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How specialty training (residency) works in the UK: A complete beginner’s guide

Get to grips with the fundamentals of coming to the UK as an international medical graduate with our comprehensive easy-to-understand crash course. In this post we review the structure of specialty training (residency) in the UK.

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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 3, 2023

For IMGs aiming to pursue a medical career in the UK, getting into specialty training (residency) tends to be the ultimate goal.

As an IMG who succeeded with getting into UK specialty training, I know how intimidating achieving this goal is. This is why I created our free online course The IMG Shortcut to show you in simple terms, how you can do it within 2 years.

I also wrote this blog post right here, to give you a breakdown of how UK specialty training works. 

Terminology

To understand how it all works, there are a number of new terms and concepts that you will need to understand first.

Let’s get the most common ones out of the way.

Term you may be familiar withUK term(s)
Internship / house jobFoundation year 1 / FY1 / F1 / pre-registration year
Intern / house officerFoundation doctor / FY1 / F1 / pre-registration house officer / PRHO / house officer
Residency / postgraduationSpecialty training
ResidentSpecialty trainee / trainee

Attending

(referring to a doctor who has completed specialist training AKA residency)

Consultant

The “match”

(referring to the process of applying for specialty training)

Specialty recruitment / national recruitment

GP

(referring to a doctor who has not completed a training programme)

Junior doctor 

Please note that GPs in the UK are family medicine specialists who have completed at least 5 years of postgraduate training.

Internal medicine Consultant

In the UK there are no IM Consultants. Doctors must complete training in a subspecialty eg. Cardiology, Rheumatology, etc. before registering as a Consultant.

Related: UK doctor titles 101

UK Specialty Training Overview

 

After medical school there are 2 stages of postgraduate training: foundation training, followed by specialty training

Foundation training is 2 years long while specialty training ranges from 3 years (for GP) to 8 years (for many hospital-based specialties). Additional training after reaching GP or Consultant status is optional.

Once a doctor satisfies all the requirements of a GMC-approved training programme they are awarded a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT). The CCT is then used to join either the GMC GP register to be recognised as a GP, or the GMC Specialist Register to be recognised as a Consultant.

Postgraduate training in the UK to become a Consultant does not involve degrees like a Masters or MD. These are optional.

Foundation Training

Foundation training in the UK

The UK Foundation Programme is a 2-year programme consisting of Foundation Year 1 (aka FY1 or F1) and Foundation Year 2 (aka FY2 or F2).

Anyone who wants to apply for UK specialty training must have at least 2 years of clinical experience by the time they start training. The UK Foundation Programme is how UK graduates meet that requirement.

IMGs can meet the 2-year requirement either by joining the UK Foundation Programme, or by completing a 12-month internship overseas and working for an additional 12 months after internship.

For more information about this pathway, read our guide here: UK Pre-Specialty Training Guides

Specialty Training (Residency)

To become a Consultant, you must complete specialty training. Official training programmes take place within the NHS (public health care system). There are no training programmes in private hospitals or at universities.

There are 2 types of training programmes: 1) uncoupled or 2) run through.

1) Uncoupled specialty training

Uncoupled specialty training pathway in the UK

In uncoupled training programmes, the specialty programme is split into two stages: core training and higher specialty training

Uncoupled specialties include: All branches of Internal Medicine, most surgical specialties, Anaesthetics, Emergency Medicine & Psychiatry.

Core training can be 2 or 3 years in length depending on the specialty. The first year of core training is termed CT1, the second year CT2, and then CT3. Trainees are also referred to by these designations so you will have an idea of a trainee’s experience from their title. Eg. A CT2 doctor is in the second year of core training.

After completing core training, doctors will then need to apply for higher specialty training. Each year in higher specialty training is designed ST (for specialty training) and usually starts at ST3 (if core training was 2 years) or ST4 (if core training was 3 years). Every year, the numeric designation increases until the programme is complete eg. ST5, ST6, ST7 etc.

Related: UK doctor titles 101

Just to emphasise, uncoupled training programmes involve 2 applications: one for core training, and one for higher specialty training.

2) Run-through specialty training

Run through specialty training pathway in the UK

In run-through training, doctors apply for the first year of the programme which is called ST1 (Specialty Training year 1). There is no further application process after this.

Just to be clear, the first year of a run-through programme is called ST1, not CT1. Also, in a run-through programme, you only have to apply once, not twice.

Run through specialties include: Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Radiology, Cardiothoracic surgery & Neurosurgery. 

In this video, Kim explains the UK training pathway and where IMGs could fit in. It is a small part of our FREE course “The IMG shortcut” so be sure to enrol and watch the whole series!

GP Training

GP training pathway in the UK

In the UK, GPs are family and community medicine specialists. GP training is 3 years long after the Foundation Programme. This may be extended to 4-5 years in the future. If they wish, GPs can then obtain further training in a “special interest” such as Women’s Health or Minor Surgery. They would not be considered a Consultant in this area, but can incorporate it into their GP practice.

GP is a fantastic specialty with a lot of variety and potential for good work-life balance. If you’re interested in applying for GP training and you’re looking for some resources to prepare for exams, we recommend Arora Medical Education for high yield study materials and courses.

You can get a 10% discount on any product using the code Arorasavvy10. This discount is valid even if something is on sale so don’t miss out on the extra savings.

Visit the Arora Medical Education website here.

Applying for UK Specialty Training

The application process for UK specialty training is called “specialty recruitment” or “national recruitment”. You can think of it as equivalent to the US “match”. 

Since October 2019, UK graduates are no longer prioritised for training jobs so the door is open for IMGs! This may not last for long so this is really a golden opportunity for you to achieve your goal of completing specialist training in the UK.

From my experience of getting into UK specialty training as an IMG, I can say that early strategic preparation is the true key to success. That’s why we have spent a lot of effort creating a step-by-step guide to getting into UK training in our IMG Masterclass. Be sure to check it out if you’re looking for guidance.

Tuition Fees & Salary

In the UK, you train while you work therefore there are no tuition fees. In fact, as a working doctor you are paid a salary. All training jobs at all stages are paid.

Postgraduate specialty training in the UK is not a university degree and universities have no role in training programmes.

Related: How much do doctors in specialty training (residency) earn in the UK?

Training-related fees

Although you will not be paying for tuition, there are professional fees such as GMC registration, trade union membership, medical indemnity, and Royal College membership.

There are also costs related to training such as exams, courses, conferences etc. Training jobs do have a study budget but it’s often not enough to cover all these expenses so you will have to shoulder some of the cost.

Despite all these costs, the salary is more than enough to cover all your expenses and live a comfortable life in the UK – provided you live within your means!

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

How training is organised

Specialty training is organised on several levels, from national to local. Please see the table below to understand how it works.

Level Responsible organisation(s)
National
  • Health Education England (HEE)
  • NHS Education for Scotland
  • NHS Wales Shared Service Partnership
  • Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency
  • Royal College of the relevant specialty
RegionalDeaneries or LETBs  (Local education training board)
Local Individual hospitals

Related: 8 organisations you’ll encounter as a doctor in the UK

Training jobs

Official training jobs are those that are part of a GMC recognised specialty training programme and take place in government-funded NHS hospitals. Each post has a unique designated number known as a “National Training Number” aka NTN or sometimes referred to simply as having a “number”.

In training jobs, the progression from one year to the next is automatic as long as you satisfy all the requirements for each year. Because of this automatic progression, getting into a recognised training post is the quickest and straightest route to reaching GP or Consultant status.

There are a limited number of training jobs each year, and lots of applicants, so the competition can be fierce.

If you are serious about coming to train in the UK, I recommend getting the relevant Oxford Handbook (available here on Amazon) for your specialty. These pocket-sized reference books are filled with UK-based management guidelines. I’ve personally found them very useful for work.

Non-training jobs

Non-training jobs are those are not part of the official specialty training programmes. In non-training jobs, there is no automatic progression each year towards Consultant level. You can theoretically work 10 years in the same job and be no closer to becoming a Consultant!

BUT if you choose your jobs wisely and purposefully build up a portfolio of your skills, you can use your non-training job to eventually land a training one. You can also technically can use non-training jobs to become a GP or Consultant without ever entering a training post by proving you have the equivalent knowledge and skills of someone with a CCT. 

Related: How to become a UK specialist without entering a UK training programme

Hospital Rotations

Training jobs in the UK involve multiple rotations at different hospitals. The length of a rotation can vary from 6 to 24 months, but the usual is 12. Some specialties tell you what your rotations will be throughout training, while others will only tell you 2 months in advance with no opportunity to state your preferences. 

Most rotations are within a small geographic region so you can live in the same house throughout training. However, some regions are very large which unfortunately means that you may have to move house each year.

Although moving constantly is extremely disruptive, especially for those with families, it does provide fantastic opportunities to work with and learn from a variety of patients and mentors. Working in both large district general hospitals (DGH) and tertiary teaching centres gives you a broad range of clinical experience.

Related: 10 ways to prepare for your first job in the NHS as an IMG

Postgraduate Qualifications & Specialty Exams

Each specialty has their own postgraduate qualification eg. MRCP. You achieve the qualification by passing the relevant exams. There are multiple exams for each qualification. 

These exams are known as membership exams because once you pass them, you become a member or fellow or the corresponding Royal College eg. Royal College of Physicians.

Specialty trainees need to pass all the exams during training, not after. And trainees usually need to pass certain exams before progressing to the next stage of training.

Uncoupled specialties

You usually need to pass a set of exams before progressing from core training to higher specialty training. For example in medical specialties you need to pass MRCP (3 parts) before progressing from core training to ST3. For surgical specialties you need to pass MRCS (2 parts) before progressing from core surgery to ST3.

Run-through specialties

In some specialties, you need to pass at least one exam before progressing from the initial years of training to the higher years. For example in Ophthalmology, you should pass FRCOphth Part 1 before you can progress to ST3.

H0wever, in other specialties you need to pass all the exams. For example in Paediatrics, you must pass all 4 parts of MRCPCH before you can progress to ST4.

For all specialties

You need to pass all parts of all exams before the end of training in order to be awarded your CCT. You cannot wait until after training to sit the exams.

Please note that passing exams does not allow you to skip any years of training. 

In other words, you cannot skip core training in surgery just because you have passed MRCS. You can read more about this common misconception here.

Subspecialty Training (Post-CCT fellowship)

Run through specialty training pathway in the UK

It is not necessary to complete a post-CCT fellowship in order to recognised as a Consultant in the UK, however, if you do choose to pursue a fellowship after achieving CCT, it is usually for a very niche field.

For example, you can complete core training in Internal Medicine (3 years), followed by higher specialty training in Cardiology (5 years), you then obtain your CCT in Cardiology to become a Cardiology Consultant. You can then opt to pursue further subspecialty training in something very specific like adult congenital heart disease (1-2 years).

Summary

  • Postgraduate specialty training in the UK to become a GP or Consultant is streamlined through training programmes that lead to a CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training).
  • Training jobs come with automatic annual progression towards CCT while non-training jobs do not.
  • All training jobs take place within government-funded NHS hospitals.
  • All training jobs are paid a salary. There is no tuition fee.
  • The Oxford Handbooks are great references for UK management. I got mine here on Amazon 
  • Foundation training is a 2-year programme that UK graduates complete in preparation for specialty training.
  • There are 3 different types of specialty training pathways: GP, uncoupled, and run-through. Uncoupled training requires 2 applications while run-through and GP involves only one.
  • Specialty exams are required as part of the CCT requirements, but passing exams does not exempt you from completing the programmes.
  • Specialty recruitment refers to the process of applying to specialty training. It’s a complex process that you can read more about it here.

Although entry into specialty training as an IMG is challenging, it is very possible. Start your preparation early and check these tips today.

If you are unsuccessful in securing a training job but have your heart set on a specific specialty, there are still ways to become a Consultant or GP even without entering a training programme. It’s not the recommended route but it is possible. Read here for more on that.

Further Resources

Once you have a grasp of the basics you can check out these sites for more information.

Disclosure: There are some affiliate links in the article above. This means that at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you make a booking or purchase by clicking on the link. We only recommend products and services that we use ourselves or have proven success amongst IMGs.

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

31 Responses

  1. hi, i got one doubt. if we pass mrcp, does that mean we get to specialize regardless of how many other doctors scored better than us? whats the criteria for getting into speciality? as in just passing is enough or do we need to be top 100 etc? thank you

    1. The requirements for entering a specialty training program can differ based on factors like the specialty’s competitiveness and available positions. While ranking high can be beneficial, simply passing the MRCP exam makes you eligible to apply for these programs. MRCP is a mandatory requirement, so all applicants must have it. Your score on the MRCP doesn’t impact eligibility; what really matters is your application’s overall score.

      This article might be helpful for you: https://thesavvyimg.co.uk/specialty-training-residency-in-the-uk/

  2. Hi I have a question, i studied in turkey and I graduated this year, the system here is 5 years and the 6th is considered an internship, but you get your diploma (officially graduate) after you finish the 6th year. My question is, will my last year in uni be credited as internship and only need to accomplish 12 months of foundation training before I apply for specialty training?

    1. Hi Khalid! If the 6th year of your university program meets all the requirements for an internship, then it may be accepted as FY1 equivalent. Then yes you would have to complete an additional 12 months of clinical experience before you can start specialty training.

    1. Hi Derick! Essentially, if you’re done with FY1, you can now proceed to take your FY2. Anyone who wants to apply for UK specialty training must have at least 2 years of clinical experience by the time they start training.

  3. Hi, I’ve completed my internship training abroad and it says here that you need 2 years of foundation training before entering specialty training (residency). Will my 1 year experience be credited and only need to accomplish 12 months of foundation training before being able to do specialty training? Thanks

    1. Hi Derick! Yes, your internship is accredited so you’d just need an additional 12 months to complete the 2 years experience prior to starting specialty training. Just take note that clerkship is not considered an internship by the GMC.

  4. Hello,

    Just to clarify on the 2 year requirement before being able to apply for specialty training:
    Is the FY2 experience counted only if it’s done in the UK or can it be in your home country, say I have an approved Post-Graduate Internship (FY1), worked at least a year after in a medical capacity in home country, and after getting GMC regustration worked in UK – non training for less than 6 mos..

    Can I already apply for Specialty Training with that experience (and of course with CREST signed etc.)?

    Thank you.

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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.