Our greatest weapon against stress is choosing a positive thought over a negative

Opinion: Cat Dowd discusses stress and tips for dealing with negative thinking

Features, News

April 26, 2024

Stress

Stress is something that we all experience in varying degrees. The origins of stress come from our body’s reaction to danger. It is a physiological condition that occurs when we are in the presence of something mentally or physically frightening or overwhelming. This is commonly referred to as ‘fight or flight’ but did you know evolutionary cognitive development has also given us ‘freezing’, ‘fawning’ and ‘flopping’?

Freezing can manifest as an immobile hypnotic reaction where our minds stop functioning. A common example of this is stage fright i.e. not being able to speak in front of an audience.
Fawning is often played out by a need to please so you may experience the need to be overly helpful and express the need for ‘safety’ or feeling ‘safe’.
Flopping is when someone will become physically and mentally unresponsive and become so overwhelmed by stress they actually collapse.

All of these experiences are triggered by the amygdala which is a cluster of cells located in the middle of the brain. When we start to get stressed the amygdala will release a chemical called ‘cortisol’ which will be carried via neurotransmitters to our adrenal glands. The glands will then release a powerful hit of adrenalin which will then trigger our bodies to get ready to perform at a level we don’t naturally perform at. These feelings can be very unpleasant and can extend into ‘panic attacks’.

So why do we still experience stress? How has evolution not engineered this out of our genetic makeup? Is all stress bad?

Have you ever run for a bus or train in fear of being late for something important or worked at an extreme level to meet a deadline and wondered, afterwards, how you did it? The reason we still feel stress is because it can be a great motivator. The issue isn’t the feelings of stress, it is our ability to manage the levels and not letting it get out of control. Teaching ourselves to manage our stress is a vital tool in combating poor mental health.

Help with managing stress

If you are feeling stressed don’t avoid the feeling, it’s better to accept it and face into it.

Here are three simple steps to try when the feelings of stress are affecting your day to day lives:

Step 1: Realise when it is causing you a problem. Try to make the connection between the feelings and the pressures you are currently faced with. Look out for physical warnings such as tense muscles, over-tiredness and headaches or migraines

Step 2: Identify the causes. Try to identify the underlying causes. Sort the possible solutions for your stress into three categories:

those with a practical solution
those that resolve given time and
those you can’t do anything about

Step 3: Review your lifestyle. Could you be taking on too much? Are there things you are doing which could be handed over to someone else?

Getting stressed about situations will not give you resilience to cope, it can make you overwhelmed, exhausted and physically unwell an none of these traits will help you solve problems.

Our greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose a positive thought over a negative one. Practice, every single day, acknowledging negative thoughts and then replacing them with more positive thoughts. It doesn’t come naturally, it comes with consistency and practice.

For further support and guidance, please take the time to have a look at the following advice from the NHS on stress busting techniques: Ten Stress Busters

By Cat Dowd, Head of People & Culture at PRP

PRP Group LLP - Privacy Notice

1. IMPORTANT NOTICE

This is the Privacy Notice of PRP Group LLP and all associated companies (“PRP”, “we”, “us” or “our”) and sets out how we collect and process your personal data. This Privacy Notice also provides certain information that is legally required and lists your rights in relation to your personal data.

This Privacy Notice relates to personal data (information) that identifies “you” meaning: any of our customers (or potential customers), our suppliers or other individuals who browse our website or individuals outside our organisation with whom we interact. If you are an employee, contractor or otherwise engaged in work for us or applying to work for us, a separate privacy notice applies to you instead.

We refer to this information throughout this Privacy Notice as “personal data” and paragraph 3 sets out further detail of what this includes.

Please read this Privacy Notice to understand how we may use your personal data.

This Privacy Notice may vary from time to time so please check it regularly. This version of our Privacy Notice was published in March 2021.

This Privacy Notice is not intended for children however we occasionally collect personal data of work experience students.

Additionally, this Privacy Notice is not intended to apply to personal data collection during the recruitment of employees or contractors, for which there is a separate privacy notice.

Our ICO registration number is Z2619176.

2. DATA CONTROLLER AND HOW TO CONTACT US

For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended, we are a controller of your personal data and as a controller we use the personal data we hold about you in accordance with this Privacy Notice.

If you wish to correct your personal data held by us or to opt out at any time from receiving marketing correspondence from us or to alter your marketing preferences please contact marketing@prp-co.uk.

If you need to contact us in connection with our processing or use of your personal data, or to gain access to it, then our contact details are c.dowd@prp-co.uk, 020 7653 3538, or Ferry Works, Summer Road, Thames Ditton Surrey, KT7 0QJ

3. CATEGORIES OF PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT

The categories of personal data about you that we may collect, use, store, share and transfer are:

Advertising and Marketing Data. This includes personal data which relates to your advertising preferences, such as information about your preferences in receiving marketing materials from us and our third parties and your communication preferences;
Information Technology Data. This includes personal data which relates to your use of our website, such as your internet protocol (IP) address, login data, traffic data, weblogs and other communication 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 our website;
Individual Data. This includes personal data which relates to your identity, such as your first name, middle name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender and your contact details such as your work and home address, email address and telephone numbers;
Account and Profile Data. This includes personal data which relates to your account with us or your profile, such as any purchases or orders made by you, your interests, preferences, feedback and survey responses;
Financial Data. This includes personal data which relates to your finances, such as your bank account and payment card details and information which we collect from you for the purposes of the prevention of fraud;
Sales Data. This includes personal data which relates to the transactions you have conducted with us, such as details about payments to and from you, details of subscriptions to our services or publications and other details of services you have purchased from us;
Audio and Visual Data. This includes personal data which is gathered using our CCTV or other recording systems at our locations in the form of images, video footage and sound recordings;
Market Research Data. This includes personal data which is gathered for the purposes of market research;
Health Data. This includes personal data which is gathered for health and safety purposes including any accident report or claim log at one of our locations or any information you provide about allergies or other medical conditions when booking a place to attend any of our seminars or events.

We may also create Personal Data about you, for example, if you contact us by telephone to make a complaint, for example about our services, then we may make a written record of key details of the conversation so that we can take steps to address the complaint.

We also obtain and use certain aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose (“Aggregated Data”). Aggregated Data may be derived from your personal data but does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Operation Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific feature on our website. However, if we re-combine or re-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.

In addition, we may obtain certain special categories of your data (“Special Categories of Data”), and this Privacy Notice specifically sets out how we may process these types of personal data. The Special Categories of Data are: (i) personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership; and (ii) the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purposes of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

We do not collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.

4. THE SOURCES FROM WHICH WE OBTAIN YOUR PERSONAL DATA

a) We obtain your personal data from the following sources:

Directly from you, either in person (at our locations or otherwise), via our website or by telephone. This could include personal data which you provide when you:
(a) request our services;
(b) subscribe to our publications;
(c) request marketing to be sent to you;
(d) enter into a competition or promotion; and
(e) complete a survey from us.
Automated technologies, such as CCTV or other recording systems, cookies, server logs and other similar technologies.
Third parties, such as:
(a) Analytics providers (such as Google analytics);
(b) providers of social media platforms (such as FaceBook, Twitter and Instagram) for example where you share our content through social media, for example by liking us on Facebook, following or tweeting about us on Twitter.
Publically available sources, such as:
(a) Companies House; and
(b) HM Land Registry.

5. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA & OUR BASIS FOR USING IT

a) Where we are relying on a basis other than consent

We rely on one or more of the following legal bases when processing your personal data and have set out below the purposes for which we may process your personal data:

Purposes for which we process your personal data	Categories of personal data we use	The bases on which we can do this (this is what the law allows)
To register you as a new customer and process your order.	Individual Data; Financial Data; Account and Profile Data.	The processing is necessary To Perform a contract with you; and Our legitimate interest in the provision of services to our customers.
In order to perform our contractual obligations to you. This would include: processing and performing any orders for our services placed by you; orders placed by us where you are a supplier; making or receiving payments, fees and charges; and collecting and recovering money owed.	Individual Data; Financial Data; and Sales Data.	The processing is necessary. To perform any contract entered into with you; and Our legitimate interest in recovering debts owed to us.
In order to comply with our own legal obligations, e.g. health and safety legislation, or to assist in an investigation (e.g. from the police).	Individual Data; Audio and Visual Data; and Health Data.	The processing is necessary for us to comply with the law.
In order to use your personal data in life or death situations where there is no time to gain your consent (e.g. in the event of an accident and we have to give your personal details to medical personnel).	Individual Data; and Health Data.	The processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of an individual.
In order to manage our relationship with you including: sending you important notices such as communications about changes to our terms and conditions and policies (including this Privacy Notice); to provide you with important real-time information about services we are providing for you (e.g. a change due to unforeseen circumstances); to send you information you have requested; to deal with your enquiries; and to ask you to leave a review or feedback on us.	Individual Data; Account and Profile Data; Sales Data; and Advertising and Marketing Data.	The processing is necessary: to perform any contract entered into with you; to comply with the law; and for our legitimate interests in the management and operation of our business, to keep our records updated and to study how customers use our services.
In order to administer and protect our business, deal with any misuse of our website and to comply with our security policies at our offices.	Individual Data; Account and Profile Data; Audio and Visual Data; and Information Technology Data.	The processing is necessary: for our legitimate interest in provision of administration and IT services, network security, to prevent fraud and in the context of a business reorganisation or group restructuring exercise; and necessary to comply with the law.
In order to make suggestions and recommendations to you about services that may be of interest to you, deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and to measure or understand the effectiveness of our advertising.	Individual Data; Sales Data; Information Technology Data; and Advertising and Marketing Data.	The processing is necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how customers use our services, to develop our services and ensure our marketing is relevant to you, to grow our business and to inform our marketing strategy.
For internal purposes to; identify usage trends, determine and measure the effectiveness of promotional campaigns and advertising and to improve our website, services, marketing, customer relationships and experiences.	Information Technology Data; Advertising and Marketing Data; and Market Research Data.	The processing is necessary for our legitimate interest in defining types of customers for our services, to keep our website updated and relevant, to develop our business and to inform our marketing strategy
To communicate with you about, and administer your participation in, special events, programs, promotions, any prize draws or competitions;	Individual Data; Account and Profile Data; Sales Data; Information Technology Data; and Advertising and Marketing Data	The processing is necessary: For performance of a contract with you; and Necessary for our legitimate interests to promote our business.
To sell, make ready for sale or dispose of our business in whole or in part including to any potential buyer or their advisers.	Individual Data; Account and Profile Data; Sales Data; Information Technology Data; and Advertising and Marketing Data;	The processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in the sale or disposal of our business or assets.
In order to enforce or apply our terms of use, terms and conditions of supply and other agreements with third parties.	Individual Data; Account and Profile Data; Sales Data; and Financial Data.	The processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in protecting our business and property and recovering debts owed to us.

In addition, we may lawfully process your Health Data (which falls within the Special Categories of Data (explained above)) in the following ways and on the following legal bases:

Purposes for which we process your personal data	Categories of personal data we use	The bases on which we can do this (this is what the law allows)
In order to use our knowledge of any health-related personal data you disclose to us in the event of illness or injury or some other related emergency; and In order to use information about your health in providing our services to you, where you have published in a public forum that you are suffering from a particular health condition (e.g. a dietary condition when booking to attend a seminar or event with us).	Health Data.	The processing is necessary to comply with social protection law in the case of a health and safety incident recorded at any of our locations or in order to protect the vital interests of you or another individual where you or the individual is physically or legally incapable of giving consent.

b) Where we may rely on consent

We would like to use your personal data for a variety of different purposes. For certain of these purposes it is appropriate for us to obtain your prior consent. These include where we or our carefully selected third parties have new products and services which we think you will be interested in.

The legal basis of consent is only used by us in relation to processing that is entirely voluntary – it is not used for processing that is necessary or obligatory in any way.

You may at any time withdraw the specific consent you give to our processing your personal data by following the opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you or by contacting us at any time using the contact details in paragraph 2 above. Please note even if you withdraw consent for us to use your personal data for a particular purpose we may continue to rely on other bases to process your personal data for other purposes.

6. WHO RECEIVES YOUR PERSONAL DATA

a) We may disclose your personal data to:

our group companies and affiliates or third party data processers who may process data on our behalf to enable us to carry out our usual business practices. Any such disclosure will only be so that we can process your personal data for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice;
HMRC, legal and other regulators or authorities, including those who request your personal data or to report any potential or actual breach of applicable law or regulation;
our PR agency (the Holistic Group) who process data on our behalf to assist with events and other marketing activities for us;
our external project delivery partners who we work with as part of a Cornwall development project if you are one of the participants in that project;
external professional advisers such as accountants, bankers, insurers, auditors and lawyers;
law enforcement agencies, courts or other relevant party, to the extent necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal rights;
third parties where necessary for the purposes of prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties;
third parties which are considering or have decided to acquire some or all of our assets or shares, merge with us or to whom we may transfer our business (including in the event of a reorganisation, dissolution or liquidation);
third parties operating plugins or content (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) on our website or other social media platforms which you choose to interact with.

7. PERSONAL DATA ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE WHICH YOU PROVIDE TO US

If you provide personal data to us about someone else (such as one of your directors or employees, or someone with whom you have business dealings) you must ensure that you are entitled to disclose that personal data to us and that, without our taking any further steps, we may collect, use and disclose that personal data as described in this Privacy Notice.

You must ensure the individual concerned is aware of the various matters detailed in this Privacy Notice, as those matters relate to that individual, including our identity, how to contact us, the way in which we collect and use personal data and our personal data disclosure practices, that individual's right to obtain access to the personal data and make complaints about the handling of the personal data, and the consequences if the personal data is not provided.

8. ACCURACY OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current and we take all reasonable precautions to ensure that this is the case but we do not undertake to check or verify the accuracy of personal data provided by you. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us either by logging onto your account on the website or by contacting us. We will not be responsible for any losses arising from any inaccurate, inauthentic, deficient or incomplete personal data that you provide to us.

9. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS OF PERSONAL DATA

It is possible that personal data we collect from you may be transferred, stored and/or processed outside the European Economic Area including the USA.
In connection with such transfers the relevant safeguard in place is either:

standard data protection contractual clauses between us and the recipient (where this is the case, a copy can be obtained by contacting us using the contact details set out in paragraph 2); or
we are relying on the basis of an adequacy decision namely the Privacy Shield for transfers to the US, or where the European Commission has decided that the relevant non-EU country ensures an adequate level of protection.

10. HOW LONG WE WILL STORE YOUR PERSONAL DATA FOR

We will store your personal data for the time period which is appropriate in accordance with our data retention policy. We will, in particular, retain your personal data where required for us to assert or defend against legal claims until the end of the relevant retention period or until the claims in question have been settled which can be up to 15 years. We keep the length of time that we hold your personal data for under review. These reviews take place annually.

11. CONTRACTUAL OR STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS ON YOU TO PROVIDE PERSONAL DATA

In certain circumstances the provision of personal data by you is a requirement to comply with the law or a contract; or necessary to enter into a contract.

It is your choice as to whether you provide us with your personal data necessary to enter into a contract or as part of a contractual requirement. However if you do not provide your personal data then the consequences of failing to do so may mean we are unable to perform to the level you expect under our contract with you or may not be able to perform the contract.. An example of this would be where we are unable to provide you with certain services as we do not have your full details, or where we cannot perform our contract with you at all because we rely on the personal data you provide in order to do so.

12. YOUR RIGHTS IN RELATION TO YOUR PERSONAL DATA

Subject to applicable law including relevant data protection laws, in addition to your ability to withdraw any consent you have given to our processing your personal data (see paragraph 5b)), you may have a number of rights in connection with the processing of your personal data, including:

the right to request access to your personal data that we process or control;
the right to request rectification of any inaccuracies in your personal data or, taking into account the purposes of our processing, to request that incomplete data is completed;
the right to request, on legitimate grounds as specified in law:
(a) erasure of your personal data that we process or control; or
(b) restriction of processing of your personal data that we process or control;
the right to object, on legitimate grounds as specified in law, to the processing of your personal data;
the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and to have your personal data transferred to another controller, to the extent applicable in law; and
the right to lodge complaints regarding the processing of your personal data with the Information Commissioner’s Office or other relevant supervisory body. Please see https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ for how to do this.

If you would like to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us using the contact details set out in paragraph 2.

13. LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

This policy only applies to us. If you link to another website from our website, you should remember to read and understand that website’s privacy policy as well. We do not control unconnected third-party websites and are not responsible for any use of your personal data that is made by unconnected third party websites.

PRP Group LLP - Candidate Privacy Notice

1 THIS NOTICE

1.1 This notice is provided by PRP Group LLP and all associated companies (“PRP”, “we”, “us” or “our”) and is addressed to all applicants who are applying to work for or with us or who are enquiring about vacancies (whether as an employee, consultant, contractor, worker, work experience student or other staff member) (together, “you”).

1.2 This notice relates to personal information about you from which you can be identified. We refer to this information throughout this notice as “personal data”. Personal data does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data). There are “special categories” of more sensitive personal data which require a higher level of protection. Section 3 of this notice sets out examples of your personal data that we use.
1.3 We are the controller of your personal data. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal data about you during the recruitment exercise. As a controller we use (or ‘process’) the personal data we hold on you in accordance with this notice.
1.4 We take our data protection responsibilities seriously and this notice reflects the obligations set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (EU Regulation 2016/679) (“GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended, giving effect to its provisions.
1.5 This notice sets out how we collect and process your personal data. This notice also provides certain information that is legally required and lists your rights in relation to your personal data.
1.6 If you need to contact us in connection with our processing of your personal data, then you can do so by phone 0208 339 3047, by email to h.drummond@prp-co.uk or by post to Ferry Works, Summer Road, Thames Ditton, Surrey, KT7 0QJ.
1.7 Your personal data belongs to you and it is your choice whether you provide us with your personal data. However, because we require certain items of your personal data in order to consider your application (for example, evidence of qualifications or work history), please be aware that if you do not provide all of the personal data we request from you then we may not be able to consider your application further. 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 the course of the recruitment process.
1.8 Please read this notice carefully, so that you are aware of how and why we are using your data.
1.9 If you are successful in your application and commence work with us, a separate internal privacy notice will apply to the use of your personal data during your period of work.
1.10 This notice may be amended or updated from time to time. This version of our Privacy Notice was published in March 2021.

2 PRINCIPLES OF DATA PROTECTION

2.1 The GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended, requires that the personal data we hold about you must be:

2.1.1 Used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way.
2.1.2 Collected only for valid purposes that we have clearly explained to you and not used in any way that is incompatible with those purposes.
2.1.3 Relevant to the purposes we have told you about and limited only to those purposes.
2.1.4 Accurate and kept up to date.
2.1.5 Kept only as long as necessary for the purposes we have told you about.
2.1.6 Kept securely.

3 RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Having received your application (whether by way of your CV, covering letter and portfolio, or application form or otherwise), we will then process that information to decide whether you meet the requirements to be shortlisted for the role or to consider if there is a vacancy which you may be suited for. We will then decide whether your application is strong enough to invite you for an interview or to attend assessment. If we decide to call you for an interview or to attend assessments, we will use the information you provide to us at the interview(s) and during any assessments to decide whether to offer you the role. If we decide to offer you the role, we will then take up references and carry out the relevant background checks before confirming your appointment.

4 PERSONAL DATA

4.1 We may obtain personal data about you, in connection with your application to work with us or in respect of an enquiry about vacancies, including but not limited to the following:

4.1.1 Personal details: name(s), title, username or similar identifier, gender, date of birth, age, nationality, languages, marital status, passport number, national insurance number and driver’s licence number;
4.1.2 Contact details: home and work addresses; home, work and personal mobile telephone numbers and work and personal email addresses;
4.1.3 Information included in references;
4.1.4 Any other information included on CVs, application forms and covering letters including qualifications, skills (job-related and technical) and level of experience, specific project experience, education history, details of previous employment, employment dates, salary and benefits information, and professional memberships;
4.1.5 Health questionnaires, medical examination reports and personal data gathered for health and safety purposes including any accident report or claim log at one of our locations in the event of an accident at one of our locations;
4.1.6 Immigration status details including copies of your passport, biometric residence permit and other immigration documents;
4.1.7 Other personal data required as part of immigration applications including immigration history;
4.1.8 Data revealed by background checks;
4.1.9 Driving licence;
4.1.10 Other recruitment data: submissions for any assessment at interview stage and notes/results thereof, special arrangements required for interview, interview notes, notes from shortlisting exercises, assessment exercises and tests, building entry, exit records, post interview feedback and claw-back or loan agreement details;
4.1.11 “Information Technology Data”, which includes personal data which relates to your use of our website, such as your internal protocol (IP) address, login data, traffic data, weblogs and other communication 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 our website;
4.1.12 Audio and visual data: personal data which is gathered using our CCTV or other recording systems at our locations; and
4.1.13 Photographs.

4.2 Some of the above personal data may contain or consist of more sensitive personal data known as “Special Categories of Data”.
4.3 We may process the following Special Categories of Data:

4.3.1 Information about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, and political opinions;
4.3.2 Trade union membership;
4.3.3 Information about your health, including any medical condition, health and sickness records; and
4.3.4 Biometric data and passport information.

4.4 We may also process information about criminal convictions and offences.
4.5 We also obtain and use certain aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose (“Aggregated Data”). Aggregated Data may be derived from your personal data but does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Information Technology Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific feature on our website such as our Careers page. However, if we re-combine or re-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 notice.

5 SOURCES OF PERSONAL DATA

5.1 We may obtain your personal data from various sources including the following:

5.1.1 Yourself;
5.1.2 Recruitment agencies, employment agencies and employment businesses;
5.1.3 Providers of background and other checking and vetting services, including Disclosure Scotland, the Disclosure and Barring Service and credit reference agencies;
5.1.4 Statutory or other official bodies such as the Home Office including UK Visas and Immigration;
5.1.5 Professional advisers;
5.1.6 Occupational health including Insight Occupational Health;
5.1.7 Other medical professionals;
5.1.8 Past employers;
5.1.9 Referees;
5.1.10 Universities and other educational institutions;
5.1.11 Professional industry bodies such as RIBA and ARB;
5.1.12 Automated technologies, such as CCTV or other recording systems, cookies, server logs and other similar technologies;
5.1.13 Third parties, such as analytics providers (such as Google analytics); and
5.1.14 Public sources including social media.

5.2 We will also create personal data about you, such as interview documentation or, for example if you contact us by telephone to follow up on the progress of your application, for example, then we may make a written record of key details of the conversation so that we can take steps to have the relevant person respond to your query.

6 LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING

6.1 To process your personal data in connection with the purposes set out in section 7 of this notice, we will rely most commonly on one or more of the following legal bases:

6.1.1 we have a legitimate interest in carrying out the processing, which is not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights, or freedoms. When we rely on this legal basis our legitimate interests may include the following:

(a) the management of the recruitment process and employment and engagement of staff in particular making decisions about who to offer employment or engagement to and on what terms;
(b) the efficient running of our business;
(c) meeting external and internal governance and regulatory obligations; and
(d) to enable us to take legal advice and to defend claims.

6.1.2 the processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation; or
6.1.3 the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with us or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.

6.2 In rare circumstances we may rely on the following legal bases:

6.2.1 the processing is necessary to protect your vital interests or the interests of someone else; or
6.2.2 the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

6.3 We do not need your consent if we process your data under one or more of the other legal bases set out above. In some circumstances we may approach you for your written consent to allow us to process certain data.

7 PURPOSES OF PROCESSING

7.1 We need your personal data primarily to pursue our legitimate interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests, to enable us to comply with legal obligations and to allow us to take steps prior to entering into a contract with you.
7.2 We will use your personal data for a variety of different purposes including the following:

7.2.1 Making a decision about your recruitment or appointment;
7.2.2 Determining the terms on which you will work for us if you are offered employment or engagement with us;
7.2.3 Checking you are legally entitled to work in the UK;
7.2.4 Submitting immigration applications on your behalf or assisting you with applications and applying for and issuing certificates of sponsorship;
7.2.5 Complying with our obligations as a Tier 2 sponsor, including in relation to retaining records of the recruitment process and details of applicants who applied for the role;
7.2.6 Carrying out background checks;
7.2.7 Requesting references;
7.2.8 Communicating with you about your application and the recruitment process;
7.2.9 Assessing your skills, qualifications and suitability for a particular job or task;
7.2.10 Retaining details about you in case there are future employment opportunities for which you may be suited;
7.2.11 Assessing education, training and development requirements;
7.2.12 Dealing with legal disputes (including litigation, claims, and defence or settlement of claims) involving you, or our employees, workers and contractors, including accidents on our premises;
7.2.13 Complying with our legal or regulatory requirements;
7.2.14 Complying with health and safety obligations;
7.2.15 Equal opportunities monitoring;
7.2.16 Protecting and defending our rights or property;
7.2.17 Using your personal data in life or death situations (e.g. in the event of an accident and we have to give your personal details to medical personnel);
7.2.18 Selling, making ready for sale or disposal of our business in whole or in part including to any potential buyer or their advisers;
7.2.19 Succession and organisational planning; and
7.2.20 Administering and protecting our business, dealing with any misuse of our website and to comply with our security policies at our offices.

8 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF DATA

8.1 Special Categories of Data require higher levels of protection. We need to have further justification for collecting, storing and using this type of data. We have in place an appropriate policy document and safeguards which we are required by law to maintain when processing such data.
8.2 Where we process Special Categories of Data, we usually rely on the following additional legal bases:

8.2.1 where such processing is necessary for the purposes of performing or exercising obligations or rights which are imposed or conferred by law on us or you in connection with employment, social security or social protection; or
8.2.2 where you have given your explicit written consent.

8.3 Subject to any applicable conditions in each case, we may also process Special Categories of Data on other additional legal bases including:

8.3.1 where it is necessary to protect your vital interests (or someone else’s interests) and you are not capable of giving your consent,
8.3.2 where it is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity;
8.3.3 where you have already made the information public;
8.3.4 where it is necessary for archiving, scientific, historical research or statistical purposes and is in the public interest; or
8.3.5 where it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest and it is necessary for the purpose of identifying or keeping under review the existence or absence of equality of opportunity or treatment between groups with a view to enabling such equality to be promoted or maintained.

8.4 We may lawfully process Special Categories of Data in certain ways, including for the following purposes:

8.4.1 We will use data about your physical or mental health or disability status to consider if we need to provide any adjustments for the recruitment process, to determine whether you are suitable for the role or to consider if we need to make any adjustments to the role you are applying for.
8.4.2 We will use our knowledge of your health-related personal data in the event of illness or injury or some other related emergency.
8.4.3 We may use some Special Categories of Data when bringing or defending a legal claim.
8.4.4 We will use data about your race or national or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, health or your sexual orientation, to ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting.
8.4.5 We will use data about your race or national or ethnic origin as well as data relating to your immigration history, passport and biometric residence permit and other immigration documentation when carrying out right to work checks (including checks using the Employer Checking Service), retaining immigration documents, complying with our obligations as a Tier 2 sponsor, applying for and assigning certificates of sponsorship, and submitting immigration applications.

9 INFORMATION ABOUT CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS

9.1 We may in limited circumstances process data about criminal convictions and offences (including personal data relating to the alleged commission of offences).
9.2 We will only collect information about criminal convictions if it is appropriate given the nature of the role that you apply for. In some cases we may be notified of such information directly by you in the course of you applying for a role or working for us.
9.3 We will only use data relating to criminal convictions where we have a legal basis to do so. This will usually be where such processing is necessary for the purposes of performing or exercising obligations or rights which are imposed or conferred by law on us or you in connection with employment, social security or social protection.
9.4 Subject to any applicable conditions in each case, we may also use data relating to criminal convictions on other lawful bases including:

9.4.1 where you have given your explicit written consent;
9.4.2 where it is necessary for the purpose of, or in connection with, any legal proceedings (including prospective legal proceedings) or where it is necessary for obtaining legal advice or for the purpose of establishing, exercising or defending legal rights;
9.4.3 where it is necessary when a court or tribunal is acting in its judicial capacity;
9.4.4 where you have already made the information public; or
9.4.5 where it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest and is necessary for the purposes of:

(a) the prevention or detection of an unlawful act; or
(b) the purposes of complying with, or assisting other persons to comply with, a regulatory requirement (a requirement imposed by legislation or a requirement forming part of generally accepted principles of good practice relating to a type of body or an activity) which involves a person taking steps to establish whether another person has committed an unlawful act, or been involved in dishonesty, malpractice or other seriously improper conduct.

9.5 We may use information about criminal convictions and offences in a number of ways including:

9.5.1 to determine whether to employ or engage you, including background checks, such as Disclosure Scotland or the Disclosure and Barring Service; and
9.5.2 when submitting immigration applications to the Home Office.

9.6 We have in place an appropriate policy and safeguards which we are required by law to maintain when processing such data.

10 RECIPIENTS OF PERSONAL DATA

10.1 Your information will be shared internally for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes members of the HR and recruitment team, interviewers involved in the recruitment process, senior staff within PRP and IT staff if access to the data is necessary for the performance of their roles.
10.2 We may also share your personal data with the following recipients:

10.2.1 Your named referees when requesting a reference;
10.2.2 Background checking companies including Disclosure Scotland, the Disclosure and Barring Service and credit reference agencies;
10.2.3 The Home Office (including UK Visas and Immigration);
10.2.4 Occupational health advisers, including Insight Occupational Health, and other medical professionals;
10.2.5 Third parties operating plugins or content (such as Twitter) on our website or other social media platforms which you choose to interact with;
10.2.6 Legal and regulatory authorities, on request, or for the purposes of reporting any actual or suspected breach of law or regulation;
10.2.7 External professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, lawyers and other outside professional advisers, subject to binding obligations of confidentiality;
10.2.8 Any relevant party, law enforcement agency, tribunal or court, to the extent necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal rights;
10.2.9 Any relevant party for the purposes of prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties; and
10.2.10 Any relevant third party acquirer(s), potential acquirers or bidders and their advisers in the event that we sell or transfer, or propose to sell or transfer all or any portion of our business or assets (including in the event of a reorganisation, outsourcing, service provision change, dissolution or liquidation).

10.3 In addition, we may disclose the personal data you provide to us to our group companies and affiliates or third party data processers who may process data on our behalf to enable us to carry out our usual business practices. Any such disclosure will only be so that we can process your personal data for the purposes set out in this notice.
10.4 All our third-party service providers and other entities in the group are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your personal information in line with our policies. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes. We only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

11 TRANSFERS OF PERSONAL DATA OVERSEAS

11.1 Personal data we collect from you will not be transferred, stored and/or processed outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”).
11.2 You can request further information by contacting us as specified in section 1.6.

12 RETENTION OF PERSONAL DATA

12.1 Personal data will be stored in a range of different places, including on your application record, in HR management systems and on other IT systems (including email).
12.2 We take the security of your personal data seriously. We have internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your personal data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by members of staff in the proper performance of their duties.
12.3 We will usually retain the personal data of unsuccessful candidates for a period of one year after we have communicated to you the decision not to offer you a role.
12.4 After this period, our policy is, in most circumstances to delete your personal data from our system. This is subject to any legal or regulatory obligation to keep personal data for a longer period of time (for example it is subject to our obligations as a Tier 2 sponsor. We will also hold your personal data for a longer period if it is required in connection with legal proceedings.
12.5 If we wish to retain your personal information on file, on the basis that a further opportunity may arise in future and we may wish to consider you for that, we will write to you separately, seeking your explicit consent to retain your personal information for a fixed period on that basis. At the end of that period your personal data will usually be deleted or destroyed (subject to any legal or regulatory obligation to keep personal data for a longer period of time).
12.6 If you are successful and are offered a role, you will be provided with our Data Retention Policy which sets out in detail the periods for which we will retain your personal data. Any personal data provided that is not relevant for your ongoing employment or engagement will be deleted.

13 AUTOMATED DECISION MAKING

13.1 Automated decision-making takes place when an electronic system uses personal data to make a decision without human intervention.
13.2 We do not envisage that any decisions will be taken about you using automated means during the recruitment process, however we will notify you in writing if this position changes.

14 YOUR RIGHTS IN RELATION TO YOUR PERSONAL DATA

14.1 You have a number of rights in connection with the processing of your personal data, subject to certain conditions set out in the GDPR and in the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended, including the right to:

14.1.1 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.
14.1.2 Request the correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected.
14.1.3 Request the 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.
14.1.4 Ask us to stop processing personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground.
14.1.5 Request the restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal data about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.
14.1.6 Request the transfer of your personal data to another party.
14.1.7 Lodge a complaint regarding the processing of your data with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

14.2 In the limited circumstances where you have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal data for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time. To withdraw your consent, please contact the Associate Director, HR and L&D in writing in accordance with section 1.6. After we have received notification that you have withdrawn your consent in relation to a particular purpose we will no longer process your information for that purpose, unless we have another legitimate basis for doing so in law.
14.3 If you want to review, verify, correct or request erasure of your personal data, object to the processing of your personal data, or request that we transfer a copy of your personal data to another party, please contact the Associate Director, HR and L&D in writing in accordance with section 1.6.

PRP Group LLP - Terms of Use

Content

The information, software and content provided on this website are the property of PRP Group LLP and all associated companies (PRP) and are provided only for the general information of its users and not as professional advice. Whilst PRP intend the information to be as accurate as possible, PRP do not guarantee that the information is comprehensive or free from technical or factual errors. The website is a live site and will therefore be updated from time to time. All users use or rely upon the information provided on this website entirely at their own risk and PRP accepts no liability for any losses users may suffer as a result. By accessing this website, users are deemed to accept PRP's terms of use which PRP reserve the right to update from time to time.

Links

This website may include links to other websites. These links are incorporated for reference only and PRP is not responsible for either their content or their reliability. PRP do not endorse or approve of any of the links listed.

Copyright

All copyright, trade marks and other intellectual property rights in this website and its contents including design, text, graphics, photos and drawings are the property of PRP. The website is intended only for browsing and its contents may not be copied or linked to except with the prior written permission of PRP.

Homepage video music "Wall" by Jahzzar (betterwithmusic.com) is licensed under CC BY-SA

Email and Data Transfers

All emails and data transfers transmitted by PRP Group LLP, and/or its associated companies (PRP) are confidential and are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
Emails received in error must be notified back to the sender of the message.
Attachments

a. Electronic Data

i. Neither the provider of this digital information nor anyone else involved in the creation, production or delivery of the data and/or information contained in the enclosed file(s) shall be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential or incidental damage (including damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business/company information) arising out of the use, inability to use, or performance of the data and/or information contained in the enclosed file(s), even if the provider has been informed of the possibility of such damages, other than when the data and/or information has been used for its intended use.
ii. The provider will be indemnified by the user of the enclosed file(s) for any claims arising out of this agreement and the supply and use of the data and/or information contained on the enclosed file(s), other than when the data and/or information has been used for its intended use.
iii. Whilst we have taken all reasonable care to ensure that this file(s) is virus free, we cannot be responsible for any damage occurring due to a virus infecting this file(s).
iv. If you have any problems in reading the enclosed file(s) please contact the sender of the message.

b. Copyright

i. Copyright in the data (i.e. design, drawings, model, etc..) contained within the e-mail or Data Transfer, and/or the attachments produced by PRP Group LLP, and/or its associated companies (PRP), shall remain the property of PRP. Use of the material is restricted to client, consultants and any 3rd party directly involved in the development of the project, who are entitled to use the data granted under a royalty free licence. Such entitlement is limited as follows:

1. the entitlement applies to the site or part of the site only to which the design relates;
2. any fees, expenses and disbursements due to PRP, or its associated or subsidiary companies have been paid; and
3. PRP shall not be liable for consequences of any use of any information or designs prepared by it except for the purposes for which they were provided nor can it be held responsible for the consequences of any changes made to the drawings or the designs contained in the enclosed file(s).
4. Any views expressed in any message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifies and with authority, states them to be the views of PRP.

PRP Group LLP - Cookie Policy

When you visit the Site we may store some information (commonly known as a "cookie") on your computer. Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to your hard drive to store and sometimes track information about you. Cookies are specific to the server that created them and cannot be accessed by other servers, which means that they cannot be used to track your movements around the web. They also cannot be used to identify you personally.

Cookies can be categorised in accordance with the categories found in the ICO UK Cookie guide as set out below:

(a) strictly necessary cookies - these cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around a website and use its features and enable services you have specifically asked for. Consent is not generally required for these cookies;
(b) performance cookies - these collect information about how visitors use a website, for example, by recording which pages users go to most often (usually on an anonymous basis);
(c) functionality cookies - these cookies allow a website to remember the choices a user makes, such as a user name or language preference; and
(d) targeting or advertising cookies - these collect information about a user's browsing habits and are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator's permission.

Cookies can also be categorised in accordance with how long they are saved on your device. "Session cookies" are short-term cookies that are only saved on the computer's memory for the duration of a user's visit to the website, whereas "persistent cookies" remain saved in the computer's memory for a set period of time, even after the browser session has ended.

The following Cookies are set on the Site:

Strictly necessary cookies


Domain	Cookie Name	Typical Content	Expires
prp-co.uk	PHPSESSID	Randomly generated number	When user exits browser
prp-co.uk	ckalert	1	1 day

Performance cookies

Vimeo
We currently use Vimeo to host video content. When you view a web page on our site with an embedded Vimeo video, Vimeo creates at least four cookies all prefixed: __utm. We use the Vimeo service as a convenience for our visitors, and we use it on the basis that Vimeo adheres to its privacy policy - see http://vimeo.com/privacy for more information.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics to measure performance and usage of our site. When you view a web page on our site Google creates at least three cookies all prefixed: _g. All usage stats are anonymous and cannot be used to identify you or your personal data. We do not use Google Analytics advertising features or send personally identifiable information to the service and we use it on the basis that Google adheres to its privacy policy - see https://policies.google.com/privacy for more information.

Removing and disabling cookies

You can block or erase cookies from your computer if you want to (your browser's help screen or manual should tell you how to do this), but certain parts of the site are reliant on the use of cookies to operate correctly and may not work correctly if you set your browser not to accept cookies.

Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will set cookies when you navigate around the site. By using our site you consent to our use of cookies.

PRP Group LLP - ISO Certification

PRP holds ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications which demonstrate the practice’s commitment to good management, the reduction of its environmental impact and meeting the expectations of its customers. Certificate numbers: FS 37776 and EMS 514177.

PRP Group LLP - Integrated Quality and Environmental Policies

Quality Policy

PRP and all associated companies (PRP from hereon) is primarily an Architectural practice also offering related consultancy services and is committed to excellence in design, service in delivery, compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and BS EN ISO 9001, against which it holds certification, and continual improvement of its Quality Management System. In addition to the aims, as shown below, PRP has set measurable objectives in line with this policy as specified in its Management Manual, appropriate to the purpose and context of its business and supporting its strategic direction.

The practice aims to:

deliver reliable and highly-competent services to clients
provide high-quality building and environment design to clients and end-users
achieve a high level of client satisfaction
continually improve the quality of service
improve the skills of employees
continue to improve efficiency of working processes
regularly review performance and achievements
improve value for money offered to clients
develop a reputation for excellence

To achieve these aims, PRP has in place quality procedures to ensure consistent, high quality by:

regularly reviewing the Quality Policy and procedures and their suitability for effectiveness
complying with the Quality Policy and procedures
having in place internal, audit measures to ascertain compliance
implementing corrective actions and corrections where necessary
regularly reviewing objectives
monitoring and analysing client satisfaction through management feedback
having an established staff appraisal system and Continual Professional Development processes for staff members
communicating the Quality Management System to employees through regular inductions and update reminders
reminding employees of their obligations to follow its Quality Management System which is based on BS EN ISO 9001

Environmental Policy

PRP’s EMS Objectives and Policy are set according to the Context of the Business, including the nature, scale and environmental impacts of its activities and services.

PRP is committed to:

Protection of the environment and prevention of pollution from its studios and activities that are associated with its projects
Fulfil its Compliance Obligations, by complying with applicable legal and other requirements to which PRP subscribes and which relate to its environmental aspects
Continual improvement of the Environmental Management System (EMS) to enhance PRP's environmental performance and how its operations affect the environment
Meeting PRP’s EMS Objectives and Targets
Communicating the Environmental Management System to employees through regular inductions and update reminders.

We will seek to:-

Provide environmentally-responsible design and specification for the buildings that PRP designs with an emphasis on:

natural lighting and ventilation
improvement of the health and wellbeing of occupants and residents
consideration of climate-change impacts on developments and communities
sensitivity to natural features and microclimate of the site
landscaping to protect and regenerate wildlife and encourage biological diversity
the longevity of building materials through flexible and adaptable designs and specification of building materials with low environmental impact, where possible

Reduce carbon emissions by:

incorporating high levels of insulation, renewable energy and considering low-carbon energy where practicable
specifying locally-sourced materials with low embodied carbon where practicable
considering cycle and pedestrian route, cycle storage, publictransport access and fossil-fuelled vehicle
independence provision
prioritising the re-use of buildings and building materials
tree planting to absorb and offset carbon

Promote environmentally-responsible, day-to-day operation of the Practice and the buildings that we occupy

Conserve resources and limit pollution by:

seeking opportunities to re-use/use recycled/specify materials to allow future recycling
specifying materials from sustainable sources and with zero-ozone depletion potential
designing for buildability to reduce waste during construction and future dismantling
specifying fittings to minimise water use and considering rainwater re-use
considering the potential for future flooding on the location of development
avoiding the use of non-toxic materials, components, finishes, preservatives and adhesives

Manage PRP studios and activities to reduce adverse environmental impact by:

paper-consumption and plastics reduction
recycling waste paper/plastics/metals, consumables and samples
using sustainably-sourced food and drinks
using heating, cooling and lighting systems as effectively as possible
undertaking energy audits of its studios and business travel
providing shower facilities and secure bike racks to encourage cycling where practicable
using video or phone conference technology to reduce travelfor meetings
donating surplus materials where possible
reducing reliance on acrylics within the model making workshop as a material unless absolutely necessary, and use of the non-toxic and recyclable material jesmonite

Monitor PRP environmental aspects and corresponding compliance requirements and appropriateness of its EMS for on-going improvement

The Practice is a founding member of the UK Green Building Council, it is a BCorp certified organisation, and a member of the Landscape Institute and has a dedicated environmental services team. PRP’s environmental-management procedures and objectives were developed in line with this Environmental Policy and BS EN ISO 14001, against which PRP holds certification. PRP supports the Architects Journal Retrofit campaign, and collates data against PRP projects to benchmark against the London Energy Transformation Initiative and the RIBA Climate Challenge 2030 as part of its overall plan to ensure PRP is carbon negative by 2050.

Andrew Mellor
Partner

May 2024

Download