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What is a Consultant Privacy Notice?
A Consultant Privacy Notice explains how consultants’ personal data (eg their names, addresses or professional qualifications) are processed (eg collected or stored) by the business engaging them (ie the ‘data controller’). Consultant Privacy Notices set out the ‘what, how, where, why and when?’ of the data processing.
This document is GDPR compliant.
When should I use a Consultant Privacy Notice?
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if you engage consultants for your business in England, Wales or Scotland
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to communicate how you collect, store, retain and disclose consultants’ personal data
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to ensure that your data processing is safe and compliant with data protection laws
Sample Consultant Privacy Notice
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CONSULTANT PRIVACY NOTICE
Statement and Purpose of Policy
- collects and processes personal data relating to its consultants in order to manage its relationship with them. We are committed to being transparent about how we collect and use that data and to meeting our data protection obligations.
What Information Do We Collect?
- We collect and process a range of information about you. This may include, but is not limited to:
your name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number;
- the terms and conditions of your engagement as a consultant;
- details of your qualifications, skills, experience and career history, including start and end dates;
- information about your remuneration, including details of the services and the days and hours on which you provide services under your engagement;
- details of your bank account (and VAT registration details if relevant);
- the duration of any periods during which you are unable to provide the services under your engagement
- details of insurance contracts maintained and payment of insurance premiums in accordance with your obligations under your engagement;
- emergency contact details; and
- photographs and videos.
- We collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, data is collected through CVs or resumes; from forms completed by you at the start of or during your engagement; from correspondence with you; or through interviews or other meetings.
- Data is stored in a range of different places, including our HR management systems and in other IT systems (including our email system).
Why Do We Process Personal Data?
- We need to process data to enter into an engagement with you and to meet our obligations under the contractual arrangements between us. For example, we process your data to provide you with a consultancy agreement and to pay you in accordance with the contract.
- In other cases, we have a legitimate interest in processing personal data before, during and after the end of the consultant engagement. Processing consultant data allows us to:
offer consultant engagements to appropriate and suitably qualified individuals;
maintain accurate and up-to-date HR records and contact details (including details of who to contact in the event of an emergency), and records of contractual rights and obligations;
operate and keep a record of hours to allow effective workforce management;
ensure effective general HR and business administration;
ensure health and safety compliance; and
respond to and defend against legal claims.
- Where we rely on legitimate interests as a reason for processing data, we have considered whether or not those interests are overridden by the rights and freedoms of consultants and have concluded that they are not.
- We process special categories of personal data, such as information about health or medical conditions, with your explicit consent, which can be withdrawn at any time by contacting the HR team or your primary point of contact at . Consultants are entirely free to decide whether or not to provide such data and there are no consequences of failing to do so.
Who Has Access To Data?
- Your information will be shared internally, including with members of the HR team and finance team, your primary point of contact at , managers in the business area to which you provide services and IT staff if access to the data is necessary for the performance of their roles.
- We share your data with third parties that process data on its behalf in connection with making payments.
- We may also disclose your personal data to third parties:
- when we determine that disclosure is required to protect our rights, property, or personal safety, or to respond to requests by public, regulatory, or law enforcement authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements; or
- if we sell some or all of our business or assets, we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets, and if the transaction closes, then your personal data may be transferred to the buyer.
Choice
- We do not currently share your personal data with third parties other than our service providers who act on our behalf. However, if we decide to do so in the future, we will offer you the opportunity to choose (opt out) before your personal data is disclosed to a third party controller (i.e. a non-service provider). Also, if we decide to use your data for purposes that are different from the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorised by you, we will offer you the opportunity to choose (opt out) before such use.
How Do We Protect Data?
- We take the security of your data seriously. We have internal policies and controls in place to try to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by its employees in the performance of their duties.
- Where we engage third parties to process personal data on our behalf, we do so on the basis of written instructions, are under a duty of confidentiality and are obliged to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the security of data.
For How Long Do We Keep Data?
- We will hold your personal data for the duration of your engagement as a consultant. The periods for which your data is held after the end of your engagement are set out, available.
Your Rights
- As a data subject, you have a number of rights. You can:
access and obtain a copy of your data on request;
require us to change incorrect or incomplete data;
require us to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing;
object to the processing of your data where we rely on our legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing; and
ask us to stop processing data for a period if data is inaccurate or there is a dispute about whether or not your interests override our legitimate grounds for processing data.
- If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact a member of the HR department or your main point of contact at .
Complaint Resolution
- If you believe that we have not complied with this Privacy Notice or your data protection rights, you have the right to file a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/), however, we hope that you will attempt to resolve the complaint with us first.
- In addition, if you have any inquiries or complaints about the handling of your personal data, or about our privacy practices generally, please contact us at: and we will respond to your inquiry promptly.
What If You Do Not Provide Personal Data?
- You have some obligations under your engagement to provide us with data. In particular, you are required to report periods during which you are unable to provide services and may be asked to provide details of the insurance policies you maintain in accordance with your engagement.
- Certain information, such as contact details and payment details, have to be provided to enable us to enter into an engagement with you. If you do not provide other information, this will hinder our ability to administer the rights and obligations arising as a result of the engagement efficiently.
Changes To This Privacy Notice
- We reserve the right to change this Notice at any time as we may deem necessary from time to time or as may be required by law. We will provide you with a new Privacy Notice when we make any substantial changes. We may also notify you in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal data.
Attribution
- This Privacy Notice was created using a document from Rocket Lawyer (https://www.rocketlawyer.com/gb/en).
About Consultant Privacy Notices
Learn more about making your Consultant Privacy Notice
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How to make a Consultant Privacy Notice
Making a Consultant Privacy Notice online is simple. Just answer a few questions and Rocket Lawyer will build your document for you. When you have all of the details prepared in advance, making your document is a quick and easy process.
To make your Consultant Privacy Notice you will need the following information:
Business details
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What is the name of the business engaging consultants?
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Who can consultants contact for information about their data rights?
Data transfers
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Will personal data be transferred outside of the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA)?
Data retention
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How will information about data retention practices be communicated?
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If this will be done by way of a policy, where can a copy of the policy be found?
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Common terms in a Consultant Privacy Notice
Consultant Privacy Notices help businesses ensure that they comply with data protection legislation when they engage consultants and process their personal data. To do this, this Consultant Privacy Notice template covers:
Statement and purpose
This section sets out why the business is adopting a Consultant Privacy Notice and explains the business’ commitment to transparency.
What information do we collect?
This section details examples of the types of personal data the business collects. It also explains that consultant personal data is collected through various means and is stored in various locations and provides examples.
Why do we process personal data?
This section provides details as to the reason for the personal data processing. This is provided in a simple, easy-to-understand manner so that consultants can easily understand why the business is processing their personal data.
Who has access to data?
This section sets out that consultant personal data will be shared internally. It also sets out that consultant personal data can be shared externally with third parties that process data on behalf of the business in connection with making payments. Further, this section sets out in what other circumstances the business may share personal data with third parties.
Choice
This section sets out that the business does not currently share the consultants’’s personal data with third parties other than those which fall under the section ‘Who has access to data?’. It explains that, should the business choose to share personal data with other third parties, the consultants will be given a choice regarding the disclosure. In other words, the consultants can opt out of having their personal data shared.
Transfers outside the United Kingdom and European Economic Area
If consultant personal data will be transferred outside the UK and EEA, this section sets out the safeguarding requirements that the business must have in place.
How do we protect data?
This section reiterates that the business takes the security of personal data seriously and highlights that relevant data protection policies are in place.
For how long do we keep data?
This section sets out the periods for which the business will retain (ie keep) a consultant’s personal data. This will always be for the length of the consultant’s engagement, while any specific retention periods post-engagement will be governed by the business’ relevant data protection policies or practices.
Your rights
This section sets out the rights that consultants have in relation to their personal data. It also provides the details of the person within the business that consultants should contact if they wish to exercise their data protection rights.
Complaint Resolution
This section sets out how consultants can complain about how their personal data is processed. While this includes complaining directly to the ICO, the Privacy Notice encourages consultants to first attempt to resolve issues internally with the business.
What if you do not provide personal data?
This section sets out that the consultant has to provide the business with certain information under the terms of engagement. It highlights that without this information the business will not be able to properly manage and administer the consultant’s engagement.
Changes to this Privacy Notice
This section highlights that the Consultant Privacy Notice may be changed by the business whenever thisit is considered necessary and explains that consultants will be provided with an updated copy in due course.
If you want your Consultant Privacy Notice to include further or more detailed provisions, you can edit your document. However, if you do this, you may want a lawyer to review or change the Privacy Notice for you, to make sure it complies with all relevant laws and meets your specific needs. Ask a lawyer for assistance.
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Legal tips for making a Consultant Privacy Notice
Make sure that you have a legal basis for processing personal data
To process personal data you meet at least one of the stringent legal grounds set out in data protection laws. Before you begin to process personal data belonging to consultants, you have to ensure that you have a legal basis for doing so. Examples include consultants’ consenting to the processing or your business having a legitimate interest in the processing.
Consider what other data protection documents you may need
There are a number of data protection documents you may wish to create to further ensure your compliance with data protection laws. These include, but are not limited to:
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a Data protection and data security policy - to protect your employees’ and clients' data and provide a clear framework forto compliancey with relevant data protection obligations
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an Employee privacy notice - this document is similar to a Consultant Privacy Notice but applies to employees instead of consultants
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a Privacy policy - if you run a website, you should inform users about the types of personal data you are collecting, the reasons for collection and how users can access their data
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a Data protection impact assessment (DPIA) - if the processing of personal data is likely to result in a high risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms
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a Data processing agreement (DPA) - if you’re transferring personal data to someone else so they can process it for you (eg a cloud storage service)
Make sure the business follows the right data protection procedures
Recording how your business will meet its data protection obligations is a crucial first step toward compliance. However, simply having a Consultant Privacy Notice in place and providing it to consultants does not mean that you’ve actually complied with your legal obligations. Instead, you need to ensure that the steps outlined in your Privacy Notice and all other relevant data protection documents are implemented and followed. If you need help with data protection compliance, seek GDPR compliance advice.
Understand when to seek advice from a lawyer
Ask a lawyer for advice if:
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issues arise when consultants’ data is used in a way which could infringe upon their privacy or which could relate to their activities outside of work
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advice is required on the use of covert monitoring in the workplace
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an existing Consultant Privacy Notice needs to be changed
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Consultant Privacy Notice FAQs
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What is included in a Consultant Privacy Notice?
This Consultant Privacy Notice template covers:
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details of the business that is engaging consultants
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the types of personal data that are collected
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how the data is collected and stored
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the reasons why the data is processed
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who has access to the data
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international transfers of personal data outside of the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA)
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the measures taken to protect the data
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how policies on data storage can be accessed
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the consultants’ rights as data subjects
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Do I need a Consultant Privacy Notice?
Transparency is a key principle of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This means that, to comply with data protection legislation (such as the Data Protection Act 2018), a data controller must be clear and honest with all data subjects regarding how their personal data will be used. Data subjects are the individuals to which personal data relates. For the purposes of the Consultant Privacy Notice, the consultants are the data subjects. Using a Consultant Privacy Notice allows businesses to provide the information necessary to comply with this transparency principle.
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How can I implement a Consultant Privacy Notice?
This template can be used to create your Consultant Privacy Notice. Once created, the Notice will be incorporated into your business as long as you ensure that it’s readily available for consultants to read.
You should also ensure that consultants know to whom to direct any data protection questions or concerns (eg a data protection officer (DPO)). The Consultant Privacy Notice could also be included in any starter information provided to consultants.
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For how long can personal data be stored?
The UK GDPR and DPA do not impose a defined time limit for processing or storing data. However, data should not be stored for longer than necessary. Usually, data should be deleted once a the consultant’s engagement has ended. In some cases retaining data for a longer period of time may be justified, for instance on the grounds of a legitimate interest.
How long you retain data for should be set out in a document, for instance, a data retention policy. You can Ask a lawyer for assistance in creating this policy.
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Can data be transferred outside of the UK?
Transferring personal data to recipients outside of the UK is prohibited under data protection laws unless certain safeguards are put in place. The international transfer of personal data may be permitted:
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if the ‘third country’ (ie the country that the recipient is in) has an adequate level of data protection, as determined by the UK’s Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This includes countries within the EEA
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on the basis of standard data protection clauses approved by the UK
For more information, read International transfers of personal data.
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What rights do consultants have in relation to their personal data?
Consultants have certain rights relating to personal data held about them, including:
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the right to access and obtain a copy of their data and to be informed about how their data is being processed
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the right to have their data rectified if it's inaccurate or incomplete
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the right to object to the data processing
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the right to have their data erased in certain circumstances
For more information, read Data protection requests.
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What if a consultant has an issue with your data protection practices?
If a consultant believes that a business hasn’t complied with a Consultant Privacy Notice or has otherwise infringed on their rights under data protection legislation, they are able to file a complaint with the ICO. However, businesses can encourage consultants to engage with them to attempt to resolve any issues before making a complaint.
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