Introduction

This policy outlines how individuals or companies can raise concerns about the way ESP Solicitors Ltd handles personal data and how these concerns will be addressed in line with UK data protection legislation.

ESP Solicitors Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 0514550 and whose registered office is at 20 Grosvenor Place, London, England, SW1X 7HN.

ESP Solicitors is the data controller of personal information we collect. ESP Solicitors is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a data controller under reference Z8729580.

Scope

This policy applies to any personal identifiable data we are processing as a data controller. This will include the personal data of the following categories of data subject:

• Prospects, including their representatives and employees
• Clients, including their representatives, employees, and former employees
• Legal professionals representing claimants
• Suppliers, including their representatives and employees
• ACAS, Employment Tribunals, the Employment Appeal Tribunal and their representatives

Complaints may relate to:

• Inaccurate or outdated personal information
• Unlawful data sharing
• Failure to respond to a data subject request, including Subject Access Requests (SARs) or Subject Erasure Requests (SERs)
• Excessive data retention
• Inappropriate use of profiling, automated decision making or artificial intelligence
• Breach of data protection rights

For complaints relating to matters other than data protection, please see ESP Solicitors Ltd’s webpage ‘Raising queries, concerns and complaints’.

How to make a complaint

For any queries, concerns, or complaints you may have about how ESP Solicitors Ltd collects, uses or stores your personal information, you can contact our Data Protection Officer, Bryony Hayter, at  [email protected]  

Or you can write to: 

Data Protection Officer 

ESP Solicitors

68 Milton Park 
Abingdon 
Oxfordshire 
OX14 4RX 

For ease of the investigation, please kindly provide the following information:

• Full name
• Contact details
• Description of your concerns
• Any supporting evidence

Without the above information, we may not be able to complete a full investigation or contact you for further information or with a response.

If the complaint is made on behalf of someone else, such as on behalf of a client, proof of authority to act must be provided.

Identity verification

To protect personal data, ESP Solicitors may request ID verification before investigating a complaint.

Acknowledgement and response times

Complaints will be acknowledged within 7 calendar days.

A full response will be provided without undue delay within 30 calendar days, unless complexity requires more time.

If there is likely to be a delay, we will inform the complainant about our progress and ensure that we have a clear record of communication with the complainant.

Investigation process

The Data Protection Officer (DPO) will review the complaint. Relevant stakeholders at ESP Solicitors may be consulted as part of the investigation.

If the DPO is directly named in the complaint, the review will instead be undertaken by the Compliance Officer for Legal Practice, Lisa Harris, or the Managing Partner, Sarah Dillon.

The complainant will be informed of the outcome and any remedial actions taken.

Escalation

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome, they may escalate the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

Information Commissioner’s Office 
Wycliffe House 
Water Lane 
Wilmslow 
Cheshire 
SK9 5AF 

ICO helpline number: 0303 123 1113 

ICO website: ico.org.uk 

Record keeping

All complaints and outcomes will be logged securely and retained in line with ESP Solicitor Ltd’s existing retention for complaints.

Review

This policy will be reviewed annually or upon significant and relevant legislative changes.