Information Notice and Data Protection Policy
How we use your information This information notice tells you what to expect when Emma Beeston Consultancy collects personal information. It also serves as a description of our policy in this area, setting out why and how we process data relating to individuals, in order to comply with data protection legislation. It applies to information we collect about:
· People who visit our website
· People who enquire about our services
· People who contact us via social media
· People who use our services
· Potential clients and associates
· Complaints or queries
· Access to personal information
People who visit our website When someone visits www.emmabeeston.co.uk we use analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make any attempt to find out the identities of website visitors.
Our use of cookies Our website employs cookies to help us understand how visitors navigate it, which pages they land on, which pages are the most read, which pages visitors leave from, how long people spend on the website, which countries visitors are based in and which browsers they are using.
People who enquire about our services People enquire about our services via a range of channels. We collect, store and process their basic information on the grounds that it is in our legitimate interest to do so. We keep details of the enquiry for up to one year, or, in the case of enquirers who become our clients, for longer periods, as required. All records are in any case destroyed after the HMRC recording period of six years.
People who contact us via social media People can follow us on Twitter or link to our LinkedIn page. If you send us a private or direct message via social media the message may be stored by the social media provider. It will not be shared with any other organisations. Please see Twitter and LinkedIn’s privacy notices and terms of use.
People who use our services When we do business with an individual or someone representing a client organisation, we need to record and store their contact details to enable client management and contract delivery. This can include their name, job title, organisation, telephone, work address and the email address they have provided. This data processing is necessary for the delivery of a service or contract and we rely on our legitimate interest to store and process it. The data is held for the duration of the contract and for 6 years following its conclusion, in order to comply with HMRC record keeping requirements.
Potential clients and associates In order to identify people who may be interested in our work, we review publicly available information (put into the public domain by the data subjects themselves) and may subsequently approach the people identified, at which point they are given the option to opt-out of any further contact. This data is not sold on to other organisations. We only make individual approaches and never engage in non-targeted mailings. The grounds for processing this data are that it is in our legitimate interest to do so as part of our business.
Safe storage of information We ensure physical and electronic data is secure. Laptops and other devices are password protected; paper notes are shredded once no longer needed; documents are stored in Dropbox (see: https://help.dropbox.com/security/how-security-works); Gmail is used for emails and any emails that do not need to be kept are deleted at least annually.
Complaints or queries We try to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.
This information notice and data protection policy does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of our collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed.
If after contacting us about data issues, a data subject still has grounds for complaint, they are able to take the matter up with the Information Commissioner, with which we are registered.
Access to personal information We are very happy to give people access to their personal information if we hold it. Individuals can find out if we hold any personal information by making a ‘subject access request’ by email. If we do hold information about you, within one month we will:
· give you a description of it;
· tell you why we are holding it;
· tell you who it could be disclosed to;
· let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.
To make a request to us for any personal information we may hold you need to put the request in writing addressing it to us at the address provided below. Please provide your name, address, telephone number and email address.
If you agree, we will try to deal with your request informally, for example by providing you with the specific information you need over the telephone.
If we do hold information about you, you can ask us to correct any mistakes by, once again, contacting us.
Data subjects are not under any legal obligation to provide us with personal data, except for the preparation of legal contracts, where these apply.
Disclosure of personal information In most circumstances, we will not disclose personal data without consent, unless we are relying on our legitimate interest, or where the law requires it. However, when we investigate a complaint, for example, we may need to share personal information with other relevant bodies.
Changes to this privacy notice We keep our information notice under review. This information notice was last updated in April 2023.
ICO Registration We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and our entry can be found on the ICO’s website, for which we pay an annual subscription fee.
How to contact us If you want to request further information about our use of personal data, you can email us on emma@emmabeeston.co.uk