Confidentiality Undertaking

• The identity of the client and the fact of engagement.
• Sample identity, description, sequence, formulation, and origin.
• Analytical results, raw data, chromatograms, spectra, and internal-QC data.
• Client-supplied specifications, methods, and reference materials.
• Commercial terms including pricing, discounts, and payment history.

Every employee and contractor signs a personal confidentiality agreement on joining ALS, is retrained annually, and is bound by post-employment obligations for a period of five years after leaving. Breach is grounds for dismissal and legal action.

Client data is not used to build internal reference libraries, industry benchmarks, or marketing content, even in anonymised form, unless the client has given specific written consent. Any use of anonymised aggregated data for internal quality analysis is limited to sample counts, turnaround times, and generic instrument-performance metrics.

• To authorised sub-processors listed in PRI-004, under equivalent obligations.
• To accreditation assessors during a formal witnessed audit, with sample data anonymised where feasible.
• Where compelled by valid legal process — we narrow, log, and (where lawful) notify the client without delay.
• Where necessary to defend a legal claim.

Clients with additional needs may sign the ALS Mutual NDA (form QMS-022-A) at no cost, or negotiate a bespoke NDA. We do not sign NDAs that purport to bind ALS to a specific analytical outcome, indefinite terms exceeding 10 years, or unlimited liability provisions.

On written request or on termination, we return or destroy confidential information under a certificate of destruction, subject to the ISO/IEC 17025 raw-data retention period described in the Privacy Policy §07.