What’s a cookie?
A “cookie” is a piece of information that is stored on your computer’s hard drive and which records your navigation of a website so that, when you revisit that website, it can present tailored options based on the information stored about your last visit. Cookies can also be used to analyse traffic and for advertising and marketing purposes.
Cookies are used by nearly all websites and do not harm your system. If you want to check or change what types of cookies you accept, this can usually be altered within your browser settings.
How do we use cookies?
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users of our site. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our website. Given the setup of our site, currently we do not have the technical ability to get your express permission to opt out of our cookies, so we encourage you to use your browser settings if you want to control these
By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Cookies are either:
- Session cookies: these are only stored on your computer during your web session and are automatically deleted when you close your browser – they usually store an anonymous session ID allowing you to browse a website without having to log in to each page but they do not collect any information from your computer; or
- Persistent cookies: a persistent cookie is stored as a file on your computer and it remains there when you close your web browser. The cookie can be read by the websites that created it when you visit that website again. We may use persistent cookies for Google Analytics and for personalisation (see below).
Cookies can also be categorised as follows:
First party cookies
Cookies that are stored by our website and only we can read them
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are essential to enable you to use our website effectively, such as when registering on our website, and therefore cannot be turned off. Without these cookies, the services available to you on our website cannot be provided. These cookies do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you have been on the internet.
Performance cookies
These cookies enable us to monitor and improve the performance of our website. For example, they allow us to count visits, identify traffic sources and see which parts of the site are most popular.
Functionality cookies
These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced features. For instance, we may be able to provide you with news or updates relevant to the services you use. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, font and other parts of web pages that you can customise. They may also be used to provide services you have requested such as viewing a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect is usually anonymised.
Personalisation cookies
These cookies help us to provide our services specific to you. These cookies are persistent (for as long as you are registered with us) and mean that when you log in or return to our website, you may see information similar to that you have previously browsed.
The Cookies set out in the table below are active on our website. For more information on Cookies, visit Cookiepedia
Cookie |
Cookie Name |
Purpose |
| First Party Cookie & Persistent Cookie | .ASPXAUTH | This is a cookie we use to authenticate a logged in user on our site, effectively this is how we keep you logged into our site and able to navigate the site without needing to login every time. |
| First Party Cookie & Session Cookie | ASP.NET_SessionId | We use this to identify each session that is open on our site. This cookie holds no personal data. All it stores is an ID number generated by us. |
| First Party Cookie & Persistent Cookie | ffcookies-dismiss | This is used to stop the cookie policy banner popping up every time you visit our site. This cookie holds no personal data. |
| First Party Cookie & Persistent Cookie | ffIEWarning | We use this cookie to notify a user that they are using an outdated version of IE and that they should upgrade. This cookie holds no personal data. |
| First Party Cookie & Functional Cookie | ff_secCheck | This cookie is used to keep track of when a user had made a failed login attempt. This cookie holds no personal data. |
| First Party Cookie | ff_AdDist | This cookie is used to identify when a user has opened the current job advert page from a link sent to them by email from us. Eg. Job Alerts or Mailshots. |
Change of purpose
We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.
If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.
Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.