Website Privacy Policy
SMB.co.uk Website Privacy Notice
This policy covers our privacy policy for the SMB.co.uk marketing website. You can view our privacy policy for the SMB HR portal software here
Effective Date
19th June 2026
Introduction
Welcome to the SMB Partners Limited (SMB) privacy notice for the www.smb.co.uk website.
This privacy notice explains how SMB Partners Ltd (“SMB”, “we”, “us” or “our”) collects and processes personal data through your use of this website, including where you contact us, request information, register for services, receive support, or otherwise interact with us. It also tells you about your data protection rights and how the law protects you.
SMB respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data in accordance with the UK GDRP, Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations ("PECR") and related UK data protection laws. This privacy notice will inform you as to how we look after your personal data when you visit our website (regardless of where you visit it from) and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.
This privacy notice is provided in a layered format so you can click through to the specific areas set out below.
1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHO WE ARE
2. THE DATA WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU
3. HOW WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA
4. HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL DATA
5. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
6. DATA SECURITY
7. DATA RETENTION
8. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
9. GLOSSARY
1. Important information and who we are
SMB Partners Ltd is the controller and responsible for personal data processed through this website and for related business activities described in this notice.
SMB also provides software and support services to customers. In many cases, SMB acts as a processor on behalf of those customers in relation to employee or workforce data processed through SMB systems. This notice relates primarily to processing where SMB acts as controller.
It is important that you read this privacy notice together with any other privacy notice or fair processing notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This privacy notice supplements the other notices and is not intended to override them.
We have appointed a data protection officer (DPO) who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this privacy notice. If you have any questions about this privacy notice, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact the DPO using the details set out below.
Contact details
Our full details are:
Full name of legal entity: SMB Partners Ltd
Email address: dpo@smb.co.uk
Postal address: 4th Floor 100 Avebury Boulevard, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, MK9 1FH
If you would like to exercise one of your rights as set out above, or you have a question or a complaint about this policy, or the way your personal information is processed, please contact us by one of the following means;
- By email: dpo@smb.co.uk
- By phone: 0203 797 6340
Changes to the privacy notice
We reserve the right to amend this privacy notice and will notify you by updating this notice, so please check it from time to time, especially if you have ongoing dealings with us. It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.
2. The data we collect about you
We are committed to collecting and handling your personal data in a way that is respectful, transparent, and safe.
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect use, store and share different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:
- Contact Data includes names, address, email address and telephone numbers.
- Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.
- Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access this website.
- Usage Data includes information about how you use our website and services.
We also collect, use and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data. Aggregated Data may be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy notice.
We do not typically collect or otherwise process Special Categories of Personal Data about you.
3. How we collect your personal data
The majority of personal data that we process originates directly from you.
Much of this information is provided through your interactions with us. You may give us your personal data by filling in online forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you apply for our products or services, create an account on our website, subscribe to our services or publications, request marketing communications, or when you give us feedback or otherwise contact us.
A small part of the data we collect is Usage Data, which results from users' interactions with our site. This informs us how long individual users spend on the site, and what they do whilst on it.
We also collect Technical Data by way of Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, we may automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. Please see our cookie policy for further details.
4. How we use and disclose your personal data
We will only use your personal data where permitted by law.
We do not currently send marketing communications. Should this change, we will update this privacy notice and respect your data rights accordingly
.Purposes for which we will use your personal data
| Purpose/Activity | Categories of Data | Lawful Basis for Processing |
| Provide information, services, and support (including HR portal delivery) | Identity data, contact data (email, phone), employment/HR data, account data | Performance of a contract or Legitimate interests |
| Manage customer and business relationships | Contact data (business representatives), communication records, account details | Performance of a contract or Legitimate interests |
| Operate, maintain, and improve website and services | Technical data (IP address, browser type), usage data (interaction logs), account and system data | Legitimate interests |
| Monitor and maintain security of systems and services | Technical data (IP address, device identifiers), login/activity logs, security event data | Legitimate interests or Legal obligation |
| Process data within HR portal on behalf of clients (as processor) | Employee HR data (identification, employment history, payroll-related data, absence records, etc.) | Performance of a contract – underlying lawful basis determined by client (controller) |
| Collect and process data through website interactions (forms, enquiries) | Contact data, enquiry content, identifiers | Legitimate interests or Contract or Consent |
| Comply with legal and regulatory obligations | Any relevant personal data required for compliance (employment, tax, regulatory records) | Legal obligation |
| Share data with service providers (hosting, IT support, etc.) | Personal data necessary for service provision (varies by function) | Legitimate interests or Contract |
Disclosing information to third parties
We may share personal data with trusted third parties where reasonably necessary, including:
- IT and hosting providers;
- customer support and communication providers;
- analytics and website service providers;
- regulators, law enforcement or authorities where legally required.
Where third parties process personal data on our behalf, we require them to process it only on our instructions and ensure appropriate contractual and confidentiality safeguards are in place.
Cookies
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, security, analytics and user experience.
We will request your consent before placing non-essential cookies or similar technologies on your device.
You can manage your cookie preferences through our cookie settings tools. You can also set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly. For more information about the cookies we use, please see our cookie policy
Change of purpose
We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it. If we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose then we may do so. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us using our details above.
If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.
5. International transfers
Other than data processed by Cookies we use the following processors that offer a service that might be hosted outside of the United Kingdom. Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the EEA.
| Purpose | Location | Provider | Mechanism for transfer |
| Customer Support | International (USA) | Zendesk | Binding Corporate Rules |
| Email marketing tool | International (USA) | Mailchimp | SCCs with DPA |
| Email/Cloud storage | International (USA) | Microsoft | SCCs |
| Customer Support Cloud Provider | International (USA) | Amazon Web Service | SCCs with DPA |
6. Data security
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, or altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
7. Data retention
How long will you use my personal data for?
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.
Personal data will be destroyed/deleted in line wit our retention policy/procedure.
8. Your legal rights
Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. Please remember that in many cases we are the processor of your personal data, and our customer is the controller. Therefore it may be more appropriate for you to refer any request to the appropriate customer. However, we will always do our best to assist you and, where needed, work with our customer to ensure your request is handled properly
Where we act as the controller, e.g. when you complete a form on our website, you have the following rights.
Please click on the links below to find out more about these rights:
- Request access to your personal data.
- Request correction of your personal data.
- Request erasure of your personal data.
- Object to processing of your personal data.
- Request restriction of processing your personal data.
- Request transfer of your personal data.
- Right to withdraw consent.
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.
No fee usually required
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
What we may need from you
We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.
Time limit to respond
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.
Data protection complaints
If you have concerns about how SMB has handled your personal data, you may submit a data protection complaint to us:
- by email at dpo@smb.co.uk;
- through our website contact or complaint form;
- or in writing to our registered office.
Please provide enough information for us to understand and investigate the issue, including relevant dates, details of your concern and any supporting information.
We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 30 days as required by law, although we aim to respond sooner where possible. We may request additional information where reasonably necessary to verify your identity or clarify the complaint.
We will investigate complaints fairly and keep you updated where appropriate. Once our investigation is complete, we will explain the outcome and any action taken.
If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (“ICO”). Further information is available on the ICO website.
9. GLOSSARY
LAWFUL BASIS
Legitimate Interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service/product and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting us using the contact information provided above in paragraph 1.
THIRD PARTIES
External Third Parties
Service providers acting as processors or sub-processors who provide IT and system administration services. See section 5.
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
You have the right to:
Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "data subject access request). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.
Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.
Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.
Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios: (a) if you want us to establish the data's accuracy; (b) where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it; (c) where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or (d) you have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.
Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.
Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.