Privacy Notice for Re:link

April 2019

1. Scope

2. Effective date and document review 

3. Document management 

4. Contacts details

5. Privacy and data protection terms

6. Other terms with a defined meaning

7. Importance of Personal Data protection

8. Who is the controller for the Personal Data processed?

9. Collecting your Personal Data

10. What information we collect

11. Using your Personal Data

12. Using your Special Personal Data

13. Using your Diversity Data

14. Legal basis for using your Personal Data

15. Updating your Personal Data

16. Sharing your Personal Data

17. Securing your Personal Data

18. Retaining your Personal Data

19. Your rights in relation to your Personal Data

20. How to make a complaint about the use of your Personal by us

21. Your right to make a complaint to a supervisory authority

Schedule 1

Introduction

1. Scope

This Privacy Notice ("notice") explains how Linklaters collects and uses Personal Data in relation to Re:link (see relink.linklaters.com for more information on the Re:link platform). It applies to applicants to Re:link and those who go on to become a Re:link lawyer.

It is important that you read this notice together with any other notices we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing your Personal Data, so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your Personal Data. This notice supplements the other notices and is not intended to override them.

2. Effective date and document review 

This notice is version number one and is effective from 30 April 2019.

This notice will be reviewed and updated as deemed necessary to ensure it continues to be accurate and relevant. For previous versions of this notice please contact data.protection@linklaters.com.

3. Document management

This notice is owned by the Re:link Team and may only be updated with approval from the Law & Compliance team. 

4. Contact details

(a) Should you have any questions regarding the use of your Personal Data you should contact data.protection@linklaters.com.

(b) Our Global Head of Law & Compliance oversees compliance with data protection within Linklaters. If you have any questions about this notice, including any requests to exercise your rights, please contact our Global Head of Law & Compliance using the contact details set out below:

Global Head of Law & Compliance Linklaters LLP
One Silk Street, London EC2Y 8HQ
Email: data.protection@linklaters.com Telephone: (+44) 20 7456 2000

Defined terms used in this notice

5. Privacy and data protection terms 

In this notice:

"Data Protection Standards" means the Global Standards for Processing Personal Data dated August 2013 (as amended from time to time, including on 21 May 2018), being the standards applicable to Linklaters entities specified in them in relation to processing Personal Data, including as regards the transfer of Personal Data out of the EEA, accessible via the Linklaters.com website (and also under this link);

"European Economic Area" or "EEA" means, collectively, the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the member states of the European Union;

"GDPR" means regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of Personal Data and on the free movement of such data;

"Personal Data" means information about a living natural person who can be identified from the information. It includes a person’s name, opinions about an individual, images, date of birth, address, telephone number, details of family members, or any other information that could allow the person to be identified. Where applicable, references to Personal Data in this notice include references to Special Categories of Personal Data;

"Processing" means any activity carried out in relation to information including collecting, analysing, storing, transferring, amending, destroying and generally using information;

"Special Categories of Personal Data” or "Special Personal Data” (previously known as "Sensitive Personal Data") means Personal Data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation;

6. Other terms with a defined meaning

In this notice, any reference to:

(a) "applicable laws" means any applicable law, rule or regulation, whether or not having the force of law, but if not having the force of law only if persons to whom any such law, rule or regulation is intended to apply generally comply with it; and

(b) “Re:link” means the contract lawyer business of Linklaters Business Services;

(c) the "firm", "Linklaters", we" or "us" is a reference to all or any of Linklaters LLP, its affiliated firms and any other entities carrying on business outside the United Kingdom under or including the name Linklaters or under joint venture or collaboration arrangements in association with Linklaters LLP. A reference to the "firm", "Linklaters", "we" or "us" does not include the Linklaters alliance partners, however, where stated, certain provisions of this policy may apply to Linklaters’ relationship with them for example when Linklaters shares Personal Data with Linklaters alliance partners; and

(d) a "Linklaters alliance partner" means any of Allens, Webber Wentzel and (the Linklaters ‘best friend’ firm) TT&A. 

7. Importance of Personal Data protection

  • We recognise that the use and disclosure of Personal Data has important implications for us and for the individuals whose Personal Data we process. Most of our offices operate in countries which regulate the use, and impose restrictions on overseas transfers, of Personal Data. To ensure that we handle Personal Data properly, we have adopted a global approach to privacy compliance, as evidenced by our BCRs. A copy of our BCRs is available on our Privacy Portal. Alternatively, you can request a copy of our BCRs at any time by contacting us at data.protection@linklaters.com.

8. Who is the controller for the Personal Data processed?

  • A “controller” is a person or organisation who alone or jointly determines the purposes for which, and the manner in which, any Personal Data is, or is likely to be, processed. This notice is issued on behalf of Linklaters as controller. Unless we notify you otherwise Linklaters is the controller for your Personal Data.

9. Collecting your Personal Data

  • 9.1 The Personal Data processed by Linklaters has been, or will be, collected directly from you in order to carry out the purposes stated below at Section 11.1.
  • 9.2 We will also collect data from other people when we check your references or carry out any background checks in relation to you. If we do carry out any such checks, we will inform you during the recruitment process of the exact checks that are going to be carried out.
  • 9.3 For Re:link lawyers on placement with one of our clients we will also collect information from the client about job-related activities and assessments through the course of your placement with the client.

10. What information we collect

  • 10.1 If you are an applicant to Re:link, we may collect the following Personal Data about you during the recruitment and selection process:

10.1.1 personal contact details such as first name, middle name, surname, title, address, telephone number and personal email addresses;

10.1.2 recruitment information, including qualifications, information regarding your professional qualifications, language skills, references and other information in your CV or cover letter or otherwise provided as part of your application process;

10.1.3 bank account details and tax status information;

10.1.4 information about your health, including any medical condition, health and sickness records to the extent that you require adjustments to be made to our assessment and interview processes;

10.1.5 information regarding your right to work in the jurisdiction in which you have applied;

10.1.6 information provided by third party providers/systems on your performance on screening or selection tools such as (not exclusively) the Ixly assessment or the Watson Glaser Critical Reasoning Test; and

10.1.7 information about criminal convictions and offences committed by you.

  • 10.2 If you are a Re:link lawyer, in addition to the above, we may also collect the following Personal Data about you:

10.2.1 date of birth;

10.2.2 equal opportunities monitoring information as in relation to sex/gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, health and sexual orientation, where you choose to provide such data;

10.2.3 copies of any right to work documentation, including documents relating to citizenship and/or visas;

10.2.4 absence information, including maternity and paternity leave;

10.2.5 language skills

10.2.6 next of kin and emergency contact information;

10.2.7 start and end date of your placement;

10.2.8 the location of your placements;

10.2.9 information regarding your performance during your placement;

10.2.10 CCTV footage and other information obtained through electronic means such as swipecard records;

10.2.11 information about your use of our information and communication systems; and

10.2.12 photographs of you.

  • 10.3 In relation to your emergency contact and beneficiary details, please note that we will assume you have the permission to share such information with us.
  • 10.4 We need some of the Personal Data set out at paragraph 10.1 above in order to conduct the recruitment and selection process for Re:link. We need some of the Personal Data set out at paragraph 10.2 to onboard and manage your engagement with Re:link. If you do not provide such Personal Data, we may not be able to continue with the recruitment process, onboard you to Re:link or manage your engagement with Re:link.. 

11. Using your Personal Data

  • 11.1 We process your information for the following purposes:

11.1.1 to make decisions about your recruitment and appointment;

11.1.2 to determine the terms on which you will provide your services;

11.1.3 to check you are legally entitled to work in the jurisdiction in which you provide your services;

11.1.4 to conduct data analytics studies to assess and better understand job application rates and the efficacy of our recruitment processes;

11.1.5 to consider and make any appropriate adjustments to our recruitment processes as a result of any disability you may have;

  • 11.2 If you are a Re:link lawyer, in addition to the above and to the extent permitted under applicable law, we may also process your information for the following purposes:

11.2.1 to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into with your Personal Services Company (“PSC”) and to administer your engagement with Re:link;

11.2.2 to assess your qualifications for a particular placement, job or task;

11.2.3 to determine any performance requirements;

11.2.4 for business management, reporting and planning purposes;

11.2.5 to comply with health and safety obligations;

11.2.6 to prevent fraud;

11.2.7 to monitor your use of our information and communication systems to ensure compliance with our IT policies;

11.2.8 to ensure network and information security, including preventing unauthorised access to our computer and electronic communications systems and preventing malicious software distribution;

11.2.9 for making payments to you or your PSC;

11.2.10 to make decisions about your continued engagement;

11.2.11 to make arrangements for the termination of our working relationship;

11.2.12 for marketing the firm externally;

11.2.13 to enable teams to manage actual and potential conflicts of interest appropriately;

11.2.14 for insurance purposes;

11.2.15 to deal with any legal disputes, including any accidents at work;

11.2.16 to carry out equal opportunities monitoring; and

11.2.17 to ensure that we have emergency contact/next of kin details for you should it be necessary to contact them in the case of emergency.

  • 11.3 We do not take automated decisions about you using your Personal Data or use profiling in relation to you.

12. Using your Special Personal Data

  • 12.1 Some information is classified as Special Personal Data. This information is more sensitive and we need to have further justifications for collecting, storing and using this type of personal information. There are also additional restrictions on the circumstances in which we are permitted to collect and use criminal conviction data.
  • 12.2 However, as a firm, we may process special categories of personal information and criminal conviction information, to the extent permitted under applicable law, in the following circumstances:

12.2.1 With your explicit consent, in which case we will explain the purpose for which the information will be used at the point where we ask for your consent.

12.2.2 We will use information about your educational background, health (including any disability), gender, gender identity, race or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, your sexual life or sexual orientation to ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting. More information about using your information for diversity monitoring can be found below at Section 13 of this notice.

12.2.3 Linklaters does not collect information on your membership to trade unions, except for membership of a professional body which also acts as a trade union for that specific profession, for example, The Law Society within the UK.   

13. Using your diversity data

  • 13.1 Regarding your diversity data, which we will only collect if you are a Re:link lawyer and where you opt to provide such data, one of our key objectives as a firm is to attract and retain the best people. We aim to do this in part by ensuring that our people are diverse, well trained and flexible, allowing us better to serve our clients. We can only know if we are achieving this objective if we collate and monitor information on the diversity of our people. In addition, we are also committed to helping to increase transparency on this issue across the legal profession. We collect the following Special Personal Data for diversity purposes:

13.1.1 Racial or ethnic origin: Linklaters collects this information in order to generate statistical data which Linklaters uses to demonstrate its diversity. When this information is used by Linklaters, none of these statistics will refer to Data Subjects as an individual or contain information from which an individual can be identified. Information about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin will only be recorded if this is provided by the individual when requested by Linklaters through its diversity monitoring questionnaires. No further use of such data will be permitted without the individual’s explicit consent.

13.1.2 Religious or philosophical beliefs: Linklaters collects this information in order to generate statistical data which Linklaters uses to demonstrate its diversity. When this information is used by Linklaters, none of these statistics will refer to Data Subjects as an individual or contain information from which an individual can be identified. Information about an individual’s religious beliefs will only be recorded if provided by an individual on request for the purpose of diversity monitoring. No further use of such data will be permitted without an individual’s explicit consent.

13.1.3 Sexual lifestyles or sexual orientation: Linklaters collects this information in order to generate statistical data which Linklaters uses to demonstrate its diversity. When this information is used by Linklaters, none of these statistics will refer to Data Subjects as an individual or contain information from which an individual can be identified. Information about an individual’s sexual lifestyle or sexual orientation will only be recorded if this is provided by the individual when requested by Linklaters through its diversity monitoring questionnaires. No further use of such data will be permitted without the individual’s explicit consent.

  • 13.2 Any response you provide in relation to diversity monitoring by the firm will be stored by the firm as part of your electronic recruitment record. We collect this information in order to generate statistical data which Linklaters uses to demonstrate its diversity. When this information is used by Linklaters, none of these statistics will refer to you as an individual or contain information from which an individual can be identified. Information about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin will only be recorded if this is provided by you when requested through the relevant diversity questionnaire and for the purposes of diversity monitoring. No further use of such data will be permitted without your explicit consent. Access to the responses you provide will be restricted to those individuals who have a need to know the same.
  • 13.3 We will share this data with our regulatory bodies, for example only, the Solicitors Regulatory Authority in the UK and as otherwise required by law, for example in order to comply with the Equality Act 2010 in the UK.
  • 13.4 Please note that provision of this diversity data is entirely optional. You can refuse to provide this data by selecting “Prefer not to say” in the questionnaire or, to the extent that you are unable to do so, please email relink@linklaters.com. 

14. Legal basis for using your Personal Data

  • 14.1 Under the GDPR we are only permitted to use your Personal Data if we have a legal basis for doing so. We process the Personal Data listed in Section 10 of this notice on the basis that:

14.1.1 it is necessary in order to enter into a contract with you, including to enable us to determine whether to enter into any contract with you;

14.1.2 it is necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation;

14.1.3 it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests; and/or;

14.1.4 you have consented to the processing.

  • 14.2 In more limited circumstances we may also rely on the following legal bases:

14.2.1 we need to protect your interests (or someone else's interests).

14.2.2 it is needed in the public interest.

  • 14.3 Schedule 1 of this notice provides more detail about the categories of Personal Data that we use through the recruitment and selection process and the categories of Personal Data that we use to manage your time on the Re:link platform and the legal basis that we rely on in each case and your rights in this regard. 

15. Updating your Personal Data

  • 15.1 You should let Linklaters know of any updates to your Personal Data that is held on the Re:link database. If you require the Personal Data to be updated, please email relink@linklaters.com. If we do not hear from you for a while, a member of the Re:link team will be in touch on a to ask if there are any updates required.

16. Sharing your Personal Data

  • 16.1 Your Personal Data is subject to strict access controls and authorisation procedures when we share your Personal Data internally within the firm, to ensure that your Personal Data is only accessed by those who need access in order to carry out their role. These access controls are regularly reviewed to ensure that the access remains appropriate.
  • 16.2 We may also share your Personal Data with third party suppliers who are involved in data hosting and other services necessary to carry out the purposes mentioned above, including for example, recruitment agents and IT systems providers. As part of the firm’s standard sourcing policies, third party suppliers are subject to due diligence procedures, ongoing checks and audits, and appropriate contractual clauses to ensure that they have appropriate safeguards in place to protect your Personal Data and are handling your Personal Data in compliance with all relevant data protection laws and regulations. For more details about the measures we put in place when sharing your Personal Data please see our Data Protection Standards for more information.
  • 16.3 Your Personal Data may be accessed by third party suppliers and individuals within Linklaters that are located outside of the EEA. To ensure that your Personal Data is safeguarded, appropriate contractual clauses and mechanisms are in place with the relevant third-party suppliers located outside of the EEA, and the global Data Protection Standards ensure that your Personal Data is processed appropriately. For more information on the countries to which your Personal Data may be transferred, please see our Data Protection Standards.
  • 16.4 Your Personal Data will also be shared with a client if a placement is being considered, is ongoing, or has finished, for the purposes mentioned at Section 11. To ensure your Personal Data is safeguarded, appropriate contractual clauses will be agreed with the client. The client may also inform you of their own privacy notices and/or policies.

17. Securing your Personal Data

  • 17.1 Linklaters takes its obligations to securely safeguard your Personal Data very seriously and implements appropriate technical and organisational precautions to protect Personal Data against accidental or unlawful destruction or accidental loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access. Linklaters does this in a number of ways including by:

17.1.1 protecting personal information held in hardcopy or electronic form;

17.1.2 ensuring that information containing Personal Data, and in particular any sensitive Personal Data, will be handled appropriately; and

17.1.3 making sure that personal information is not transferred outside the EEA without suitable safeguards.

  • 17.2 Linklaters has various policies in place to ensure the security of data. All individuals who have access to Linklaters’ Personal Data must follow the guidelines set out in those policies to ensure the adequate protection of Personal Data. The Data Protection Standards are a set of firm wide binding privacy commitments that allow us to transfer Personal Data globally, within the firm’s network, in full compliance with the law.

18. Retaining your Personal Data

  • 18.1 We will only keep your data for so long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, in order for us to fulfil our statutory obligations and where we have a legitimate interest to do so. Full details of the retention periods that apply to your Personal Data are set out in our Global Retention Policy.   

19. Your rights in relation to your Personal Data

  • 19.1 You have a number of rights in relation to your Personal Data. These are as follows:

19.1.1 the right to be informed about how your Personal Data is used;

19.1.2 the right to access Personal Data;

19.1.3 the right to have inaccurate Personal Data rectified;

19.1.4 the right to have Personal Data erased in certain circumstances;

19.1.5 the right to restrict Processing of Personal Data in certain circumstances;

19.1.6 the right to data portability;

19.1.7 the right to object to Processing of Personal Data in certain circumstances, including where Personal Data is used for marketing purposes; and

19.1.8 the right to not to be subject to automated decisions where the decision produces a legal effect or a similarly significant effect.

  • 19.2 Schedule 1 provides more detail about the information that we use, the legal basis that we rely on in each case and your rights.

20. How to make a complaint about the use of your Personal Data by us

If you have any concerns or would like to make a complaint about our processing of your Personal Data, please refer to our Global Data Protection Complaints Procedure, which is available on the privacy section of our website at https://www.linklaters.com/en/legal-notices/privacy-portal. You may raise your concerns with your local data protection authority directly, without going through our Global Data Protection Complaints Procedure. However, we would encourage you to contact us in the first instance as we aim to promptly, efficiently and satisfactorily resolve any concerns or complaints you may have in relation to Linklaters’ processing of your Personal Data.

21. Your right to make a complaint to a supervisory authority

  • 21.1 The spirit of the policy is to engage positively and to reach an understanding with the complainant without the need to escalate matters. However, if the concern cannot be resolved internally, a complainant:

21.1.1 can raise the matter with a data protection authority in a relevant jurisdiction; or

21.1.2 seek redress through local courts.

21.2 Linklaters has a Global Data Protection Complaints Procedure which is available to all Data Subjects. A copy of the Global Data Protection Complaints Procedure can be obtained here.