GDPR Policy

Cactus Consultants Limited & Agencynomics Limited*

 

This policy sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us.

By visiting our website you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy as well as consenting to our use of cookies in accordance with the terms of this policy.

If you have any questions please contact us at hello@cact.us  or hello@agencynomics.com

1. Aims 

We aim to ensure that all personal data collected about employees, contractors, suppliers, prospective clients, clients, partners, prospective partners staff and other individuals is collected, stored and processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) as set out in the Data Protection Bill.

This policy applies to all personal data, regardless of whether it is in paper or electronic format.

2. Legislation and guidance 

This policy meets the requirements of the GDPR and the expected provisions of the DPA 2018. It is based on guidance published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on the GDPR and the ICO’s code of practice for subject access requests. 

3. Definitions 

 Term 

Definition

Personal Data

Any information relating to an identified, or identifiable, individual. This may include the individuals name, company details, location data, online identifiers, such as a username and password. Special categories of personal data (eg type of contact).   

Processing 

Anything done to personal data, such as collecting, recording, organising, structuring, storing, adapting, altering, retrieving, using, disseminating, erasing or destroying. Processing can be automated or manual.

Data subject

The identified or identifiable individual whose personal data is held or processed.

Data controller 

A person or organisation that determines the purposes and the means of processing of personal data

Data processor

A person or other body, other than an employee of the data controller, who processes personal data on behalf of the Data controller.

Personal data breach 

A breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to personal data.

4. The Data Controller

Our company processes personal data relating to prospective clients, clients, partners, contractors, business partners, prospective business partners, and others, and therefore is a data controller. 

5. Roles and Responsibilities

This policy applies to all staff employed by our company and regular contracted staff, and to external organisations or individuals working on our behalf.  

5.1 Data protection officer 

The data protection officer (DPO) is responsible for overseeing the implementation of this policy, monitoring our compliance with data protection law, and developing related policies and guidelines where applicable. They will provide an annual report of their activities directly to the governing board and, where relevant, report to the board their advice and recommendations on company data protection issues. The DPO is also the first point of contact for individuals whose data the companies processes.  Our DPO is Peter Hoole and is contactable via hello@cact.us or the main office number.

5.2 Chief Executive Office (CEO) 

The CEO acts as the representative of the data controller on a day-to-day basis. 

5.3 All staff / some contractors

Staff and some contractors are responsible for: 

  • Collecting, storing and processing any personal data in accordance with this policy 

  • Informing the Company of any changes to their own personal data, such as a change of address 

  • Contacting the DPO or representative in the following circumstances: 

  • With any questions about the operation of this policy, data protection law, retaining personal data or keeping personal data secure

  • If they have any concerns that this policy is not being followed o If they are unsure whether or not they have a lawful basis to use personal data in a particular way o If they need to rely on or capture consent, draft a privacy notice, deal with data protection rights invoked by an individual, or transfer personal data outside the European Economic Area

  • If there has been a data breach 

  • Whenever they are engaging in a new activity that may affect the privacy rights of individuals 

  • If they need to share personal data with third parties 

6. Data protection principles 

The GDPR is based on data protection principles that our Company must comply with. The principles say that personal data must be: 

  • Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner

  • Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes

  • Adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it is processed

  • Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date

  • Kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed

  • Processed in a way that ensures it is appropriately secure 

This policy sets out how the Company aims to comply with these principles.

7. Collecting personal data  

7.1 Lawfulness, fairness and transparency 

We will only process personal data where we have one of 6 ‘lawful bases’ (legal reasons) to do so under data protection law: 

  • The data needs to be processed so that the Company can fulfil a contract with the individual, or the individual has asked the Company to take specific steps before entering into a contract 

  • The data needs to be processed so that the Company can comply with a legal obligation

  • The data needs to be processed to ensure the vital interests of the individual e.g. to protect someone’s life 

  • The data needs to be processed so that the Company can carry out its day to day business functions and fulfil contractual obligations

  • The data needs to be processed for the legitimate interests of the Company or a third party (provided the individual’s rights and freedoms are not overridden)

  • The individual has freely given clear consent if we offer online services to our prospect, clients and partners, via third party apps or if they provide us with online access to their services (such as financial software, sales pipeline software etc), and we intend to rely on consent as a basis for processing, we will get consent.

  • Whenever we first collect personal data directly from individuals, we will provide them with the relevant information required by data protection law. 

7.2 Limitation, minimisation and accuracy 

We will only collect personal data for specified, explicit and legitimate reasons.  We will explain these reasons to the individuals when we first collect their data. If we want to use personal data for reasons other than those given when we first obtained it, we will inform the individuals concerned before we do so, and seek consent where necessary. Staff must only process personal data where it is necessary in order to do their jobs. When staff no longer need the personal data they hold, they must ensure it is deleted or anonymised.  

8. Sharing personal data 

We may share personal data where :

  • We have identified the need within our Privacy Notice

  • There is an issue with a staff member, contractor, partner, prospect or client that puts the safety of anyone at risk

  • We need to liaise with other suppliers/partners to the benefit of the staff member, contractor, partner, prospect or client – we will seek consent as necessary in conjunction with our privacy notice before doing this

  • Our suppliers or contractors need data to enable us to provide services to our clients/partners/staff/other contacts – for example, IT companies and payroll suppliers . When doing this, we will: 

    • Only appoint suppliers or contractors which can provide sufficient guarantees that they comply with data protection law

    • Establish a data sharing agreement with the supplier or contractor, either in the contract or as a standalone agreement, to ensure the fair and lawful processing of any personal data we share

    • Only share data that the supplier or contractor needs to carry out their service, and information necessary to keep them safe while working with us 

  • We will also share personal data with law enforcement and government bodies where we are legally required to do so, including for: 

    • The prevention or detection of crime and/or fraud • The apprehension or prosecution of offenders 

    • The assessment or collection of tax owed to HMRC 

    • In connection with legal proceedings 

    • We may also share personal data with emergency services if required in emergency situations only. 

9. Subject access requests and other rights of individuals 

9.1 Subject access requests 

Individuals have a right to make a ‘subject access request’ to gain access to personal information that the Company holds about them.  This includes: 

  • Confirmation that their personal data is being processed 

  • Access to a copy of the data 

  • The purposes of the data processing 

  • The categories of personal data concerned 

  • Who the data has been, or will be, shared with 

  • How long the data will be stored for, or if this isn’t possible, the criteria used to determine this period

  • The source of the data, if not the individual 

  • Subject access requests must be submitted in writing, either by letter or email to the DPO. They should include: 

    • Name of individual

    • Correspondence address 

    • Contact number and email address 

    • Details of the information requested 

If staff / contractors receive a subject access request they must immediately forward it to the DPO.

9.3 Responding to subject access requests 

When responding to requests, we: 

  • May ask the individual to provide 2 forms of identification

  • May contact the individual via telephone to confirm the request was made

  • Will respond within 1 month of receipt of the request

  • Will provide the information free of charge 

  • May tell the individual we will comply within 3 months of receipt of the request, where a request is complex, numerous or is received during a holiday period where appropriate staff resources are not available to process the request. 

  • We will aim to inform the individual of this within 1 month, and explain why the extension is necessary. 

We will not disclose information if it: 

  • A request will be deemed to be unfounded or excessive if it is repetitive, or asks for further copies of the same information. If we refuse a request, we will tell the individual why, and tell them they have the right to complain to the ICO. 

9.4 Other data protection rights of the individual 

In addition to the right to make a subject access request (see above), and to receive information when we are collecting their data about how we use and process it (see section 7), individuals also have the right to: 

  • Withdraw their consent to processing at any time

  • Ask us to rectify, erase or restrict processing of their personal data, or object to the processing of it (in certain circumstances)

  • Prevent use of their personal data for direct marketing

  • Challenge processing which has been justified on the basis of public interest 

  • Request a copy of agreements under which their personal data is transferred outside of the European Economic Area

  • Object to decisions based solely on automated decision making or profiling (decisions taken with no human involvement, that might negatively affect them) 

  • Prevent processing that is likely to cause damage or distress

  • Be notified of a data breach in certain circumstances 

  • Make a complaint to the ICO 

  • Ask for their personal data to be transferred to a third party in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (in certain circumstances) Individuals should submit any request to exercise these rights to the DPO. 

10. Photographs and videos 

As part of our company activities and events, we may take photographs and record images of individuals. Uses may include: 

  • Within marketing materials, emails, brochures, enewsletters, presentation materials etc.

  • Online on our website or social media pages 

Consent can be refused or withdrawn at any time. If consent is withdrawn, we will delete the photograph or video and not distribute it further. 

 

When using photographs and videos in this way we will not accompany them with any detailed personal information about the individual without consent. 

 

11. Data protection by design and default

We will put measures in place to show that we have integrated data protection into all of our data processing activities, including: 

  • Appointing a suitably qualified DPO, and ensuring they have the necessary resources to fulfil their duties and maintain their expert knowledge 

  • Only processing personal data that is necessary for each specific purpose of processing, and always in line with the data protection principles set out in relevant data protection law (see section 6) 

  • Completing privacy impact assessments where the Companies processing of personal data presents a high risk to rights and freedoms of individuals, and when introducing new technologies (the DPO will advise on this process)

  • Integrating data protection into internal documents including this policy, any related policies and privacy notices

  • Regularly conducting reviews and audits to test our privacy measures and make sure we are compliant 

  • Maintaining records of our processing activities, including: 

    • For the benefit of data subjects, making available the name and contact details of our Company and DPO and all information we are required to share about how we use and process their personal data (via our privacy notices)

    • For all personal data that we hold, maintaining an internal record 13. Data security and storage of records 

We will protect personal data and keep it safe from unauthorised or unlawful access, alteration, processing or disclosure, and against accidental or unlawful loss, destruction or damage.

Where we need to share personal data with a third party, we carry out due diligence and take reasonable steps to ensure it is stored securely and adequately protected (see section 8) 

14. Disposal of records 

Personal data that is no longer needed will be disposed of securely. Data that has become inaccurate or out of date will also be disposed of securely, where we cannot or do not need to rectify or update it. For example, we will shred or incinerate paper-based records, and overwrite or delete electronic files. We may also use a third party to safely dispose of records on our behalf. If we do so, we will require the third party to provide sufficient guarantees that it complies with data protection law. 

15. Personal data breaches 

The Company will make all reasonable endeavours to ensure that there are no personal data breaches. In the unlikely event of a suspected data breach, we will follow the procedure set out in Appendix 1. 
 

When appropriate, we will report the data breach to the ICO within 72 hours. Such breaches may include, but are not limited to: 

• data security breaches (financial records, bank, credit card information, login details etc)

• The theft of a laptop containing non-encrypted personal data 

 

16. Monitoring arrangements 

The DPO and is responsible for monitoring and reviewing this policy

Appendix 1: Personal data breach procedure 

This procedure is based on guidance on personal data breaches produced by the ICO. 

On finding or causing a breach, or potential breach, the staff member or data processor must immediately notify the DPO 

The DPO will investigate the report, and determine whether a breach has occurred. To decide, the DPO will consider whether personal data has been accidentally or unlawfully: 

    • Lost 

    • Stolen 

    • Destroyed 

    • Altered 

    • Disclosed or made available where it should not have been 

    • Made available to unauthorised people 

The DPO will alert the CEO.

The DPO will make all reasonable efforts to contain and minimise the impact of the breach, assisted by data processors where necessary. (Actions relevant to specific data types are set out at the end of this procedure)

The DPO will assess the potential consequences, based on how serious they are, and how likely they are to happen.

The DPO will work out whether the breach must be reported to the ICO. This must be judged on a case-by-case basis. To decide, the DPO will consider whether the breach is likely to negatively affect people’s rights and freedoms, and cause them any physical, material or non-material damage (e.g. emotional distress), including through: 

  • Loss of control over their data

  • Discrimination

  • Identity theft or fraud

  • Financial loss

  • Unauthorised reversal of pseudonymisation (for example, key-coding) o Damage to reputation 

  • Loss of confidentiality

  • Any other significant economic or social disadvantage to the individual(s) concerned 

If it’s likely that there will be a risk to people’s rights and freedoms, the DPO must notify the ICO. 

The DPO will document the decision (either way), in case it is challenged at a later date by the ICO or an individual affected by the breach. Documented decisions are stored by the Company by the DPO.

Where the ICO must be notified, the DPO will do this via the ‘report a breach’ page of the ICO website within 72 hours. As required, the DPO will set out:

  • A description of the nature of the personal data breach including, where possible: 

    • The categories and approximate number of individuals concerned 

    • The categories and approximate number of personal data records concerned 

    • The name and contact details of the DPO 

    • A description of the likely consequences of the personal data breach 

    • A description of the measures that have been, or will be taken, to deal with the breach and mitigate any possible adverse effects on the individual(s) concerned 

If all the above details are not yet known, the DPO will report as much as they can within 72 hours. The report will explain that there is a delay, the reasons why, and when the DPO expects to have further information. The DPO will submit the remaining information as soon as possible.

The DPO will also assess the risk to individuals, again based on the severity and likelihood of potential or actual impact. If the risk is high, the DPO will promptly inform, in writing, all individuals whose personal data has been breached. This notification will set out: 

  • The name and contact details of the DPO 

  • A description of the likely consequences of the personal data breach 

  • A description of the measures that have been, or will be, taken to deal with the data breach and mitigate any possible adverse effects on the individual(s) concerned

  • The DPO will notify any relevant third parties who can help mitigate the loss to individuals – for example, the police, insurers, banks or credit card companies 

  • The DPO will document each breach, irrespective of whether it is reported to the ICO. For each breach, this record will include the: 

    • Facts and cause 

    • Effects 

    • Action taken to contain it and ensure it does not happen again (such as establishing more robust processes or providing further training for individuals) 

Records of all breaches will be stored by the DPO.  The DPO and CEO will meet to review what happened and how it can be stopped from happening again. This meeting will happen as soon as reasonably possible. 

Actions to minimise the impact of data breaches.

We will take action to mitigate the impact of different types of data breach, focusing especially on breaches involving particularly risky or sensitive information. We will review the effectiveness of these actions and amend them as necessary after any data breach

*Agencynomics is a subsidiary of Cactus Consultants Limited.