Privacy Statement

1. Introduction

This Privacy Statement explains how Blackridge Leadership collects, uses, stores and protects personal data. It applies to personal data processed in connection with our website, our burnout questionnaire, enquiries, coaching services and email communications.

We are committed to processing personal data lawfully, fairly and transparently, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).

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2. Data controller

Blackridge Leadership is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Blackridge Leadership is the controller of your personal data for the purposes of UK data protection law.

• Email: info@blackridgeleadership.co.uk

Any questions regarding this Privacy Statement or our handling of personal data should be directed to the contact details above.

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3. Scope

This Privacy Statement applies to the personal data of:

• visitors to our website and LinkedIn pages

• individuals who make an enquiry or book a consultation

• individuals who complete our assessments or questionnaires

• coaching clients, including those attending individual sessions or coaching programmes

• organisations that sponsor coaching, and their representatives

• subscribers to our email communications

Our services are intended for adults and are not directed at individuals under the age of 18.

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4. Personal data we collect

We collect only personal data that is adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Statement.

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When you make an enquiry, book a session, complete an assessment or engage our services, we collect identity and contact data, such as your name, email address, telephone number, job title and organisation.

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If you complete an assessment or questionnaire, before or during coaching, we collect your responses, which may concern your energy, workload, sleep, mood and wellbeing, together with any resulting reports. During coaching sessions, whether held in person, by video or by telephone, we collect coaching session data. This includes your coaching objectives, session notes, action plans, progress reviews and the information you disclose during sessions.

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Where an organisation sponsors your coaching, it provides us with sponsor data, such as its representative's contact details, the agreed objectives, and purchase order and invoicing details. We also hold financial data, such as invoices, payment records and billing addresses, provided by you or your sponsoring organisation.

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If you subscribe to our email communications, we hold your communication preferences and information about your engagement with our emails, either provided by you or collected through our email platform. When you visit our website, we collect technical data, such as the pages you visit, your device and browser type, and your approximate location, subject to your cookie preferences. We do not collect or store payment card details.

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Special category data

Certain information provided through assessments or questionnaires, or disclosed during coaching sessions, relates to health and wellbeing and constitutes special category data under Article 9 of the UK GDPR. We process such data only with your explicit consent, limit it to what is strictly necessary, and use it solely for the purpose for which it was provided.

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Whether you are required to provide personal data

You are under no statutory obligation to provide personal data to us. Providing your name and email address is necessary to receive an assessment report, and certain personal data is necessary for us to enter into and perform a coaching contract. If you choose not to provide it, we may be unable to issue a report or provide coaching services. Providing personal data for marketing purposes is entirely optional.

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5. Purposes and lawful bases for processing

We process personal data only where we have a lawful basis under Article 6 of the UK GDPR and, for special category data, a condition under Article 9.

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When you complete an assessment or questionnaire, we process your responses and prepare your report on the basis of your consent (Article 6(1)(a)). Because your responses may include information about your health, we also rely on your explicit consent for that information (Article 9(2)(a)).

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When you make an enquiry or arrange a consultation, we process your details on the basis of our legitimate interests in responding to people who contact us (Article 6(1)(f)), or because you have asked us to take steps before entering into a contract (Article 6(1)(b)).

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We deliver coaching sessions and programmes, and maintain session notes and records, in order to perform our contract with you (Article 6(1)(b)). Any health information you share during coaching is processed with your explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a)). Where an organisation sponsors your coaching, we process the information needed to agree objectives and arrange invoicing in order to perform our contract with that organisation (Article 6(1)(b)).

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We maintain financial and tax records to comply with our legal obligations (Article 6(1)(c)). We send marketing communications only with your consent (Article 6(1)(a)). For website analytics and service improvement, we rely on your consent for non-essential cookies and otherwise on our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)).

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We may also process personal data to establish, exercise or defend legal claims and to liaise with our insurers. For this we rely on our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) and, where health data is involved, on Article 9(2)(f).

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Where it is necessary to protect you or others from serious harm, or to report suspected criminal activity as described in section 6, we rely on vital interests (Article 6(1)(d)), legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) or legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)). For health data in these circumstances, we rely on Article 9(2)(c) or 9(2)(g), and for criminal offence data on Article 10 and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

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Where we rely on legitimate interests, those interests are responding to enquiries, operating and improving our business and website, and establishing, exercising or defending our legal rights. We have assessed that these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms, and you may request details of that assessment.

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Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time by contacting us or by using the unsubscribe link in any email. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

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Automated decision-making

Some assessments and questionnaires are scored automatically. Each report is reviewed personally before it is issued, and no decision producing legal or similarly significant effects is made solely by automated means.

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6. Confidentiality

Information disclosed during coaching sessions is treated as strictly confidential, subject to the limits set out below.

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Sponsored coaching

Where coaching is funded by an organisation, the scope of any information to be shared with the sponsor will be agreed with you in writing at the outset. This is ordinarily limited to attendance and any general themes you have approved. The content of coaching sessions and any health information will not be disclosed to a sponsor without your express agreement.

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Limits of confidentiality

Confidentiality is not absolute. We may disclose information without your consent where it is lawful to do so and:

• we reasonably believe you are at risk of causing serious harm to yourself

• we reasonably believe you pose a risk of serious harm to another person

• we have reasonable grounds to suspect criminal activity, or disclosure may help to prevent or detect a crime

• disclosure is required by law, regulation or court order

In such circumstances, we will disclose only the minimum information necessary, and only to the appropriate person or authority, such as the emergency services, the police or another relevant agency. Any disclosure will be made only where permitted by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

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Where it is lawful and safe to do so, we will discuss the matter with you before any disclosure is made. These limits of confidentiality are also set out in our coaching agreement, so that you are aware of them before coaching begins.

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Professional supervision

In line with recognised professional coaching practice, we discuss our work with a qualified coaching supervisor. Information shared in supervision is anonymised and does not identify clients.

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7. Nature of coaching services

The services provided by Blackridge Leadership are coaching services and do not constitute medical care. We do not diagnose, treat or prescribe, and any assessments or questionnaires we use are coaching tools rather than clinical assessments. No doctor–patient relationship is created, and no medical records are maintained.

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If you have concerns about your health, please consult your GP or occupational health provider. For urgent medical advice, contact NHS 111, or call 999 in an emergency. Samaritans can be contacted at any time on 116 123.

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8. Disclosure of personal data

We do not sell personal data or disclose it to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

We engage a small number of service providers, known as processors, to help us operate our business. They act only on our documented instructions and are bound by written contracts requiring appropriate security and confidentiality.

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We use Microsoft 365, including Forms, Outlook, Bookings and Teams to administer assessments and questionnaires, send email, schedule appointments, hold video coaching sessions and store information securely.

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We may also disclose personal data, where necessary, to our accountants, professional indemnity insurers and legal advisers, or to a regulator, law enforcement body or court where required by law.

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9. International transfers

We store personal data within the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area wherever practicable. Certain processors may store or access personal data in other jurisdictions, including the United States.

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Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, or the International Data Transfer Agreement issued by the Information Commissioner. Details of the safeguards applicable to any transfer are available on request.

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10. Data retention

Personal data is retained only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, after which it is securely deleted. Where you complete an assessment or questionnaire but do not become a client, we retain your responses and report for 12 months from completion.

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For coaching clients, we retain session notes, assessments and client records for 6 years from the end of the engagement, to allow for the establishment or defence of legal claims. Financial records are retained for 6 years, in accordance with HMRC requirements.

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Where you have subscribed to marketing communications, we retain your details until you withdraw your consent. After that, we keep your email address on a suppression list solely to ensure that you are not contacted again. Website analytics data is retained as set out in our cookie policy.

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11. Data security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss or disclosure. These include multi-factor authentication, device encryption, strong access controls, and restriction of access to authorised personnel only. Handwritten notes are stored securely and destroyed once transcribed.

In the event of a personal data breach, we will notify the Information Commissioner's Office within 72 hours where required, and will inform affected individuals without undue delay where the breach is likely to result in a high risk to their rights and freedoms.

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12. Direct marketing

We send marketing communications only to individuals who have given their consent, in accordance with PECR. Every communication includes an unsubscribe link, and you may also opt out at any time by contacting us. We do not purchase or rent mailing lists.

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If you complete an assessment or questionnaire, or become a coaching client, without opting in to marketing, we will not send you marketing communications.

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13. Cookies

Our website uses cookies that are strictly necessary for its operation. Analytics and other non-essential cookies are used only with your consent, which may be withdrawn at any time. Further information is set out in our cookie policy.

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14. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you

• rectification of inaccurate or incomplete personal data

• erasure of your personal data, where there is no overriding legal reason for its retention

• restriction of processing in certain circumstances

• object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to object at any time to processing for direct marketing

• data portability, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format

• not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that produces legal or similarly significant effects

• withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@blackridgeleadership.co.uk. We will respond within one month of receiving your request, and no fee is normally charged. We may request proof of identity before responding, in order to protect your personal data.

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15. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we handle your personal data, please contact us in the first instance so that we can seek to resolve it.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK supervisory authority for data protection, at ico.org.uk or by telephone on 0303 123 1113.

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16. Changes to this Privacy Statement

We review this Privacy Statement regularly and may update it from time to time. The date of the most recent revision is shown below.

Last updated: 24 Sep 2026