GDPR, Cookies & Privacy

J W Hinks LLP is committed to protecting the confidentiality and privacy of information of all our clients. We take appropriate security measures to safeguard your privacy. This Policy, in line with our Terms of Business explains how we protect and manage any personal data you share with us, including how we collect, process, share or retain that data. We may also collect personal data in the course of providing professional services.

How we obtain your personal data

Information we collect and how we use it

J W Hinks LLP will collect personal data, including but not limited to your name, title, contact details together with your e-mail address, your Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number, your National Insurance number, bank account details and use only for the purpose for which it was collected, unless we obtain your specific consent to other uses, or unless otherwise required or permitted by law or professional standards. For example

• We will use your email address and other information you supply to maintain our business relationship, to provide our services to you and fulfil contractual obligations.
• We will share personal data that you submit to us to other members of the firm in accordance with our data protection obligations.
• We do not disclose your personal data to third parties except as required and permitted by applicable law or unless we obtain your specific consent.
• We do not sell your personal data or provide it to third parties for their direct marketing use. We may add your personal data to our CRM (Contact Relationship Management) database which we use to develop our relationship and provide newsletters about our firm and services and topical accountancy issues.

Data Security and Storage

Information provided by you

J W Hinks LLP has appropriate technical and organisational security policies and procedures in place to protect personal data and information from loss, misuse, alteration or unintentional destruction.

Additionally, we aim to ensure that access to your personal data is limited to those who need to access it. Those individuals who have access to the data have been trained and are required to maintain the confidentiality of such information.

Whilst we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk.

Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to prevent unauthorised access. Where we have given, or where you have chosen, a password which enables you to access information, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.

Your data will usually be processed in our office in the UK. However, to allow us to operate efficient digital processes, we sometimes need to store information in servers located outside the UK, but within the European Economic Area (EEA). We take the security of your data seriously and so all our systems have appropriate security in place that complies with all applicable legislative and regulatory requirements.

We are required by legislation, other regulatory requirements and our insurers to retain your data where we have ceased to act for you. We use reasonable efforts to retain personal data collected from you only for so long as we need such data in accordance with the purpose for which it was collected or until we are requested to delete it (if earlier).

Data Subject Rights

Access to collected information

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) grants you the right to access particular personal data that we hold about you. This is referred to as a subject access request. If you wish to make such a request or you are concerned that any information we hold about you is incorrect, please contact us at info@jwhinks.co.uk

Right to correct and amend

J W Hinks LL P are committed to keeping your information up to date and accurate. If any of the information we hold about you changes or you believe is inaccurate, it is important that you help us to ensure we continue to provide you with a high level of customer service by informing us as soon as possible.

Right to erasure

You have the right to ask us to delete personal information about you where:

• you consider that we no longer require the information for the purposes for which it was obtained
• you have validly objected to our use of your personal information – see ‘Right to object” below
• our use of your personal information is contrary to law or our other legal obligations

Right to withdraw

If you have given us consent to process your personal information but change your mind later, you have the right at any time to withdraw that consent.

Right to object

You have the right to object where we use your personal information to perform tasks carried out in the public interest, unless there are overriding legitimate grounds to continue.

Right to restriction of processing

As well as rights of access and amendment referred to above, you have the right to restrict or object to our processing of your personal data, this means we are permitted to store the data but not further process it, for example:

• The accuracy of the personal data is contested by you and is restricted until the accuracy of the data has been verified;
• The processing is unlawful, and you oppose the erasure of the personal data and instead request the restriction in its use;
• We no longer need the personal data for the purposes of processing, but it is required by you for establishment, exercise or defence of legal claim;
• You have objected to processing of your personal data pending the verification of whether there are legitimate grounds for us to override these objections.

Your choice

We may occasionally contact you by post/email/telephone with details of any changes in legal and regulatory requirements or other developments that may be relevant to your affairs and where applicable, how we may assist you further. If you do not wish to receive such information from us, please let us know by contacting us as indicated under ‘contact information’ below.

Important Information

Changes to our privacy policy

This Privacy Policy is regularly reviewed. This is to make sure that we continue to meet the highest standards and to protect your privacy. We reserve the right, at all times, to update, modify or amend this Policy.

If you have a complaint

We seek to resolve directly all complaints about how we handle your personal information, but you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at:

Contact information