PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy describes how we as a Data Controller collect and use personal information about you. It contains information on how and why we collect, store and use personal information, your rights in relation to that information and how to contact us or supervisory authorities in the event you have a complaint.

When we use your personal data, we are regulated under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and we are responsible as controller of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. Our use of your personal data is subject to your instructions, the GDPR, other relevant UK and EU legislation and our professional duty of confidentiality.

Richard Ronaldson is the firm’s Data Protection Office and is responsible for ensuring the firm’s compliance with this policy and the data protection laws. If you have questions or requests regarding data protection please contact him by e-mail: richard@onaldsons.com.

THE PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND HOW WE USE IT

Personal data, or personal information , means any information from which that person can be identified.

What data do we collect

We will or may collect the following information in the course of advising and/or acting for you

• Your name address and telephone number
• Information to enable us to verify your identity
• Electronic contact details
• Information relating to the matter in which we are advising and/or acting for you
• Information about your use of our IT systems

Most of this information will be collected from you directly but we may also obtain information from the following sources

• from publicly accessible sources, e.g. Companies House or HM Land Registry.
• from a third party with your consent, e.g. your bank or another financial advisor
• consultants and other professionals we may engage in relation to your matter
• your employer and/or trade union, professional body or pension administrators
• your doctors, medical and occupational health professionals
• via our website – we use cookies on our website (for more information on cookies, please our website for our cookies policy)
• via our information technology(IT) systems, e.g.:case management, document management and time recording systems
• automated monitoring of our website and other technical systems, such as our computer networks and connections, communications systems, email and instant messaging systems.

How and why we use your data

Under data protection law there are six legal reasons permitting the use of your personal data. In the course of acting for you the main reasons are that the processing of such data is necessary for the performance of our contract with you i.e. for the provision of our legal services or to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

We are also permitted to use your data for our legitimate interest and as such we may use your data to send you updates about legal developments that may be of interest to you and/or information about our services. We will always treat your data with the utmost respect and never disclose it to other organisations for marketing purposes. You have the right to opt out of receiving promotional communications at any time by contacting us. You can email richard@ronaldsons.com.

Who we share your personal information with

We routinely share personal data with:

• professional advisors who we instruct on your behalf or refer you to, e.g. barristers, medical professionals, accountants, tax advisers or other experts.
• other third parties where necessary to carry out your instructions, e.g. your mortgage provider, estate agent or HM Land Registry in the case of a property transaction or Companies House or HM Revenue and Customs.
• credit reference agencies
• our insurers and brokers
• external auditors, e.g. in relation to the audit of our accounts.
• our banks
• external service suppliers, representatives and agents that we use to make our business more efficient

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law.

We will not share your personal information with any other third party.

Special Category Personal Data

This is personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs or trade union membership, genetic and biometric data and data concerning health, sex life or sexual orientation. We do not collect any such data about you , although this may become known through any legal instructions and will only be processed with explicit consent.

How long your personal information will be kept

We will keep your personal data after we have finished advising or acting for you.  We will do so for one of these reasons:

• to respond to any questions, complaints or claims made by you or on your behalf.
• to keep records required by law.

We will not retain your data for longer than necessary for the purposes set out in this policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data and further details of our retention policy is available on request.

YOUR RIGHTS TO ACCESS ALTER OR DELETE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, in accordance with the GDPR. Please direct any such requests to richard@ronaldsons.com or in writing to Richard Ronaldson, and he will respond within one month.

Under certain circumstances you also have the right to request correction and/or erasure of personal information that we hold about you, object to processing of your personal information, request the restriction of processing, and request the transfer of your information to a third party. Further information can be provided on request or you can find further information on the Guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

PROTECTING YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We have and will maintain effective physical, electronic, and managerial systems and safeguards to prevent your personal data being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way.

In the course of acting for you we may need to transfer your personal data to third parties, such as the providers of our document and file management and financial systems, and other professionals working on your matter (barristers, surveyors, accountants etc). We will also require any such third parties to comply with all relevant data protection legislation. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

HOW TO COMPLAIN

If you have any concerns about how we process your personal data then please direct these to Richard Ronaldson at richard@ronaldsons.com in the first instance. You are also entitled to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113.

HOW WE USE COOKIES

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.