1. About this Privacy Policy

ARK Smart Cleaners Ltd ("ARK Smart Cleaners", "we", "us" or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information relating to:

• customers and prospective customers;

• cleaners, workers, contractors and prospective cleaners;

• people who contact us;

• people who submit information through our website; and

• visitors to our website.

We process personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and other applicable data protection legislation.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will be published on our website.
 

2. Who is responsible for your personal data?

The organisation responsible for your personal data is:

ARK Smart Cleaners Ltd

Email: arksmartcleaners@gmail.com

Telephone: 07983 401130

For data protection purposes, ARK Smart Cleaners Ltd is generally the "data controller" of the personal information described in this Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions about how we use your personal information, please contact us using the details above.

3. Information we collect

The personal information we collect depends on your relationship with us.

3.1 Information about customers

If you contact us, request a cleaning service, become a customer or complete a form on our website, we may collect:

• your name;

• address;

• email address;

• telephone number;

• information about the cleaning services you require;

• property or service-related information that you choose to provide;

• billing and invoicing information;

• correspondence between you and ARK Smart Cleaners;

• information contained in enquiries, messages or forms submitted through our website; and

• information necessary to administer our relationship with you.

We may also retain records relating to services provided, invoices, payments and communications.

3.2 Information about cleaners and prospective cleaners

If you apply to work with ARK Smart Cleaners or provide cleaning services to us, we may collect information necessary to assess your application, verify your identity, establish your suitability and manage our working relationship.

This may include:

• full name;

• date of birth;

• address and previous addresses where relevant;

• telephone number;

• email address;

• proof of address;

• passport or other identity documents;

• right-to-work documentation;

• DBS certificate or information obtained as part of a DBS check;

• employment and work history;

• qualifications, certificates and training records;

• references;

• information relating to your availability;

• information necessary to arrange and manage cleaning assignments;

• payment and banking information where required to pay you;

• correspondence between you and ARK Smart Cleaners; and

• other information you provide to us as part of your application or ongoing relationship with us.

We only request information that we consider reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.
 

4. Information contained in identity documents

Where we ask cleaners or prospective cleaners to provide documents such as passports, proof of address, right-to-work documents or certificates, we use this information for legitimate business, employment, legal and compliance purposes.

Depending on the document, the information may contain details such as:

• full name;

• date of birth;

• photograph;

• nationality;

• residential address;

• document number;

• expiry date; and

• other information contained within the document.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that copies of identity documents are accessed only by people who need them for legitimate business or compliance purposes.

We will not use identity documents for unrelated purposes.
 

5. DBS and criminal-record information

Where a DBS check is required for a cleaner or prospective cleaner, we may process information relating to criminal convictions and offences in accordance with applicable data protection law.

This information is handled with additional care because criminal-offence data is subject to specific legal requirements.

We may use DBS-related information to:

• assess suitability for particular cleaning work;

• meet customer, contractual, safeguarding or insurance requirements where applicable;

• comply with legal or regulatory obligations;

• protect customers, cleaners, members of the public and our business; and

• make decisions about whether a person is suitable for particular assignments.

We will only process criminal-offence information where we have an appropriate legal basis and, where required, an applicable condition under data protection law.

Where appropriate, we may use an authorised DBS checking provider or other relevant third party to carry out checks.

We will not use DBS information for unrelated purposes.

We will retain DBS and criminal-offence information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. In general, we aim to retain a DBS certificate or related criminal-offence information for no longer than 6 months after the relevant recruitment or verification process has been completed, unless there is a legitimate and documented reason to retain it for longer, such as an ongoing working relationship, legal requirement, safeguarding matter, insurance requirement or dispute.

We will securely delete or dispose of DBS-related information when it is no longer required.

Because the legal requirements for processing criminal-offence data are specific, ARK Smart Cleaners maintains appropriate records and safeguards for this information.
 

6. How we collect your information

We may collect personal information:

• directly from you;

• when you complete a form on our website;

• when you contact us by email, telephone or other communication methods;

• when you request a quote or cleaning service;

• when you apply to work with us;

• when you provide identity, right-to-work or other verification documents;

• when you provide information during the onboarding process;

• from referees or other third parties where appropriate;

• from DBS or identity/right-to-work verification providers where applicable;

• from customers or organisations where necessary to arrange cleaning services; and

• automatically through our website, including information collected through cookies and similar technologies.

Where we obtain information about you from another source rather than directly from you, we will provide the privacy information required by applicable data protection law.

7. How we use personal information

We may use personal information for the following purposes:

Customers

We may use customer information to:

• respond to enquiries;

• provide quotations;

• arrange and provide cleaning services;

• communicate with customers;

• schedule appointments and cleaning visits;

• issue invoices and maintain financial records;

• process payments;

• manage customer accounts and relationships;

• deal with complaints or disputes;

• maintain business records;

• protect our business and customers from fraud or misuse; and

• comply with legal and regulatory obligations.

Cleaners and prospective cleaners

We may use cleaner information to:

• process applications;

• verify identity;

• verify right to work;

• carry out appropriate background or DBS checks;

• assess suitability for cleaning assignments;

• obtain and check references;

• maintain cleaner records;

• arrange cleaning assignments;

• communicate with cleaners;

• administer payments;

• manage our relationship with cleaners;

• comply with legal, contractual and insurance requirements;

• deal with incidents, complaints or disputes; and

• protect customers, cleaners and our business.
   

8. Our lawful bases for processing

Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We may process personal information where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you.

For example, we may use customer information to arrange cleaning services and issue invoices.

Legal obligation

We may process information where necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

For example, this may include maintaining accounting and tax records or carrying out legally required checks.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal information where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

Our legitimate interests may include:

• operating and managing our cleaning business;

• providing and improving our services;

• managing customer and cleaner relationships;

• maintaining appropriate security;

• preventing fraud and misuse;

• protecting customers, cleaners and our business;

• managing complaints and disputes; and

• maintaining appropriate business records.

Consent

In some circumstances, we may rely on your consent.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that we carried out before you withdrew your consent.

Where we process special category or criminal-offence data, we will only do so where the additional legal requirements applicable to that type of information are satisfied.
 

9. Who we may share personal information with

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share personal information where necessary with appropriate third parties, including:

• our employees and authorised staff;

• cleaners or contractors where necessary to provide a cleaning service;

• customers where necessary to arrange or provide services;

• accountants and financial advisers;

• payment service providers;

• banks and financial institutions;

• website, hosting and IT service providers;

• email, communication and customer-management service providers;

• DBS checking providers;

• identity and right-to-work verification providers;

• insurers;

• professional advisers;

• legal advisers;

• government bodies, regulators or law-enforcement authorities where required or permitted by law; and

• other service providers acting on our behalf.

Where we use third-party service providers to process personal information on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate contractual and security arrangements are in place.
 

10. Sharing information with cleaners

Where you are a customer, we may need to provide a cleaner or contractor with limited information necessary to carry out the cleaning service.

For example, this may include:

• your name;

• the address where the service is to be provided;

• relevant contact information;

• information necessary to access the property; and

• relevant information about the cleaning appointment.

We aim to share only the information reasonably necessary for the cleaner to carry out the service.
 

11. Sharing information with customers

Where you are a cleaner, we may share limited information with a customer where this is necessary to arrange or provide a cleaning service.

We will not ordinarily provide customers with unnecessary copies of your identity documents, passport, proof of address or other sensitive verification documentation.

Where a customer has a legitimate requirement for confirmation of checks or qualifications, we will seek to provide appropriate confirmation without unnecessarily disclosing the underlying personal information.
 

12. Website forms

Our website, https://arksmartcleaners.co.uk, may contain forms through which customers, prospective customers, cleaners or other individuals can provide personal information.

Information submitted through these forms may be used for the purposes explained in this Privacy Policy, including responding to enquiries, providing quotations, arranging services, processing applications and administering our business.

You should avoid submitting information through a website form that is not requested or reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.
 

13. Cookies and website technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Some cookies may be necessary for the website to operate correctly. Other cookies may be used for purposes such as analytics, functionality or marketing.

Where required by law, we will ask for your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings and, where applicable, through your website browser settings.
 

14. How we protect personal information

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

• unauthorised access;

• accidental loss;

• destruction;

• alteration;

• disclosure; and

• other forms of unlawful or unauthorised processing.

For cleaner verification documents, including passports, proof of address and DBS-related information, we aim to apply appropriate access controls and security measures because of the sensitivity of this information.

Access to personal information is limited to people who have a legitimate business need to access it.

However, no method of transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
 

15. How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, tax, contractual, insurance and dispute-resolution requirements.

Our general retention periods are as follows:

Customer enquiries and quotations

We normally retain information relating to enquiries and quotations for up to 12 months after our last communication with you, unless the information is needed for another legitimate purpose.

Customer records

Where you become a customer, we normally retain relevant customer and service records for the duration of our relationship and for up to 6 years afterwards, where necessary for legal, accounting, tax, insurance or dispute-resolution purposes.

Invoices and financial records

Financial and invoicing information will generally be retained for 6 years after the end of the relevant financial year, or for such longer period as required by applicable law.

Cleaner application information

If you apply to work with us but do not become a cleaner, we normally retain your application information for up to 12 months after the recruitment process has ended, unless there is a legitimate reason to retain it for longer.

Cleaner records

If you work with ARK Smart Cleaners, we normally retain relevant cleaner records for the duration of the working relationship and for up to 6 years afterwards, where reasonably necessary for legal, contractual, insurance, accounting, safeguarding or dispute-resolution purposes.

Passport, proof of address and identity documents

Copies of identity and verification documents will normally be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to complete the relevant verification process and, where necessary, for up to 12 months afterwards.

Where a longer period is required for a specific legal, contractual, safeguarding or insurance purpose, we may retain the relevant information for longer.

DBS information

DBS certificates and criminal-offence information will normally be retained for no longer than 6 months after the relevant recruitment or verification process has been completed, unless there is a legitimate and documented reason to retain the information for longer.

We will regularly review whether such information remains necessary and will securely delete it when it is no longer required.

Communications and complaints

Records of significant customer, cleaner or business communications, complaints and disputes may be retained for up to 6 years after the matter has been resolved, or longer where reasonably necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

When personal information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete or dispose of it.

16. International transfers

Some of the service providers we use may process personal information outside the UK.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that the transfer is made in accordance with applicable data protection law and that appropriate safeguards are in place where required.

17. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the applicable legal requirements, you may have rights in relation to your personal information, including:

• the right to be informed about how your information is used;

• the right to request access to your personal information;

• the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;

• the right to request deletion of your information in certain circumstances;

• the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;

• the right to object to certain processing;

• the right to data portability in certain circumstances; and

• the right to withdraw consent where we rely on consent as our lawful basis.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions.

For example, we may need to retain certain information to comply with legal obligations or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

18. How to exercise your rights

If you would like to exercise your data protection rights, please contact:

ARK Smart Cleaners Ltd
Email: arksmartcleaners@gmail.com
Telephone: 07983 401130

Please provide enough information for us to identify you and understand your request.

We may need to verify your identity before providing personal information or taking action on your request.

We will respond to valid requests within the time period required by applicable data protection law.

19. Complaints

If you have concerns about the way ARK Smart Cleaners Ltd uses your personal information, we would encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Information about how to complain to the ICO is available on the ICO website:

https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

20. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our business, the personal information we process, our service providers, or applicable data protection law.

When we make significant changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy and, where appropriate, provide additional notice.

21. Contact us

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

ARK Smart Cleaners Ltd

Email: arksmartcleaners@gmail.com

Telephone: 07983 401130

Website: https://arksmartcleaners.co.uk

Last updated: 23 August 2026