Privacy Policy

2  General 

Everyone* who interacts with us in some way should read this Section 2, alongside the other specific Sections that apply to you. 

2.1  About us and how to contact us 

Introduction to us: We are, Oberlanders Group LLP (SO307635) (“the Company”, “we”, ”our”, “us”). 

Our role: When we collect and use your Personal Data in the ways outlined in this Privacy Notice, we are the Controller for the purposes of Data Protection Legislation (defined below). Depending on the circumstances we may be acting as a joint Controller with another person or organisation - we will advise you if that is the case by making available information on our arrangement.

How to contact us: If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Notice you can contact us as follows: 

• Oberlanders Group LLP
  16 Melville Street
  Edinburgh
  EH3 7NS
• hr@oberlanders.co.uk
• +44 131 225 9070

2.2  Purpose of this Privacy Notice

Purpose: We have prepared this Privacy Notice to assist you in understanding what Personal Data we collect about you and how that information is used by us as part of the relationship we have with you. 

This Privacy Notice may be supplemented by other privacy information: It is important that you read and retain this Privacy Notice, together with any other privacy notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing Personal Data about you, so that you are aware of how and why we are using such information and what your rights are under the Data Protection Legislation. This Privacy Notice supplements the other notices available on our website and other platforms and is not intended to override them.

Glossary: Please see Section 9 for an explanation of the capitalised terms used in this Privacy Notice. 

Not intended for children: Our website and services are not intended for children, and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children.

This Privacy Notice is not a contract: This Privacy Notice does not form part of any contract.

UK data subjects: This Privacy Notice is aimed at data subjects who reside in the UK. 

When data is Personal Data: If you are interacting with us as a corporate body, then in most instances the data we collect from you will not be Personal Data and instead is data related to a business. If you are interacting with us as a consumer, a sole trader, or an unincorporated organisation, or you are an individual personnel member on behalf of a corporate body, we may collect some Personal Data about you.

2.3  Changes to this Privacy Notice

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Notice at any time, and we will provide you with a new privacy notice when we make any substantial updates. You are expected to visit this page from time to time to note any changes we make. This Privacy Notice was last updated on 31 July 2026.

2.4  Collecting your Personal Data

Direct interactions. You may give us your Personal Data directly by corresponding with, and speaking to, us or by filling in our forms. 

Indirect interactions. We may also receive Personal Data about you indirectly. For example, from: 

• your use of our website, apps or platforms;
• your named referees (in the event of a job application or similar);
• your employer, where you are working for our clients or suppliers;
• publicly available sources such as your personal social media accounts; and
• other third parties.

2.5  Consequences of failing to provide Personal Data

When we rely on the Legal Basis of Contract and you fail to provide certain information when requested, we may not be able to perform the Contract we have entered into with you (for example: we may not be able to perform our services or we may not be able to make payment to you). When we rely on the Legal Basis of Legal Obligation, and you fail to provide certain information when requested we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations. In each of these instances, we may be required to suspend and/or terminate the Contract or relationship that we have with you or to amend the terms of the Contract or relationship, and we cannot be liable for any failure or delay.

2.6  Keeping your Personal Data accurate

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. We cannot be held responsible for any errors in your Personal Data unless you have notified us of a relevant change.

When we obtain Personal Data from indirect sources (see Section 2.4 above) we take reasonable steps to ensure it is not incorrect or misleading as a matter of fact, but depending on the source of the Personal Data, it is not always reasonable to do this.

2.7  General uses of Personal Data

Business records: Your Personal Data may be included in business records e.g. voicemails, e-mails, correspondence, documents, and other work product and communications created, stored or transmitted using our networks, applications, devices, computers or communications equipment. We have this information as it is necessary for our business and therefore in our Legitimate Interests (and where we have a Contract in place with you, it is necessary for your Contract). 

Litigation, arbitration, mediation, and any other form of dispute resolution: We require to use any or all types of your Personal Data for dispute resolution purposes depending on the specific nature of the dispute. We rely on the Legal Basis of our Legitimate Interests for this purpose, and as necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of Legal Claims.

Automated decision-making: Automated decision-making takes place when an electronic system uses Personal Data to make a decision without human intervention. We do not routinely envisage that decisions will be taken about you using automated means - however we let you know in writing if this will occur.

Change of Purpose: We will only use your Personal Information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your Personal Information for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the Legal Basis which allows us to do so. Please note that we may process your Personal Information without your knowledge or Consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law or regulation.

2.8  Sharing of Personal Data

We share your Personal Data with others in certain circumstances as detailed below.

• Group structure.  We are part of a group structure and we may share your Personal Data with other companies within the group (i.e. Oberlanders Architects LLP and Oberlanders Property LLP) for governance purposes or we may share your Personal Data with our other group entities as we share IT systems and storage solutions.
• Legal and regulatory. We will also provide your Personal Data to third parties where there is a legal or regulatory obligation to do so, for example to regulators, government departments, law enforcement authorities.
• Court order. We will share your Personal Data when we are mandated by a court or a court order.
• Change of structure. We may also provide your Personal Data to third parties in connection with any sale, merger, acquisition, disposal, reorganisation or similar change in our business or assets.
• Professional service providers. We may provide your Personal Data to our professional service providers such as accountants, professional advisors, insurance providers and lawyers.
• Service providers. We contract with third party service providers and suppliers to deliver certain services some of whom may store personal data in cloud based data centres. Our service providers change from time to time. We currently use the following types of providers: accounting and auditing services; IT providers, including the provision of hosting, storage and maintenance/support services; marketing; third party payment processors.
• Our clients. We are sometimes contractually or legally required to share certain Personal Data with our clients.
• Your employer, agency or contracting body.  We are sometimes contractually or legally required to share certain Personal Data with your employer, agency or contracting body.
• Authorised third party. We will provide information about you to any person who is authorised to act on your behalf.

2.9  Storage of Personal Data

The Personal Data that we collect from you will usually be stored inside the UK or the EEA. If you live or work outside of the UK, we may need to transfer your personal data outside of the UK to correspond with you.  We may also transfer data outside the UK where our service providers host, process, or store data outside the UK. Where we do this, we will ensure that the transfer is to a country covered by a decision of the UK Government or is otherwise made in circumstances where we have put appropriate safeguards in place (such as an international data transfer agreement) to protect your Personal Data in accordance with the Data Protection Legislation.

2.10  Retention periods

We will in many circumstances retain the Personal Data that we collect. Where we do, the length of time we shall retain it for shall be determined by a number of factors, including the type of data, the purpose for which we use that data including our legal and regulatory obligations which we must comply with when we collect and process Personal Data. We will also take into account the amount, nature and sensitivity of the Personal Data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of Personal Data. We will not retain personal data for longer than is necessary. 

In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: please see Section 2.11 below. 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. 

In some circumstances we may anonymise your Personal Data so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use such information without further notice to you. 

2.11  Your information rights

You have certain rights under the Data Protection Legislation which apply in certain circumstances:

• Access: 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.
• Rectification: 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.
• Erasure: 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.
• Object: 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.
• Restriction: 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.
• Portability: 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.

You can exercise your rights by contacting us using the details outlined at Section 2.1. 

You will not usually 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.

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.

We may not always be able to comply with your request to exercise your rights for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.

2.12  If you have any concerns 

To make a complaint please use the contact information at Section 2.1 above. 

When we receive a data protection complaint, we will:

• acknowledge receipt no later than 30 days from receiving it;
• take appropriate steps to respond without undue delay, which may include making enquiries into the subject matter of the complaint and, where appropriate, keeping you informed about the progress of our handling of the complaint; and
• inform you of the outcome without undue delay.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). However, before doing so please make sure you have first made your complaint to us. The ICO will expect you to have done this before reviewing your complaint.

4  Marketing

If you receive marketing communications or updates from us, please read this Section 4. 

Business contacts: If you are a business contact (unless we have expressly asked for your Consent) for all methods of contact (e.g. email, text, call) it is necessary for our Legitimate Interests (to develop our products/services and grow our business). 

Individual contacts (consumers and sole traders): If you are a consumer contact or a sole trader, we will obtain your Consent for email marketing or text marketing unless we can rely on the soft-opt in exemption, in which can we rely on our Legitimate Interests (to develop our products/services and grow our business). For postal marketing and live telephone marketing, unless we have asked for your Consent, we rely on our Legitimate Interests (to develop our products/services and grow our business). 

Tailored communications: We may also analyse your Personal Data to form a view which services and offers may be of interest to you so that we can then send you relevant marketing communications.

You can always opt-out. You can ask us to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by following any opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you or by contacting us at any time. Where you opt-out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to Personal Data provided to us for other purposes. 

6  Visitors

If you visit our premises. please read this Section 6. 

We may use your Personal Data for the following purposes:

8  Suppliers

If you have provided or are providing goods or services to us; or act as a sub-contractor on our behalf for services or goods which benefit our clients.

We may use your Personal Data as supplier for the following purposes:

Copyright information

All visual information is copyright material of: 
Oberlanders Group LLP, and licensed by various photographers. Unauthorised use or reproduction of these images is prohibited and may result in legal action. For enquiries regarding the use of specific images, please contact us on hello@oberlanders.co.uk.

Last Updated: 
September 2026