Terms and Conditions

1. Terms applying to all users of the learndirect Learning through Work website.

Please read these Terms and Conditions of Use ('Terms') carefully before using www.learning through work.org('the Website'). These Terms apply to all users of this Website whether you are a registered user or just visiting the Website.

In these Terms, 'we', 'us', 'Ufi' and 'learndirect' means Ufi Limited which is the owner of this Website and the learndirect trademark and brand, and 'you' means the user of this Website.

Ufi Limited Registered in England No. 3980770

UFI Charitable Trust Registered in England No. 3658378 Registered Charity No. 1081028

Registered Office: Dearing House, 1 Young Street, Sheffield, S1 4UP

By using this Website you agree to be bound by these Terms.

2. Purpose of the Website

The purpose of the Website is to support LtW programmes which enable working people to achieve recognised Higher Education Institution (HEI) qualifications – without taking time off. Learning through Work can also be used by employers who would like a tailored programme for a group of staff.

3. Copyright and Intellectual Property

This website is owned by Ufi Limited, which carries on business in the United Kingdom under the learndirect name.

The intellectual property rights in the content provided on this Website including all of the graphics, code, text products, software, audio, music and design ("learndirect Materials") is owned by Ufi or its third party licensors.

The "Ufi" and "learndirect" marks (together the "learndirect Marks") are the property of Ufi. You agree not to copy, reproduce, upload, post, display or use in any way the learndirect Marks without the prior written permission of Ufi.

learndirect Materials consisting of course materials and support resources ("Course Materials") may be made available to you via the Website once the relevant HEI has confirmed acceptance of your application for participation in the Learning through Work programme.

You are granted a limited personal non-exclusive licence to use the Course Materials solely in connection with your participation in the Learning through Workprogramme as envisaged in the programme concluded between you, your employer and the relevant HEI.

You may make copies of this Website as necessary incidental acts during your viewing of it, and you may print for your personal use as much of this Website as is reasonable for private purposes.

Save as expressly set out in these Terms, you may not modify, copy, reproduce, re-publish, upload, post, transmit or distribute in any way any of the learndirect Materials. Any use of the learndirect Materials not expressly permitted in these Terms is strictly prohibited and will constitute an infringement of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Ufi, or in the case of material licensed to Ufi, the owner of such materials.

4. Third Party Links

We provide links to third party websites (including without limitation the websites of those universities that are our partners in the delivery of the Learning through Workprogramme). These third-party links are provided for your convenience only and are accessed at your own risk. We are not responsible in any way for the content of any third party website or for goods or services provided by the operators of such websites.

5. Amendments to the Terms

We reserve the right to amend these Terms from time to time. However, any such change will not affect any application form already submitted by you and will not affect your learning contract. When we make a change we will update this page of the Website. The date of the last revision to these Terms is provided at the end of this page. We recommend that you revisit this page regularly to ensure that you are aware of any changes that we have made to these Terms. If you continue to use the Website or the services or facilities provided via the Website, you will be deemed to have accepted those changes from the point at which such changes came into effect.

6. Registration

Registration gives you access to an Application Form which once completed will be sent to the HEI of your choice. Your application will be assessed by the HEI, and they alone will decide whether they can support your application. If you have any questions or concerns with your application, or how the HEI make their decision, you should discuss these directly with the HEI.

Registration also gives you access to an online checklist to help you decide whether the Learning through Work programme is suitable for you. Please remember that this is just a tool designed to help you discover what participation in the programme may mean for you and the reliability of the results will depend on the accuracy of the data you input. Using the checklist is not a replacement for independent research, and you should review the full range of options available to you.

7. Password

When you register you will be asked to select a user name and password. If you wish to change your user name and password at any time you can do so via the website.

You are responsible for keeping your password private. If you think someone else knows your password, or is using it, you should contact us as soon as possible.
The information that you provide to us upon registration and at any other time is subject to the Privacy Statement below.

8. Access to Learning Resources

We will provide you with access to the Learning Resources that your HEI has allocated tpo you once the HEI has confirmed acceptance of your application. You will need to log on through the Website to access such materials. You can log on using the user name and password which you chose when you registered.
You can log onto the Website from any computer using your assigned user name and password but you should be aware that not all computers have the software that will enable you to access all of the relevant Learning Resources.

In the event that you download certain publicly accessible software to ensure that your computer is capable of accessing Course Materials, you do so at your own risk.

9. Learning Area

The website allows learners and tutors to upload files related to the learners’ work. Please be aware that any files uploaded will be checked for viruses. If a virus is detected the file will be deleted without notice.

10. Privacy Statement

This privacy statement explains how we collect information from you via the Website and in any manner expressly described in the privacy statement and how this information is then used. Please read this privacy statement carefully. If you have any questions or comments about how we handle your personal information, please ring us on 08000 150 450 or e-mail us . You may also use these contacts to tell us about any concerns you may have about our privacy statement. We have registered as a data controller (in our registered company name of Ufi Limited) in line with the United Kingdom Data Protection Act, 1998.

What information do we collect?

- Registration

When you register via the Website you must tell us

• Your first name
• your last name
• your city or twon of residence
• your country of residence.

Even if you do not go on to submit an application form, these details are kept for six months for your convenience should you wish to use our services again in that time.

- Application Form

We also collect information about you when you complete an Application Form When completing the Application Form you must supply us with certain information, for example, your name, your date of birth, your mailing address, your employment status and the level of the award you are seeking.

We indicate by way of bold borders on the form which information is mandatory. We request such additional information for the purposes of monitoring and reviewing the Learning through Work programme as a whole and so that we and the relevant HEI may further support your learning. If you choose not to provide some of this information, for example information about any particular requirements, you may not get the most out of your programme.

We invite you to provide sensitive personal data about disabilities and ethnic origin. Where you choose to provide such information you explicitly consent to us using such data.

Where you provide us with personal data about another person, for example, referees, you confirm that you have obtained their consent to do so.
Users are required to keep their personal details up to date, the website includes functionality to enable this.

- Enquiries

You may also provide personal data through:

• calls to our helplines;
• letters and emails;
• feedback forms;
• chatrooms, message boards or other learning or communications facilities operated by us.

We may record calls to our helplines for quality and training purposes only.

Other information do we collect

If you are an employer and you want a copy of "learning through work and university qualifications – An Employer's guide", we ask you to provide us with certain information. Click here for the relevant form.

If you are an employer and you want to send an enquiry about the Learning Through Work programme and get an individualised response, we ask you for certain information.

How we use the information we collect

We will use personal information:

• to facilitate participation in the Learning through Work programme;
• to deliver services and facilities to students, for example, access to forums and message boards and our notepad facility;
• in connection with the provision of learndirect Materials, including Learning Resources;
• to answer queries and complaints and to carry out administration;
• [to ensure that the content, services and advertising we offer are tailored to your needs and interests]
• to carry out system-wide monitoring and to review the Learning through Workprogramme as a whole; and
• for general statistics and research.

To whom do we disclose your personal data

Applicants' information will be forwarded to the Higher Education Institute(s) selected by you on the Applicant Form in order for them to assess the application and, if successful, to support you in your participation in the Learning through Work programme. The HEI may also use applicants' information for statistical purposes [but the information used will not be capable of identifying the applicant].

We may also disclose personal data as follows:

• to any person who takes over part or all of the functions exercised by learndirect in relation to the Learning through Work programme but only for the purposes outlined in this privacy statement;
• to service providers and agents engaged to process data on our behalf;
• to our auditors and professional advisers;
• as may be required by law or regulation.
  

Cookies

We may also store information about you using cookies (files which are sent by us to your computer or other access device for record keeping purposes) which we can access when you open an email from us or visit the Website in future. We do this to ensure that only you have access to your own details.

We may log your IP address when you visit the Website. However, this information will not identify you as an individual.

If you want to delete any cookies that are already on your computer, please refer to the instructions for your file management software to locate the file or directory that stores cookies.

Information on deleting or controlling cookies is available at www.allaboutcookies.org

Please note that by deleting our cookies or disabling future cookies you may not be able to access your own details.

Your rights

You have the right to ask for a copy of all the information we hold about you (we will charge you a small fee for this) and to correct any inaccuracies. To obtain a copy of this information, please contact us using the contact details provided in Paragraph 16.

11. Availability of the Website

We cannot promise that access to the Website referred to in Paragraph 12 will be uninterrupted or error free, but we endeavour to ensure that the Website is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. However there will be occasions when the Website is interrupted for maintenance, upgrades and emergency repairs. We will try to keep such interruptions to a minimum. Access may also be interrupted due to failures of telecommunications links and equipment, and other reasons beyond our control.

We shall use reasonable efforts to restore the Website if it goes down and, provided that we do so, you accept that you will not have a claim for breach of contract or otherwise in respect of such periods of unavailability. You also acknowledge that we cannot be held responsible for any delay or disruptions that are inherent in the operation of the Internet and the World Wide Web, including viruses.

We recommend that you keep a copy of your learning plan so that you will be able to continue to access it even if the Website is unavailable.

We reserve the right to withdraw permanently all or part of the Website at any time. However, where you have already signed up to the Learning through Work programme, we will use all reasonable endeavours to make alternative arrangements for you to access learndirect Materials that would otherwise have been available via the Website.

12. Technical Support

We provide technical support to students using the Website. Requests for technical support for accepted learners should be addressed first to their HEI, non-registered users can contact learndirect on 0114 291 5639. Outside of the office hours please send an e-mail to ltw@ufi.com.. We use reasonable skill and care in providing such technical support and will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that this service is available but cannot guarantee uninterrupted availability.

You acknowledge that technical support may not be available from time to time for reasons beyond our control. Provided we use reasonable efforts to restore our technical support services within a reasonable time, you accept that you will not have a claim for breach of contract (either against us or the HEI) or otherwise in respect of such period of unavailability.

Subject to Paragraph 14, we exclude all other warranties, express or implied, as to the performance and availability of the technical support service, except as expressly stated in these Terms. We do not guarantee that the technical support provided by us will resolve your technical problems. If you decide to avail of such technical support, you should ensure that any technical support advice is strictly followed.

13.Community Areas

Students and their HEI tutors can use the forum and dialogue facility on the website. . We may also make available other community areas to students and/or their HEI tutors from time to time. All comments and materials that you post on any area of the Website or any community areas, are subject to these Terms.

You agree to use the online community areas solely for the purposes of meeting others online to share information and help each with your learning.

We do not make any guarantee as to the availability of, performance of, or continued provision of access to; community areas and we reserve the right to modify or to terminate the provision of all or any of these services at any time.

You agree that we have no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages or other communications that you post on the Website or on the community areas.

You acknowledge that you are solely responsible for any content or other materials that you post to the Website or the community areas. Each user is personally responsible for ensuring the accuracy, truth, originality and rights to use information which they share through the community areas, but you should always treat information with caution and check these things before relying on it. Any information shared through the community areas is accessed, read and used by you at your own risk and we do not warrant the accuracy or ownership of rights in any information posted by other users.

You agree not to use the community areas or any part of the Website:

• for any unlawful purposes;
• to transmit or communicate any material which is obscene, offensive, blasphemous, pornographic, unlawful, threatening, menacing, abusive, harmful (particularly to minors), an invasion of privacy, defamatory, libellous, vulgar or otherwise objectionable;
• to transmit or communicate any material which infringes our or any other person's copyrights, trade marks, patents, moral rights or other intellectual property rights of any nature;
• to transmit or communicate any material that contains images, audio or video recordings, software or other material protected by intellectual property laws (or by the rights of confidentiality or privacy, where applicable) unless you own or control the rights thereto and have received all necessary consents and agreement in relation to any third parties' interest in the material;
• for commercial purposes including without limitation the publishing or circulation of any promotion, or advertisement, or the solicitation of funds or the sale or supply of goods or services except when in response to an enquiry by another forum user or expressly permitted by learndirect or the relevant HEI;;
• to transmit or communicate any material which is likely to have a detrimental effect on our or any other person's reputation;
• harvest content or IP addresses or transmit or communicate any material which contains software viruses or any other files or programs that may interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of this Website or server or any other computer or that contains any unsolicited or unauthorised materials, chain letters, junk mail, spam or similar;
• to transmit any material which is likely to cause harm to learndirect or anyone else's computer systems, including but not limited to any virus, code, worm, data or other routine purposely designed to damage or cause any defect, error, malfunction or corruption to any computer system;
• to restrict or in any way inhibit any person from using this Website;
• to transmit or communicate any material which is irrelevant to the subject matter;
• to transmit or communicate any material in breach of the Computer Misuse Act 1990;
• to impersonate or falsely state or misrepresent your association with any entity or person including without limitation learndirect, the HEI, tutors, or other students;
• to delete any author contributions, legal notices or proprietary designations or labels in any file which is uploaded or falsify the origin or source of the material which is transmitted or communicated;
• to obtain, collect or store any personal data about any visitors or other students; or
• to transmit applications which make excessive demands on bandwidth;

If you post any comments or content on the community areas or on the Website you grant learndirect a non-exclusive royalty free perpetual irrevocable right and licence to reproduce, modify, edit, adapt, publish, translate, distribute and display such materials in any and all media now known or in future created throughout the world and authorise others to do so. You further agree to irrevocably and unconditionally waive all moral rights which you may have in respect of any material posted by you on the community areas or any part of the Website.

14. Removal of content and response to complaints

learndirect or your HEI reserves its right to remove any content posted by you on the Website or the community areas or disable access to it and to respond to any complaints made by a third party in respect of that content. learndirect will not be liable to you if it removes any content because it believes that such content breaches the provisions of these Terms.

learndirect may also preserve any content that you post if required to do so by law or if reasonably required to ensure compliance with the Terms or to respond to third party complaints about such content.

If you encounter any content or behaviour of other users which you think is unacceptable you should report it to us at and we will deal with it at our discretion.

learndirect or your HEI reserves the right to delete any contribution, or take action against any account, at any time, for any reason.

15. Liability

We do not make any commitment that the Learning through Work programme is appropriate for you or your staff and we do not have any responsibility for the content of learning plans or for any award for which you apply.

We expect applicants to take reasonable care that any learning programme that you choose will meet your needs.

We shall not be liable to you for any of the following types of loss or damage arising out of or in connection with your use of the Website or any content and/or facilities provided via the Website or via the learndirect.co.uk website:

• any loss of profits, loss of earnings, loss of anticipated savings, goodwill or revenue; or
• any indirect or consequential loss.

You acknowledge that you are responsible for making back-up copies of all your data, and taking appropriate precautions against viruses, hacking and other types of computer misuse.

Whilst we try to ensure that the Website does not contain any error, defect, malfunction or corruption, we do not accept responsibility for any damage to or loss of data on your computer system, network or server that results from the download or use of the Website or any materials made available via the Website or any community areas accessible via the learndirect.co.uk website.

Except as set out in these Terms, our maximum aggregate liability to you for any claim you may have against us under or in connection with the Website, the services/facilities provided via the Website or via the learndirect.co.uk website or any associated technical support which is not otherwise excluded by these terms (including without limitation where such claim arises as a direct result of any negligent technical support advice provided by us) shall be limited to the amount of the fees paid or payable by you or on your behalf in respect of your learning programme.

The exclusions and limitations of liability contained in these Terms do not apply to:

• any loss or damage resulting from death or personal injury caused by our negligence;
• loss or damages arising from our fraudulent misrepresentation; or
• any other losses which may not be excluded or limited by law.

16. General

If any provision of these Terms becomes void or otherwise unenforceable in whole or in part, the validity of the remainder of these Terms shall not be affected.
If either we or you fail to enforce, or delay in enforcing, any of our respective rights or remedies under these Terms, such failure or delay shall not operate as an agreement to waive that right or remedy, and shall not prevent us from exercising that right or remedy in the future.

These Terms are governed by and will be construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales unless you live in Scotland, in which case it will be governed by Scots law, and the relevant courts of the UK will have non-exclusive jurisdiction in relation to these Terms.

17. Contacting Ufi

You can contact us:

• by telephone on 0114 291 5639 between [09.00 and 17.00 Mondays to Fridays];
• by email at ltw@ufi.com; or
• by post at: LtW, Ufi Limited, Dearing House, 1 Young Street, Sheffield S1 4UP; or
• by fax on 0114 291 5399

Last updated: 14 January 2008