Data Protection Policy

Accountancy Systems and Training Ltd
Last updated
16/01/19

Definitions:

Company
means Accountancy Systems and Training Ltd, a Private limited Company.

GDPR
means the General Data Protection Regulation.

Register of Systems
means a register of all systems or contexts in which personal data is processed by the Company.

1. Data protection principles
The Company is committed to processing data in accordance with its responsibilities under the GDPR.
Article 5 of the GDPR requires that personal data shall be:

a. processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to individuals;

b. collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes;

c. adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed;

d. accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay;

e. kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by the GDPR in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals; and

f. processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures.”

2. General provisions
a. This policy applies to all personal data processed by the Company.

b. The Responsible Person shall take responsibility for the Company’s ongoing compliance with this policy.

c. This policy shall be reviewed at least annually.

3. Lawful, fair and transparent processing

a. To ensure its processing of data is lawful, fair and transparent, the Company shall maintain a Register of Systems.

b. The Register of Systems shall be reviewed at least annually.

c. Individuals have the right to access their personal data and any such requests made to the Company shall be dealt with in a timely manner.

4. Lawful purposes

a. All data processed by the Company must be done on one of the following lawful bases: consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests, public task or legitimate interests (see ICO guidance for more information).

b. The Company shall note the appropriate lawful basis in the Register of Systems.

c. Where consent is relied upon as a lawful basis for processing data, evidence of opt-in consent shall be kept with the personal data.

d. Where communications are sent to individuals based on their consent, the option for the individual to revoke their consent should be clearly available and systems should be in place to ensure such revocation is reflected accurately in the Company’s systems.

5. Data minimisation
a. The Company shall ensure that personal data are adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed.

6. Accuracy
a. The Company shall take reasonable steps to ensure personal data is accurate.

b. Where necessary for the lawful basis on which data is processed, steps shall be put in place to ensure that personal data is kept up to date.

7. Archiving / removal
a. To ensure that personal data is kept for no longer than necessary, the Company shall put in place an archiving policy for each area in which personal data is processed and review this process annually.

b. The archiving policy shall consider what data should/must be retained, for how long, and why.

8. Security
a. The Company shall ensure that personal data is stored securely using modern software that is kept-up-to-date.

b. Access to personal data shall be limited to personnel who need access and appropriate security should be in place to avoid unauthorised sharing of information.

c. When personal data is deleted this should be done safely such that the data is irrecoverable.

d. Appropriate back-up and disaster recovery solutions shall be in place.

9. Breach
In the event of a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data, the Company shall promptly assess the risk to people’s rights and freedoms and if appropriate report this breach to the ICO (more information on the ICO website).

10. Glossary
LAWFUL BASIS

Legitimate Interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting us at admin@astl.co.uk

Performance of Contract means processing your data where it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract.

Comply with a legal or regulatory obligation means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation that we are subject to.

THIRD PARTIES

Service providers acting as processors based in the UK and Europe who provide IT and system administration services. Professional advisers acting as processors or joint controllers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers based in the UK who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and accounting services. HM Revenue & Customs, regulators and other authorities acting as processors or joint controllers based in the UK who require reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances. Any other marketing or service related businesses based in the UK and Europe who provide specialised services.

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS

You have the right to:

Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "data subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

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. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.

Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.

Request restriction of processing of your personal data. 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 data's accuracy; (b) where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it; (c) where you need us to hold the data 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 data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.

Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.

Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

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