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Privacy & Data

WH Legal is registered with the ICO under registration number ZA328171 and is the data controller in relation to your personal data and is committed to protecting the privacy rights of individuals, including your rights.

WH Legal Limited ("We") are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This policy, together with our terms and conditions, sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

The rules on processing of personal data are set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”).

1. Definitions

Data controller - A controller determines the purposes and means of processing personal data.

Data processor - A processor is responsible for processing personal data on behalf of a controller.

Data subject – Natural person

Categories of data:

Personal data

The GDPR applies to ‘personal data’ meaning any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier (as explained in Article 6 of GDPR). For example name, passport number, home address or private email address. Online identifiers include IP addresses and cookies.

Special categories personal data

The GDPR refers to sensitive personal data as ‘special categories of personal data’ (as explained in Article 9 of GDPR). The special categories specifically include genetic data, and biometric data where processed to uniquely identify an individual. Other examples include racial and ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health data, trade union membership, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs.

Processing - means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.

Third party - means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorised to process personal data.

2. Who are we?

Wendy Comerford is the data controller. This means we decide how your personal data is processed and for what purposes. Our contact details are: whl@whlegal.co.uk. For all data matters contact Wendy Comerford on that email address.

3. The purpose(s) of processing your personal data.

Below are some examples, although not exhaustive, of how we use your personal data:

• Verifying your identity

• Communicating with you

• Providing you with advice i.e. litigating on your behalf; attending Tribunal hearings; preparing documents and to complete transactions.

4. The categories of personal data concerned

With reference to the categories of personal data described in the definitions section, we process the following categories of your data:

• Personal data

• Special categories of data

We have obtained your personal data from the information that you have provided or from a public domain such as a website.

5. What is our legal basis for processing your personal data?

a) Personal data (article 6 of GDPR)

Our lawful basis for processing your general personal data:

- Consent of the data subject.

- Processing necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject or to take steps to enter into a contract.

- Processing necessary for compliance with a legal obligation.

- Processing necessary to protect the vital interests of a data subject or another person
- Processing necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller

- Processing necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests of the data controller or a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights or freedoms of the data subject

b) Special categories of personal data (article 9 of GDPR)

Our lawful basis for processing your special categories of data:

- Explicit consent of the data subject

- Processing necessary for carrying out obligations under employment, social security or social protection law, or a collective agreement

- Processing necessary to protect the vital interests of a data subject or another individual where the data subject is physically or legally incapable of giving consent.

- Processing carried out by a not-for-profit body with a political, philosophical, religious or trade union aim provided that the processing relates only to members or former members (or those who have regular contact with it in connection with those purposes); and there is no disclosure to a third party without consent

- Processing relates to personal data manifestly made public by the data subject

- Processing necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or where courts are acting in their judicial capacity
- Processing necessary for reasons of substantial public interest on the basis of EU or Member State law
- Processing necessary for reasons of preventative or occupational medicine, for assessing the working capacity of an employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or management of health or social care systems and services on the basis of EU or Member State law or a contract with a health professional
- Processing necessary for the reasons of public interest in the area of public health
- Processing necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, or scientific and historical research purposes or statistical purposes

More information on lawful processing can be found on the ICO website.

6. Sharing your personal data

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and used within the purposes of your legal instructions.

7. How long do we keep your personal data?

We keep your personal data for no longer than reasonably necessary for a period of six months following completion of work in case of any legal claims, complaints or for safeguarding purposes.

8. Providing us with your personal data

You are under no statutory or contractual requirement or obligation to provide us with your personal data. But failure to do so will result in us being unable to act for you.

9. Your rights and your personal data

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• The right to request a copy of the personal data which we hold about you;
• The right to request that we correct any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date;
• The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary to retain such data;
• The right to request that we provide you with your personal data and where possible, to transmit that data directly to another data controller, (known as the right to data portability), (where applicable i.e. where the processing is based on consent or is necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject and where the data controller processes the data by automated means);
• The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing;
• The right to object to the processing of personal data, (where applicable i.e. where processing is based on legitimate interests (or the performance of a task in the public interest/exercise of official authority); direct marketing and processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics).

10. Transfer of Data Abroad

We do not transfer personal data outside of the EEA.

11. Automated Decision Making

We do not use any form of automated decision making in our business.

12. Further processing

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Privacy Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions.

13. Changes to our privacy policy

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.

14. How to make a complaint

To exercise all relevant rights, queries or complaints please in the first instance contact Wendy Comerford.

If this does not resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office on 03031231113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, England.

Complaints Procedure

We are committed to providing high quality legal advice and client care. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you have received or about an invoice please contact Wendy Comerford, Compliance Manager, by phone on 07871 412951, by email to wendy@whlegal.co.uk.

We will always try to deal with your complaint by speaking with you in the first instance. When a formal complaint is made by you, we will confirm this in writing and also send you a copy of this complaints handling procedure.

We will then tell you who will investigate the complaint and set out details of the complaint that has been made. We aim to respond within five working days; we will also give you a timescale for completing the investigation.

If the timescale for responding is to be exceeded the person dealing with the complaint will advise you, confirm the new timescale and explain the reason for the delay. The person dealing with your complaint will investigate your complaint thoroughly and fairly. Having completed their investigation, they will write to you to set out this firm’s response. We will of course not charge you for investigating your complaint.

If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint in relation to a regulated service provided by us only, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ (telephone 0300 5550333 or www.legalombudsman.org.uk) to consider the complaint.

Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six years from the date of act/omission, or three years from the date you should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint or within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint. The Legal Ombudsman will be able to tell you if you are entitled to complain. You may have the right to object to an invoice by applying to the court for an assessment of the invoice under part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. If you apply for an assessment of an invoice the Legal Ombudsman may not deal with a complaint in relation to it.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has confirmed that the following Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) entities are currently available to deal with disputes in the legal services sector: Ombudsman Services, ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation in the event you wish to engage in mediation concerning your complaint. However, we will not be agreeable to engage in ADR mediation until such time as the Legal Ombudsman is approved to be an ADR provider.

All complaints are to be thoroughly documented as follows:

Full details of the complaint made by the client, the investigation undertaken internally, conclusion and final outcome. These will be recorded in the client’s file and the complaint’s central record and will be reviwed annually.

If your complaint cannot be dealt with by Legal Ombudsman, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) may be able to assist you. You can access this information by following this link: www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems.page

The contact details for the SRA are:Solicitors Regulation Authority: The Cube 199, Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN

Legal Information | Privacy & Data | Complaints Procedure