The privacy and security of your personal information is extremely important to us. This privacy promise explains how and why we use your personal data, to make sure you stay informed and can be confident about giving us your information.
Our Privacy Promise
This policy applies to clients, prospective clients and the employees of Venters Solicitors.
Who are we?
For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (from 25 May 2018)/UK Data Protection Act and Privacy of Electronic Communication Regulation General Data Protection Regulations act 2018 Venters Solicitors is a Data Controller. The Practice Manager is responsible for compliance by Venters Solicitors with the Act, assisted by the Partnership. Any queries should be sent to carly.fiander@venters.co.uk.
Why do we need to collect your information?
We need to collect and process your personal data so that we can:
• Verify your identity
• Conduct legal services that you have engaged with us on
• Deal with any enquiries you may have
• Develop our services and let you know about legal updates and events that may be of benefit to you
• Process applications for employment and deal with employee contracts of employment
• Ensure the billing of any services delivered and obtaining payment
• Process and respond to any complaints
• Fulfil the legal and other regulatory obligations imposed on us
• Protect our systems for your benefit as well as our own
• Audit usage of our systems
What information do we collect about you?
We only collect the personal information that we need to provide our service to you, and this will very much depend on the service you are instructing us to do on your behalf. The information we collect will usually include:
• Personal information including full name, DOB, marital status, NI number, income details and employment details
• Contact details, including address, email and phone number
• Financial information such as bank details and bank statements for anti-money laundering and regulatory requirements
• ‘sensitive personal data’ such as medical information or information about racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs or other similar beliefs, physical or mental health and any criminal allegations, proceedings or convictions maybe required to assist with your case
• Proof of ID will be required at the start of your matter and kept in accordance with our regulatory obligations.
How do we collect your data?
Your information will be collected in various ways, depending on how you make contact with us.
- Through face-to-face meetings with your advisor. Any attendance notes from your meetings will be added to your matter which is held in our secure case management system.
- Over the phone. Any relevant notes from your conversations will be securely added to your matter.
- By email. Any emails relating to your matter will be saved on the case management system.
-Via our website enquiry form. Your enquiry form will be passed to the relevant department to enable them to contact you. Should you proceed to become a client your data will be stored securely on our case management system as above. Please do not include sensitive personal data on your initial enquiry form.
-If you visit our website, then your IP address will be stored in Google Analytics for a period of 26 months.
-Via client surveys and feedback forms. At the end of your matter, we ask for feedback on our service through a client survey on www.reviewsolicitors.co.uk. Any personal data provided on your survey will be held in www.reviewsolicitors.co.uk the purpose of analysing customer feedback.
-Via cookies stored on the website. Please see our cookie policy.
How will we use your data?
We may use your information for the following purposes:
Delivering Services
We collect and maintain personal information that you submit to us during your use of our website and/or our services to enable us to perform the services. Please note also that our Terms of Business apply when we provide the services.
• What is our legal basis for this?
It is necessary for us to process your information to perform our obligations under any contract with you. It is in our legitimate interest or a third party's legitimate interest to use your personal information in such a way to ensure that we deliver the very best client service we can to you or others.
Enquiries
As set above there are various ways you can contact us to request information about our Services. Contact information and relevant personal information may be requested in each case. This information is used in order to enable us to respond to your requests. Please avoid putting sensitive information in the initial enquiry forms.
• What is our legal basis?
It is in our legitimate interest or a third party's legitimate interest to use your personal information in such a way to ensure that we deliver the very best client service we can to you or others.
Business administration and compliance
We use your personal information for the following business administration and regulatory compliance purposes such as complying with our legal obligations such as our Know Your Client or Anti-Money Laundering or Anti-Bribery, conflicts and maintaining our professional indemnity insurance, to enforce our legal rights and to protect the rights of third parties.
• What is our legal basis?
Where we use your personal information in connection with a business transition, to enforce our legal rights, or to protect the rights of third parties it is in our or a third party's legitimate interest to do so. For all other purposes falling within this section, it is our legal obligation to use your personal information to comply with any legal obligations imposed upon us.
Recruitment
We use your personal information for the following recruitment purposes to assess your suitability for any position for which you may apply at Venters Solicitors whether your application has been received by us online, via email, by hard copy or in-person. We also use it to review our equal opportunity profile in accordance with applicable regulation and any legislation to ensure that Venters Solicitors does not discriminate on the grounds of gender, race, ethnic origin, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability or any other basis covered by regulation or legislation.
• What is our legal basis?
Where we use your personal information in connection with recruitment it will be, at your request, part of the process of entering into a contract with us or it is in our legitimate interest to use personal information in such a way that we can make the best recruitment decisions for Venters Solicitors. We will not process any sensitive personal information except where we are able to do so under applicable legislation or with your explicit consent.
Who might we need to share your data with?
In order to deliver our services to you as a client we may need to send your details to third party data processors such as;
- Solicitors on the other side of your matter, barristers, the Court, government agencies and law enforcement agencies.
-Online ID checking agencies for the purposes of fulfilling our obligations in respect of prevention of money-laundering
-If you have applied for and/or are in receipt of Legal Aid, the Legal Aid Agency
-Any expert witnesses and other experts advising on your matter
-Our confidential waste destruction providers
-Our professional body, the Solicitors Regulation Authority ‘SRA’
- Our Insurers
- Our professional auditors
- Suppliers whom we outsource services from such as IT service providers, translation providers, photocopying, word processing and legal costs Draftsmen.
Whilst we would normally advise you of any disclosure, there may be situations that legally restricts us from doing this.
Where it is necessary for your personal data to be forwarded to a third party such as those listed above, we will use appropriate security measures to protect your personal data in transit.
We will never sell or share your personal information for marketing purposes.
Where we store your information
Your personal information will be stored in the software above which is hosted securely on servers within our offices in the UK. Should we need to transfer your information to a data processor as above who are located outside of the EEA, we shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that your information is as protected as us hosting it ourselves.
How long do we need to keep your information?
We will only use your personal information for the purpose for which it was given, and your personal data should not be held for longer than is required under the terms of our contract for services with you. However, we are subject to legislative and regulatory requirements to retain data for specified minimum periods.
-All personal data obtained in connection with providing legal services will be retained for a minimum period of 6 years
-All invoices, bills and payment receipts will be retained for a minimum period of 7 years
-All other data retention issues please refer to our practice manager.
You have the right to request deletion of your personal data and we will comply with this request, subject to the restrictions noted above.
How can I access the information you hold about me?
You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. This is known as a ‘Subject Access Request’ and if you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please email us Carly.fiander@venters.co.uk.
Venters Solicitors will supply this information providing the request is in writing and that we have sufficient information is given by the applicant to enable Venters Solicitors to locate the information requested. Venters Solicitors will respond to such requests within 1 month of receipt of the request and provide the information in a permanent format that is understandable to the applicant.
You can ask us to update or remove any information that you think is incorrect at any time and you also have the right to erasure. Venters Solicitors will comply with their responsibility to erase an individual's data after the retention period if requested. We have an obligation to ensure that your personal information is accurate and up to date so please ensure that you advise us of any changes to your information as soon as possible.
What can you do if you are unhappy with how your personal data is processed?
Any complaints about the way in which the Venters Solicitors deals with personal information will be dealt with by the Practice Manager who will arrange for the matter to be investigated. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of the investigation by the Practice Manager, they may complain directly to the Compliance Officer for Legal Practice ('COLP'), Andrea Dawkins. Appeals against the decision of the COLP can be made to the Information Commissions Office.
Contact details:
Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate)
http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
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