Purpose

This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) describes how Arc Pensions Law LLP and its sister company Pension Lawyer Trustee Limited, collectively known as Arc Pensions in this Notice, collects and use your personal data in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the EU GDPR (collectively known as “Data Protection Laws”). This Notice also tells you about your privacy rights pursuant to Data Protection Laws.

Controller for personal data

A “controller” is a person or organisation that determines the purposes for which and the manner in which personal data is processed. Unless we inform you otherwise, Arc Pensions acts as the controller of your personal data in relation to this website and whenever we interact with you directly.

Data Protection Manager

Arc Pensions has appointed a Data Protection Manager responsible for overseeing compliance with Data Protection Laws and ensuring that personal data is handled securely and transparently. The Data Protection Manager (supported by a Data Privacy Team) monitors our data protection practices, advises staff on their obligations, and acts as a point of contact for individuals who have questions about how their personal data is used or wish to exercise their data protection rights.

Scope

This Notice applies to the processing of personal data by us in connection with:

• Prospective Clients: Individuals and organisations who enquire about or consider engaging us for legal services in the future.
• Clients: Individuals and organisations for whom we already provide legal services.
• Suppliers/Service Providers: Individuals working for organisations that provide goods or services to us including professional advisers, consultants, contractors and other business partners.
• Website visitors: Individuals (whether personally, or on behalf of an organisation) who visit our website, interact with our online content or submit enquiries through the website.

Types of personal data

Personal data or personal information means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the individual’s identity has been removed, and from which they cannot be (directly or indirectly) identified. This is known as anonymised data. Anonymised data falls outside the scope of Data Protection Laws.

How we collect personal data

• Directly: We may collect personal data directly from you when you contact us, engage our services, complete forms, correspond with us by email or phone or interact with our website.
• Indirectly: We may also collect personal data indirectly from third parties such as your employer, pension scheme trustees, professional advisers, service providers, publicly available sources or regulatory bodies where this is necessary for providing our legal services or operating our business.
• Automatically: Personal data may also be collected automatically through our website via standard technologies such as cookies and analytics tools. Please see our cookies notice for further information.

Lawful bases: how we use your personal data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. We will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• Performance of a contract: Where we need to perform the contract that we are about to enter into, or have entered into, with you – for example, when you engage our services.
• Legal obligation: Where we need to comply with a legal obligation – for example, for statutory accounting purposes.
• Legitimate interests: 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.
• Consent: We do not generally rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data. Where we do rely on consent you have the right to withdraw such consent at any time. Please contact us to withdraw consent. Please also see Marketing communications, below.
• Vital interests: Where is it necessary to protect your vital interests in case of emergencies.
• Public obligation: Where we need to comply with a public obligation, for example in matters of public health or public interest.

Processing tables

Depending on your relationship with us, the tables below outline the categories of personal data we process, the specific activities we carry out with that data and the lawful basis for processing.

Prospective clients

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about prospective clients, which we have grouped as follows:

• Identity Data: including first name, last name, title and job title.
• Contact Data: including postal address, email address and telephone number.
• Professional Data: including information about your organisation, role and professional relationship to a pension scheme or matter.
• Communication Data: including records of enquiries, correspondence, meeting notes and information you provide when contacting us.
• Technical Data: including IP address, browser type, device information and other technology used if you access our website.
• Usage Data: if you use our website, information about how you use our website and interact with our online content.
• Marketing and Communications Data: including your preferences for receiving updates, legal insights or event invitations from us.

Clients

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about our clients, which we have grouped as follows:

• Identity Data: including first name, last name, title and job title, plus date of birth and identification information where required.
• Contact Data: including postal address, email address and telephone number.
• Professional Data: including job title, employer, organisation detail and role in relation to a pension scheme or legal matter.
• Financial Data: including bank account details and billing information where relevant for invoicing and payments.
• Matter-Related Data: including information, documents and correspondence provided to us in connection with legal services we provide.
• Communication Data: including records of meetings, emails, calls and other correspondence with you.
• Technical Data: including IP address and device information when accessing our website or online services.
• Marketing and Communications Data: including your preferences for receiving legal updates, newsletters or event invitations from us.

Suppliers and service providers

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about our suppliers and service providers, which we have grouped as follows:

• Identity Data: including first name, last name, title and job title of individuals representing the supplier/service provider.
• Contact Data: including business address, email address and telephone numbers
• Financial Data: including bank account details, payment information and invoicing data.
• Contract and Matter Data: including records of agreements, correspondence, service requests and work delivered.
• Communication Data: including emails, calls and other correspondence with the supplier/service provider.
• Technical Data: including IP address and device information when interacting with our systems or online platforms.

Website visitors

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about visitors to our website, which we have grouped as follows:

• Identity Data: including name, title and any information you provide when contacting us through the website.
• Contact Data: including email address, phone number or other contact details submitted via forms or enquiries.
• Technical Data: including IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device information and location data.
• Usage Data: including pages visited, time spent on the site, links clicked and other interactions with website content.
• Communication Data: including messages, enquiries or feedback submitted via website forms.
• Marketing and Communications Data: including preferences for receiving newsletters, legal updates or event invitations if you opt in.

Cookies and similar technologies

We gather information and statistics collectively about visitors to our website. Analysis of this information demonstrates the most frequently used sections of the website and assists us in continually improving the online service. Please also refer to our cookies notice for more information on how we set cookies.

Providing personal data

Where we need to collect personal data by law or under the terms of a contract and you do not provide that information when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example to provide you with our services). In this case we may have to terminate our engagement with you, but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

Marketing communications

We may send you marketing communications. You have the right to object to processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes. You can unsubscribe from receiving marketing communications from us by using the unsubscribe methods contained in communications we send to you or by contacting us. Please see Contact us, below.

Where you opt out of receiving marketing communications this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of registering for or using our service, your service experience or other interactions with this website.

How we disclose personal information

In certain circumstances, Arc Pensions may share personal information with third parties to provide our services, comply with legal obligations or for legitimate business purposes. Disclosures are limited to what is necessary and subject to the protections in this Notice.

Such circumstances where we disclose information may include:

• Internally: Personal data may be accessed by our employees, consultants and contractors who are directly involved in providing legal services to you, strictly on a need-to-know basis.
• Third parties in client matters: Where you are a client, we may share personal data with third parties involved in your legal matter such as counsel, trustees, advisers or other professionals.
• Professional advisers: We may share information with auditors, accountants, insurers or bankers who assist us in managing our business and legal obligations.
• Service providers: Vendors and third parties providing IT, cloud storage, client support or document management services may process personal data on our behalf.
• Legal and regulatory bodies: To comply with legal obligations, respond to regulatory requirements, enforce our legal rights or protect the rights of our clients and others.
• Payment intermediaries: Providers who facilitate payments or handle invoicing and financial transactions.
• Business transactions: In the event of a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, personal data may be transferred as part of the transaction while remaining subject to this Notice.

International data transfers from the UK (or EU)

We may transfer and process your personal data outside of the United Kingdom (UK) or European Union (EU) to countries where data protection laws are less stringent than those in the UK/EU. When we transfer your personal data outside of the UK/EU we only do so to entities that offer our users the same level of data protection as that afforded by Data Protection Laws.

1.   We will only transfer your personal information to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal information; or
2.   We will use specific contracts approved for use in the UK or EU which give personal information the same protection it has in the UK/EU – for example, the use of Article 46 UK and EU GDPR safeguard mechanisms to transfer personal data endorsed by the UK Government or European Commission.

Data security

We have put in place 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 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 a duty of confidentiality.

Data retention

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

Data subject rights

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under Data Protection Laws. Not all rights are absolute and not all rights are given to you. Subject to this, you can:

• Request access to your personal data: This is known as a “subject access request” and enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of your personal data: This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected.
• Request erasure of your personal data: This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. We may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you at the time of your request.
• Object to processing of your personal data: This is where we are processing your personal data based on a legitimate interest or those of a third party and you may challenge this.  However, we may be entitled to continue processing your information based on our legitimate interests or where this is relevant to any legal claims.  See also Marketing communications, below.
• Request restriction of processing your personal information: This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios: (a) if you want us to establish the information’s accuracy, (b) where our use of the information is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it, (c) where you need us to hold the information even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, or (d) you have objected to our use of your information but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.
• Request transfer of your personal information (“data portability”): This is where in some circumstances we will provide your personal data to you (or to a third party you have chosen) in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent: This is where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. Depending on the processing activity, we may not be able to provide certain services to you if you withdraw your consent. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

Exercising your data subject rights

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data or to exercise any of the other rights. However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal information or to exercise any of your other rights. This is a security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.

Keeping personal information accurate and current

It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us. Please contact us if you wish to update your personal data.

Concerns and complaints

We would appreciate the opportunity to deal with any concerns you may have ourselves in the first instance. Please see Contact us, below. We will deal with any complaint in accordance with our data protection complaints policy, a copy of which is available on request from the Data Privacy Team.

If you have unresolved issues, you have the right to complain at any time to a data protection supervisory authority for data protection issues such as the UK data protection regulator – the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO can be contacted at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF – or see www.ico.org.uk.

Changes to this Notice

This Notice may be changed from time to time in response to legal, technical or business developments. We will take appropriate measures to inform you when we update this Notice. We will obtain your consent to any material Notice changes if and where this is required by applicable Data Protection Laws.

Contact us

If you would like more information about the way we manage personal information that we hold about you, please contact our Data Privacy Team via data.privacy@arcpensionslaw.com.