Data Protection Policy

Contents

  1. Purpose of the policy
  2. About this policy
  3. Definitions of data protection terms
  4. Data protection principles
  5. Processing data fairly and lawfully
  6. Processing data for the original purpose
  7. Personal data should be adequate and accurate
  8. Not retaining data longer than necessary
  9. Rights of individuals under the GDPR
  10. Data security
  11. Transferring data outside the EEA
  12. Processing sensitive personal data
  13. Notification
  14. Monitoring and review of the policy

  1. Purpose of the policy

    1. SOFEA is committed to complying with privacy and data protection laws including:
      1. the General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR) and any related legislation which applies in the UK including the Data Protection Act 2018 (the DPA);
      2. the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (2003) and any successor or related legislation, including E-Privacy Regulation 2017/0003; and
      3. all other applicable laws and regulations relating to the processing of personal data and privacy, including statutory instruments and the guidance and codes of practice issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office or any other supervisory authority.
    2. This policy sets out what we do to protect individuals’ personal data.
    3. Anyone who handles personal data in any way on behalf of SOFEA must ensure that we comply with this policy. Section 3 outlines the definition of “personal data”. Any breach of this policy will be taken seriously and may result in disciplinary action or more serious sanctions.

  2. About this policy

    1. The types of personal data that we may handle include details of:
      1. trainees, volunteers, employees, donors, members, supporters.
    2. Jonny Mentor is the Data Protection Officer (DPO) at SOFEA and is responsible for ensuring compliance with the DPA and with this policy. Any questions or concerns about this policy should be referred in the first instance to the DPO who can be contacted at jonny@sofea.uk.com or on 01235 510774.

  3. Definitions of data protection terms

    1. The following terms will be used in this policy and are defined below:
    2. Data Subjects include all living individuals about whom we hold personal data, for instance an employee or a supporter. A data subject need not be a UK national or resident. All data subjects have legal rights in relation to their personal data.
    3. Personal Data means any information relating to a living person who can be identified directly or indirectly from that information (or from that information and other information in our possession). Personal data can be factual (such as a name, address or date of birth) or it can be an opinion (such as opinions expressed in assessment material). It can also include an identifier such as an identification number, location data, an online identifier specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that person.
    4. Data Controllers are the people who, or organisations which, decide the purposes and the means for which, any personal data is processed. They have a responsibility to process personal data in compliance with the Legislation. SOFEA is the data controller of all personal data that we manage in connection with our work and activities.
    5. Data Processors include any person who processes personal data on behalf of a data controller. Employees of data controllers are excluded from this definition but it could include other organisations such as website hosts or other service providers which handle personal data on our behalf.
    6. European Economic Area includes all countries in the European Union as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
    7. ICO means the Information Commissioner’s Office (the authority which oversees data protection regulation in the UK).
    8. Processing is any activity that involves use of personal data, whether or not by automated means. It includes but is not limited to: collecting; recording; organising; structuring; storing; adapting or altering; retrieving; disclosing by transmission; disseminating or otherwise making available; alignment or combination; restricting: erasing: or destruction of personal data.
    9. Sensitive Personal Data (which is defined as “special categories of personal data” under the GDPR) includes information about a person’s: racial or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious, philosophical or similar beliefs; trade union membership; physical or mental health or condition; sexual life or orientation; genetic data; biometric data: such other “special categories of personal data” designated under the legislation.

  4. Data protection principles

    1. Anyone processing personal data must comply with the six data protection principles set out in the GDPR. We are required to comply with these principles (summarised below) and show that we comply, in respect of any personal data that we deal with as a data controller.
    2. Personal data should be:
      1. processed fairly, lawfully and transparently;
      2. collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a way which is incompatible with those purposes;
      3. adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purpose for which it is held;
      4. accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date:
      5. not kept longer than necessary; and
      6. processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data.

  5. Processing data fairly and lawfully

    1. The first data protection principle requires that personal data is obtained fairly and lawfully and processed for purposes that the data subject has been told about. Processing will only be lawful if certain conditions can be satisfied, including where the data subject has given consent, or where the processing is necessary for one or more specified reasons, such as where it is necessary for the performance of a contract.
    2. To comply with this principle, every time we receive personal data about a person directly from that individual, which we intend to keep, we need to provide that person with “the fair processing information”. In other words we need to tell them:
      1. the type of information we will be collecting (categories of personal data concerned);
      2. who will be holding their information, i.e. SOFEA including contact details and the contact details of our Data Protection Officer (if we have one);
      3. why we are collecting their information and what we intend to do with it for instance to process donations or send them mailing updates about our activities;
      4. the legal basis for collecting their information (for example, are we relying on their consent, or on our legitimate interests or on another legal basis);
      5. if we are relying on legitimate interests as a basis for processing what those legitimate interests are;
      6. whether the provision of their personal data is part of a statutory or contractual obligation and details of the consequences of the data subject not providing that data;
      7. the period for which their personal data will be stored or, where that is not possible, the criteria that will be used to decide that period;
      8. details of people or organisations with whom we will be sharing their personal data;
      9. if relevant, the fact that we will be transferring their personal data outside the EEA and details of relevant safeguards; and
      10. the existence of any automated decision-making including profiling in relation to that personal data.
    3. Where we obtain personal data about a person from a source other than the person his or her self, we must provide that individual with the following information in addition to that listed under 5.2 above:
      1. the categories of personal data that we hold; and
      2. the source of the personal data and whether this is a public source.
    4. We must also inform individuals of their rights outlined in section 9.

  6. Processing data for the original purpose

    1. The second data protection principle requires that personal data is only processed for the specific, explicit and legitimate purposes that the individual was told about when we first obtained their information.
    2. This means that we should not collect personal data for one purpose and then use it for another. If it becomes necessary to process a person’s information for a new purpose, the individual should be informed of the new purpose beforehand For example, if we collect personal data such as a contact number or email address, in order to update a person about our activities it should not then be used for any new purpose, for example to share it with other organisations for marketing purposes, without first getting the individual’s consent.

  7. Personal data should be adequate and accurate

    1. The third and fourth data protection principles require that personal data that we keep should be accurate, adequate and relevant. Data should be limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is processed. Inaccurate or out-of-date data should be destroyed securely, and we must take every reasonable step to ensure that personal data which is inaccurate is corrected.

  8. Not retaining data longer than necessary

    1. The fifth data protection principle requires that we should not keep personal data for longer than we need to for the purpose it was collected for. This means that the personal data that we hold should be destroyed or erased from our systems when it is no longer needed. If you think that we are holding out-of-date or inaccurate personal data, please speak to the DPO.
    2. For guidance on how long particular types of personal data that we collect should be kept before being destroyed or erased, please see SOFEA’s Data Retention Policy.

  9. Rights of individuals under the GDPR

    1. The GDPR gives people rights in relation to how organisations process their personal data. Everyone who holds personal data on behalf of SOFEA needs to be aware of these rights. They include (but are not limited to) the right:
      1. to request a copy of any personal data that we hold about them (as data controller). as well as a description of the type of information that we are processing, the uses that are being made of the information, details of anyone to whom their personal data has been disclosed, and how long the data will be stored (known as subject access rights);
      2. to be told, where any information is not collected from the person directly. any available information as to the source of the information;
      3. to be told of the existence of automated decision-making;
      4. to object to the processing of data where the processing is based on either the conditions of public interest or legitimate interests;
      5. to have all personal data erased (the right to be forgotten) unless certain limited conditions apply;
      6. to restrict processing where the individual has objected to the processing
      7. to have inaccurate data amended or destroyed; and
      8. to prevent processing that is likely to cause unwarranted substantial damage or distress to themselves or anyone else.

  10. Data security

    1. The sixth data protection principle requires that we keep secure any personal data that we hold, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures.
    2. With electronic records containing personal data, the following security procedures and processes will be followed: all organisation computers are to be anti-virus and firewall protected with regular scans performed and remedial action taken; software updates are regularly installed; unique and strong passwords are to be used by staff and never shared; all screens are to be locked when unattended; all hardware is to be locked away when not in use.
    3. With paper records containing personal data, the following security procedures and processes will be followed: all documents with sensitive data will be printed securely; all documents are locked away when not attended or in use; all documents being shared with partner organisations will be sent via secure delivery or in person; all sensitive data will be shredded immediately after they are no longer required.
    4. Bring your own device – all devices are to have their access secured with unique and strong passwords or PINs. When transporting devices, they are not to be displayed and hidden away where possible, for instance in the boot of a car. Devices are not to be stored in cars overnight. Only trusted applications (i.e. those on Google Play Store or iTunes store) are to be downloaded on devices.

  11. Transferring data outside the EEA

    1. SOFEA will only transfer personal data outside the EEA if the contract between the organisations includes adequate security measures for personal data.
    2. The European Commission has determined that certain countries provide an adequate data protection regime. These countries currently include Andorra, Argentina, Canada, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland, Faroe Islands, Jersey and Uruguay, but this list may be updated. Personal data may be transferred to people or organisations in these countries without the need to take additional steps beyond those you would take when sharing personal data with any other organisation.
    3. The EU-US Privacy Shield is an instrument that can be used as a legal basis for transferring personal data to organisations in the US, although specific advice should be sought from the data protection officer before transferring personal data to organisations in the US.

  12. Processing sensitive personal data

    1. Due to the nature of our work as an alternative education provider for young, often vulnerable adults, we collect and process information about individuals that is defined by the GDPR as special categories of personal data, and special rules will apply to the processing of this data. In this policy we refer to “special categories of personal data” as “sensitive personal data”.
    2. The legal basis that we rely on for processing much of this sensitive personal data is that we have a legal obligation as an alternative education provider. Our privacy statements will capture the legal basis for all data processing in sufficient detail.

  13. Breach Notification

    1. SOFEA will implement a systematic process for enabling breach detection and assessing the impact of breaches. Breaches will be responded to appropriately and within a timely manner. A comprehensive action plan is to be maintained and implemented in the event of a significant data breach.
    2. We will report breaches (other than those which are unlikely to be a risk to individuals) to the ICO where necessary, within 72 hours. We will also notify affected individuals where the breach is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of these individuals. Any third party whom SOFEA shares the data with will also be notified.

  14. Monitoring and review of the policy

    1. This policy is reviewed once a year by our DPO to ensure that it is achieving its objectives.