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AMCI GDPR PRIVACY POLICY STATEMENT

AMCI ASSOCIATES LTD

THE GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (GDPR)

The GDPR comes into effect on 25th May 2018 and we have updated our Privacy Policy to support this change.  The GDPR should be seen as a positive step towards having more control over how data is gathered, stored and used.  It updates and strengthens existing legislation which was drafted in a non-digital environment.  In looking after business and personal data, we have always taken this area very seriously and we have over the years built robust processes and systems to ensure that we have taken all reasonable steps to be secure.  In reading our Privacy Policy set out below, you will see not only your rights but also how we have addressed the requirements of the GDPR.

PRIVACY POLICY

INTRODUCTION AND TERMS

AMCI ASSOCIATES LTD is a Data Controller and registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).  

We may amend this privacy notice from time to time.  If we do so, we will supply you with and/or otherwise make available to you a copy of the amended privacy notice.

Where we act as a Data Processor on behalf of a Data Controller (eg, payroll), we will issue a Letter of Engagement and be guided by that within the remits of GDPR regulation.  If you want to request more information about our privacy policy or information regarding data protection you should contact  Head of Privacy, AMCI ASSOCATES LTD, 133 Tame Road, Witton, Birmingham, B6 7DG.                           

Tel:  0121 327 8316, Email:  info@amci-associates.co.uk

HOW THE LAW PROTECTS YOU

We are committed to protecting and respecting your personal data and privacy.  This privacy and cookie policy relates to our use of any personal data we collect from you from any our services.  Whenever you provide such information, we are legally obliged to use your information in line with all applicable laws concerning the protection of personal data.

As well as this Privacy Policy, your privacy is protected by law.  The GDPR that comes into force on 25th May 2018 ensures that we use your personal information only if we have a property reason to do so.  This includes sharing it outside the AMCI Group.  The law says we must have one or more of these reasons for using your data:

  • To fulfil a contract we have with you to provide our services
  • Where it is our legal duty
  • When it is in our legitimate interest
  • When you consent to the use of the data

A legitimate interest is when we have a business or commercial reason to use your information.  But even then, it must not unfairly go against what is right and best for you.  If we rely on our legitimate interest, we will tell you what that is.

YOUR RIGHTS

Under the GDPR your rights are:

  1. To be informed – we must make available this privacy notice with the emphasis on transparency over how we process your data
  2. Access – you are entitled to find out what details we may hold about you and why
  3. Rectification – we are obliged to correct or update your details
  4. Restrict processing – you have the right to ‘block’ or suppress the processing by us of your personal data
  5. Data portability – you have the right to obtain and reuse your personal data that you have provided to us
  6. Object – you have the right to object to us processing your data in relation to direct marketing and or profiling
  7. Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling – we do not use automatic decision making or processing

The data we collect about you

  1. We process personal data. Personal data we process may include your (or your employer’s or our client’s) name, address, date of birth, family relationships and email address.  It also may include your IP address and cookies (website)
  2. We will collect personal data from you in relation to the provision of our services to you, including details relating to your tax affairs, bank accounts, investments, payroll information, accounting records and other statutory returns
  3. We may require documentary details from you such as driving licence, passports or birth certificate, in order to comply with our obligations under identification, money laundering and anti-terrorism legislation
  4. Our collection methods are:
  5. via our website;
  6. through engagement (or potential engagement) of our services;
  7. by communications, including email, telephone, post or social media;
  8. networking
  9. through engagement of service providers
  10. via third parties and/or publically available resources (eg, Companies House)
  11. When using our digital services, such as our website or other digital services, we gather data from you using cookies and other internet tracking software such as Google Analytics. The purpose of this is to understand how you are using our services, and to provide you with better and enhanced information.

 

 

How your data will be used

  1. We use information held about you to:
  2. provide services to you (or your employer or our client) under a contract, as set out in a Letter of Engagement between us;
  3. ensure that content from our website is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your devices;
  4. provide you with information, products or services that you request from us or which we feel may interest you, where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes or by Legitimate interests;
  5. allow you to participate in interactive features of our service when you choose to do so
  6. carry out necessary maintenance to our infrastructure;
  7. notify you about changes to our services;
  8. fulfil our legal obligations including money laundering and identification checks, complying with anti-terrorism financing and Criminal Finance act legislation;
  9. use in the investigation and/or defence of potential complaints, disciplinary proceedings and legal proceedings; and
  10. enable us to invoice you for our services and investigate/address any attendant fee disputes that may have arisen
  11. If you refuse to provide us with certain information when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have entered into with you. Alternatively, we may be unable to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations.

We may also process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in accordance with this notice, where we are legally required or permitted to do so.  We also embrace the use of social media and may wish to process any comments made public to you.

Legitimate interest and Marketing

  1. We may process your data for the purposes of our own legitimate interests provided that those interests do not override any of your own interests, rights and freedoms which require the protection of personal data. This includes processing for marketing, business development, statistical and management purposes
  2. If you are an existing client or contact, we will send you information about other products, events and services that we feel may be of interest to you. You have a right at any time to ask us to stop contacting you for marketing purposes
  3. We will never sell your data to a third party for marketing purposes

How we will share your data

  1. We will share your information within the AMCI Group for administration purposes to develop ways to meet our clients needs and to carry out marketing activities. Otherwise your information will be retained within the AMCI Group except where disclosure is required or permitted by law or when we use third party service providers (data processors) to supply and support our services to you
  2. We may also pass your data to third party external organisations where we are required by law, where it is necessary to administer the relationship between us or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so
  3. We use third party service providers such as agents, subcontractors and other organisations to help us provide services to you. These would include:
  4. Cloud accounting and payroll providers including Quickbooks and Brightpay;
  5. Email and secure document exchange systems;
  6. Croner Taxwise Ltd;
  7. Telemarketing, research agencies and mailing houses;
  8. Off-site storage and cleaning services
  9. All of our third party service providers are required to take commercially reasonable and appropriate security measures to protect your personal data. We only permit our third party service providers to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions
  10. As part of the services offered to you, we may send your data outside of European Economic Area (EEC). Where this is the case, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that your data is protected in the same way as if it was being used in the EEC.  Eg, where third party suppliers store data in the US, we will ensure that their services fall within the Privacy Shield. https://privacyshield.gov

DATA RETENTION

We will only retain your personal data for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it is collected.  When assessing what retention period is appropriate for your personal data, we take into consideration:

  • the requirements of our business and the services provided;
  • any statutory or legal obligations;
  • the purposes for which we originally collected the personal data;
  • the lawful grounds on which we based our processing;
  • the types of personal data we have collected
  • the amount and categories of your personal data; and
  • whether the purpose of the processing could reasonably be fulfilled by other means

DATA DELETION

Under GDPR you have the right to erasure under specific circumstances.  A request for your personal data to be deleted will be decided on a case by case basis and must be submitted in writing to Head of Privacy.

DATA CORRECTION

We will correct or update your data at the earliest opportunity provided you make the request in writing to our Head of Privacy, clearly specifying which data is incorrect or out of date.

 

 

DATA SECURITY

We have put in place commercially reasonable and appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed.  In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know.  They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

DATA INSPECTION

  1. We strive to be as open as we can be in terms of giving people access to their personal data. A Subject Access Request under the GDPR is your right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you.  Such requests must be in writing to the contact details provided in this policy.  If we do hold your personal data, we will respond in writing within one calendar month of your request (where that request was submitted in accordance with this policy)
  2. The information we supply will:
  3. Confirm that your data is being processed;
  4. Verify the lawfulness and the purpose of the processing;
  5. Confirm the categories of personal data being processed;
  6. Confirm the type of recipient to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed; and
  7. Let you have a copy of the data in an intelligent form
  8. Please note that you may need to provide identification in order to prove who you are to access your data
  9. If you agree, we will try to deal with your request informally, eg. By providing you with the specific information you need over the telephone
  10. In the instance that we do not hold information about you we will also confirm this in writing at the earliest opportunity

CHANGES

We keep our privacy notice under regular review and you should check back regularly to ensure you are aware of changes to it.  We may display this notice to your from time to time to help ensure you are aware of its concerns.

WITHDRAWAL OF CONSENT

Where you have consented to our processing of your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.  Please inform us immediately if you wish to withdraw your consent.

Please note:

  1. The withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of earlier processing
  2. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to continue to provide services to you
  3. Even if you withdraw your consent, it may remain lawful for us to process your data on another legal basis (Eg, because we have a legal obligation to continue to process your data)

COMPLAINTS

You have the right to complain about the processing of your personal data.  Please contact us using the details provided above.  If you are still unsatisfied you have the right to complain to the ICO (https://ico.org.uk/concerns)