Women's McKenzie Friend

Please note that although it may be necessary to collect your personal information, this will not in any way be sold or loaned to a third party for marketing purposes.

There may be some rare occasions where we would be obliged to release specific information to the Police, but only if it is requested and legally bound by law.

The EU GDPR is designed to help all of us have more control over our personal data and how it is used.

The Company; Women’s McKenzie Friend (WMF) is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office. We ensure that all information is stored confidentially and in adherence to the processing and protection of data requirements and GDPR.

This privacy policy sets out how WMF limited, collect, use, process, retains and discloses the information you provide us. Your privacy is protected and important to us. If you provide identifiable personal information it will only be used to help us fulfil our responsibilities related to the services we provide.

To submit information to us, you have agreed with the terms of this policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not provide us your information. By providing WMF with your information you verify that you are over the age of 18.

General

Please be aware that personal information could also be shared during the process of providing an agreed service such as help with completion of application forms or information that you provide in relation to your case; which due to its nature, relies on discussing and documenting personal and sensitive information.

You have the right to request that your information not be used at any point. To do so, please contact us at info@womensmckenziefriend.com

Clients receiving support from Women’s WMF may wish to provide us with feedback on our services they have received. Any information will be anonymised prior to being published.

We will edit or remove any information that is specific or identifiable in your case.

We do not knowingly collect information from children (under 18).

We do not collect information from any other third party without consent.

How we use this information

All personal information that we collect and file will be used to provide you with an effective and responsive support service.

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties outside of our Terms and Conditions unless we have your permission or are required to, either by law or for regulatory reasons.

We may share your information without consent to other professional agencies in a number of specific situations. (Please see our full terms and conditions.

These include where there are significant safeguarding concerns. We may discuss details of cases with appropriate professional organisations if we consider a child is or could be at serious risk of harm. By agreeing to request the services of WMF, you acknowledge that these safeguarding measures will be put into effect in the event of serious concerns for a child or children. WMF has a full and robust Safeguarding policy in place for this purpose.

WMF may deem it necessary to share information to the appropriate professional organisation if there is a likely risk of significant harm to yourself or any other person.

We may also share information without consent to other professional agencies if we feel that it is proportionate and required where a crime has been committed.

How we protect personal information

The safety and security of your personal information is important to WMF and we implement the safeguards needed to protect it, ensure it is accurate, and keep it up to date such as:

• Our technical assets and IT practices are regularly assesed by security experts.
• Information is stored and received on an encrypted computer hard drive and backed up on an encrypted cloud platform.
• Printed papers are held for the duration of a court case and then securely disposed of after 24 months after the conclusion of a case.
• E-mails are received and sent by professional E-mail providers.
• Phone message are held by our independent telephone service provider.
• We use open source security systems backed by experts in the field.
• Recycling hardware through certified vendors to ensure secure deletion of any information on hardware being disposed of.
• Banking information is secured by a major UK banking institution as anindependent service provider.

WMF always endeavours to implement up to date and effective safety measures to mitigate against risk. However no matter what safety measures are implemented, information sent via the internet can never be guaranteed to be fully secure. Even though we do our best to ensure your personal information is safe, we cannot guarantee that the information you provide online or via email is fully secure. Information you send via internet or post is therefore sent at your own risk.

Retention of your information

At WMF we hold your information for only as long as necessary for the relevant activity and exercise of completing all service provision. We aim to delete all electronic records and destroy paper records after 24 months of your case concluding. An exception is if you wish to hold open your account in the expectation that you may need post court support or if a return to court is likely.

If you opt-out of communications, we normally keep the minimal amount of personal information needed to ensure your request is carried out (e.g. name, email, and address).

If you ask us to completely remove all of your information, we will do our best to carry out your request, but may not be able to if we were unable to keep the information required to track your request.

If your personal details change, please help us to keep your information up to date by notifying us at info@womensmckenziefriend.com

Your rights

For any personal information of yours that we hold, you have the right to request:

• That we verify, correct, restrict use of, and/or erase your information. To do so email info@womensmckenziefriend.com
• Please note, any information you shared via social media channels may remain after we carry out your requests on your information in our systems
• What information you receive (e.g. annual report, thank you letters, invitations to events, etc.) and how you receive it (i.e. phone, email, and/or post). You can provide us your preferences by completing our online contact form. If you complete the form more than once, we will use the form with the most recent date. Alternatively, email us at info@womensmckenziefriend.com
• A copy of the information we hold about you by emailing us at info@womensmckenziefriend.com

You also have the following rights under GDPR regulation, more information on these can be found on the ICO’s (Information Commissioner’s Office) guidance:

• The right to be informed
• The right of access
• The right to restrict processing
• The right to data portability
• The right to rectification
• The right to erasure
• Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
• The right to object

For more details regarding exceptions to your rights, please view the ICO’s guidance.

Complaints regarding our processing of your personal data can be made to the ICO; however we would appreciate the opportunity to address any issues you have with the way we process your data and can be contacted at info@womensmckenziefriend.com. If you do not feel we have addressed your complaint satisfactorily after talking with us you have the right to contact the ICO at any time.

Privacy Policy Changes

WMF constantly review how we process and protect data. As a result changes to our policy can occur at any time. We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy. WMF will post notice of the changes on our website. Please revisit this policy page each time you consider giving personal information.

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Changes will be effective upon the posting of the changes and your acceptance of the changes, which may be through your continued use of the site after the changes take effect.