Privacy Policy
How your personal information is handled when you contact
or work with Amharic Interpreter.
Last updated: 23 May 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is handled when you contact or work with Amharic Interpreter.
Who I am
Amharic Interpreter is a UK-based Amharic English interpreting service run by Kidest Beyene, providing face-to-face, telephone and video interpreting for healthcare, legal, public sector, education, business and conference settings.
For the purposes of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, I am the data controller for personal information you share with me directly through this website, by email, by phone, or in the course of arranging interpreting work.
Where I am engaged by an organisation, such as an NHS service, local authority, solicitor, court, business or agency, that organisation may also be responsible for how personal information is collected and used. Their own privacy policy may also apply.
You can contact me using the contact form.
What information I collect
Depending on how you contact or work with me, I may collect and hold:
- Enquiry details: your name, email address, phone number and the message you send.
- Booking details: appointment date, time, location, organisation name, contact person, language pair, assignment type and any practical information needed to arrange the interpreting work.
- Assignment information: limited details needed to prepare for and deliver interpreting services, such as the nature of the appointment, meeting, interview, hearing, event or project.
- Client and organisation details: contact details for individuals, businesses, public bodies, legal representatives, healthcare services or other commissioning organisations.
- Payment and invoicing details: invoices, payment confirmations and accounting records. I do not store card details.
- Website data: limited technical information such as device type, browser, pages visited and cookie preferences, where collected through cookies or analytics tools.
Why I collect it
I collect and use personal information to:
- Respond to enquiries.
- Provide quotes and confirm availability.
- Arrange and deliver interpreting assignments.
- Prepare appropriately for appointments, meetings, interviews, hearings, events or projects.
- Communicate with clients, organisations and relevant contacts.
- Manage invoices, payments, tax records and lawful business administration.
- Meet professional, contractual, legal, safeguarding or regulatory responsibilities.
- Protect my legal position if needed.
Lawful basis for using your information
Under UK GDPR, I rely on different lawful bases depending on how the information is used:
- Contract: to respond to enquiries, provide quotes, arrange bookings and deliver interpreting services.
- Legal obligation: to keep financial records, respond to lawful requests and meet legal requirements.
- Legitimate interests: to run the service professionally, communicate with clients and organisations, manage records, protect the business and handle enquiries efficiently.
- Consent: where you choose to provide information voluntarily, or where consent is required for a specific purpose.
Special category data
Interpreting assignments may involve sensitive information, especially in healthcare, legal, immigration, asylum, safeguarding, social care or public service settings. This may include information about health, ethnicity, religion, family circumstances, immigration status, legal matters or other personal details.
This type of information may include special category data under UK GDPR and may receive extra protection. Criminal offence information may also receive additional protection.
I only use this information where it is necessary for the interpreting assignment, professional confidentiality, safeguarding, legal requirements or the proper delivery of the service.
Where special category or criminal offence information is handled, the relevant UK GDPR basis and condition will depend on the nature of the assignment, who has commissioned the work and the setting in which the interpreting takes place.
Confidentiality
Interpreting work is treated as confidential.
Information shared during an interpreting assignment is used only for the purpose of providing accurate, impartial and professional language support.
I do not share assignment information with family members, employers, unrelated organisations or third parties unless there is a lawful, contractual, safeguarding or serious-risk reason to do so.
Possible exceptions include:
- Where disclosure is required by law.
- Where there is a safeguarding concern or serious risk of harm.
- Where a court, public authority or regulator lawfully requires information.
- Where sharing is necessary with the organisation that commissioned the interpreting assignment.
- Where professional, legal or insurance advice is needed.
Where possible and appropriate, I will limit the information shared to what is necessary.
How long I keep your information
I keep personal information only for as long as needed.
- General enquiries that do not lead to a booking are usually deleted within 6 months.
- Booking and assignment records may be kept for up to 7 years where needed for business, tax, insurance, contractual or legal reasons.
- Financial records may be kept for as long as required for tax, accounting and legal purposes.
- Temporary preparation notes are kept only as long as needed for the relevant assignment and are securely deleted when no longer required.
Who I share information with
I do not sell or rent personal information.
Limited sharing may take place with:
- The client, organisation or agency that commissions the interpreting assignment.
- Relevant contacts involved in arranging or delivering the appointment, meeting, event or project.
- Trusted service providers, such as website hosting, email, secure video platforms, accounting software or IT support.
- Professional advisers, such as accountants, insurers or legal advisers.
- Public authorities, regulators, courts or safeguarding bodies where required by law or necessary for serious-risk reasons.
Where service providers are used, they are expected to handle information securely and only for the purpose of providing their service.
International transfers
Some digital services, such as email, website hosting, analytics or video platforms, may process data outside the UK.
Where this happens, I aim to use reputable providers with appropriate safeguards in place.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have rights over your personal information. These may include the right to:
- Ask what information I hold about you.
- Request a copy of your personal information.
- Ask for inaccurate information to be corrected.
- Ask for information to be deleted, where this right applies.
- Object to or restrict certain types of processing.
- Withdraw consent, where consent is being relied upon.
- Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection.
To make a privacy request, please use the contact form.
Security
I take reasonable steps to keep personal information secure, including password-protected systems, secure storage, appropriate access controls and careful handling of assignment-related information.
Email, online forms and video platforms carry some inherent security risks, so please avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information through the website contact form.
If detailed or sensitive information is needed for an assignment, this can be discussed once contact has been made.
Cookies
This website may use cookies or similar technologies. For more information about how cookies are used, please see the Cookie Policy.
Website terms
Use of this website is also subject to the Terms and Conditions.