It was a clear, moonlit night when Chris — or, Santa, as he was now known to little children everywhere — and his son Daniel, whom he had stopped to pick up along the way, drove off in the sleigh. It didn't seem that long ago when he himself first packed up and left the North Pole for college, and then started to work at the head office of one of the largest toy consortiums in the world. This had been a natural fit, seeing that he was the son of one of the, if not the most, beloved figures on the planet. It was the reason he had left the North Pole in the first place; for how was one to compete with the jolly old elf? He needed to see if he could make his own way in the world before he legitimately felt worthy to perhaps one day fill his father's shoes.

He had risen quickly through the ranks of the toy company to an executive position — not only because of his superior knowledge of toys and elven efficiency, but also because of an innate ability to inspire creativity in others — when Herschel, the assistant head-elf, and Santa's right-hand man (which was not as easy as it might sound, being an elf and all), his 'Number One', as it were, found him and let him know that his father was retiring after an unexpected accident, and that it was time for him to take over the position as head-elf, and fulfill the life he was born to live.

The full moon shined above which highlighted the glistening crest of new-fallen snow on the ground beneath; this made it seem nearly bright as day. An almost infinite array of sparkling ice crystals caused the ground to appear like it was covered in glitter. This diffuse reflecting phenomenon, where light from the sun was redirected by the moon, and then passed through and bounced off of the individual snowflakes, always made for romantic, moonlit walks through parks and pathways. The air, particularly brisk, brought couples even closer together during their leisurely strolls.

Chris had fallen for the daughter of one of his supervisors during one of these late night winter promenades. They had first met at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His major was in business, hers in fine arts. It was actually her influence with her father that brought Chris to work at that toy factory in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. After an elaborate ceremony — his side came to the wedding incognito — and a few years together, the union produced one child, a boy they named Daniel. A family had been a dream come true for Chris, until all of the late nights at the factory, going through business reports, projections, and proposals, took their toll.

That, coupled with the fact that he had never really told her the truth about his extended family; had never fully revealed himself to her. She always felt like he was holding something back. It was not like he didn't want to tell her about his parents, it was that the timing never seemed quite right. It was just easier not to have to explain or prove the seemingly unexplainable; and as yet, until he became Santa himself, unprovable.

The sleigh, or their mode of transportation for the evening, was like a picturesque-postcard with all of its intricate, old-world craftsmanship, combined with contemporary innovations. The whip Santa had on board was there mainly just for show. It was rarely, if ever used. When it was utilized it never actually touched the reindeer. Although Santa operated the reins, he allowed Comet, the lead reindeer, to do what he had always done, what he had done for over a thousand years, to take the lead in guiding the team. He had a no-nonsense approach when it came to his job. This confirmed the respect of both Santa and the other tiny reindeer — who only seemed tiny as you saw them from a distance; up close they were just as large as other caribou, or the genus Rangifer Tarandus — which drew the sleigh behind him. The team, therefore, never really needed the crack of a whip. Their galloping synchrony made the pulling of the sleigh appear effortless.

Though they had been doing this from the beginning, all of the rooftop stops and starts were nonetheless difficult to negotiate; and over the years of modernization had become even more so. Just one miscalculation on their line of approach through an overhead cable or an electrical wire, one misplaced hoof or rudder against a bathroom vent or attic fan, and Santa, the sleigh, the bundle of toys, and the reindeer — the whole kit and caboodle, as it were — would all come crashing down. They would then land, somewhere in a yard, bush, or worse yet, atop a front porch, in a heap.

The subsequent racket and clatter involved would stir homeowners and neighborhood watch groups in the immediate area. Parents in kerchiefs and caps, those who had settled in for their long winter's nap, and were then dreaming of a white Christmas, hoping for a silent night — which, with excited children stirring, was well-nigh impossible — would then be alerted to see exactly what was the matter. Children would also be awakened; those who were subconsciously listening for sleigh bells in the snow. 9-1-1 in all likelihood would be notified, as well as E.A.R.S.S., or, the Emergency Aerial Reindeer Sleigh Service, in a strained, if not accurate, elven acronym. If such a situation ever occurred, the sleigh would automatically send out a discreet sub-atmospheric distress signal, and they would then be immediately dispatched.

Consequently, the North Pole Association, an elfish advocacy group, were huge proponents of underground wiring. Which group discreetly petitioned the government agencies responsible; or, those who were over these matters. There would then be a few less obstacles into which they could fly.

Fortunately, Herschel, in a remarkable display of insight and intuition, had asked Gustav, head of research and development at the North Pole, to build an obstruction warning device into the sleigh. An instrument of highly technical innovation, it could sense an obstacle, loose shingle, or tile, from hundreds of yards away; long before they made rooftop. They could then approximate the gable from a different line of attack, or hover just above if there were too many landing difficulties associated therewith.

In this way they had every angle covered. Safety was paramount; it was absolutely their primary concern. However, most importantly, no accidents ultimately meant that every household would eventually be visited, and that no believing child would be left without.

Herschel also had Gustav install a one-of-a-kind radar navigational jamming system to help prevent the miniature sleigh — which, like the reindeer, only seemed small when seen from a distance — from being tracked; but even that had its limitations. The military, specifically Admiral Bernie from Naval Intelligence, as well as officials at Homeland Security, had been trying for years to follow the sleigh's route to and from the North Pole. This was where the tracings were believed to have originated; although, up to this point, their efforts had only met with marginal success. They had sporadically seen blips connected with their radar, but were unsure what they actually meant. Each blip appeared far apart on the screen, signaling an extremely high rate of speed. They had never seen anything so rapid before; it was unlike any known aircraft.

Since they had nothing comparable with which to physically follow this unexplained aerial event, or U.A.E. as it was known in military circles, it was their plan to monitor it by radar to the best of their ability as it flew around the world. This, in a furtive attempt, to ensure that it was not a sinister plot to infiltrate the United States, or to nefariously penetrate the airspace of any of its allies. Although they seemed to be physically outmatched, F-15 Eagle fighter jets were still scrambled whenever the blips occurred. They would at least try to catch, outmaneuver, or cutoff the intruder, and would even resort to firing upon it with an on-board rocket launcher if the need or threat presented. Nothing was off the table in their quest for national security.

It was obvious that these officials no longer believed in, or could possibly conceive of the notion, of a Santa Claus. The blips originated in the Arctic region (which word comes from the Greek, Arktikos, and means "near the bear", or "northern", Polcirkeln was how it was known in Sweden), and it should have been easy to put two and two together. But, according to their intelligence liaisons, there just had to be another explanation. This was one of the reasons that Gustav and his staff of necessity altered the path and trajectory pattern of Santa's rounds around the world from one year to the next.

From Chris and Daniel's vantage point, high up in the sleigh, the stars that appeared to peek out of the shaded, blackened sky seemed close enough to touch. The trees below, draped in their seasonal frozen white covering, stood stately and motionless beneath these twinkling lights. There was not even the hint of a breeze. In the crisp stillness, Daniel's mother could yet be heard echoing off in the quiet distance. Chris had not given his ex a definitive answer concerning a transcontinental flight, especially after she had expressed her trepidations concerning the matter; but from a Santa standpoint, he knew it would be best not to go against her wishes.

To stave off the tracking devices of the military, they flew about the country in a circuitous, roundabout route through De Moines, Davenport, Duluth, and Detroit. Continuing with their deliveries, they then stopped off in the city of Chicago, the "Windy City", or "Second City", as it was commonly known to New Yorkers. This was not only because of its size and Midwestern prominence, but a snobbish reaction to New York City's own, self-perceived "first city" standing and preeminence.

Chris, looking over the lights in their approach, turned to his son, and said, "Hey look, Daniel! There's Chicago! Home of the Cubs and 'da Bears!'" At this point, he smiled to himself, and began to sing, "'It's my kind of town, Chicago is! My kind of town, Chicago is!' Boy, do I remember Chicago, Daniel! It's where I first laid eyes on your mother." He closed his eyes, and began to reminisce. "Dancing late at the Rialto; romantic moon-lit walks out by the lake. They had this rib-joint we would frequent. Oh, the barbecued baby-backs would just melt in your mouth. I wish they were open late on Christmas Eve, I'd swoop by."

"I don't think their drive-through could accommodate the reindeer, Dad!"

"Accommodate?" Chris answered, in a somewhat surprising tone. "That's a mighty big word, Son."

"Well, Mark is good for something!" The reindeer and Santa were both amused by Daniel's comment, each remembering that it was only one of his idiosyncrasies. Mark was Daniel's stepdad, his mother having remarried not long after she asked Chris to leave the house; the ink had barely even dried on their divorce certificate. A pretentious sort, he was almost always caught up in his own importance. Laughter could be heard as they rode through the darkened sky, and then faded into the moonlight.

After Chicago's deliveries, they again streaked across the horizon, and made their way visiting homes in small towns, suburbs, and farms, in a meandering course to New York City. As they flew over Pittsburgh, Chris said, "You know, Daniel, I can always find my way when I come to Three Rivers Stadium; what the Steelers call, "their house." However, as you know, I was forever a Vikings fan. I cheered as a child when I heard that they had reached the Superbowl against Kansas City; when they lost that game, I hated the Chiefs. Then they lost again in the Superbowl against Miami, and I hated the Dolphins. They then later lost Superbowls to the Steelers, and to the Raiders, and I figured, 'Gee, I can't hate the whole league.'"

"That's a very practical attitude, Dad," he said, rolling his eyes, not really impressed with Chris' small talk.

Finishing up in Pennsylvania, they flew north. Upon viewing New York City, Chris suddenly stood up in the sleigh, and began to dance standing in place as if he were wearing a top hat, holding the reins as a cane. Pushing the back of his cap forward, he started to sing the prelude to the familiar song, New York, New York, by the late, great, Marvin Hamlisch. "'Dat, dat, da-da-da-da, dat, dat, da-da-da-da, dat, dat, da-da-da-da! Start spreading the News ...' Thank-you, thank-you very much," he said in his best Elvis impersonation.

"Dad! Sit down, please!" said Daniel, holding his stomach. "You're rocking the sleigh! I think I'm getting air-sick."

"Sorry, Daniel!" said Chris, as he sat down. "But it's New York City! The Big Apple, Son! I was so dismayed with everything about this Santa Claus gig when I first started, that I couldn't enjoy all of the sights!" This was the beginning of Chris' second year as the 'Big Guy'. "Nor did I have someone to share them with," he thought, wistfully, almost as an aside.

"Why do they call it, The Big Apple, Dad?"

"I don't know, I guess it's because of all of the fruitcakes, or nuts, down there! Look Daniel! Ho, ho, ho! It's the Empire State Building. And over there, Madison Square Garden!"

"Why is it Madison Square Garden, when the building is round?"

"My, you ask a lot of questions. Well, you know, I never thought about that before, but you've got me there, Tiger. I don't know. And look over there, Son, the lights on Broadway, and the Statue of Liberty!"

"Wow," exclaimed Daniel. "We learned the history about 'Lady Liberty' in school before Christmas break, that it was a gift given to us from the French, and was made out of copper. After class, all the boys were teasing that she didn't have anything on underneath her robe. They started singing, 'There's a place in France where the women wear no ...'"

"Hey now," said Santa, interrupting in a somewhat corrective tone. "Let's be more respectful of this nation's history."

They afterwards continued their flight to different areas of the country, delivering the toys to every city and town, and to all of the rural areas, state after state. Chris again began to sing the theme song to each one upon their arrival. As they passed over a heavily wooded area, then headed across Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he began to sing, "'Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina, in the morning!'" Next, he put on dark glasses, and started to sing in a rhythm and blues style as they crossed over Atlanta. "'Georgia! Georgia! I've got Georgia on my mind!' There's Atlanta, Son. You know, they burned it down once, but now, it's," as he took off his Santa hat and placed it over his heart, singing, "'the home of the Braves.' Ah, baseball, nothing beats it, eh, Daniel?" He said as he placed his hat again on his head. "Watch out!" he said, suddenly turning to Daniel and laughing with his arm extended, slicing downward, "Tomahawk chop!"

"Very funny, Dad," said Daniel, sarcastically, as he leaned out of the way. He had learned in a school social studies class that such Native American comedy would be offensive to some people, and that it was not cool to express humor in such a manner. Thus political correctness had extended down to the elementary grade level.

They flew around the eastern side of Florida, and then across the Gulf to Pensacola. He then realized what he had done. He leaned over and whispered to Daniel, "Don't tell your mother we went over water!" They continued on around the lower states, through Mobile, Jackson, Memphis, and New Orleans. When they reached San Antonio, Chris again began to sing: "'Davy, Davy, Crockett, king of the wild frontier!' Look, Daniel! There's the Alamo!"

"Huh? I thought Alamo was when you put ice-cream on something."

"No, Tiger, that's a la mode. But that does sound good, doesn't it?" said Chris, as he patted his growling stomach, realizing it had been almost an hour since he last ate. "Hmmm, I wonder if she ..." He said, as he looked into the padded, Christmas themed, munch-box. "Hah! She did!"

"Who did what, Dad?"

"Zoe packed cookies and her famous hot cocoa in a thermos. She's a good elf, always looking out for us," he said, as he passed a mug of the tasty, steaming, hot liquid and a cookie over to Daniel. The team was so good at their job of smoothly guiding the sleigh, that he didn't have to keep his hands on the reins at all times; there was, therefore, never any danger of spilling the hot beverage onto themselves — nobody but themselves to blame it ever they did. Personal responsibility was a hallmark of Claus-Thought; a think-tank made up of North Pole dignitaries, elves, Inuit elders, and Santa. This was the basic and presiding principle of the naughty and nice list.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from The Mrs. Clause by Paul Ingham Lineback. Copyright © 2016 Paul Ingham Lineback. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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PBShop.store UK

Fairford, GLOS, United Kingdom

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since June 11, 1999

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Item	10 to 20 business days	10 to 20 business days
First item	£ 4.16	£ 4.16

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.

Payment methods

Store description

**Please note our transit times are from the date of dispatch.** We first started out as “The Paperback Exchange,” a chain of physical bookstores where we would part exchange your beloved books for new stories to transport you to faraway places. However, as shopping started to evolve to online shops and marketplaces, we bid our stores goodbye to become “PBShop.” This transition has only allowed us to blossom as we now ship thousands of titles to book lovers across the globe. We pride ourselves in being a community of local book lovers which allows our passion and devotion to shine in everything we do. In 2020 we not only celebrated our 20th birthday but our 1st birthday as being completely employee owned after becoming an E.O.T in September 2019. We are proud to be different and embrace standing apart on a book mountain by working from a virtual inventory which allows us to provide thousands of books that may be difficult to get for your bookshelf or your studies. Working with a number of different suppliers allows us to explore other avenues such as puzzles, sheet music and even stationery so we really do have something for everyone. Life is about being versatile in all realms of existence. If this is your first purchase with us, or you are a returning customer, we would like to welcome you to the PBShop family, for there is no friend as loyal as a book. We are a company who put our customers at the centre of everything we do as we understand the importance of reading because once you learn to read, you will forever be free. There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours that we are yet to explore, which is why we will forever inspire curious minds.…

Specialty

Hardbacks, Paperbacks

Seller's business information

Pbshop.co.uk

Unit 22 Horcott Industrial Estate, Horcott Road
Fairford, United Kingdom GL7 4BX

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Terms of sale

Returns Policy
We ask all customers to contact us for authorisation should they wish to return their order. Orders returned without authorisation may not be credited.
If you wish to return, please contact us within 14 days of receiving your order to obtain authorisation.
Returns requested beyond this time will not be authorised.
Our team will provide full instructions on how to return your order and once received our returns department will process your refund.
Please note the cost to return any unwanted order to us is borne by the buyer.
Should your order arrive damaged, not as advertised or faulty, we must be advised of this within 14 days of delivery. Please contact us so we can find the best solution for you.

Our Customer Care Team can be contacted by emailing alborders@paperbackshop.co.uk, or by calling our UK Office on +441285 712 917. We are available 9:00am till 5:30pm GMT Monday to Friday.

Right of withdrawal

If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

Information regarding the right of withdrawal

Statutory right to withdraw

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to PBShop.store UK, Fairford, United Kingdom, +44 1285 712917, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

Exceptions to the right of withdrawal

The right of withdrawal does not apply to:

The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.

Shipping terms

Orders are shipped from our UK warehouse. Delivery thereafter is between 4 and 14 business days. Please contact us if you have any queries about our services or products.

Privacy and security

We are committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal data. This policy tells you how we will collect and use your personal data, and what you should expect in respect of the personal information about you that we have collected.

We are PBShop.co.uk Limited (registered in England & Wales with Company No: 9366362). Our registered office is at Swatton Barn, Badbury, Swindon, SN4 0EU, United Kingdom.

The person with responsibility for our data protection compliance is the Managing Director and they can be contacted via email at help@pbshop.store.

We are the data controller of the personal data that we keep and use, and we are therefore responsible for making sure that our systems, processes and people comply with the relevant data protection laws in respect of that personal data.

We will act in respect of personal data to comply with the six principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which are:

Lawfulness, fairness and transparency;
Purpose limitation;
Data minimisation;
Accuracy;
Storage limitation;
Integrity and confidentiality.
You have rights in respect of how your personal data can be processed; these include the right to request:

a copy of your personal data;
that inaccurate data is rectified; and
that your personal data is, in certain circumstances, erased or restricted.
You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner, which you can do by contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) directly. Full contact details, including a helpline number, can be found on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk). This website also has useful information on your rights and our obligations. However, please raise any concerns or issues with us first so that we may deal with this as quickly as possible for you.

COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL DATA
We collect and process data for the following reasons:

personal data collected and created in relation to our selling books and other items; and
personal data relating to our people (which means those people working for our company, or providing services to us, or potentially working or providing services to us, including employees, consultants, temporary or casual workers and contractors).
All of our people are required to abide by our Privacy Policy when handling personal data, and are provided with appropriate data protection training. Any breach of data protection will be taken seriously, and may result in disciplinary action.

Selling books and other items
COLLECTION:
We will collect personal information which may include names, addresses and other information for our customers. This will be done for the management of the commercial relationship with our customers.

We may collect this personal data from you directly, and also from third parties, including publicly available third party sources. Additional personal data will be collected as it is created by or supplied to us in the course of anything we do for you.

USE:
We will use the personal data in the course of making sales and to comply with requirements that we are required to undertake.

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

in performance of a contract (the agreement to sell books and other items); and/or
compliance with a legal obligation; and/or
vital interests of the data subject; and/or
where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
We may also use your personal data in the following situations, which are likely to be far less common:

where we need to protect your interests (or someone else’s interests);
where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes.
DISCLOSURE:
We may share personal data with third parties as is necessary in the sale of books and other items, including to third party providers who deliver services to support the operation of our company.

In respect of all disclosures of personal data, we will only share the personal information which is necessary for the particular purpose for which it is provided, or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so, and we will ensure that the personal data is appropriately protected.

RETENTION PERIOD:
We will keep personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements. Normally, our retention period for personal data collected for this purpose is a minimum of 6 years after the end of the period that we are selling books and other items.

Our people
COLLECTION:
We will collect names, addresses, contact details, education and employment history, identity and other background checks (which may include appropriate criminal and financial checks and confirmation of the right to work in the UK), marital status and information on next of kin and dependents, financial information (such as bank details and NI numbers), date of birth, gender, a copy of your passport and driving licence, performance information and compensation history, recruitment information (including references), salary, benefits, pension and annual leave information, disciplinary and grievance information, photographs, information about your use of our information and communications systems and CCTV footage or other information obtained through electronic means.

We may collect and use special categories of personal data as required in the carrying out of obligations and exercising specific rights of us or the data subject in the field of employment. This may include information relating to matters such as health, racial origin, religious belief and offences or alleged offences.

Personal data may be collected from you during the selection process (for example via your application form and CV) and during your employment (including holiday forms, expense claims, performance reviews, any disciplinary or grievance processes), or from third parties, including referees, health service providers, background check providers.

USE:
Personal data of our people will be used for HR administration and management, both in respect of the selection of people to work for us (including suitability, eligibility and/or fitness to work), and those who do work for us, to include learning and development, disciplinary and security (of people, offices and data) requirements, providing and liaising with benefits providers, business management and planning (including accounting and auditing), paying you and dealing with tax and NI deductions, assessing and deciding on salary reviews and compensation, conducting performance reviews and managing performance, dealing with legal disputes involving you or others, preventing fraud, monitoring your use of our information and communications systems, ensuring compliance with our policies, and equal opportunities monitoring.

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

In performance of a contract with you; and/or
compliance with a legal obligation; and/or
vital interests of the data subject; and/or
where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
We may also use your personal data in the following situations, which are likely to be less common:

where we need to protect your interests (or someone else’s interests);
where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes.
In respect of all disclosures of personal data, we will only share the personal information which is necessary for the particular purpose for which it is provided, or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so, and we will ensure that the personal data is appropriately protected.

In respect of special categories of personal data, we may process this in the following circumstances:

in limited circumstances with your explicit written consent; and/or
where we need to carry out our legal obligations and in line with our policies; and/or
where it is needed in the public interest (such as for equal opportunities monitoring or in relation to our occupational pension scheme), and in line with our policies; and/or
where it is needed to assess your working capacity on health grounds, subject to appropriate confidentiality safeguards.
Less commonly, we may process this type of information where it is needed in relation to legal claims or where it is needed to protect your (or someone else’s) interests and you are not capable of giving your consent, or where you have already made the information public. We may also process such information about our people (or former people) in the course of our legitimate business activities with the appropriate safeguards.

The special categories of personal data may be used in the following ways:

in relation to leaves of absence, to comply with employment and other laws;
in relation to your physical or mental health, or disability status, to ensure your health and safety in the workplace and to assess your fitness to work, to monitor, manage and administer benefits and absences;
in relation to your race, national or ethnic origin, religious, philosophical or moral beliefs, or your sexual life or sexual orientation, to ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting.
DISCLOSURE:
Personal data may be transferred to service providers who support the operation of our business (such as payroll service providers), to other third parties reasonably necessary in the conduct of our business (including insurers, professional advisors, regulators). These third parties may be acting as processor, or controller of personal data in their own right.

RETENTION PERIOD:
We will keep personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements. We will normally keep personal data of applicants who we do not employ for six months after we receive it.

We will keep personal data of employees throughout your employment and normally for a minimum of six years after your employment ends.

Changes to your personal data
It is very important that the personal information that we hold about you is accurate and current. Please tell us if your personal information changes during your relationship with us.

Data Security
We have put in place measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those of our people and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and where they have agreed to treat the information confidentially and to keep it secure. We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and the ICO of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

Where we store your personal data
We principally store data, both electronically and on file, at our office.

Personal data may be transferred outside of the EEA by processors acting on our behalf. For transfers to countries not considered adequate by the EC, we will ensure that personal data is adequately protected, as required by the GDPR. This would include by use of the Standard Contractual Clauses adopted by the EC to protect personal data.

Your rights
Under certain circumstances, you have the right by law to request:

access to your personal data. This enables you to ask to receive a copy of the personal data that we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
correction of the personal data that we hold about you.
erasure of your personal data.
object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on our legitimate interest and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes.
restriction of processing of your personal data.
transfer of your personal data to another party.
Links from our website
Our website may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of third parties that we permit to make such links. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. We recommend that you check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on our website, so please ensure that you are viewing the correct version.

Please contact us if you have any questions, comments or requests regarding this Privacy Policy.

Last amended May 2021.

The Mrs Clause

Item description from seller

Bibliographic details

Synopsis

About the title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Mrs. Clause

AuthorHouse