Herts Independent Social Support
Data Protection and Retention Policy
This Policy sets out the obligations of Herts Independent Social Support Ltd a company registered in the United Kingdom, regarding the retention and protection of personal data collected, held, and processed by us in accordance with EU Regulation 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).
The GDPR defines “personal data” as any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (a “data subject”). An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, such as a name, location, or to one or more factors specific to the person such as religion or cultural identity.
The GDPR also addresses “special category” personal data (also known as “sensitive” personal data). Such data includes, but is not necessarily limited to, data concerning the data subject’s race, ethnicity, religion, health, or sexual orientation.
Aims and Objectives
The primary aim of this Policy is to set out limits for the retention of personal data and to ensure that those limits, as well as further data subject rights to erasure, are complied with. By extension, this Policy aims to ensure that Herts Independent Social Support complies fully with its obligations and the rights of data subjects under the GDPR.
In addition to safeguarding the rights of data subjects under the GDPR, by ensuring that excessive amounts of data are not retained.
The GDPR includes the right to erasure or “the right to be forgotten”. Data subjects have the right to have their personal data erased
(and to prevent the processing of that personal data) in the following circumstances
Where the personal data is no longer required for the purpose for which it was originally collected or processed.
When the data subject withdraws their consent;
When the data subject objects to the processing of their personal data and the Company has no overriding legitimate interest;
When the personal data is processed unlawfully (i.e. in breach of the GDPR);
When the personal data has to be erased to comply with a legal obligation.
Under the GDPR, personal data shall be kept in a form which permits the identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary.
Herts Independent Social Support will delete any information held once the commission/contract has ceased.
Technical and Organisational Data Security Measures
The following technical measures are in place within Herts Independent Social Support to protect the security of personal data.
All emails containing personal data must be encrypted;
All emails containing personal data must be marked “confidential”;
Personal data may only be transmitted over secure networks;
All personal data being transferred physically should be transferred in a suitable container marked “confidential”;
No personal data may be shared informally, and if access is required to any personal data, such access should be formally requested from Management.
All hard copies of personal data, along with any electronic copies stored on physical media should be stored securely;
No personal data may be transferred to any employees, agents, or other parties, whether such parties are working on behalf of the Company or not, without authorisation; Personal data may not be transmitted over a wireless network if there is a reasonable wired alternative;
Personal data contained in the body of an email, whether sent or received, should be copied from the body of that email and stored securely. The email itself and associated temporary files should be deleted;
Where personal data is to be transferred in hardcopy form, it should be passed directly to the recipient.
Scope
This Policy applies to all personal data held by Herts Independent Social Support. Personal data, as held by the Company is stored in the following ways and in the following locations:
Computers permanently located in the Company’s premises in the United Kingdom;
Data Subject Rights and Data Integrity
All personal data held by the Company is held in accordance with the requirements of the GDPR and data subjects’ rights thereunder.
Data subjects are kept fully informed of their rights, of what personal data the Company holds about them, how that personal data is used, and how long the Company will hold that personal data.
Data subjects are given control over their personal data held by the Herts Independent Social Support including the right to have incorrect data rectified, the right to request that their personal data be deleted or otherwise disposed of, the right to restrict the Company’s use of their personal data, and further rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling.
Personal data must be handled with care at all times and should not be left unattended or on view;
Computers used to view personal data must always be locked before being left unattended;
No personal data should be transferred to any device personally belonging to an employee and personal data may only be transferred to devices belonging to other parties working with the Company where the party in question has agreed to comply fully with the Company’s Data Protection Policy and the GDPR;
All electronic copies of personal data should be stored securely using passwords and encryption;
All passwords used to protect personal data should regularly be changed and must be secure;
Under no circumstances should any passwords be written down or shared. If a password is forgotten, it must be reset using the applicable method.
All software should be kept up-to-date. Security-related updates should be installed as soon as reasonably possible after becoming available;
No software may be installed on any Company-owned computer or device without approval.
The following organisational measures are in place within Herts Independent Social Support to protect the security of personal data.
All employees and other parties working on behalf of Herts Independent Social Support shall be made fully aware of both their individual responsibilities and the Company’s responsibilities under the GDPR and under the Company’s Data Protection Policy;
Only employees and other parties working on behalf of the Company that need access to, and use of, personal data in order to perform their work shall have access to personal data held by Herts Independent Social Support;
All employees working on behalf of the Company handling personal data will be appropriately trained to do so;
All employees working on behalf of Herts Independent Social Support; handling personal data will be appropriately supervised;
All employees and other parties working on behalf of Herts Independent Social Support handling personal data should exercise care and caution when discussing any work relating to personal data at all times;
Methods of collecting, holding, and processing personal data shall be regularly evaluated and reviewed;
The performance of those employees and other parties working on behalf of the handling personal data shall be regularly evaluated and reviewed;
All employees and other parties working on behalf of Herts Independent Social Support; handling personal data will be bound by contract to comply with the GDPR and the Company’s Data Protection Policy;
Where any agent or other party working on behalf of Herts Independent Social Support; handling personal data fails in their obligations under the GDPR and/or the Company’s Data Protection Policy, that party shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any costs, liability, damages, loss, claims or proceedings which may arise out of that failure.
Data Disposal
Upon the expiry of the data retention periods or when a data subject exercises their right to have their personal data erased, personal data shall be deleted, destroyed, or otherwise disposed of as follows:
Personal data stored electronically (including any and all backups thereof) shall be deleted securely using the force method;
Special category personal data stored electronically (including any and all backups thereof) shall be deleted securely using the force method;
Personal data stored in hardcopy form shall be shredded;
Special category personal data stored in hardcopy form shall be shredded;
Data Retention
As stated above, and as required by law, Herts Independent Social Support shall not retain any personal data for any longer than is necessary in light of the purpose(s) for which that data is collected, held, and processed.
Different types of personal data, used for different purposes, will necessarily be retained for different periods.
When establishing and/or reviewing retention periods, the following shall be taken into account
The objectives and requirements of the Company;
The type of personal data in question;
The purpose(s) for which the data in question is collected, held, and processed;
The Company’s legal basis for collecting, holding, and processing that data;
The category or categories of data subject to whom the data relates;
Roles and Responsibilities
The Company’s Data Protection Officer Lynne Neate can be requested when required.
The Data Protection Officer shall be responsible for overseeing the implementation of this Policy and for monitoring compliance with this Policy, the Company’s other Data Protection-related policies (including, but not limited to, its Data Protection Policy), and with the GDPR and other applicable data protection legislation.
The Data Protection Officer shall be directly responsible for ensuring compliance with the above data retention periods within their departments.
Any questions regarding this Policy, the retention of personal data, or any other aspect of GDPR compliance should be referred to the Data Protection Officer.
Implementation of Policy
This Policy shall be deemed effective as of 25/05/2018. No part of this Policy shall have retroactive effect and shall thus apply only to matters occurring on or after this date.
This Policy sets out the type(s) of personal data held by Herts Independent Social Support and how we use the personal information that we collect.
What information do we collect?
We receive information about you when you are referred to our service through Herts County Council or HPFT. This information will be provided by your care coordinator or your social worker. The information provided will be the amount of time commissioned to work with you, the cost of the commission and a risk assessment containing information to enable staff to support you. Hertsiss request that you complete a support plan and read and sign our terms and conditions. We also hold your name and address on file to enable staff to contact you and find where you live.
Why personal information is collected
The information that we collect about you enables Hertsiss staff to provide a tailored service and offer individual support to you our customers.
Who do we share your information with?
We share your information with staff at Herts Independent Social Support. Under some circumstances, we may be required to discuss information about you with your care coordinator or social worker.
We use an accounting package to record a short description of the support provided to you and for how long, this is then used to raise an invoice and sent to your referring team or to the individual if they personally fund the payment. We will not share your information with anyone else unless we have asked for your permission.
What do we do with your information
Keeping records is an essential part of running a safe and efficient service. We try to run a paperless service and all information that we have can only be accessed by management using a secure login procedure on our computers. Any paper files that we do have are kept in a lockable safe or cabinet.
How long do we keep your information
The information that we hold about you will be deleted after one year of your contract ending with Herts independent Social Support.