Taiwan Editorial - Confidentiality

Taiwan Editorial. Communication consulting, editing, proofreading

Confidentiality and legal information:

This policy applies to all staff and contractors engaged by Taiwan Editorial.

Background

We hold all client information under strict legal and ethical obligations of confidentiality. We will not use or disclose information that is given to us in confidence in a form that might identify a service-user (or other identifiable individual) without his or her consent, or disclose proprietary information to external parties.

1. Introduction

Clients have a right to expect that our services will hold information about them in confidence. Confidentiality is central to trust between clients and the service providers. Our handling of confidential personal information must:

promote, support and protect the privacy and confidentiality of the information provided by our clients
command the support of clients, the public, staff, and partner services
comply with best practice
conform with the law

2. Legal and professional basis

All Taiwan Editorial staff have a moral, and in countries where applicable laws exist, statutory obligation to safeguard the confidentiality of personal and client information. The relevant legislation includes the Data Protection Act 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998, common law (where applicable) and employment law (where applicable). It is also central to professional codes of conduct. We accept that any breach of confidentiality may be a matter for disciplinary action or provide grounds for complaint or legal action against us by the individual(s) or client(s) concerned.
We will control access to personal information on a strict need-to-know basis when we are sharing information with other agencies. Where we are dealing with agencies not involved directly in the assignment, for example, where we are asking an organisation to search a database, we will ensure that we give them no more than the minimum information required.
If a client states that they do not want to have their personal or corporate information shared, we will respect their wish unless there are exceptional circumstances.

3. Consent by the client

A refusal to give information or allow it to be shared may make it more difficult, and sometimes impossible, to provide appropriate advice or services.
At the beginning of any period of contact, including for assessment or service, we need to obtain the client’s consent to share information
We require ongoing consent to information sharing, so that we do not have to seek consent on every occasion that information sharing is necessary.
The client can change the terms of their consent or withdraw it completely at any time.

In Exceptional Circumstances we may need to share information without consent or, indeed, prior knowledge of the client. Such exceptional circumstances include, but are not limited to requests for client information from Taiwanese legal authorities.