Privacy policy
Age UK Bath & North East Somerset is committed to protecting your privacy and security and ensuring you remain informed and in control of your information.
This policy explains when we use your personal information, how we use it, how we keep it secure, and in what circumstances we may share it with other organizations.
We want to make sure you remain in control of your personal information. Part of this is making sure you understand your legal rights, which are as follows:
- the right to confirmation as to whether or not we have your personal data and, if we do, to obtain a copy of the personal information we hold (this is known as a subject access request)
- the right to have your data erased, though this will not apply where it is necessary for us to continue to use the data for lawful reason
- the right to have inaccurate data rectified
- the right to object to your data being used for marketing or profiling
- you have the right to personal data you have provided to us which we process automatically on the basis of your consent or the performance of a contract. This information will be provided in a common electronic format
- Sometimes there might be exceptions to the rights above; we will always try to respond to your satisfaction, but there may be a situation where we are unable to do so
Collecting Information about you
We collect information about you when you use one of our services, volunteer with us, donate to us, or contact us through social media. This is generally done through an application or referral form and you provide us with the information.
Information we collect
The personal information we collect will include your name, address, age, contact details, and your next of kin contact details in case of an emergency. Sometimes we might need to know a little bit about your health. This information will only be held with your explicit consent.
For monitoring purposes, we will ask you for your ethnic background. This information will only be held with your explicit consent. It will not restrict your access to services should you choose not to provide this information.
If you are a member of staff or volunteer with us then we will collect extra information about you, e.g. references, criminal records check, professional certificates, emergency contact details, medical condition. This information will be retained for legal reasons, to protect us including in the event of an insurance or legal claim, and for safeguarding purposes.
Donors
If you are a donor, we will collect financial information (direct debit / standing order details), and whether your donations are gift-aided.
How we use your information
To be able to support you in the service you use, for example providing the information you might need. To seek your views or comments on the services we provide. To notify you of changes to our services. To send you communications which you have requested. To contribute to our future service development to ensure that our services are fully accessible, and they are what you want and need.
Holding your information
We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as you are registered for our services and then for 6 years after that. Volunteer information will be kept for 3 years after leaving. After this time, we will aggregate and anonymize personal data. This information can be used for a variety of purposes, such as reporting to funders and identifying trends to help inform our actions and improve our services.
Storing your information
Age UK B&NES are based in the UK and we store our data within the European Union. Some of our computer systems use Microsoft products. As Microsoft is a US company, using their products might result in personal data being transferred to or accessible from the US. This is allowed, your personal data will still be adequately protected.
Protecting your information
We employ a variety of physical and technical measures to keep your data safe and to prevent unauthorized access to or use or disclosure of your personal information. Electronic data and databases are stored on secure computer systems and we control who has access to information.
Our staff receive data protection training and we have a set of detailed data protection procedures which staff are required to follow when handling personal data.
Sharing your information
We will never sell your personal data and will only ever share it with organizations we work with where necessary and if your data’s privacy and security are guaranteed. If you request that we refer you to a third party organization, we will only undertake this with your permission. Through our contracts with Virgin Care Ltd, (acting on behalf of Bath & North East Somerset council) , we are sometimes required to share personal information (name, address, age, ethnic background, religious belief) for people using our Information & Advice Service, Home from Hospital Service and our Day Centres. Details of how Virgin Care and B&NES Council protect your information is available on their websites: Virgin: http://www.virgincare.co.uk/legal-information/privacy-policy/# B&NES Council: http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/disclaimier-and-privacy-statement
We are also sometimes required to share personal information (name, address, age, ethnic background) and other anonymized data with our funders national Age UK, the Masonic Charitable Foundation, and e.on energy for the purpose of enabling them to monitor the success of the services they fund us to offer.
Disclosure
Age UK B&NES has a legal duty to disclose some information including:
- Safeguarding concerns will be reported to children’s Services / Adult Social Care
- Drug trafficking, money laundering, acts of terrorism or treason will be disclosed to the police
- If an illegal act has or is believed to have taken place it will be reported to the appropriate authorities
Age UK B&NES will always inform you of any disclosure.
Marketing
Age UK B&NES does not undertake unsolicited marketing and will not sell, rent or otherwise share your information to third parties for marketing purposes. We do send out information about our services and updates relating to older people, their carers, volunteers and donors which relates to initiatives, activities, and requests for support. Should you no longer wish to receive this information at any point simply let us know and we will ensure you are removed from our mailing list:
Email: reception@ageukbanes.co.uk
Post: Data Processor Age UK Bath & North East Somerset The Studio, Alexander House, James Street West, Bath, BA1 2BT
Phone: 01225 466135 Mon-Fri 9.30 – 3.30
If you have opted-in to communications from us, we may contact you with information about our partners and their services, but these communications will always come from Age UK B&NES.
Fundraising
As a local independent charity, we rely on donations and support from others to continue our work. From time to time, we will contact services users, volunteers, and supporters with fundraising material and communications. This might be about an appeal or to suggest ways you can raise funds (eg Bath Half, quiz nights, or buying a service, e.g. ‘At Home’ where Age UK B&NES receives the surplus).
We will only contact you specifically about fundraising if you’ve ‘opted in’ to receiving marketing from us (you can unsubscribe at any time). If you decide to donate to us, then we will keep records of when and how much you give to a particular cause.
Profiling Age UK B&NES does not analyze your personal information for profiling purposes.
Questions Any questions you may have about this policy or how we use your personal data should be sent to:
Email reception@ageukbanes.co.uk
Post Data Processor The Studio, Alexander House, James Street West, Bath, BA1 2BT
Phone 01225 466135 Mon-Fri 9.30 – 3.30
Complaints
You can complain to Age UK B&NES directly by contacting our Data Controller using the details above. If you wish to make a complaint which does not directly relate to your data protection and privacy rights, you can do so in accordance with our complaints policy which is below. If you are not happy with our response, or you believe that your data protection or privacy rights have been infringed, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which regulates and enforces data protection law in the UK. Details of how to do this can be found at www.ico.org.uk