Privacy policy
How VA Consultancy collects, uses, stores and protects your personal information.
About this policy
This privacy policy explains how Victoria Dickinson, trading as VA Consultancy, collects, uses, stores and protects personal information when you visit vaconsultancy.uk, contact me, download a resource, subscribe to emails, or work with me. I am the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.
I only use personal information where I have a lawful reason to do so, and I do not sell or rent personal information.
How to contact me
Victoria Dickinson, trading as VA Consultancy
Email: info@vaconsultancy.uk
Website contact page: vaconsultancy.uk/contact/
Information I collect
Depending on how you interact with VA Consultancy, I may collect:
- your name, email address, organisation and job role
- information you provide in an enquiry, booking, survey, feedback form or other correspondence
- details connected with consultancy, training or other services, including contracts, project records and invoicing information
- your resource-download requests, email preferences, consent choices, opens and link clicks
- technical information such as your IP address, browser, device, approximate location and how you use the website, where cookies or similar technology allow this
- any other information you choose to provide to me.
How and why I use personal information
I use personal information for the following purposes:
| Purpose | How I use the information | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Responding to enquiries | To respond to messages, discuss possible work, prepare proposals and take steps requested before entering into an agreement. | Steps at your request before a contract and legitimate interests |
| Delivering services | To manage consultancy, training and related work, communicate with clients, keep project records and issue invoices. | Contract, legitimate interests and legal obligations |
| Providing free resources | To record your request and email the resource to you. Requesting a resource does not by itself mean that you have agreed to receive unrelated marketing. | Legitimate interests and your request |
| Marketing emails | To send occasional emails about volunteering resources, training and consultancy where you have actively opted in. You can withdraw consent at any time. | Consent |
| Website operation and analytics | To keep the website secure, understand how it is used and improve its content. Non-essential analytics cookies are used only where the required consent has been obtained. | Legitimate interests for essential security; consent for non-essential cookies |
| Legal and business records | To maintain appropriate financial, contractual, safeguarding and compliance records and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. | Legal obligations and legitimate interests |
Resource downloads and email marketing
When you request a downloadable resource, I use your name and email address to send the resource you asked for. If the form offers a separate option to receive future emails, I will only send those emails when you actively select that option.
Marketing emails identify VA Consultancy and include a way to unsubscribe. You can also withdraw your consent at any time by emailing info@vaconsultancy.uk. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of earlier use of your information.
Who processes or receives information
I share personal information only where this is necessary for the purposes described above. Suppliers may include:
- MailerLite, which manages signup forms, subscriber records, automated resource-delivery emails and email engagement information
- website, hosting, security, backup and technical-support providers used to operate vaconsultancy.uk
- Google Analytics and related services, where enabled with the appropriate cookie consent, to provide aggregated information about website use
- email, document-storage, video-conferencing, accounting and payment-service providers used in the ordinary running of the consultancy
- professional advisers, regulators, courts or public authorities where disclosure is legally required or necessary to protect legal rights.
These organisations process information under their own legal responsibilities or under contracts requiring them to protect it. I do not sell personal information.
International transfers
Some service providers may process personal information outside the United Kingdom. Where this happens, I take reasonable steps to ensure that an appropriate safeguard is in place, such as a UK adequacy regulation or approved contractual protections.
How long I keep information
- General enquiries that do not lead to work: normally up to 24 months after the last meaningful contact.
- Resource-download records: normally up to 24 months after the last interaction, unless you separately remain an active email subscriber or a longer period is needed to demonstrate consent or compliance.
- Marketing records: until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent. Suppression information may be retained so that I can respect your request not to be contacted.
- Client, contractual, project and financial records: normally six years after the end of the relevant engagement or financial year, unless a different period is required by law, insurance or a live dispute.
- Website analytics information: according to the retention settings used by the analytics service and only for as long as it remains useful and proportionate.
I may keep information for longer where this is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, respond to a complaint, or establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.
Cookies and website analytics
The website may use essential cookies needed for security and basic operation. It may also use non-essential analytics cookies, including Google Analytics, to understand how visitors use the site. Where consent is required, non-essential cookies should not be set until you have made a choice through the website cookie controls. You can change your cookie choice through those controls or your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect how parts of the website work.
Security
I use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. Access is limited to people and service providers who need the information for a legitimate purpose. No method of online transmission or storage is completely secure, but I review safeguards and respond to suspected data incidents appropriately.
Your data protection rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:
- ask for access to the personal information I hold about you
- ask me to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- ask for information to be deleted
- ask me to restrict how information is used
- object to processing based on legitimate interests and always object to direct marketing
- receive certain information in a portable format
- withdraw consent at any time where processing relies on consent.
These rights are not absolute and exemptions may apply. To exercise a right, email info@vaconsultancy.uk. I will not normally charge a fee and will usually respond within one month, although the law allows extensions in some circumstances. I may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request.
Complaints
Please contact me first if you have a concern so that I can try to resolve it. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection. Visit ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/.
Links to other websites
The website may link to other websites. I am not responsible for their privacy practices. Please read the privacy information provided by those organisations before giving them personal information.
Children
The website and its business forms are intended for people acting in a professional or organisational capacity and are not designed to collect personal information directly from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the website, please contact me.
Changes to this policy
I may update this policy when services, suppliers or legal requirements change. The latest version will be published on this page with its updated date.