Introduction
1. The purpose of this policy is to define the general procedures of, and provide guidance to, the QARANC Association (Data Controller) and to ensure compliance with data protection legislation. The Association is committed to ensuring that the procedures and guidance set out in this policy are followed.
2. These procedures will apply to the processing of personal information which includes obtaining, holding, using, sharing or disclosing such information and covers information held within computer databases and shared drives as well as manual records.
3. The procedures and guidance set out in this policy shall be followed by any individual who processes personal data on the behalf of the Association including permanent and temporary employees, agency staff, contractors and consultants or members and volunteers. Individuals not employed by the Association are referred to as ‘data processors’.
4. Personal information will only be held by the Association to enable it to perform its functions and to ensure the information it processes is accurate. From time to time personal information passed by the Royal British Legion (RBL) and SSAFA the Armed Forces Charity (formerly Sailors and Airman’s Association) will be used in the process of benevolence cases. All such information will be protected in order to safeguard privacy and comply with the law.
5. The Association is required by law to identify the appropriate ‘lawful basis’ for processing personal data as described in Appendix A [1] of this policy and to publish those lawful basis in the Association’s privacy notices.
6. All employees and data processors of the Association are responsible for understanding and complying with the procedures that have been adopted in order to ensure data protection compliance.
7. The Association is responsible for notifying the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the personal data it holds or is likely to hold and the general purposes that this data will be used for. The notification is required to be renewed annually by the General Secretary who should also advise the Data Protection Officer of any changes in the way the Association holds personal data.
Responsibilities
8. The Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for data protection compliance across the Association. The Trustee Board delegates day to day management of data protection compliance to the Data Protection Officer.
9. It is the responsibility of the Data Protection Officer to:
(a) Assess the obligations of the Association under data protection legislation and be aware of current compliance status.
(b) Brief the Trustee Board on data protection risks and recommend solutions.
(c) Review data protection and related policies to ensure they reflect best practice.
(d) Offer guidance to staff and individuals undertaking work on behalf of the Association on data protection issues and promote clear and effective procedures.
(e) Annually review the notification to the Information Commissioner.
(f) Manage all subject access requests received by the Association.
(g) Ensure written records are kept of all processing activities which describes the type of information processed, the lawful basis for processing, the security of information and whether it is shared.
10. It is the responsibility of all individuals (employees, agents, volunteers, sub-contractors and other parties) undertaking work on behalf of the Association to comply with the procedures set out in this policy. Individuals who undertake work on behalf of the Association and who are not paid employees are classed as ‘data processors’.
11. Any non-compliance with this policy will be referred to the Board of Trustees and may constitute a disciplinary matter. All individuals undertaking work on behalf of the Association have a responsibility to report non-compliances. If individuals are unsure as to whether a particular activity amounts to a non-compliance they should discuss their concerns with their line manager or the Data Protection Officer.
12. In respect of processing undertaken by third parties, no contractor/supplier shall be authorised to process the Association’s data without first entering into a formal agreement. Formal agreements must have statements which stipulate the requirements for the secure processing of the Association’s data or access to the data. Agreements must stipulate the requirement for contractors/suppliers to notify the Association immediately should a breach occur in respect of the Association’s data. All data processors of personal data will be reviewed prior to the commencement of their processing and must satisfy the Association’s security standards.
Organisational Measures
13. The Association shall ensure that the following measures are taken with respect to the collection, holding and processing of personal data.
(a) All employees of the Association, agents, volunteers, contractors or other parties working on behalf of the Association shall be made fully aware of both their individual responsibilities and the Association’s responsibilities under data protection legislation and under this policy and shall be provided with a copy of this policy.
(b) Only employees, agents, volunteers, sub-contractors or other parties working on behalf of the Association that need access to, and use of, personal data in order to carry out their assigned duties correctly, shall have access to personal data held by the Association.
(c) All employees, agents, volunteers, contractors or other parties working on behalf of the Association handling personal data will be appropriately trained to do so.
(d) All employees, agents, volunteers, contractors or other parties working on behalf of the Association shall be required and encouraged to exercise care, caution, and discretion when discussing Association related matters that relate to personal data, whether in the workplace or otherwise.
(e) Methods of collecting, holding, and processing personal data shall be regularly evaluated and reviewed.
(f) All personal data held by the Association shall be reviewed periodically
(g) The performance of those employees, agents, volunteers, contractors or other parties working on behalf of the Association handling personal data shall be regularly evaluated and reviewed.
(h) All employees, agents, volunteers, contractors or other parties working on behalf of the Association handling personal data will be bound to do so in accordance with the principles of data protection legislation and this policy.
(i) Where any agent, contractor, volunteer or other party working on behalf of the Association handling personal data fails in their obligations under this Policy that party shall indemnify and hold harmless the Association against any costs, liability, damages, loss, claims or proceedings which may arise out of that failure.
Data Privacy Impact Assessments
14. The Association shall carry out Data Protection Impact Assessments for any, and all new projects and/or new uses of personal data. Data Protection Impact Assessments shall be overseen by the Data Protection Officer and shall address the following:
(a) The type(s) of personal data that will be collected, held, and processed.
(b) The purpose(s) for which personal data is to be used.
(c) The Association’s objectives.
(d) How personal data is to be used.
(e) The parties (internal and/or external) who are to be consulted.
(f) The necessity and proportionality of the data processing with respect to the purpose(s) for which it is being processed.
(g) Risks posed to data subjects.
(h) Risks posed both within and to the Association.
(i) Proposed measures to minimise and handle identified risks.
Compliance to Data Protection Principles.
15. All employees, agents, volunteers, contractors or other parties working on behalf of the Association shall comply with the following data protection principles as set out in data protection legislation (and as defined under EU Regulation 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation – GDPR) which requires that personal data must be:
(a) Processed fairly and lawfully and in a transparent manner.Data protection legislation seeks to ensure that personal data is processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently, without adversely affecting the rights of the data subject. All data subjects must have access to a privacy notice which provides full details on how the Association will process their personal data. The privacy notice will also describe which lawful purpose the processing falls under (as described in Appendix A [1] of this policy). The Association shall not process personal data for any purpose, which is incompatible for the purpose or purposes for which it was collected.
(b) Collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes. The Association will not collect personal data of any sort unless for a specific, identified and lawful purpose. The Association collects personal data in relation to employees who are employed by the Association, from members applying for membership, from third party organisations referring individuals who may require assistance.
(c) Adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is processed. The Association will only collect and process appropriate information and only to the extent that it is sufficient to fulfil its functions or comply with any legal requirements. Excessive personal data about an individual must not be requested or collected if it is not relevant to the purpose of the processing.
(d) Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. Every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that is inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which it is processed, is erased, or rectified without delay. The Association shall ensure that when processing personal data, information is recorded accurately and where it is identified that personal information is incorrect, it must be rectified as soon as the Association becomes aware of it.
(e) Kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data is processed. The Association shall only retain personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. A data retention schedule will be held by the Association which will stipulate the retention periods for each data type.
(f) Processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction, or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures. The Association will take appropriate measures against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction of or damage to personal data. All individuals undertaking work on behalf of the Association are responsible for ensuring that any personal data, which they hold, is kept securely and is accessible by authorised individuals only. They must ensure personal information is not improperly disclosed whether it is deliberately or accidently. Such processes include the following requirements:
i. Personal data held in IT systems must only be accessed by those undertaking work on behalf of The Association.
ii. Access to systems that hold personal data must be by unique user log in and password.
iii. Where volunteers of the Association (e.g. branch secretaries) are processing member personal data on shared personal devices (laptops, computers), any personal data saved onto that device must be protected from access by other individuals by means of password protection.
iv. Passwords used to protect personal data should be changed regularly and should not use words or phrases that can be easily guessed.
v. Under no circumstances should any password be written down or shared between employees, agents, volunteers, contractors or other parties working for the Association.
vi. Personal data held in hardcopy format must be held securely to protect the confidentiality of the information. It must be locked away and not left on view to unauthorised individuals.
vii. When emailing personal data as an attachment or in the body of an email appropriate security methods must be applied in line with the Association’s IT security policy.
viii. No personal data should be stored on external devices unless those devices are either encrypted or the contents are password protected.
ix. When any personal data is to be erased or otherwise disposed of for any reason, it should be securely deleted or disposed of by shredding.
x. Personal data must be handled with care at all times and should not be left unattended or on view to unauthorised employees, agents, volunteers, sub-contractors or other parties at any time.
xi. Where personal data is being viewed on a computer screen and the computer screen in question is to be left unlocked for any period of time, the user must lock the computer and screen before leaving it.
xii. Where personal data held by the Association is used for marketing purposes, it shall be the responsibility of The Data Protection Officer to ensure that the appropriate consent is obtained and that no data subjects have opted out.
xiii. Where agents of the Association receive and process member information they must ensure that the following security measures are in place.
xiv. Where volunteers process Association data in their own homes, care must be taken to ensure Association data is protected at all times from unauthorised access by other household members.
Rights of Individuals
16. Data protection legislation sets out the following rights applicable to data subjects:
(a) The right to be informed. Where personal data is collected directly from data subjects, those data subjects will be informed of its purpose at the time of collection through a privacy notice made available on The Association’s website. Where personal data is obtained or received directly from a third party, the relevant data subjects must be informed by the Association that their personal data has been received. The Association must inform them as soon as reasonably possible and provide them with the contact information for The Association, the purpose of the processing of their personal data and their rights under data protection legislation.
(b) The right of access. Data subjects may make subject access requests (“SARs”) at any time to find out more about the personal data which the Association holds about them, what the Association is doing with that personal data, and why. Data subjects wishing to make a SAR may do so in writing. SARs should be addressed to the Association’s Data Protection Officer. All SARs received shall be handled by the Association’s Data Protection Officer. Responses to SARs must be made within one month of receipt, however this may be extended by up to two months if the SAR is complex and/or numerous requests are made. If such additional time is required, the data subject shall be informed. On receipt of a request a review must be undertaken to identify what personal data about the individual is being processed. A copy of the information will then be provided to the data subject ensuring that checks have been made to ensure that the data does not contain personal data of other individuals.
(c) The right to rectification. Data subjects have the right to require the Association to rectify any of their personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete. The Association shall rectify the personal data in question, and inform the data subject of that rectification, within one month of the data subject informing the Association of the issue. The period can be extended by up to two months in the case of complex requests. If such additional time is required, the data subject shall be informed.
(d) The right to erasure (also known as the ‘right to be forgotten’). Data subjects have the right to request that the Association erases the personal data it holds about them in the following circumstances:
i. It is no longer necessary for the Association to hold that personal data with respect to the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected or processed.
ii. The data subject wishes to withdraw their consent to the Association holding and processing their personal data.
iii. The data subject objects to the Association’s holding and processing their personal data (and there is no overriding legitimate interest to allow the Association to continue doing so).
iv. The personal data has been processed unlawfully.
v. The personal data needs to be erased in order for the Association to comply with a particular legal obligation.
vi. Unless the Association has reasonable grounds to refuse to erase personal data, all requests for erasure shall be complied with, and the data subject informed of the erasure, within one month of receipt of the data subject’s request. The period can be extended by up to two months in the case of complex requests. If such additional time is required, the data subject shall be informed.
In the event that any personal data that is to be erased in response to a data subject’s request has been disclosed to third parties, those parties shall be informed of the erasure (unless it is impossible or would require disproportionate effort to do so).
(e) The right to restrict processing. Data subjects may request that the Association ceases processing the personal data it holds about them. If a data subject makes such a request, the Association shall retain only the amount of personal data concerning that data subject (if any) that is necessary to ensure that the personal data in question is not processed further. In the event that any affected personal data has been disclosed to third parties, those parties shall be informed of the applicable restrictions on processing it (unless it is impossible or would require disproportionate effort to do so).
(f) The right to object. Data subjects have the right to object to the Association processing their personal data based on legitimate interests and direct marketing. (Appendix A refers to legitimate interests). Where a data subject objects to the Association processing their personal data based on its legitimate interests, the Association shall cease such processing immediately, unless it can be demonstrated that the Association’s legitimate grounds for such processing override the data subject’s interests, rights, and freedoms, or that the processing is necessary for the conduct of legal claims. Where a data subject objects to the Association processing their personal data for direct marketing purposes, the Association shall cease such processing immediately.
Data Breach Notification
17. All personal data breaches must be reported immediately to the Association’s Data Protection Officer.
18. If a personal data breach occurs and that breach is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of data subjects (e.g. financial loss, breach of confidentiality, discrimination, reputational damage, or other significant social or economic damage), the Data Protection Officer must ensure that the Information Commissioner’s Office is informed of the breach without delay, and in any event, within 72 hours after having become aware of it.
19. The Data Protection Officer must ensure that all affected data subjects are informed of the breach directly and without undue delay.
20. Data breach notifications shall include the following information:
(a) The categories and approximate number of data subjects concerned.
(b) The categories and approximate number of personal data records concerned.
(c) The name and contact details of the Association’s data protection officer (or other contact point where more information can be obtained).
(d) The likely consequences of the breach.
(e) Details of the measures taken, or proposed to be taken, by the Association to address the breach including, where appropriate, measures to mitigate its possible adverse effects.
21. Examples of breaches include and are not limited to:
(a) Personal data being emailed to the wrong recipient.
(b) Personal data being found in normal waste bins and not shredded.
(c) Where it has been identified that an unauthorised individual have gained access to personal data processed by the Association.
(d) Laptops and computers storing Association personal data being sold or stolen.
Disclosure of Personal Data
22. The Association should not disclose personal information relating to individuals who are not the data subject. Disclosures of information in response to a subject access request should not include information, which identifies a third party.
23. Requests received from third parties for an individual’s personal information should be referred to the Data Protection Officer without delay. Any request received from an organisation or individual who is not the data subject, where they are requesting personal information on data subject/s, the data protection officer must be contacted.
Supporting Policies and Guidance
24. This policy is supported by the following policies and guidance
(a) QARANC IT Security Policy
(b) QARANC Marketing and Communications Policy
(c) QARANC Data Retention Schedule
Monitoring and Review
25. This policy will be reviewed and approved by the Trustee Board annually and issued to all employees, agents, volunteers, sub-contractors or other parties working on behalf of the Association.
26. Compliance to the requirements of this policy will be monitored through a range of audit methods which include questionnaires sent to volunteers to confirm that compliance to policy is being met.
Definitions
Personal data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
Processing means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.
Data controller means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.
Processor means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller.
Recipient means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or another body, to which the personal data are disclosed, whether a third party or not.
Consent of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her.
Personal data breach means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed.
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(Version 2018.1 updated February 2018)