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8 tips to succeed when applying for UK specialty training

Applying for specialty training in the UK can be a daunting process. From an Ophthalmology trainee in London, here are the top 8 tips to help you increase your chances of success. Be sure to read all 8 so you can get started on improving your application today!

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8 tips for International medical graduates to succeed when applying for UK specialty training

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The rules, guidelines and criteria for working as a doctor in the UK change frequently. Please make sure you check the latest official guidance before taking action.

UPDATED: March 29, 2022

Applying for specialty training in the UK can be a daunting process. We’ve written this article with our top 8 tips to help you increase your chances of success.

Be sure to read all 8 and you can get started on improving your application today.

1. Start preparing early

How early? As soon as you know that you want to train in the UK and what specialty you want to pursue – even if you’re still a med student. By starting as early as possible, you can do the appropriate research into your options and start planning your steps in order to minimise wasted time, money and effort. What many IMGs don’t know is that many aspects of the UK portfolio can be done back home. Imagine preparing your portfolio over several years starting from med school, instead of trying to cram everything into just a few months while adjusting to live in the UK. I guarantee you will score much higher! Preparing early is the core concept that we emphasize in our FREE course “The IMG Shortcut” and is the key to getting into specialty training in two years. Enrol in our FREE course now.

2. Familiarise yourself with the person specifications

Every specialty has a set of personal specifications. These documents contain the list of criteria used to select applicants for the job. There are two types of criteria on the list: essential and desirable.

Read the person specifications very carefully. You will need to meet all of the essential criteria to be eligible to apply, and as many of the desirable criteria as possible to be a competitive applicant. Remember, the more competitive the specialty, the more desirable criteria you need to fulfil as many other applicants will be doing the same thing.

The person specifications can change each year so make sure you are always looking at the current version.

Related: What IMGs need to know about applications to specialty training in the UK

3. Find out how applicants are scored

The application process for specialty training in the UK is very transparent. Aside from the person specifications, most specialties will tell you exactly how applicants are scored. The main components of the score are similar for most specialties but the number of points awarded to each domain may differ.

The main areas for scoring include:

  • Quality improvement projects
  • Publications
  • Presentations
  • Leadership and management
  • Experience in teaching medical professionals
  • What training you have received to teach medical professionals
  • Additional degrees
  • Postgraduate exams
  • Commitment to specialty (eg. projects, electives, taster weeks, courses, conferences etc)
  • Achievements outside of medicine
  • And of course, your interview performance.

Get your hands on the scoring criteria and start improving your CV based on this. You need to be strategic and well-rounded, meaning you need to score points in every category. Having 10 publications will not make up for a lack of teaching experience. We go through this important concept thoroughly in our Masterclass and help guide our students on how to maximize their portfolio score.

Again, these scoring methods can change each year so make sure you are looking at the most up-to-date version. You can find links to the latest information for each specialty in the Useful Links page under the section “Specialty Recruitment”.

Related: An IMG’s guide to the UK portfolio for training jobs

4. Understand RLMT exemption

RLMT stands for the Resident Labour Market Test. It was a rule that prioritised certain groups of doctors (eg. British citizens) when it came to training jobs. Because of this, RLMT used to be the primary barrier for IMGs to enter competitive specialties such as Surgery, Radiology and Ophthalmology.

However, as of October 6, 2019, all medical jobs have been included on the UK Shortage Occupation List. This means that IMGs are now exempt from RLMT and are now eligible to apply for UK specialty training in any specialty! (Except Public Health)

This change in the immigration rules may not last forever, so it’s advisable to make the best of this opportunity now while it lasts!

Related: 9 ways the new Shortage Occupation List affects IMGs dreaming of UK specialty training

5. Prepare for the MSRA

The Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA)  is a computer based test with 2 components: professional dilemmas (110 minutes), and clinical problem  solving (75 minutes).

Eight specialties require applicants to sit this test: GP, Radiology, Ophthalmology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Community Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (CSRH), Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Core Psychiatry and Neurosurgery.

It is often used as a short-listing tool to determine which applicants are invited to interview. Most specialties also use it as part of the overall application score. If you aim to apply to one of the 8 specialties that require it, find out how the MSRA is used during the application process and start preparing for it about 2 months ahead.

We recommend Dr. Aman Arora’s MSRA course as he is extremely passionate about medical education which clearly radiates from him when we met him at Naseer’s IMG conference. He even gave us a 10% discount you can use on top of any ongoing sale on all his products, just apply ARORASAVVY10 on checkout!

6. Identify and reach out to potential mentors

There are two types of mentors that you’ll need to find:

Recently successful applicants

These doctors are great mentors for obvious reasons. They’re familiar with the application process and they came out on top, so you should pay close attention to whatever they advise! You can find these trainees in the NHS hospital you work at or ask colleagues if they know anyone who would be willing to be contacted about applications.

When you speak to them, make sure you are as fully informed about the application process as possible and only ask specific questions. 

Do not ask them how it all works or to explain everything to you from the beginning without doing your own basic research. It’s difficult to help someone in a short amount of time if they haven’t done their due diligence, and it also reflects poorly on you.

Senior trainees and Consultants

When it comes to senior trainees and Consultants, it’s less about the application process, and more about gaining insights into the specialty and building up your portfolio.

You can contact Consultants in your own hospital or any hospital for that matter. Email them first to introduce yourself and submit your CV. Aim to set up a time and place to meet about potential projects you could work on such as an audit or publication.

This is also a great opportunity to ask thoughtful questions about the specialty itself. What do they love about it? Are there any aspects they dislike? Learn more about what actually it’s like to be a senior trainee or Consultant. Try to arrange a taster week, or attend clinics or theatre with them on a more regular basis.

7. Filter out bad advice

Nobody intentionally gives out bad advice, but it can happen. It’s usually when a person gives outdated advice and is unaware that the rules have changed since their time. This is why it’s important to speak to recent applicants and to always, always, always check the current guidance.

Bad advice can also take the form of discouragement. Try not to take this personally, the person discouraging you may just be trying to prepare you for the worst. Even UK graduates can take 2-3 applications to succeed in the most competitive specialties so it’s always a possibility for you too.

It’s good to have some idea of a back-up plan, but keep your focus on Plan A which is to get in on the first attempt.

Related: What IMGs need to know about applications to specialty training (residency) in the UK

8. Start saving up

Building up your application for specialty training can be pricey! You’ll need to attend courses, conferences, pay for exams etc. It can cost you a good £1,000-4,000.

In general, the more competitive your specialty, the more it will cost because you need to do more for your CV. Start budgeting wisely because this is all an investment in your future.

Related: The cost of PLAB & GMC fees + tips on saving money

Further reading

8 tips specialty training UK IMG PLAB MRCP MRCS

You might also like

Looking for a step-by-step guide?

Subscribe to the Savvy IMG and grab your FREE 2-year roadmap to UK residency as an IMG.

free

Looking for a step-by-step guide?

Subscribe to the Savvy IMG and grab your FREE 2-year roadmap to UK residency as an IMG.

free

6 Responses

  1. hi
    I am a neurologist with 12 years of work experience and living outside the UK.
    Is it possible for me to work in the UK after passing all of the following:
    mrcp 1.2.
    paces
    sce
    best regards

    1. Sure, as long you get GMC registration you can start applying for jobs. Please check the full requirements for GMC registration and our article on career options. Best of luck!

  2. Hi, can you please tell me how the cutting chances are for IMG core tsurgical trainees in the UK?

    Also, in essential criteria for CST 2020 under eligibility section it was mentioned that they require –
    ” 12 months medical experience after full GMC registration (or equivalent post licensing experience) ”

    I have copy pasted the exact line from the pdf of CST 2020. Does this mean that the experience they are asking for need not be from NHS? Can it be from my home country as well? Cos It wasn’t mentioned anywhere that the experience required should be only from NHS. If you happen to have any idea about this, kindly let me know.

  3. Hey, awesome article. I have a question, on the third tip on finding out how applicants are scored , you mentioned to get our hands on the scoring criteria to begin improving our C.V. where can i find the scoring criteria for Surgical CT1. I am a British citizen studying in the EEA, hoping to enter into surgical training after graduating and completing foundation competencies. I found the person specifications, but not the scoring criteria. Please need your guidance.

    Thank you, hope to hear from you soon

    1. Hi there! For core surgery please search “core surgery portfolio self-assessment guidance” for the scoring. The current version is the 2019 one. Best of luck! If you’re looking for step-by-step guidance you might be interested in the IMG Masterclass.

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This Privacy Policy sets out how we, The Savvy IMG, collect, store and use information about you when you use or interact with our website, thesavvyimg.co.uk (our website) and where we otherwise obtain or collect information about you. This Privacy Policy is effective 13th November 2019.

Contents

  • Summary
  • Our details
  • When you visit our website
  • When you use our website
  • Marketing communications
  • Information obtained from third parties
  • Disclosure and additional uses of your information
  • How long we retain your information
  • How we secure your information
  • Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area
  • Your rights in relation to your information
  • Changes to our Privacy Policy
  • Children’s Privacy

Summary

This section summarises how we obtain, store and use information about you. It is intended to provide a very general overview only. It is not complete in and of itself and it must be read in conjunction with the corresponding full sections of this Privacy Policy.

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Our details

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact the data controller.

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You can contact the data controller by sending an email to info@thesavvyimg.co.uk.

When you visit our website

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Web server log information

We use a third party server to host our website called BlueHost Inc. the privacy policy of which is available here: https://www.endurance.com/privacy/privacy

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Use of website server log information for IT security purposes

We collect and store server logs to ensure network and IT security and so that the server and website remain uncompromised. This includes analysing log files to help identify and prevent unauthorised access to our network, the distribution of malicious code, denial of services attacks and other cyber-attacks, by detecting unusual or suspicious activity.

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Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

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Use of website server log information to analyse website use and improve our website

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When you contact us

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Email

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Enquiry forms

When you contact us using an enquiry form, we collect your personal details and match this to any information we hold about you on record. Typical personal information collected will include your name and contact details. We will also record the time, date and the specific form you completed.

If you do not provide the mandatory information required by our contact form, you will not be able to submit the contact form and we will not receive your enquiry.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interest(s): responding to enquiries and messages we receive and keeping records of correspondence.

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Messages you send to us via our contact form may be stored outside the European Economic Area on our contact form provider’s servers.

Phone

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We record customer-facing phone calls for training and customer service purposes.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation)

Legitimate interest(s): responding to enquiries and messages we receive and keeping records of correspondence.

Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Reason why necessary to perform a contract: where your message relates to us providing you with goods or services or taking steps at your request prior to providing you with our goods and services (for example, providing you with information about such goods and services), we will process your information in order to do so).

Post

If you contact us by post, we will collect any information you provide to us in any postal communications you send us.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation)

Legitimate interest(s): responding to enquiries and messages we receive and keeping records of correspondence.

Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Reason why necessary to perform a contract: where your message relates to us providing you with goods or services or taking steps at your request prior to providing you with our goods and services (for example, providing you with information about such goods and services), we will process your information in order to do so).

When you use our website

We collect and use information from individuals who interact with particular features of our website in accordance with this section and the section entitled Disclosure and additional uses of your information.

Social Media Tools

We have a wide range of social media tools to be able to use on our website. These tools include (but not limited to); Sharing, Likes, comments and submitting content both on and off our website. By using these tools, you are providing your consent to store and use the submitted data whether personal information or general information both on and off our website.

Legal basis for processing: your consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation). Consent: you give your consent to us storing and using submitted content using the steps described above.

We may also use this information to tailor any follow up sales and marketing communications with you. For further information, see the section of this privacy policy titled ‘Marketing Communications’.

Information you submit may be stored both inside and outside the European Economic Area on our servers as well as third-party servers such as Facebook.

For further information about the safeguards used when your information is transferred outside the European Economic Area.

Registering on our Website

When you register on our website or via teachable, we collect the following information; Your Name, Email.

If you do not provide the mandatory information required by the form, you will not be able to interact with our website or on Teachable.

You can view Teachable's privacy policy here https://teachable.com/privacy-policy

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interest: registering and administering accounts on our website to provide access to content, allows you to download content and facilitates the running and operation of our business.

We will also use this information to tailor any follow up sales and marketing communications with you. For further information, see the section of this privacy policy titled ‘Marketing Communications’.

Transfer and storage of your information

Information you submit to us via the registration form on our website may be stored outside the European Economic Area on our third-party hosting provider’s servers.

Marketing communications

Our content, goods and services

When signing up for content, registering on our website or making a payment, we will use the information you provide in order to contact you regarding related content, products and services.

We will continue to send you marketing communications in relation to similar goods and services if you do not opt out from receiving them.

You can opt-out from receiving marketing communications at any time by emailing info@thesavvyimg.co.uk

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interests: Sharing relevant, timely and industry-specific information on related business services, in order to assist your organisation, grow.

Third party goods and services

In addition to receiving information about our products and services, you can opt in to receiving marketing communications from us in relation third party goods and services by email by ticking a box indicating that you would like to receive such communications.

Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Consent: you give your consent to us sending you information about third party goods and services by signing up to receive such information in accordance with the steps described above.

Transfer and storage of your information

Information for marketing campaigns will be stored outside the European Economic Area on our third-party mailing list provider’s servers in the United States.

For further information about the safeguards used when your information is transferred outside the European Economic Area, see the section of this privacy policy below entitled Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area.

Use of tracking in emails

We use technologies such as tracking pixels (small graphic files) and tracked links in the emails we send to allow us to assess the level of engagement our emails receive by measuring information such as the delivery rates, open rates, click through rates and content engagement that our emails achieve.

Information obtained from third parties

This section sets out how we obtain or collect information about you from third parties.

Information received from third parties

We can often receive information about you from third parties. The third parties from which we receive information about you can include partner events within the marketing industry and other organisations that we have a professional affiliation with.

It is also possible that third parties with whom we have had no prior contact may provide us with information about you.

Information we obtain from third parties will generally be your name and contact details but will include any additional information about you which they provide to us.

Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Reason why necessary to perform a contract: where a third party has passed on information about you to us (such as your name and email address) in order for us to provide services to you, we will process your information in order to take steps at your request to enter into a contract with you and perform a contract with you (as the case may be).

Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Consent: where you have asked that a third party to share information about you with us and the purpose of sharing that information is not related to the performance of a contract or services by us to you, we will process your information on the basis of your consent, which you give by asking the third party in question to pass on your information to us.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interests: where a third party has shared information about you with us and you have not consented to the sharing of that information, we will have a legitimate interest in processing that information in certain circumstances.

For example, we would have a legitimate interest in processing your information to perform our obligations under a sub-contract with the third party, where the third party has the main contract with you. Our legitimate interest is the performance of our obligations under our sub-contract.

Similarly, third parties may pass on information about you to us if you have infringed or potentially infringed any of our legal rights. In this case, we will have a legitimate interest in processing that information to investigate and pursue any such potential infringement.

Information obtained by us from third parties

In certain circumstances (for example, to verify the information we hold about you or obtain missing information we require to provide you with a service) we will obtain information about you from certain publicly accessible sources, both EU and non-EU, such as Companies House, online customer databases, business directories, media publications, social media, and websites (including your own website if you have one.

In certain circumstances will also obtain information about you from private sources, both EU and non-EU, such as marketing data services.

We will continue to send you marketing communications in relation to similar goods and services if you do not opt out from receiving them.

You can opt-out from receiving marketing communications at any time by emailing hello@thesavvyimg.co.uk

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interests: Sharing relevant, timely and industry-specific information on related business services.

Where we receive information about you in error

If we receive information about you from a third party in error and/or we do not have a legal basis for processing that information, we will delete your information.

Disclosure and additional uses of your information

This section sets out the circumstances in which will disclose information about you to third parties and any additional purposes for which we use your information.

Disclosure of your information to service providers

We use a number of third parties to provide us with services which are necessary to run our business or to assist us with running our business

These include the following: Internet services, IT service providers and web developers.

Our third-party service providers are located both inside and outside of the European Economic Area.

Your information will be shared with these service providers where necessary to provide you with the service you have requested, whether that is accessing our website or ordering goods and services from us.

We do not display the identities of our service providers publicly by name for security and competitive reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our service providers, however, please contact us directly by email and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).

Legal basis for processing: legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interest relied on: where we share your information with these third parties in a context other than where is necessary to perform a contract (or take steps at your request to do so), we will share your information with such third parties in order to allow us to run and manage our business efficiently.

Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract and/or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Reason why necessary to perform a contract: we may need to share information with our service providers to enable us to perform our obligations under that contract or to take the steps you have requested before we enter into a contract with you.

Disclosure and use of your information for legal reasons

Indicating possible criminal acts or threats to public security to a competent authority

If we suspect that criminal or potential criminal conduct has been occurred, we will in certain circumstances need to contact an appropriate authority, such as the police. This could be the case, for instance, if we suspect that we fraud or a cyber-crime has been committed or if we receive threats or malicious communications towards us or third parties.

We will generally only need to process your information for this purpose if you were involved or affected by such an incident in some way.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interests: preventing crime or suspected criminal activity (such as fraud).

In connection with the enforcement or potential enforcement our legal rights

We will use your information in connection with the enforcement or potential enforcement of our legal rights, including, for example, sharing information with debt collection agencies if you do not pay amounts owed to us when you are contractually obliged to do so. Our legal rights may be contractual (where we have entered into a contract with you) or non-contractual (such as legal rights that we have under copyright law or tort law).

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interest: enforcing our legal rights and taking steps to enforce our legal rights.

In connection with a legal or potential legal dispute or proceedings

We may need to use your information if we are involved in a dispute with you or a third party for example, either to resolve the dispute or as part of any mediation, arbitration or court resolution or similar process.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interest(s): resolving disputes and potential disputes.

How long we retain your information

This section sets out how long we retain your information. We have set out specific retention periods where possible. Where that has not been possible, we have set out the criteria we use to determine the retention period.

Retention periods

Server log information: we retain information on our server logs for 3 months.

Correspondence and enquiries: when you make an enquiry or correspond with us for any reason, whether by email or via our contact form or by phone, we will retain your information for as long as it takes to respond to and resolve your enquiry, and for 36 further month(s), after which point we will archive your information.

Newsletter: we retain the information you used to sign up for our newsletter for as long as you remain subscribed (i.e. you do not unsubscribe).

Membership: we retain the information you used to sign up for our memberships for as long as you remain subscribed (i.e. you do not unsubscribe).

Criteria for determining retention periods

In any other circumstances, we will retain your information for no longer than necessary, taking into account the following:

    • the purpose(s) and use of your information both now and in the future (such as whether it is necessary to continue to store that information in order to continue to perform our obligations under a contract with you or to contact you in the future);
    • whether we have any legal obligation to continue to process your information (such as any record-keeping obligations imposed by relevant law or regulation);
    • whether we have any legal basis to continue to process your information (such as your consent);
    • how valuable your information is (both now and in the future);
    • any relevant agreed industry practices on how long information should be retained;
    • the levels of risk, cost and liability involved with us continuing to hold the information;
    • how hard it is to ensure that the information can be kept up to date and accurate; and
    • any relevant surrounding circumstances (such as the nature and status of our relationship with you).

How we secure your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to secure your information and to protect it against unauthorised or unlawful use and accidental loss or destruction, including:

  • only sharing and providing access to your information to the minimum extent necessary, subject to confidentiality restrictions where appropriate, and on an anonymised basis wherever possible;
  • using secure servers to store your information;
  • verifying the identity of any individual who requests access to information prior to granting them access to information;
  • using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software to encrypt any payment transactions you make on or via our website;
  • only transferring your information via closed system or encrypted data transfers;

Transmission of information to us by email

Transmission of information over the internet is not entirely secure, and if you submit any information to us over the internet (whether by email, via our website or any other means), you do so entirely at your own risk.

We cannot be responsible for any costs, expenses, loss of profits, harm to reputation, damages, liabilities or any other form of loss or damage suffered by you as a result of your decision to transmit information to us by such means.

Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area

Your information may be transferred and stored outside the European Economic Area (EEA) in the circumstances set out earlier in this policy.

We will also transfer your information outside the EEA or to an international organisation in order to comply with legal obligations to which we are subject (compliance with a court order, for example). Where we are required to do so, we will ensure appropriate safeguards and protections are in place.

Your rights in relation to your information

Subject to certain limitations on certain rights, you have the following rights in relation to your information, which you can exercise by writing to the data controller using the details provided at the top of this policy.

  • to request access to your information and information related to our use and processing of your information;
  • to request the correction or deletion of your information;
  • to request that we restrict our use of your information;
  • to receive information which you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (e.g. a CSV file) and the right to have that information transferred to another data controller (including a third-party data controller);
  • to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes (for further information, see the section below entitled Your right to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes); and
  • to withdraw your consent to our use of your information at any time where we rely on your consent to use or process that information. Please note that if you withdraw your consent, this will not affect the lawfulness of our use and processing of your information on the basis of your consent before the point in time when you withdraw your consent.

In accordance with Article 77 of the General Data Protection Regulation, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or of an alleged infringement of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Further information on your rights in relation to your personal data as an individual

You can find out further information about your rights, as well as information on any limitations which apply to those rights, by reading the underlying legislation contained in Articles 12 to 22 and 34 of the General Data Protection Regulation, which is available here:http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/reform/files/regulation_oj_en.pdf

Verifying your identity where you request access to your information

Where you request access to your information, we are required by law to use all reasonable measures to verify your identity before doing so.

These measures are designed to protect your information and to reduce the risk of identity fraud, identity theft or general unauthorised access to your information.

How we verify your identity

Where we possess appropriate information about you on file, we will attempt to verify your identity using that information.

If it is not possible to identity you from such information, or if we have insufficient information about you, we may require original or certified copies of certain documentation in order to be able to verify your identity before we are able to provide you with access to your information.

We will be able to confirm the precise information we require to verify your identity in your specific circumstances if and when you make such a request.

Your right to object

You have the following rights in relation to your information, which you may exercise in the same way as you may exercise by writing to the data controller using the details provided at the top of this policy.

  • to object to us using or processing your information where we use or process it in order
  • to carry out a task in the public interest or for our legitimate interests, including ‘profiling’ (i.e. analysing or predicting your behaviour based on your information) based on any of these purposes; and
  • to object to us using or processing your information for direct marketing purposes(including any profiling we engage in that is related to such direct marketing).

You may also exercise your right to object to us using or processing your information for direct marketing purposes by:

  • clicking the unsubscribe link contained at the bottom of any marketing email we send to you and following the instructions which appear in your browser following your clicking on that link;
  • sending an email to info@thesavvyimg.co.uk, asking that we stop sending you marketing communications or by including the words “OPT OUT”.

Sensitive Personal Information

‘Sensitive personal information’ is information about an individual that reveals their racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, genetic information, biometric information for the purpose of uniquely identifying an individual, information concerning health or information concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

Our website does not allow you to register any ‘Sensitive Information’, however if we ask for this, you will be considered to have explicitly consented to us processing that sensitive personal information under Article 9(2)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We update and amend our Privacy Policy from time to time.

Minor changes to our Privacy Policy

Where we make minor changes to our Privacy Policy, we will update our Privacy Policy with a new effective date stated at the beginning of it. Our processing of your information will be governed by the practices set out in that new version of the Privacy Policy from its effective date onwards.

Major changes to our Privacy Policy or the purposes for which we process your information

Where we make major changes to our Privacy Policy or intend to use your information for a new purpose or a different purpose than the purposes for which we originally collected it, we will notify you by email (where possible) or by posting a notice on our website.

We will provide you with the information about the change in question and the purpose and any other relevant information before we use your information for that new purpose.

Wherever required, we will obtain your prior consent before using your information for a purpose that is different from the purposes for which we originally collected it.

Children’s Privacy

Because we care about the safety and privacy of children online, we comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). COPPA and its accompanying regulations protect the privacy of children using the internet. We do not knowingly contact or collect information from persons under the age of 18. The website is not intended to solicit information of any kind from persons under the age of 18.

It is possible that we could receive information pertaining to persons under the age of 18 by the fraud or deception of a third party. If we are notified of this, as soon as we verify the information, we will, where required by law to do so, immediately obtain the appropriate parental consent to use that information or, if we are unable to obtain such parental consent, we will delete the information from our servers. If you would like to notify us of our receipt of information about persons under the age of 18, please do so by contacting us by using the details at the top of this policy.