclosures. You also have the right to demand that your data are rectified, blocked or eradicated. Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time under the address disclosed in section “Legal Notice” on this website if you have questions about this or any other data protection related issues. You also have the right to log a complaint with the competent supervising agency.

Moreover, under certain circumstances, you have the right to demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data. For details, please consult the Data Protection Notice under section “Right to Restriction of Data Processing.”

Analysis tools and tools provided by third parties

There is a possibility that your browsing patterns will be statistically analysed when your visit our website. Such analyses are performed primarily with cookies and with what we refer to as analysis programmes. As a rule, the analyses of your browsing patterns are conducted anonymously; i.e. the browsing patterns cannot be traced back to you. You have the option to object to such analyses or you can prevent their performance by not using certain tools. For detailed information about this, please consult our Data Protection Notice below.

You do have the option to object to such analyses. We will brief you on the objection options in this Data Protection Notice.

2. General information and mandatory information

Data protection

The operators of this website and its pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. Hence, we handle your personal data as confidential information and in compliance with the statutory data protection regulations and this Data Protection Notice.

Whenever you use this website, a variety of personal information will be collected. Personal data comprises data that can be used to personally identify you. This Data Protection Notice explains which data we collect as well as the purposes we use this data for. It also explains how, and for which purpose the information is collected.

We herewith advise you that the transmission of data via the Internet (i.e. through e-mail communications) may be prone to security gaps. It is not possible to completely protect data against third party access.

Information about the responsible party (referred to as the “controller” in the GDPR)

The data processing controller on this website is:

ETL-Heimfarth & Kollegen GmbH
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
Peter-Klöckner-Straße 5
D-56073 Koblenz
Phone: +49 261 30457-0
Fax: +49 261 30457-42
e-mail: info@etl-heimfarth.de

ETL-Heimfarth, Schultheiß, Bühler & Kollegen GmbH
Steuerberatungsgesellschaft
Peter-Klöckner-Straße 5
D-56073 Koblenz
Phone: +49 261 30457-0
Fax: +49 261 30457-42
e-mail: info@etl-heimfarth.de

ETL-HKP GmbH
Steuerberatungsgesellschaft
Peter-Klöckner-Straße 5
D-56073 Koblenz
Phone: +49 261 30457-0
Fax: +49 261 30457-42
e-mail: info@etl-heimfarth.de

Abel & Heimfarth GmbH
Unternehmensberatung
Peter-Klöckner-Straße 5
D-56073 Koblenz
Phone: +49 261 30457-0
Fax: +49 261 30457-42
e-mail: info@etl-heimfarth.de

The controller is the natural person or legal entity that single-handedly or jointly with others makes decisions as to the purposes of and resources for the processing of personal data (e.g. names, e-mail addresses, etc.).

Revocation of your consent to the processing of data

A wide range of data processing transactions are possible only subject to your express consent. You can also revoke at any time any consent you have already given us. To do so, all you are required to do is send us an informal notification via e-mail. This shall be done without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data collection that occurred prior to your revocation.

Right to object to the collection of data in special cases; right to object to direct advertising (Art. 21 GDPR)

In the event that data are processed based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. e or f GDPR, you have the right to at any time object to the processing of your personal data based on grounds arising from your unique situation. This also applies to any profiling based on these provisions. To determine the legal basis, on which any processing of data is based, please consult this Data Protection Notice. If you log an objection, we will no longer process your affected personal data, unless we are in a position to present compelling protection worthy grounds for the processing of your data, that outweigh your interests, rights and freedoms or if the purpose of the processing is the claiming, exercising or defense of legal entitlements (objection pursuant to Art. 21 Sect. 1 GDPR).

Right to log a complaint with the competent supervisory agency

In the event of an infringement against data protection law, affected parties have the right to complain to the responsible supervisory authorities. The responsible supervisory authority in data protection questions is the state Data Protection Officer of the federal state in which the headquarters of our company are located. You can find a list of the Data Protection Officers and their contact information in the following link: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html.

Right to data portability

You have the right to demand that we hand over any data we automatically process based on your consent or in order to fulfil a contract be handed over to you or a third party in a commonly used, machine readable format. If you should demand the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will be done only if it is technically feasible.

SSL and/or TLS encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as purchase orders or inquiries you submit to us as the website operator, this website uses either an SSL or a TLS encryption programme. You can recognise an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from “http://” to “https://” and by the appearance of the lock icon in the browser line.

If the SSL or TLS encryption is activated, data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Information about, blockage, rectification and eradication of data

Within the scope of the applicable statutory provisions, you have the right to at any time demand information about your archived personal data, their source and recipients as well as the purpose of the processing of your data. You may also have a right to have your data rectified, blocked or eradicated. If you have questions about this subject matter or any other questions about personal data, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time at the address provided in section “Legal Notice”.

Right to demand processing restrictions

You have the right to demand the imposition of restrictions as far as the processing of your personal data is concerned. To do so, you may contact us at any time at the address provided in section “Information Required by Law.” The right to demand restriction of processing applies in the following cases:

In the event that you should dispute the correctness of your data archived by us, we will usually need some time to verify this claim. During the time that this investigation is ongoing, you have the right to demand that we restrict the processing of your personal data.

If the processing of your personal data was/is conducted in an unlawful manner, you have the option to demand the restriction of the processing of your data in lieu of demanding the eradication of this data.

If we do not need your personal data any longer and you need it to exercise, defend or claim legal entitlements, you have the right to demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of its eradication.

If you have raised an objection pursuant to Art. 21 Sect. 1 GDPR, your rights and our rights will have to be weighed against each other. As long as it has not been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to demand a restriction of the processing of your personal data.

If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, these data – with the exception of their archiving – may be processed only subject to your consent or to claim, exercise or defend legal entitlements or to protect the rights of other natural persons or legal entities or for important public interest reasons cited by the European Union or a member state of the EU.

Rejection of unsolicited e-mails

We herewith object to the use of contact information published in conjunction with the mandatory information to be provided in section “Legal Notice” to send us promotional and information material that we have not expressly requested. The operators of this website and its pages reserve the express right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of promotional information, for instance via SPAM messages.

3. Data protection officer

Designation of a data protection officer as mandated by law

We have appointed a data protection officer for our company:

Lars Querbach
c/o Das LohnTEAM GmbH
Peter-Klöckner-Straße 5
D-56073 Koblenz
Germany

Phone: +49 261 293586-0
e-mail: datenschutz@etl-heimfarth.de

4. Recording of data on our website

Cookies

In some instances, our website and its pages use so-called cookies. Cookies do not cause any damage to your computer and do not contain viruses. The purpose of cookies is to make our website more user friendly, effective and more secure. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer and stored by your browser.

Most of the cookies we use are so-called “session cookies.” They are automatically deleted after your leave our site. Other cookies will remain archived on your device until you delete them. These cookies enable us to recognise your browser the next time you visit our website.

You can adjust the settings of your browser to make sure that you are notified every time cookies are placed and to enable you to accept cookies only in specific cases or to exclude the acceptance of cookies for specific situations or in general and to activate the automatic deletion of cookies when you close your browser. If you deactivate cookies, the functions of this website may be limited.

Cookies that are required for the performance of the electronic communications transaction or to provide certain functions you want to use (e.g. the shopping cart function), are stored based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in storing cookies to ensure the technically error free and optimised provision of the operator’s services. If other cookies (e.g. cookies for the analysis of your browsing patterns) should be stored, they are addressed separately in this Data Protection Notice.

Server log files

The provider of this website and its pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser communicates to us automatically. The information comprises:

• The type and version of browser used
• The used operating system
• Referrer URL
• The hostname of the accessing computers
• The time of the server inquiry
• The IP address
• Data quantity

This data is not merged with other data sources.

The access logs of the web server record what server inquires have taken place at what times. They contain the following data:

IP, directory protection user, date, time, pages visited, records, status code, data quantity, referrer, user agent, host name visited.

The IP addresses will be saved in an anonymized form. The number of the last octet is deleted and replaced by a 0, i.e. 185.221.105.201 becomes 185.221.105.0. IPv6 addresses will also be anonymized. Information about directory protection users will be anonymized after one day.

Error logs that record defective site visits will be deleted after seven days. Visits over an FTP will be recorded anonymously and stored for 60 days.

The mail logs for sending emails from the web environment will be anonymized after one day and then retained for 60 days. In anonymization, all data about the sender/recipient, etc. will be removed. Only the time the email was sent and how the email was processed are retained (source ID or not sent).

Mail logs for sending via our mail server are deleted after four weeks. The long retention period is necessary to guarantee the functionality of the mail services and in defense against spam.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. b GDPR, which allows data to be processed to fulfill a contract or for pre-contractual measures, or data is recorded based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the technically error free depiction and the optimization of the operator’s website. In order to achieve this, server log files must be recorded.

Contact form

If you send inquiries to us using the contact form, your information from the contact form, including the contact information you have indicated, will be stored for the purpose of processing the inquiry and for the event that there are any related questions.

The website contains a contact form that facilitates quick electronic communication with our company and direct communication with us, which also includes a general address for electronic mail (email address). If you contact us by email or using a contact form, the personal data you send will be stored automatically. Any such data that you send to us on a voluntary basis will be stored for the purpose of handling your inquiry or contacting you. This personal data will not be disclosed to third parties.

The data entered in the contact form is processed on the basis of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. b GDPR, which allows data to be processed for the fulfillment of a contract or for pre-contractual measures, and of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR, as the website operator has a legitimate interest in storing the data.

Processing of data (customer and contract data)

We collect, process and use personal data only to the extent necessary for the establishment, content organization or change of the legal relationship (data inventory). These actions are taken based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. b GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or pre-contractual actions. We collect, process and use personal data concerning the use of our website (usage data) only to the extent that this is necessary to make it possible for users to utilize the services and to bill for them.

The collected customer data shall be eradicated upon completion of the order or the termination of the business relationship. This shall be without prejudice to any statutory retention mandates.

Data Disclosures at Contractual Conclusion for Services and Digital Contents

We only disclose personal data to third parties if this is necessary in the context of contract processing, such as to the credit institute charged with processing payment.

Any other disclosure of data will not occur or will only occur if you have explicitly consented to the disclosure. Any disclosure of your data to third parties without your explicit consent, such as for advertising purposes, will not occur.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. b GDPR, which allows data to be processed for the fulfillment of a contract or for pre-contractual measures.

5. Analysis tools and advertising

Google Analytics

This website uses functions of the web analysis service Google Analytics. The provider of this service is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Google Analytics uses so-called cookies. Cookies are text files, which are stored on your computer and that enable an analysis of the use of the website by users. The information generated by cookies on your use of this website is usually transferred to a Google server in the United States, where it is stored.

The storage of Google Analytics cookies and the utilization of this analysis tool are based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of this website has a legitimate interest in the analysis of user patterns to optimize both, the services offered online and the operator’s advertising activities.

IP anonymization

On this website, we have activated the IP anonymization function. As a result, your IP address will be abbreviated by Google within the member states of the European Union or in other states that have ratified the Convention on the European Economic Area prior to its transmission to the United States. The full IP address will be transmitted to one of Google’s servers in the United States and abbreviated there only in exceptional cases. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google shall use this information to analyse your use of this website to generate reports on website activities and to render other services to the operator of this website that are related to the use of the website and the Internet. The IP address transmitted in conjunction with Google Analytics from your browser shall not be merged with other data in Google’s possession.

Browser plug-in

You do have the option to prevent the archiving of cookies by making pertinent changes to the settings of your browser software. However, we must point out that in this case you may not be able to use all the functions of this website to their fullest extent. Moreover, you have the option prevent the recording of the data generated by the cookie and affiliated with your use of the website (including your IP address) by Google as well as the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available under the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en

Contract data processing

We have executed a contract data processing agreement with Google and are implementing the stringent provisions of the German data protection agencies to the fullest when using Google Analytics.

6. Plugins and Tools

Integration of Third-Party Services and Contents

On our website, we use active JavaScript contents from external providers. When you visit our website, these external providers may receive personal information about your visit to our website. It is also possible that this data may be processed outside of the EU. You can prevent this by installing a JavaScript blocker such as the ‘NoScript’ browser plugin (www.noscript.de) or by deactivating JavaScript in your browser. This may limit the functionalities of the websites that you visit. Specifically, we use:

Google Maps

Via an API, this website uses the mapping service Google Maps. The provider is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. To enable the use of the Google Maps features, your IP address must be stored. As a rule, this information is transferred to one of Google’s servers in the United States, where it is archived. The operator of this website has no control over the data transfer. We use Google Maps to present our online content in an appealing manner and to make the locations disclosed on our website easy to find. This constitutes a legitimate interest as defined in Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR.

For more information on the handling of user data, please review Google’s Data Privacy Declaration under: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

7. Up-to-date Status and Amendment of this Data Protection Notice

We are constantly developing our website and the services we offer. In the event that new technologies are implemented and used, it may be necessary to modify this Data Protection Notice. The same applies to legal changes or official requirements. We therefore recommend that you read this Data Protection Notice carefully not just now, but periodically.

This privacy policy is dated May 2019.