Writing Works Consulting is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This privacy notice outlines how I will handle your personal information and what you can expect.

• Contact details

• What information we collect, use, and why

• Lawful bases and data protection rights

• Where we get personal information from

• How long we keep information

• Who we share information with

• How to complain

Contact details

If you wish to contact Writing Works Consulting about anything in this notice, please email: susan@writingworksconsulting.co.uk

What information is collected, used, and why

In order to provide and improve services, I collect clients’ names, contact information details, professional addresses, field of work, and job role/title. For information updates or marketing purposes, I collect names and contact details where people have consented to supply these, or where they are publicly available.

Under UK data protection law, Writing Works Consulting must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information. There is a list of possible lawful bases in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website.

Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are in brief set out below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO’s website:

• Your right of access - You have the right to ask Writing Works Consulting for copies of your personal information. You can request other information such as details about where I get personal information from and who I share personal information with. There are some exemptions which means you may not receive all the information you ask for.

• Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask Writing Works Consulting to correct or delete personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete.

• Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask Writing Works Consulting to delete your personal information.

• Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask Writing Works Consulting to limit how we can use your personal information.

• Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.

• Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that Writing Works Consulting transfer the personal information you

provided to another organisation, or to you.

• Your right to withdraw consent – When Writing Works uses consent as its lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your

consent at any time. If you make a request, Writing Works Consulting must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month.

To make a data protection rights request, please contact Writing Works Consulting using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice.

The Lawful Bases for The Collection and Use of Your Data

The lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to provide and improve products and services for clients are:

• Consent – This applies when Writing Works Consulting has permission from you after giving you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

• Contract – This applies when Writing Works Consulting has to collect or use the information to enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.

• Legitimate interests – This applies when Writing Works Consulting collects or uses your information because it benefits you or Writing Works Consulting without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone.

This could include, for example, collecting the information necessary to provide you with a tailored and specific be-spoke service.

Depending on the type of service requested, it might additionally include collecting documentation (e.g. reports, policies, samples of email communication) from your organisation to plan the workshop, course, or other service requested. Such documentation will be stored and handled securely for the duration of the job, anonymised wherever possible, treated as confidential, and securely destroyed upon completion of the job. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for information updates or marketing purposes are:

• Consent – This applies when Writing Works Consulting has permission from you after giving you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

• Legitimate interests – This applies when Writing Works Consulting collects or uses your information because it benefits you or Writing Works Consulting without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone.

For example, I collect contact details to inform clients about matters of genuine professional interest to them. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability.

Where Writing Works Consulting gets personal information from

I obtain personal information directly from you where you have consented to provide this; from publicly available sources (such as a website); and, in cases of a referral (from networking activity, for example), from a third party.

How long your information is kept

Your personal information is retained securely for a period of one year unless a) you withdraw consent; or b) you and Writing Works Consulting voluntarily remain in contact (you can withdraw consent at any time). After a period of one year or upon withdrawal of consent, your personal information will be deleted.

Where a service provided by Writing Works Consulting requires the collection of documentation from you (such as reports, policies, or samples of email text), these documents are securely destroyed upon completion of the job.

When and with whom information is shared

For marketing purposes, Writing Works Consulting may request testimonial from you about a service provided to you, or you may be willing to give this. In such cases your consent will be requested in writing and, if given, the statement you provide, your name, and any organisational affiliation/role/position you wish to give may be used on my website, social media or in other marketing and promotional material.

Third Parties

Writing Works Consulting may share personal data with third-party IT providers to fulfill necessary business functions such as system maintenance, IT support and security, and data storage. These providers are bound by confidentiality agreements to protect your data.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about the use of your personal data, you can make a complaint to Writing Works Consulting using the contact details at

the top of this privacy notice. If you remain unhappy with how I’ve used your data after raising a complaint, you can also complain to the ICO.

The ICO’s address is:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Last updated: February 2025