Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This Privacy Policy explains how LineaBlu (“LineaBlu”, “we”, “us” or “our”) collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you visit lineablu.com, contact us, apply for a role, register for The Bench, or otherwise deal with us.

LineaBlu is the responsible party (in terms of the South African Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 – “POPIA”) and the controller (in terms of the EU General Data Protection Regulation – “GDPR”) for the personal information described in this policy.

Privacy contact: questions about this policy, and requests to our Information Officer, can be sent to info@lineablu.com.

2. Scope

This policy applies to personal information we process through our website and its forms, our email and other correspondence, recruitment and The Bench talent community, and our business relationships with clients, prospective clients, suppliers and professional contacts. Where we act for a client, the processing of personal information within a matter is also governed by our engagement terms and our professional duties of confidentiality.

3. Personal information we collect

Information you give us

• Enquiries: your name, email address, company name, phone number and the content of your message.
• Job applications: the role you are applying for, your name, contact details, country of residence, LinkedIn profile, CV and any cover letter or message.
• The Bench: your personal and contact details, location and time zone, professional profile (job title, post-qualification experience, jurisdictions of qualification, professional body, admission details), areas of expertise and industry experience, working preferences and availability, current engagements and any restrictions on additional work, languages, your CV and supporting documents, how you heard about The Bench and who referred you.
• Business contacts: names, job titles, organisations and contact details of client, supplier and professional contacts.

Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, our servers and service providers automatically process technical information needed to deliver the site securely, such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages requested and the date and time of your visit. We also use a privacy-friendly analytics tool, hosted on our own website, to understand how the site is used in aggregate (for example, which pages are visited most). It does not use cookies or track you across other websites (see section 11).

Information from third parties

We may receive information about candidates from referees, recruitment partners or the person who referred you to The Bench, and we may review publicly available professional information (for example, your LinkedIn profile or the roll of the relevant law society or bar).

Special personal information

We do not ask you to provide special personal information (for example, information about health, religion, race or ethnic origin, or criminal behaviour). Please do not include it in your CV or messages unless it is necessary. If you choose to provide it, we will process it only where the law permits and only for the purpose for which you provided it.

4. How we use your information and our lawful basis

• To respond to enquiries and provide our services – to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, to perform a contract, and our legitimate interest in running our practice.
• To assess job applications – to take steps at your request before entering into an employment or engagement contract, and our legitimate interest in recruiting suitable people.
• To operate The Bench – on the basis of your consent, given when you register, to keep your profile and contact you about suitable opportunities. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
• To manage our business relationships – our legitimate interest in maintaining client, supplier and professional relationships.
• To keep our website and systems secure – our legitimate interest in protecting our website, systems and information.
• To comply with the law – including professional, regulatory, tax and record-keeping obligations, and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Providing information through our forms is voluntary. Fields marked as required are needed to consider your enquiry, application or registration; if you do not provide them, we may be unable to do so. We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing.

5. Recruitment and The Bench

Applications and Bench registrations are reviewed by our team to assess your experience against current and future requirements. Where a potential match arises for a client project or assignment, we will contact you first and will only share your profile with a client after discussing the opportunity with you. Registering for The Bench does not guarantee placement, employment or engagement.

If you are offered and accept a role or assignment, the information you provided will become part of your personnel or contractor record and will be handled in accordance with the privacy notice we provide at that stage.

6. Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only where necessary with:

• Service providers (operators/processors) who support our business under contract and confidentiality obligations, including our website host, our email and productivity provider (Microsoft 365), and providers of website components such as fonts.
• Clients, where you are a Bench member or candidate and you have agreed to your profile being presented for a specific opportunity.
• Professional advisers such as auditors, insurers and legal advisers.
• Regulators, courts, law enforcement and other authorities where we are required or permitted by law to do so.
• A successor business, if LineaBlu is involved in a merger, acquisition or reorganisation, subject to equivalent protection.

7. International transfers

LineaBlu works across jurisdictions, and our service providers may store or process information in countries other than the one in which you are located, including South Africa, the European Union and other countries where our providers operate. Where we transfer personal information across borders, we make sure that the recipient is subject to laws, binding corporate rules or contractual safeguards (such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses) that provide an adequate level of protection, or that another lawful ground for the transfer applies, as required by section 72 of POPIA and Chapter V of the GDPR.

8. How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only for as long as needed for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law. As a guide:

• Website enquiries: up to 24 months after our last contact, unless they lead to an engagement.
• Unsuccessful job applications: up to 12 months after the recruitment process closes, so that we can deal with any queries.
• The Bench: while you remain a member. We will ask you to confirm your details at least every 24 months, and we will delete your profile if you ask us to or do not respond.
• Client and matter records: for the periods required by our professional and legal obligations.

When information is no longer needed, we delete or de-identify it securely.

9. How we protect your information

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. These include encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls, multi-factor authentication on key systems, and contractual obligations on our service providers. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure; if we become aware of a security compromise affecting your information, we will notify you and the relevant regulator where the law requires us to.

10. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• ask whether we hold personal information about you and request access to it;
• ask us to correct, update or complete inaccurate or incomplete information;
• ask us to delete or destroy your information, or restrict how we use it;
• object to our processing of your information, including for direct marketing;
• withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent (this does not affect processing that took place before you withdrew it);
• receive information you provided to us in a portable format, where the GDPR applies; and
• lodge a complaint with a data protection regulator (see section 14).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@lineablu.com. We may need to verify your identity before responding, and we will respond within the period required by applicable law. Requests for access to records may also be made under our PAIA Manual, available on request.

11. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website uses only cookies and similar technologies that are strictly necessary for it to function securely, for example to keep the site secure and to support logged-in website administrators. We measure website traffic with a cookie-free analytics tool that runs on our own website; it records aggregated visit statistics and does not use cookies, advertising identifiers or cross-site tracking. We do not use advertising or social-media tracking cookies. Our website loads web fonts from third-party font servers, which means your browser’s IP address is shared with that provider to deliver the fonts.

If we introduce non-essential cookies in future, we will update this policy and, where required, ask for your consent before setting them. You can also control and delete cookies through your browser settings.

12. Children

Our website and services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

13. Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites, such as LinkedIn. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.

14. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we handle your personal information, please contact us first at info@lineablu.com so that we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to complain to a data protection regulator, for example:

• South Africa: the Information Regulator – inforegulator.org.za, enquiries@inforegulator.org.za, 0800 017 160 (complaints are lodged through its eServices portal).
• Spain: the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD) – aepd.es.
• Elsewhere: the data protection authority in the country where you live or work, or where you believe the issue occurred.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be published on this page with the date it was last updated. Where changes are significant, we will take reasonable steps to let you know.

16. Contact us

For any questions about this policy or your personal information, please contact our Information Officer:
Email: info@lineablu.com
Phone: +34 646 41 15 92