Policies
Complaints Policy
We always aim to work with you in a way that is satisfactory and helps you to reach decisions about your future.
In the unlikely event that you have any concerns about the service provided, please raise them in writing with the person you are working with first. If you are unable to resolve this with you directly or otherwise, you ask them to provide you with details of their supervisor.
The supervisor will then acknowledge your complaint within seven working days, and will aim to respond in full, within twenty-one working days of receipt of it. Sometimes you will be asked for more information depending on the nature of the complaint.
We hope that we will be able to resolve complaints internally. If we cannot do so, and if you and we agree, we may use mediation as a dispute resolution alternative.
If, ultimately, we cannot resolve things to your satisfaction, please contact the Family Mediation Council (FMC).
The FMC deal with complaints about mediators registered with them, and in relation to complaints that concern breaches of the standards and code of conduct.
You can contact them at: https://www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/complaints-about-mediators/.
​
Privacy Policy
This privacy policy sets out how we use and protects any information that you give us. We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected and any information you give us will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.
We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page regularly to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This latest version of our privacy policy is effective from November 2024 and includes the requirements of GDPR.
What we collect
-
Depending on what you do on our website, personal information such as your name, your contact information such as email address, mobile or telephone number and details of your enquiry.
-
Information received in referral forms which might include your name, your child/ren’s names, your contact information such as your email address, telephone number, address.
-
Information you give to us directly
-
Information you give to us indirectly such as:
-
Data about your visits to our website, for example, your location data or IP address when you use our find your nearest search engine.
-
Information about how you navigate our website, although this cannot be used to personally identify you.
-
In addition to this, we will keep:
-
if you attend an assessment meeting or a session, a record relating to the content of this appointment
-
personal information about you without your knowledge or permission if provided to us by your ex-partner as part of this process.
What we do with the information we gather
We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:
-
To carry out our obligations arising from any enquiries, projects or contracts entered into by you and us, compliance with a legal obligation, vital interests, a public task or legitimate interests.
-
Internal record keeping.
-
Dealing with complaints.
-
We may use the information to improve our products and services.
-
We may periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.
-
From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone, or mail.
-
From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for your feedback about your experience with us. We may contact you by email, phone, or mail.
-
We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.
-
We may collect IP addresses of visitors to our website for the purposes of protecting our website from hacking attempts or email SPAM.
-
We may collect and store personal data as part of web servers logs for the purposes of detecting and preventing fraud and unauthorized access and maintaining the security of our systems.
When will this information be shared?
All your information is treated as confidential, but there are circumstances in which your personal information may be shared with others such as:
-
if, in our opinion, you are a danger to yourself or others
-
if, in our opinion, a young person under the age of 18 or a vulnerable adult is at risk of harm
-
under a legal requirement, e.g. you are involved in terrorist activity
-
if ordered by a court of law
-
if a complaint is made about our service, we may share information with our regulatory bodies (for details of which body applies, please see our Complaints Policy)
-
If you have been referred to our service by a family law professional or the court, we may share with the referrer whether you have attended a statutory Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) and continued into mediation or one of the other services that we offer.
-
In cases where we are working with more than one client, and where specifically requested by you and your ex-partner, we will send your information to the court, lawyers, financial advisors, or other professionals.
-
In cases where we are working with you alone, and where specifically requested by you, we will send your information to the court, lawyers, financial advisors, or other professionals.
Good practice means our team members may use appropriate internal or external supervisory support, and the supervisor may be given completely pseudo-anonymised information about you for the purpose of the supervisory process.
How long do we keep this data for?
We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you hold with us. We review our retention periods for personal information on a regular basis.
Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect on-line.
Transfer of personal data outside of the EU
There may be occasions where data may be transferred outside of the EU for storage or processing (e.g. bulk email providers). Where necessary, we will take steps to ensure that there are adequate safeguards in place to protect your personal data.
How we use cookies
A cookie is a small file which is placed on your computer’s hard drive which helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual enabling it to tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.
We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and helps us to identify ways to improve our website in order to tailor it better to our customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes.
Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better and more usable website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may however limit some functionality and prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
We use Google Analytics to collect data on how our users are using our website and their demographics (age, gender) and interests which enables us to evaluate how our users’ behaviour varies by demographics and interests in order that we can improve our website content, marketing and services for our clients. The information generated by the cookies about your use of our website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google undertakes not to associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.
Users can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize Google Display Network ads using the Ads Settings. If you prefer that Google Analytics does not collect any data from you when you visit a website that has it incorporated, information for opting out can be found on Google Analytics’ currently available opt-outs for the web.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
Controlling your personal information
You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:
if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing or other purposes, you may change your mind at any time by emailing us.
We will not sell, distribute, or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so.
General
You may not transfer any of your rights under this privacy policy to any other person. We may transfer our rights under this privacy policy where we reasonably believe your rights will not be affected.
If any court or competent authority finds that any provision of this privacy policy (or part of any provision) is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision or part-provision will, to the extent required, be deemed to be deleted, and the validity and enforceability of the other provisions of this privacy policy will not be affected.
Unless otherwise agreed, no delay, act, or omission by a party in exercising any right or remedy will be deemed a waiver of that, or any other, right or remedy.
This policy is governed by and interpreted according to the law of England and Wales. All disputes arising under the policy will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.
If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please email us as soon as possible, We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.