Our Privacy Policy

“Innovation Relief Specialists Limited”. In this Privacy Policy, references to “IRS” are to Innovation Relief Specialists Limited.

Innovation Relief Specialists Limited is committed to ensuring your privacy is protected. This Privacy Policy sets out details of the information that we may collect from you and how we may use that information. Please take your time to read this Privacy Policy carefully.

1. About us

In this Privacy Policy references to “we” or “us” or “IRS” are to Innovation Relief Specialists Limited.

We are the data controller of any personal information you provide to us. This means that we are responsible for complying with data protection laws. This Privacy Policy describes what personal information we may collect from you, why we use your personal information and more generally the practices we maintain and ways in which we use and protect your personal information.

We have appointed a data protection officer to oversee our handling of personal information. If you have any questions about how we collect, store or use your information, you can contact our data protection officer using the details set out in section 14. Contacting us.

2. How the Research and Development Tax Credit market work

Research & Development (R&D) Tax Relief is a tax relief available for limited companies based in the United Kingdom. In order to complete a R&D Tax Credit claim on behalf of our clients, information, including a small proportion of personal data, needs to be shared with various internal staff members. Our staff have to collaborate with one another in order to process the data in an effective and secure manner.

This Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand how we, as an R&D tax relief specialist, process your personal data through the R&D claim lifecycle.

3. Whom do we collect information about?

We collect information about:

Directors Data

Staff Data

Company Data

Subcontractor Data

Corporate Financials

4. When do we collect personal information?

We collect information about you:

When you instruct us to begin the claim process. Data from the instruction form will be captured

Whenever you use the Innovation Relief Specialists Limited website

If you respond to a customer survey, questionnaire or marketing campaign

If you contact us for any other reason

From publicly available third party sources such as credit rating databases and government databases for socio-demographic information

5. What personal information do we collect and use?

In order for us to process your R&D Tax Credit claim or handle any complaints, feedback or questions or queries, we may need to collect and process data about you.

The personal information that we collect will depend on your relationship with us. We will collect different information depending on whether you are an existing customer, prospective customer, agent or authorised third party.

Please note, in certain circumstances we may request and/or receive ‘sensitive’ data, also known as ‘special categories’ of personal information about you. For example we may need access to details of any unspent criminal convictions for the purposes of preventing, detecting and investigating fraud.

If you provide personal information to us about other individuals you agree: (a) to inform the individual about the content of this Privacy Policy; and (b) to obtain any consent where we indicate that it is required for the processing of that individual’s personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Please click on the relevant section below for detailed information regarding the types of personal information we are likely to collect and use about you.

Personal information:

General information such as your name, address, address of the property or business looking to claim, contact details, date of birth, gender and nationality

Information about your job including job title, employment history, education history and professional accreditations

Information relevant to your R&D Tax Credit claim. This will depend on the nature of the services undertaken but could include details of your commercial property or business activities

Information relevant to your claim or your involvement in the matter giving rise to a claim

Information relating to previous R&D Tax Credit claims

Financial information such as your bank details so Client benefits can be transferred to the Clients bank, bankruptcy and company directorship information and information obtained as a result of our credit checks and those carried out by third parties such as a credit provider

Information obtained through our use of cookies. You can find more information about this in our Cookies Policy

Website browsing history

Information captured during our telephone calls

Your marketing preferences

IP address

Device ID information

6. How do we collect your information?

We collect personal information from a number of different sources, including:

Directly from you or from someone else on your behalf

From other third parties involved in your claim such as your current accountant, financial advisor, authorised members of staff or the relevant agent/introducer

From previous R&D Tax Credit claim service providers

Through publicly available sources such as internet search engines and social media sites

Through customer surveys and responses to various marketing campaigns

From your use of our website and cookies

From credit reference agencies

From government agencies such as HMRC and from professional regulators

7. What are our purposes for using your personal information?

We may process your personal information for a number of different purposes. For each purpose we must have a legal ground for such processing. When the information that we process is classed as sensitive personal information, we must have an additional legal ground for such processing.

Generally, we will rely on the following legal grounds:

  Where the processing is necessary for our provision of your R&D tax Credit claim and services for activities such as assessing your application, handling claims and providing other services to you

Where we have an appropriate business need such as maintaining our business records or developing and improving our products and services where such business need does not harm your interests

Where we have a legal or regulatory obligation to use such personal information

Where the use is necessary to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights

Where you have provided your consent to our use of your personal information

You will find details of our legal grounds for each of our processing purposes below.

To set you up with Innovation Relief Specialists, including carrying out fraud, credit and anti-money laundering checks

Legal grounds:

This processing is necessary for providing and administering your claim contract (instruction)

Additional legal grounds for processing sensitive personal information:

On the basis that we are an R&D Tax Credit intermediary, in certain circumstances, we may have different legal grounds in relation to processing sensitive data than other non- related companies

There are, however, a number of safeguards. The most important is that the processing must be “necessary” for the insurance process

In addition, it must also be necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (i.e. because it is necessary for the purposes of preventing fraud)

To evaluate your R&D activity and grounds for a claim

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

This processing is necessary for our providing your claim contract

Additional legal grounds for processing sensitive personal information:

If required, we have asked and you have provided your explicit consent. It might be that we need your consent for this activity in order to provide you with a R&D claim, but we will make this clear when we ask for your consent

To conduct R&D claims analysis

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

General administration of claims (general client care, including communicating with you regarding administration and changes to the cost data and sending you updates regarding your companies R&D activity

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

This processing is necessary for providing your insurance contract. We will need your consent for this activity in order to provide you with cover under the policy

Additional legal grounds for processing sensitive personal information:

If required, we have asked and you have provided your explicit consent. It might be that we need your consent for this activity in order to provide you with our services, but we will make this clear when we ask for your consent

Claims processing

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

This processing is necessary for providing your R&D Tax claim. We will need your consent for this activity in order to provide you with the relevant services

Additional legal grounds for processing sensitive personal information:

If required, we have asked and you have provided your explicit consent. It might be that we need your consent for this activity in order to provide you with our services, but we will make this clear when we ask for your consent

Prevention and detection of and investigating and prosecuting fraud. This might include sharing your personal information with third parties such as the police, and other insurance and financial services providers.

Legal grounds:

This processing is necessary for providing your claim contract

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Additional legal grounds for processing sensitive personal information:

If required, we have asked and you have provided your explicit consent. It might be that we need your consent for this activity in order to provide you with cover under the policy, but we will make this clear when we ask for your consent

The use is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (i.e. because it is necessary for the purposes of preventing fraud)

Management of complaints (including communicating with you and resolving any complaints that you might have)

Legal grounds:

This processing is necessary for providing your claim contract

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Additional legal grounds for processing sensitive personal information:

If required, we have asked and you have provided your explicit consent. It might be that we need your consent for this activity in order to provide you with cover under the claim, but we will make this clear when we ask for your consent

Complying with our legal or regulatory obligations

Legal grounds:

The use is necessary in order for us to comply with our legal obligations

Additional legal grounds for processing sensitive personal information:

If required, we have asked and you have provided your explicit consent. It might be that we need your consent for this activity in order to provide you with cover under the claim, but we will make this clear when we ask for your consent

Providing improved quality, training and security (for example, with respect to recorded or monitored phone calls to our contact numbers)

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Additional legal grounds for processing sensitive personal information:

If required, we have asked and you have provided your explicit consent. It might be that we need your consent for this activity in order to provide you with our services under the claim contract, but we will make this clear when we ask for your consent

Managing our business operations such as maintaining accounting records, analysis of financial results, internal audit requirements, receiving professional advice (e.g. tax or legal advice)

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Provide marketing information to you (including information about other products and services, undertaking customer surveys and marketing campaigns) in accordance with preferences you have expressed

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Where you have provided your consent to our use of your personal information

Monitoring applications, reviewing, assessing, tailoring and improving our products and services and similar products and services offered by Innovation Relief Specialists Limited

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Tracing and recovering debt

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Monitoring usage of the IRS websites

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Ensuring that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your device

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Allowing you to participate in interactive features of our services, when you choose to do so

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Investigating or detecting the unauthorised use of our systems, to secure our system and to ensure the effective operation of our systems

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

Other purposes outside of the insurance lifecycle but necessary for the provision of services throughout the claim lifecycle period (including, among other things, general risk modelling, transferring books of business, any change in ownership of the company (whether in whole or part) and re-organisations)

Legal grounds:

Us having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not cause any harm to your interests

8. Who do we share your information with?

From time to time, we may share your personal information within the Innovation Relief Specialists Limited, or with third parties.

Disclosures to third parties.

We also disclose your information to the third parties listed below for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. These might include:

our partners such as dedicated submission intermediaries to HMRC

other third parties who assist in the administration of claim process such as the clients; accountants, auditors, lawyers and other experts

fraud detection agencies and other third parties who operate and maintain fraud detection registers

our regulators

the police and other third parties or law enforcement agencies where reasonably necessary for the prevention or detection of crime

debt collection agencies

credit reference agencies

online search engines

social media platforms

our third party service providers such as IT suppliers, actuaries, auditors, lawyers, marketing agencies, payment processing agencies, document management providers and tax advisers

third parties who undertake analysis for the purposes of product improvement

selected third parties in connection with the sale, transfer or disposal of our business. We will ensure that such third parties have the appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to safeguard your data

We (or third parties acting on our behalf) may store or process information that we collect about you in countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Where we make a transfer of your personal information outside of the EEA we will take the required steps to ensure that your personal information is protected. We do this by using the EEA approved standard contractual clauses. If you would like further information regarding the steps we take to safeguard your personal information, please contact us using the details set out in section 14.

9. Automated decision making

Will decisions about you be made by automated means (including profiling)?

Please note that personal information, including sensitive personal information, may be used in the context of auto-renewal of the claim cycle. This involves automated decision making to determine what the cost of renewing the claim will be. Automated decision making may also be used in relation to our marketing of our products to you, in accordance with preferences you have expressed, but is restricted to segmentation of data.

10. What marketing activities do we carry out?

Marketing activities

Email marketing

We may also use your personal information to provide you with information by email about our products or services or those of our partners which may be of interest to you or to send eNewsletters. You have the option to opt out at any time.

If you wish to unsubscribe from emails sent by us, you may do so at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link that appears in all emails. Otherwise you can always contact us using the details set out in section 14 to update your contact preferences. In such circumstances, we will continue to send you service related (non-marketing) communications where necessary.

SMS marketing

We may also use your personal information to provide you with information by text message about our products or services or those of our partners which may be of interest to you. You have the option to opt out at any time.

You can stop receiving text messages sent by us at any time by following the instructions in the text message on how to unsubscribe. This appears in all text messages. Otherwise you can always contact us using the details set out in section 14 to update your contact preferences. In such circumstances, we will continue to send you service related (non-marketing) communications where necessary.

Telephone marketing

We may also use your personal information to call you regarding products and services you have expressed an interest in or we believe may be of interest to you. You can opt out of receiving these calls at any point.

You can stop receiving telephone calls from us at any time by contacting us using the details set out in section 14 to update your contact preferences. In such circumstances, we will continue to send you service related (non-marketing) communications where necessary.

Post

 We may also use your personal information to provide you with information by post about our products or services or those of our partners which may be of interest to you. You have the option to opt out at any time.

You can stop receiving post from us at any time by contacting us using the details set out in section 14 to update your contact preferences. In such circumstances, we will continue to send you service related (non-marketing) communications where necessary.

If you have been referred to us through one of our partner’s websites

We will only use your personal information to contact you about our products or services or those of our partners which may be of interest to you, if our partner has provided us with your consent, indicating that you are happy for us to contact you using one of the methods set out above. You have the option to opt out at any time (please see above).

If you have been referred to us

We will only use your personal information to contact you about our products or services or those of our partners which may be of interest to you, if your referring friend has provided us with your consent indicating that you are happy for us to contact you using one of the methods set out above. You have the option to opt out at any time (please see above).

11. How long do we keep personal information for?

We will only keep your personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the relevant purposes set out in this Privacy Policy and in order to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. In particular, for so long as there is any possibility that either you or we may wish to bring a legal claim under the insurance policy, or where we are required to keep your personal data due to legal or regulatory reasons. If you would like further information regarding the periods for which your personal information will be stored, please see section 14 below for our contact details.

12. Your rights

Under data protection law you have certain legal rights in relation to the personal information that we hold about you. You may exercise these rights at any time by contacting us using the details set out in section 14.

Please note:

in some cases we may not be able to comply with your request (e.g. we might not be able to delete your data) for reasons such as our own obligations to comply with other legal or regulatory requirements. However, we will always respond to any request you make and if we can’t comply with your request, we will tell you why

in some circumstances exercising some of these rights (including the right to erasure, the right to restriction of processing and the right to withdraw consent) will mean we are unable to continue providing you with our services and may therefore result in the cancellation of the contract. You will therefore lose the right to bring any claim or receive any benefit under the contract, including in relation to any event that occurred before you exercised your right of erasure, if our ability to handle the claim has been prejudiced. Your claim terms and conditions (instruction form) set out what will happen in the event your contract is cancelled

Your rights include:

The right to access your personal information

You are entitled to a copy of the personal information we hold about you and certain details of how we use it. There will not usually be a charge for dealing with these requests. Your information will usually be provided to you in writing, unless otherwise requested, or where you have made the request by electronic means, in which case the information will be provided to you by electronic means where possible.

The right to rectification

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the information we hold about you is accurate and complete. However, if you do not believe this is the case, you can ask us to update or amend it.

The right to erasure (also known as ‘the right to be forgotten’)

In certain circumstances, you have the right to ask us to erase your personal information. Examples would include where the data is no longer required for the original purpose, consent has been withdrawn and there no overriding ground for continuing the processing, or for compliance with the national law.

The right to restriction or suspension of processing

In certain circumstances, such as a question over its accuracy, you are entitled to ask us to stop using your personal information or to suspend its use.

The right to data portability

In certain circumstances, you have the right to ask that we transfer any personal information that you have provided to us to another third party of your choice.

The right to object to marketing

You can ask us to stop sending you marketing messages at any time.

The right not to be subject to automated decision-making (including profiling)

You have a right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated means. Please note that as set out at section 8, personal information including sensitive personal information may be used in the context of auto-renewal of certain types of claims. This involves automated decision making to determine what the cost of renewing the claim will be. As above, automated decision making may also be used in relation to our marketing of our products to you, in accordance with preferences you have expressed.

The right to object to processing

For certain uses of your personal information, we will ask for your consent. This consent can take the form of an action or affirmative instruction. Where we do this, you have the right to withdraw your consent to further use of your personal information. In other circumstances we may process your data using legitimate interest, and again you have the right to withdraw this right of processing, unless it is necessary in connection with our legal rights. Please note that in the event that you withdraw your permission for us to use all of your personal data, we may be unable to continue providing you with your R&D Tax Credit claim under the contract and this may therefore result in the cancellation of the policy. Your policy terms and conditions set out what will happen in the event your contract is cancelled.

The right to lodge a complaint with the ICO

We would hope that you will always raise any issues with us first, and that we will be able to resolve them to your satisfaction. However, if this isn’t possible then you always have a right to complain directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe that any use of your personal information by us is in breach of applicable data protection laws and regulations.

Please see below for contact details of the ICO:

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

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 (national rate)

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Making a complaint will not affect any other legal rights or remedies that you have.

13. How we protect your information

We use a range of organisational and technical security measures to protect your information.

Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone, and to use a password that is appropriate (i.e. a mixture of upper and lower case letters, and characters, which isn’t used on other sites and isn’t easily guessed).

We restrict access to your information as appropriate within Innovation Relief Specialists Limited to only those who need to know that information for the purposes set out above.

Our internal procedures cover the storage, access and disclosure of your information.

14. Contacting us

If you have any questions about how we collect, store or use your personal information, you may contact our data protection officer at:

Data Protection Officer
Innovation Relief Specialists Limited
Military House
24 Castle Street
Chester
CH1 2DS

Email: chris@innovationrelief.com

15. Updates to this Privacy Policy

From time to time we will make changes to this Privacy Policy, for example, as the result of government regulation, new technologies, or other developments in data protection laws or privacy generally. You should check our website periodically to view the most up-to-date Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy was last updated on 17/01/2022.