Privacy Policy

The information that you share with us is of a personal nature and we are committed to ensuring that it is protected as such.

We are fully compliant with the Data Protection Act 1988 and undertake to ensure that your data remains secure and up to date.

Types of data that we collect:
When you supply information to us in advance of mediation (using the 'online enquiry form' or via any other method such as verbally or in writing), this data is used by us for the following, only:

  • to respond to any request you may have made for information about the services that we provide
  • to identify whether you need a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) and what may need to be covered in that meeting
  • to contact the other person you want to mediate with, provided you request us to do so

If you do not want us to retain these contact details for you, or if you want to correct them, please email us to request this. You have the right to view or update your data at any time. You can also contact us at any time to request a copy of all data we hold on you.
For IT and analytical purposes, we also track anonymized data of your access to our website using cookies. Cookies are small text files that can be downloaded onto your computer when you visit a website and you are given the choice whether to accept them or not.

Google Analytics collects data via cookies when a third party visits the Navigate Mediation Website which enables us simply to understand which of our search analytics are driving visits. This information does not enable your personal identity to be disclosed in any way to us or any other organisation.

What information must we keep? 
We will keep the initial contact information provided on the online enquiry form. If you attend a MIAM or any number of mediation meetings, we will keep brief notes of your meeting to help us to prepare for your next meeting.
After mediation meetings we will also prepare a brief summary of what has been discussed or achieved in the meeting which we will send to both parties.
You can request to see any information we hold about you. Where this information is held on records which also contains information about another person (the person who you mediate with), the records will be amended so that you can only see the details about yourself.

How long must we keep this information?
We will only retain your information for the period required by legislation for 6 years. The information we retain includes your contact details and the electronic versions of documents we produce as an outcome of your mediation. This is because some people find it useful to follow up with further mediation at a later date and we can provide a better service if we are able to refer back to our previous notes.

On what basis?
Data protection regulations say we must explain the lawful basis for processing your information. The basis is 'legitimate interest': we process it solely for the purpose of providing a service to you. We collect only the minimum personal information necessary for the relevant process.

How is the information stored?
We will hold all of your information securely. Any paper documents will be kept in secure storage when we are not working on them. Online information is stored on our laptops which is password protected and has cyber security software. There are always inherent risks to passing information over a website and we cannot guarantee 100% invulnerability to hacks. Since we rely on third party servers and software, we cannot accept any responsibility for breaches of security from a software hack.

Is my information ever shared?
We will not share any of your information with third parties without your express permission, except in the following situations:

  • Every qualified family mediator has a Professional Practice Consultant who we can refer to if we need to discuss any issues arising from a case. A PPC can also be required to review our work to ensure that all professional practice standards are being met. If any of your information has to be shared with a PPC in either of these events, they are bound by the same confidentiality code of conduct as ourselves.
  • If you or a party to your mediation lodges a complaint against us and you are unsatisfied with our response, we are required to make your information available to any additional parties required to investigate the complaint, such as our PPC or the Family Mediation Council Standards Board (FMSB).
  • Where we have safeguarding concerns (for example if we think that a child may be at risk of harm) then we have a duty to share these concerns and details with the appropriate organisation.
  • If we are given evidence of an offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act, we are obligated by the College of Mediators and Family Mediation Council code of conduct to refer this information to the relevant authority.

Your right to be informed:
In the very unlikely event that your privacy is compromised for any reason, we commit to contacting you to inform you as a matter of urgency.

CONTACT DETAILS FOR NAVIGATE MEDIATION
We can be contacted at any time via our Navigate Mediation email addresses, or our mobile phone numbers:

joanna@navigatemediation.co.uk or 07423 355150

sharon@navigatemediation.co.uk or 07553 899743