PRIVACY NOTICE

 

 Introduction

The Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA 2018”) and the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) impose certain legal obligations in connection with the processing of personal data.

PG Lemon LLP is a data controller within the meaning of the GDPR and we process personal data.  

We may amend this privacy notice from time to time. If we do so, we will make available to you a copy of the amended privacy notice via the website.

Where we act as a data processor on behalf of a data controller (for example, when processing payroll), we provide an additional schedule setting out required information as part of that agreement. That additional schedule should be read in conjunction with this privacy notice.

 

The purposes for which we intend to process personal data

We intend to process personal data for the following purposes: 

• to enable us to supply professional services to our clients

• to fulfil our obligations under relevant laws in force from time to time (e.g. the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (“MLR 2017”))

• to comply with professional obligations to which we are subject as a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

• to use in the investigation and/or defence of potential complaints, disciplinary proceedings and legal proceedings

• to enable us to invoice for our services and investigate/address any attendant fee disputes that may have arisen

• to contact clients about other services we provide which may be of interest if consented to do so

 

The legal bases for our intended processing of personal data

Our intended processing of personal data has the following legal bases:

• at the time the client instructed us to act, they gave consent to our processing personal data for the purposes listed above

• the processing is necessary for the performance of our contract 

• the processing is necessary for compliance with legal obligations to which we are subject (e.g. MLR 2017).

It is a requirement of our contract with clients that they provide us with the personal data that we request. If clients do not provide the information that we request, we may not be able to provide professional services. If this is the case, we will not be able to commence acting or will need to cease to act.

 

Persons/organisations to whom we may give personal data

We may share your personal data with:

• HMRC

• any third parties with whom the client require or permit us to correspond

• subcontractors

• an alternate appointed by us in the event of incapacity or death

• professional indemnity insurers

• our professional body (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and/or the Office of Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervisors (OPBAS) in relation to practice assurance and/or the requirements of MLR 2017 (or any similar legislation)

 

If the law allows or requires us to do so, we may share your personal data with:

• the police and law enforcement agencies

• courts and tribunals

• the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”).

We may need to share your personal data with the third parties identified above in order to comply with our legal obligations, including our legal obligations to the client. If you ask us not to share your personal data with such third parties, we may need to cease to act.

 

Transfers of personal data outside the EU

Your personal data will be processed in the UK only. 

 

Retention of personal data

When acting as a data controller and in accordance with recognised good practice within the tax and accountancy sector we will retain all of our records relating to you as follows:

• where tax returns have been prepared it is our policy to retain information for six years from the end of the tax year to which the information relates

• where ad hoc advisory work has been undertaken it is our policy to retain information for two years from the date the business relationship ceased

• where we have an ongoing client relationship, data which is needed for more than one year’s tax compliance (e.g. capital gains base costs and claims and elections submitted to HMRC) is retained throughout the period of the relationship but will be deleted six years after the end of the business relationship unless you as our client ask us to retain it for a longer period.

Our contractual terms provide for the destruction of documents after six years and therefore an agreement to the contractual terms is taken as agreement to the retention of records for this period, and to their destruction thereafter.

The client is responsible for retaining information that we send (including details of capital gains base costs and claims and elections submitted) and this will be supplied in the form agreed. Documents and records relevant to tax affairs are required by law to be retained by the client as follows:

Individuals, trustees and partnerships

• with trading or rental income: five years and 10 months after the end of the tax year

• otherwise: 22 months after the end of the tax year.

Companies, LLPs and other corporate entities

• six years from the end of the accounting period.

Where we act as a data processor as defined in GDPR 2018, we will delete or return all personal data to the data controller as agreed with the controller at the termination of the contract.

 

Requesting personal data we hold about clients (subject access requests)

Clients have a right to request access to your personal data that we hold. Such requests are known as ‘subject access requests’ (“SARs”).

Please provide all SARs in writing marked for the attention of the Data Protection Office at PG Lemon LLP.

To help us provide the information you want and deal with your request more quickly, the client should include enough details to enable us to verify identity and locate the relevant information. For example: 

• your date of birth

• previous or other name(s) you have used

• your previous addresses in the past five years

• personal reference number(s) that we may have given you, for example, your national insurance number, your tax reference number or your VAT registration number

• what type of information you want to know

If you do not have a national insurance number, you must send a copy of:

• the back page of your passport or a copy of your driving licence

• a recent utility bill.

 

GDPR 2018 requires that we comply with a SAR promptly and in any event within one month of receipt. There are, however, some circumstances in which the law allows us to refuse to provide access to personal data in response to a SAR (e.g. if you have previously made a similar request and there has been little or no change to the data since we complied with the original request).

We will not charge you for dealing with a SAR.

Clients can ask someone else to request information on their behalf. We must have authority to respond to a SAR made on a client’s behalf.  They can provide such authority by signing a letter which authorises the person concerned to write to us for information, and/or receive a reply.

Where the client is a data controller and we act for them as a data processor (e.g. by processing payroll), we will assist you with SARs on the same basis as is set out above.

 

Putting things right (the right to rectification)

Clients have a right to obtain the rectification of any inaccurate personal data concerning them that we hold. They also have a right to have any incomplete personal data that we hold about them completed. Should they become aware that any personal data that we hold about them is inaccurate and/or incomplete, inform us immediately so we can correct and/or complete it.

 

Deleting your records (the right to erasure)

In certain circumstances, clients have a right to have the personal data that we hold erased. Further information is available on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk).  If a client would like personal data to be erased, please inform us immediately and we will consider your request.  In certain circumstances, we have the right to refuse to comply with a request for erasure. If applicable, we will supply the reasons for refusing a request. 

 

The right to restrict processing and the right to object

In certain circumstances, a client has the right to ‘block’ or suppress the processing of personal data or to object to the processing of that information. Further information is available on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk).  A client should inform us immediately if they want us to cease to process information or they object to processing so that we can consider what action, if any, is appropriate.  

 

Obtaining and reusing personal data (the right to data portability)

In certain circumstances, clients have the right to be provided with the personal data that we hold about them in a machine-readable format, e.g. so that the data can easily be provided to a new professional adviser. Further information is available on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk).

The right to data portability only applies:

• to personal data an individual has provided to a controller

• where the processing is based on the individual’s consent or for the performance of a contract

• when processing is carried out by automated means

We will respond to any data portability requests made to us without undue delay and within one month. We may extend the period by a further two months where the request is complex or a number of requests are received but we will inform you within one month of the receipt of the request and explain why the extension is necessary.

 

Withdrawal of consent

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

Please note:

• the withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of earlier processing

• withdraw of consent, means we may not be able to continue to provide services 

• even if consent is withdrawn, it may remain lawful for us to process data on another legal basis (e.g. because we have a legal obligation to continue to process data).

 

Complaints

If a client has requested details of the information we hold about them and they are not happy with our response or think we have not complied with the GDPR or DPA 2018 in some other way, they can complain to us. Please send any complaints to PG Lemon LLP.

If the client is not happy with our response, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the ICO (www.ico.org.uk).