Privacy Policy

The purpose of this policy

Hayden Solicitors Limited (“HSL”) is a limited company incorporated in England and Wales under Company Registration Number 8455031.

The privacy and security of your personal information is very important to us.

In this policy we set out how we collect and use personal information about you, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

HSL is a “data controller”. We are responsible for deciding how we hold and use your personal information.

We are required under data protection legislation to notify you of the information contained in this policy.

Data protection principles

HSL complies with data protection law which says the personal information we hold about you must be:

1. Used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way.

2. Collected only for valid purposes that we have clearly explained to you and not used in any way that is incompatible with those purposes.

3. Relevant to the purposes we have told you about and limited only to those purposes.

4. Accurate and kept up to date.

5. Kept only for as long as necessary for the purposes we have told you about.

6. Kept securely.

Information we hold about you

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include anonymous data where your identity has been removed.

There are “special categories” of more sensitive personal data requiring a greater level of protection.

HSL will collect, store, and use the following categories of your personal information:

• Personal details

• Family, lifestyle and social circumstances

• Financial details

• Business activities of the person whose details we are processing.

HSL may also collect, store and use the following “special categories” of more sensitive personal information

• Information about your health, including any medical condition and sickness records.

• Information about criminal convictions and offences.

How we will use information about you

HSL will only use your personal information when the law allows us to. That is generally in the following circumstances

1. To perform the contract we have entered into with you for the provision of legal advice and services.

2. To comply with any legal obligation.

3. Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.

HSL may also use your personal information in the following unlikely situations
Where we need to protect your interests (or someone else’s).
Where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes.

Situations in which we will use your personal information

The information we hold about you allows us to perform our contract with you and enables us to comply with our legal obligations.

We may use your personal information to pursue our own legitimate interests, or those of third parties, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.

The types of situations where we will process your personal information, which may overlap, are:

• Administering any of your client accounts with us

• Processing your bank/credit card details to obtain payment with your permission

• The prevention and detection of fraud

• Market research

• Marketing

Data sharing and why we may do it

HSL may have to share your personal information with third parties, including third-party service providers as follows:

• if required by law,

• where necessary to administer the working relationship with you or

• where we have another legitimate interest in doing so.

In that instance we would require third parties to respect your data security and to treat it in accordance with the law.

Who will you share my personal information with?

In accordance with the Code of Conduct set out by our governing body, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, there are very strict rules about who we can share your information with.  This will normally be limited to other people who will assist with your matter.

For example:

• Barristers

• Professional Experts

• Private investigators

• Healthcare professionals, social and welfare organisations

• Courts and Tribunals

• If you authorise us we may also disclose your information to your family, or other representatives

• Debt collection agencies if you do not pay our bills.

How long will you use my information for?

We will keep your information whilst we do work for you and afterwards for a period of six years, as we are required to do so by law.

Your duty to inform us of changes

It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal information changes during your working relationship with us.

Your rights in connection with personal information

Under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:

• Request access to your personal information which is known as a “data subject access request”. This enables you to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

• Request correction of the personal information that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected.

• Request erasure of your personal information. This means you can ask us to delete or remove personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal information where you have exercised your right to object to processing (see below).

• Object to processing of your personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes.

• Request the restriction of processing of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal information about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.

• Request the transfer of your personal information to another party.

If you want us to do any of the above then please contact our Data Protection Officer, Deborah Hayden-Pawson, by telephone on 01706 227300 or by email at dhp@haydensolicitors.com.

Who can I complain to if I am unhappy about what you have done with my information?

If you are unhappy with how HSL use your information in the first instance you should contact our Data Protection Officer.

If your complaint remains unresolved then you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office, details available at www.ico.org.uk