We take your privacy, and the security of any personal information that you share with us, very seriously.   Of course we do.   We're mediators, and mediation is all about respecting confidentiality.   But whilst saying that is all very well, we're also required by the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulations to provide a  statement setting out who we are, what we do, and how we might store and process your personal information. If you're not that into the General Data Protection Regulations, and just want a short summary, that's here.   If you want the full version, which should be read together with the Mediation Agreement for your mediation (which will contain a lot of stuff about confidentiality) and any other communications you receive from us, then here goes......

Who we are  

Mediation1st is a trading name used by Martin Plowman.  That's me.  Hello.   Besides me, mediation1st also comprises the self-employed mediators on our panel and our Mediation Coordinator, Mandy Hanby.

What we do

The clue is in the name.  We provide mediation services. Nothing else.

Personal information

"Personal information" in this context means any information from which you (or any other individual) could be identified.    Obvious, really.   

Data Controller

By law, we have to designate someone as our Data Controller.  The Data Controller is the person legally responsible for how your personal information is stored and / or processed.  It's my business, so the Data Controller is me (Martin Plowman).  I'm registered as such with the Information Commissioner's Office.  You can reach me on martin@mediation1st.co.uk.  

How we process personal information

Legally, we process personal information every time we collect, record, organise, structure, store, adapt, alter, retrieve, consult, use, transmit, disseminate, make available, or even destroy any personal information. For example, for every mediation we are typically sent a bundle of case papers setting out the background to the dispute. Much of the contents will be personal information, some of it (depending on what the dispute is about) potentially falling into sensitive classes. The act of making a PDF copy of it for our mediator's laptop or tablet, so the poor mediator doesn't have to carry hard copies around the place with them, constitutes processing personal information. So does transferring a PDF version you have sent us onto a mediator's laptop or tablet. And when our mediators delete the copy on their laptop or tablet after the mediation has finished, then, yes, you've got it, that's processing the data too. Basically, just about any time we do anything to personal information supplied to us, we are processing it.

Reasons and legal basis for processing personal information

We store and / or process personal information to enable us to perform our mediation services:  to contact people where necessary for the performance of those services, to store the information in a form that makes it accessible to our mediators where it is relevant to the dispute they have been asked to mediate, to maintain our own accounts and records, to set up electronic payments where we are asked to do that, to promote our services, and to notify you of any significant matters relating to mediation which we consider may be of interest to you. In addition, we may sometimes be required to collect and process personal information in order to fulfil regulatory, legal or ethical requirements.

Types, classes or categories of personal information processed

We may store and / or process names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, financial details, website details, details of your business, details of your lawyers (if you are not a lawyer), details of the client you are acting for (if you are a lawyer), details of your opponents, and details of the dispute you have asked us to mediate.   In addition, and where you supply these details to us because they are relevant to a dispute that we have been asked us to mediate, we may also store and / or process sensitive classes of information including education and employment details, physical or mental health details, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or other beliefs or non-beliefs, sexual life or orientation, trade union membership, criminal offences or alleged offences and criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences, and any other information supplied by you to us to enable us to mediate a particular dispute.

Who we store or process personal information about

We may store or process personal information about clients, parties to a mediation, witness or others mentioned in mediation case papers, suppliers and service providers, enquirers, advisers, consultants and professional experts, and complainants.

Sharing or disclosing personal information

We will at all times observe the confidentiality provisions in the Mediation Agreement for a particular dispute with regard to all personal information supplied to us in connection with that dispute. In most cases, the confidentiality provisions of the Mediation Agreement provide a higher level of protection than that provided by the Data Protection Act. Subject to the provisions of the Mediation Agreement, and where necessary or required, we may share information with family, associates or representatives of the person whose personal data we are processing, trusted business associates, professional bodies, suppliers and service providers, the Civil Mediation Council and regulatory bodies, the National Mediator Database, financial organisations, debt collectors and tracing agencies, credit reference agencies, private investigators, courts and tribunals, and central government. We will never sell to or swap personal information with any third party.

Transferring personal information abroad

We do not transfer any personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Retention Period

We will not keep personal data longer than reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. Generally we will delete the case papers, which are likely to contain any sensitive classes of information, once the mediation in question is concluded.

Your Rights

Under the Data Protection Act and / or the General Data Protection Regulations you have the following rights:

- The right to request a copy of the personal information that we hold about you.

- The right to request that we correct any personal information that is inaccurate or out of date.

- The right to request that your personal information is erased where it is no longer necessary to retain such information.

- The right to withdraw your consent to our storing and / or processing your personal information.

- The right to object to the storing or processing of your personal data if the processing is being undertaken based on legitimate interests or the public interest or for direct marketing purposes or for scientific / historical research and statistics.

- The right to request the transfer of your personal information to a third party where you have provided it to us and our use of it is based on your consent or to carry out a contract with you, and where we are processing it using automated means.