Privacy Policy
Last updated: 20 October 2026
1. Who we are
G.H. Dean & Co. Ltd (“G.H. Dean”, “we”, “us”) is the data controller for personal information collected through ghdean.co.uk. This policy explains what we collect, why, how long we keep it and your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
- Company: G.H. Dean & Co. Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 431776
- Address: Hempstead Farm, Hempstead Lane, Tonge, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 9BJ
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 01795 423981
Our Estate Office handles all questions about how we use personal information.
This policy covers our website and the enquiries and applications made through it. If you become a tenant or an employee, we will give you a separate privacy notice covering that relationship.
2. The information we collect
We only collect what you give us through our forms, email or phone, plus limited technical data when you visit the site.
| Where it comes from | What we collect |
|---|---|
| Enquiry forms (Contact, Property, Arable Farming, Lambing, Biodiversity Net Gain and Supplier) | First name, surname, email address, phone number and your message |
| Seasonal work application | Name, gender, date of birth, nationality, home address, phone number, email address, whether you hold a full clean UK driving licence, previous harvest experience, whether you have a UK National Insurance number, whether you speak English, the date you can start and who you would like to share accommodation with (see section 4) |
| Email, phone and social media | Whatever you choose to tell us when you contact us |
| Your visit to the website | IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed and the date and time of your visit, collected through cookies, Google Analytics, our spam protection service (hCaptcha) and our hosting and security providers (see section 5) |
If you give us information about someone else, such as the people you would like to share accommodation with, please make sure they are happy for you to do so.
We do not ask for special category data (such as health, religion or ethnicity) through the website. Please do not include it in your messages unless we ask for it.
3. How we use your information
We use your information only for the purposes below, and the law requires us to have a lawful basis for each one.
| What we use it for | Our lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Replying to enquiries about our produce, farming, Biodiversity Net Gain or general estate matters | Legitimate interests: responding to people who contact us |
| Handling property enquiries, arranging viewings and taking steps towards a tenancy | Taking steps at your request before entering a contract; legitimate interests |
| Considering supplier enquiries | Taking steps at your request before entering a contract; legitimate interests |
| Assessing seasonal work applications and planning start dates and accommodation | Taking steps at your request before entering a contract |
| Checking your right to work in the UK before you start | Legal obligation |
| Contacting previous workers about future seasons | Legitimate interests: re-employing experienced team members (you can opt out at any time) |
| Keeping the website secure and working, and preventing spam and misuse | Legitimate interests |
| Measuring how the website is used with Google Analytics | Consent, given through our cookie banner |
| Meeting our legal, tax and regulatory duties, and defending legal claims | Legal obligation; legitimate interests |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have balanced our interests against yours. You can ask us for details of that assessment.
We do not sell your information, use it for marketing or make decisions about you using only automated processing.
4. Seasonal work applications
We use the information in your application to decide whether to offer you seasonal work, to contact you, and to plan your start date and accommodation.
Why we ask for some details. We ask for your date of birth to confirm you are 18 or over, your nationality to understand whether you will need a visa to work in the UK, and your gender to help us allocate shared accommodation.
Right to work. The law requires us to check that you have the right to work in the UK before you start. If we offer you work, we will ask to see documents such as your passport, visa or Home Office share code and keep a copy.
If you are offered work. We will collect further information needed to employ you, such as your National Insurance number, bank details, emergency contact and any health information needed to keep you safe at work. Our employee privacy notice explains how we use it.
Seasonal Worker visas. If you come to the UK on a Seasonal Worker visa, your application may be handled with a licensed scheme operator. We share with them only what is needed to process your application and visa.
Returning workers. If you have worked with us before, we may keep your contact details so we can invite you back for future seasons. Tell us at any time if you would rather we did not.
Health and adjustments. If you tell us about a disability or health condition so we can make adjustments, we use it only for that purpose, as permitted by employment law.
The ticked box on the application form confirms you have read this policy. We do not rely on that box as your consent to process your application.
5. Cookies and similar technologies
We use cookies to keep the site secure and working and, if you agree, to understand how visitors use it. Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website. Our Cookie Policy lists every cookie we use and how long it lasts.
- Essential cookies remember your cookie choices and protect our forms from spam and bots, using hCaptcha and Cloudflare. They are always on because the site needs them to work safely.
- Statistics cookies from Google Analytics count visits and pages viewed so we can improve the site. We only set them if you accept them.
- Marketing cookies are set by Google when the map on our Contact page loads. We only load the map if you accept them.
We do not use cookies to show you adverts. Google may use its own cookies on the map for its own purposes, as explained in Google’s privacy policy.
Managing cookies. You can change your choices at any time through the cookie settings option on our website. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, but some parts of the site, such as our forms, may then stop working.
6. Who we share your information with
We never sell your information. We share it only with the organisations below, and only what each one needs.
- Website hosting: WP Engine, whose servers host our website and handle the information you submit through our forms
- Website developer: The Wow Factory, who build and maintain our website and may access it when providing support
- Security and performance: Cloudflare, which protects the site from attacks and helps it load quickly
- Spam protection: hCaptcha, run by Intuition Machines, Inc., which checks that form submissions come from real people
- Analytics and maps: Google, which provides Google Analytics (only if you accept analytics cookies) and the map on our Contact page
- Email and IT providers, which store our emails and files
- Property partners, such as letting agents or referencing agencies, where we use them for a property you are interested in
- Recruitment partners, such as licensed Seasonal Worker visa scheme operators, where your application involves one
- Professional advisers: our solicitors, accountants and insurers, where needed
- Authorities: HMRC, the Home Office, the police, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority or other regulators, where the law requires it
Providers that handle information on our behalf do so under a written contract. They may only use it to provide their service to us and must keep it secure.
7. International transfers
We store your information mainly in the UK. Some of our providers, such as WP Engine, Cloudflare, Google, hCaptcha and our email provider, may process it in other countries, including the United States.
When information leaves the UK, we make sure it stays protected. We only transfer it to countries the UK government has confirmed have adequate data protection laws, or under contract terms approved by the UK data protection regulator, the Information Commission’s Office (ICO).
8. How long we keep your information
We keep your information only as long as we need it, then delete it securely.
| Information | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Enquiries, including supplier enquiries, that do not go further | 12 months after our last contact with you |
| Seasonal work applications that are unsuccessful | 6 months after we tell you our decision |
| Contact details of previous seasonal workers | Up to 2 years after your last season, unless you ask us to delete them sooner |
| Website security logs | As long as our hosting and security providers need them to protect the site |
| Google Analytics data | Up to 14 months |
If you become a tenant or an employee, we keep your information for the periods set out in the privacy notice we give you at that point. We may keep information longer if the law requires it or we need it to deal with a legal claim.
9. How we keep your information secure
We protect your information with technical and organisational measures suited to the risk.
- Our website uses an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, so form submissions are protected in transit.
- Only staff who need your information to do their job can access it.
- Form submissions are sent straight to our office mailbox rather than kept on the website.
- Our providers are bound by contract to keep information secure.
No method of sending information over the internet is completely secure. If a data breach is likely to put you at risk, we will tell you and the ICO as the law requires.
10. Your rights
You have rights over your personal information, and using them is free. You can ask us to:
- Access it: get a copy of the information we hold about you
- Correct it, if it is wrong or incomplete
- Delete it, where we no longer have a good reason to keep it
- Restrict how we use it, for example while we check a correction
- Stop using it where we rely on legitimate interests, including contacting you about future seasons
- Transfer it to you or another organisation in a commonly used format, where this applies
- Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent (for example, cookies that need it)
To use any of these rights, contact us using the details in section 14. We may ask you to confirm your identity first. We will reply within one month, or tell you within that month if we need up to two more months because your request is complex.
11. Other websites and social media
Our site links to other websites, including our LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook pages and partners such as the Zoological Society of London. We are not responsible for how those sites handle your information, so please read their privacy policies.
If you message us through social media, the platform’s own terms apply to that message. We handle any information you send us there in line with this policy.
12. Children
Our website is not aimed at children, and we only accept seasonal work applications from people aged 18 or over. If you think a child has sent us their information, please contact us and we will delete it.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our services, the website or the law change. The date at the top shows when it was last updated. If we make a significant change, we will highlight it on the website.
14. Contact us and how to complain
If you have a question about this policy, want to use your rights or are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first.
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 01795 423981
- Post: Data Protection, G.H. Dean & Co. Ltd, Hempstead Farm, Hempstead Lane, Tonge, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 9BJ
We will acknowledge a complaint within 30 days, look into it without undue delay, keep you updated and tell you the outcome.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the UK data protection regulator, the Information Commission’s Office (ICO), at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.