CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY

 

INTRODUCTION

This Confidentiality Policy has been produced to safeguard the interest of the Afar Community Association in UK (ACA), and as well as its Management Committee members, staff, volunteers and service users equally. ACA believes that maintaining and preserving confidentiality is enormously in the best interests of all individuals and should therefore extend and apply throughout every aspect of ACA’s functions.

 

OVERVIEW

This policy outlines the position of ACA on matters of confidentiality. It shall be a binding document which is to be accepted in its entirety by all members, staff, volunteers and trustees of Afar Community Association in UK. It shall be observed at all times and in all circumstances. Breaches of this policy will be regarded as gross misconduct.

 

1. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

 

   1.1.   ACA recognises that ACA (staff, volunteers, and trustees) gain information about individuals and organisations during the course of their work or activities. In most cases such information will not be stated as confidential and staff may have to exercise common sense and discretion in identifying whether information is expected to be confidential. This policy aims to give guidance but if in doubt, seek advice from the Centre Co-ordinator, or Manager.

 

   1.2.   Staff and volunteers are able to share information with their line manager in order to discuss issues and seek advice.

 

   1.3.   Volunteers and staff should avoid exchanging personal information or comments (gossip) about individuals and organisations with whom they have a professional relationship.

 

   1.4.   It is not appropriate to discuss a person’s sexuality (i.e. ‘outing’ a gay person) without their prior consent.

 

   1.5.   ACA Volunteers, Staff should avoid talking about organisations or individuals in social settings.

 

   1.6.   ACA volunteers and staff will not disclose to anyone, other than their Service Manager, or Programme Co-ordinator, any information considered sensitive, personal, financial or private without the knowledge or consent of the individual, or an officer, in the case of an organisation.

 

   1.7.   There may be circumstances where volunteers or staff would want to discuss difficult situations with each other to gain a wider perspective on how to approach a problem. The organisation’s consent must be sought before discussing the situation, unless the staff or service providers are convinced beyond doubt that the organisation would not object to this. Alternatively, a discussion may take place with names or identifying information remaining confidential.

 

   1.8.   Where there is a legal duty on ACA to disclose information, the person to whom the confidentiality is owed will be informed that disclosure has or will be made.

 

 

2. WHY INFORMATION IS HELD?

 

  2.1.   Most information held by ACA relates to volunteers, staff, trustees and service users or services which support them.

 

  2.2.   Information is kept to enable ACA volunteers, staff, and trustees to understand the history and activities of our organisation in order to deliver the most appropriate services.

 

  2.3.   ACA has a role in putting Afar people in touch with voluntary and community organisations and keeps contact details which are passed on to any enquirer, except where the group or organisation expressly requests that the details remain confidential.

 

  2.4.   Information about volunteers is given to known groups or statutory agencies which request volunteers, but is not disclosed to anyone else.

 

  2.5.   Information about ethnicity and disability of users is kept for the purposes of monitoring our equal opportunities policy and also for reporting back to funders.

 

 

 

3. ACCESS TO INFORMATION

 

  3.1.   Information is confidential to ACA as an organisation and may be passed to Centre Manager or Trustees to ensure the best quality service for users.

 

  3.2.   Where information is sensitive, i.e. it involves disputes or legal issues; it will be confidential to the employee dealing with the case and their project co-ordinator or Centre Manager. Such information should be stored securely in locked filing cabinets or in safe place.

 

  3.3.   Staff or volunteers will not withhold information from their Programme Co-ordinator or Centre Manager unless it is purely personal.

 

  3.4.   Individuals and organisations (including staff and volunteers) may have sight of ACA records held in their name or that of their organisation. The request must be in writing to the Centre Manager or Programme Co-ordinator and be signed by the individual, or in the case of an organisation’s records, by the Chair.

 

  3.5.   When photocopying or working on confidential documents, staff or volunteers must ensure they are not seen by people in passing. This also applies to information on computer screens.

 

 

4. STORING INFORMATION

 

  4.1.  General non-confidential information about organisations, such as publicity materials, is kept in non-secure storage.

 

   4.2.   Information about volunteers will be kept in secure storage by the Volunteering Development Worker or by the Centre Co-ordinator. The designated person of Volunteering Development issues must ensure that Centre Manager or “line manager” know how to gain access to these records.

 

  4.3.  Employees’ personnel information will be kept in lockable filing cabinets by Programme Co-ordinator or Centre Manager.

 

  4.4.  All staff, volunteers should ensure that sensitive information, that is stored electronically, if there is access to do so, is saved on the Y drive of their computers and not on shared drives such as the Z drive.

 

  4.5.   If material is saved on floppy disks or other portable storage media extreme care should be taken to avoid losing the information. No copies of confidential information should be saved on computers that are not the property of ACA at all. No such material or information should be left unattended in a vehicle or with friends or elsewhere by any reason.

 

  4.6.  In an emergency situation, the Chairman of the ACA may authorise access to confidential files by other people.

 

5.  METHODS OF COMMUNICATION

 

  5.1.  When a private interview or meeting takes place it should be held in a private room, (if there is such private room to do so), where the conversation cannot be overheard. Such rooms include offices where no-one else is present and with doors that can be closed and the small and large meeting rooms.

 

  5.2.  Care needs to be taken when discussing confidential issues in the reception area as other people (external to ACA) may be present in that area.

 

  5.3. When using the telephone for calls of a confidential nature it is important to ensure privacy. Should ACA have an additional room, during more private situation, if necessary; transfer the call to a telephone in a more private location.

 

  5.4.  Confidential information should not normally be sent by fax. If it is absolutely necessary to do so the front page of the fax should clearly indicate that the material is “Private and Confidential” and who the intended recipient is.

 

  5.5.  When sending confidential information by email, ensure that you have addressed the email message correctly and are only sending it to the intended recipient(s).

 

6.  DUTY TO DISCLOE INFORMATION

 

  6.1.  There is a legal duty to disclose some information including:

       6.1.1.  Child abuse will be reported to the Social Services Department;

     6.1.2.  Drug trafficking, money laundering, acts of terrorism or treason will be disclosed to the police immediately.

 

  6.2.  In addition volunteers, staff or any member of the Organisation believing an illegal act has taken place, or that a user is at risk of harming themselves or others, must report this to the Centre Manager who will report it to the appropriate authorities.

 

7. DATA PROTECTION ACT

 

   7.1.  Information about individuals, whether on computer or on paper, falls within the scope of the Data Protection Act and must comply with the data protection principles. These are that personal data must be :

• Obtained and processed fairly and lawfully

• Held only for specified purposes

• Adequate, relevant and not excessive

• Accurate and up to date

• Not kept longer than necessary

• Processed in accordance with the Act

• Kept secure and protected

• Not transferred out of ACA or UK

 

8. BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY

 

  8.1. Employees who are dissatisfied with the conduct or actions of other volunteers, staff or some members of Management Committee of ACA should raise this with their service provider, case worker using ACA’s Grievance Procedure, if necessary, and not discuss their dissatisfaction outside the Organisation.

 

  8.2.  Staff or volunteers accessing unauthorised files or breaching confidentially may face disciplinary action.

 

  8.3.  Ex-employees breaching confidentiality may face legal action.

 

9. CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT

 

Upon commencing employment with ACA all staff must sign the ACA‘s Commitment to Confidentiality Statement. A copy of the signed statement is retained by the employee and another by the Centre Manager.

 

The policy of Confidentiality was re-viewed and approved by the Management Committee of the Afar Community Association in UK at its meeting held on Saturday, 30th May 2015, at the Afar Community Centre (Registered Office) located in Tower Hamlets, Whitechapel, London, E1 1HL.

 

Signed by _______________________________ Date: 2nd June 2015

Name: Mr. A. Yusuf

Position: President