Asha North Staffordshire is committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about how we use data.

If you have any requests concerning your personal information or queries about this statement, please contact The Data Protection Lead, The Asha Centre, Unit 7 Hanley Business Park, Cooper Street, ST1 4DW. Alternatively, you can email info@asha-uk.org

Please note that all data is obtained, used and held in accordance with the requirements of The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679.

“Personal data” is information that relates to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified from that information, for example, a person’s name, identification number, location, online identifier. It can also include pseudonymised data.

“Special categories of personal data” is data which relates to an individual’s health, sex life, sexual orientation, race, ethnic origin, political opinion, religion, and trade union membership. It also includes genetic and biometric data (where used for ID purposes).

“Criminal offence data” is data which relates to an individual’s criminal convictions and offences.

“Data processing” is 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.

From service users – We collect personal information from those who use our advice services at Asha in order to provide assistance. This information is collected face-to-face once a client consent form has been signed – where appropriate – or when a client has verbally consented. We also collect information via the forms on our website.

Personal information we collect includes, but is not limited to: name, date of birth, telephone number, postal and email address, immigration history and status, accommodation status and the details of the issues with which service users request our assistance. From time to time we may request case studies and photographs from service users for publicity and reporting purposes. If we request this we will obtain the explicit signed consent of service users.

From staff and volunteers – We collect personal information from staff and volunteers when they are applying for staff or volunteer positions and once they are in post/a voluntary role. Personal information we collect includes, but is not limited to: name, date of birth, telephone number, postal and email address, bank details, emergency contact details.

From supporters and members – We collect personal information when supporters and members take part in particular activities so that we can respond appropriately. These activities include but are not limited to making a donation and signing up for our newsletter or email updates. The personal information we collect includes, but is not limited to: name, date of birth, telephone number, postal and email address and payment details. We will also ask you if and how you would like us to contact you again, for example via email, mail or phone.

From other organisations – If we receive information about service users from other organisations e.g. the Refugee Action, social services or the NHS we will destroy this information unless we obtain signed/verbal consent from service users allowing us to retain this information.

If you are a professional and/or partner contact, we may add you to our professional distribution list for relevant updates and information. If you would like to be removed from this list, please email us at the address above to make your request known.

Our lawful basis for storing and using your personal information is by your signed or expressly indicated consent. Service users will sign a consent form when accessing our service for the first time on a face-to-face basis, or verbal consent when accessing our services for the first time via telephone.

Supporters will actively opt-in via email and/or our website and/or third party specialist platforms for supporters. If you wish to withdraw consent and have your personal information deleted, please speak to a member of staff or contact The Data Protection Manager using the contact details at the top of this page.

In respect of service users, to provide them with the support they need to rebuild their lives.

In respect of staff and volunteers, to ensure we are complying with Human Resources procedure.

In respect of supporters, to properly administer and receipt donations made.

We do not share your personal information with other organisations who can contact you, unless you have explicitly given us permission to do so.

We will retain anonymised information for statistical purposes.

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect both at our premises and online.

When donating to Asha on our website, the donation forms are via our accounts with third party specialists and payment is processed online. All the forms on these systems use SSL encryption to ensure that the information is encrypted. We also take all appropriate measures to ensure that any personal information we receive is kept on secured servers. Access to our servers is restricted to a small team of trained staff who require a special login account to access the data.

We do not keep the card payment details of any donations from our website. If you make a donation with a credit or debit card via post or phone, we process this payment via our Business account and do not keep a record of your card details make the payment.

We do keep a record of how much you donated, the date it was donated, you name and contact details so we can send you a receipt and make sure we have your correct donation amount, in case you have an enquiry about your donations at a later date. We also keep details of gift aid amounts associated with your donation according to the statutory requirements from HM Revenue and Customs.

You have a right to see what personal data and/or casework information we hold about you.

To obtain a copy of your information please read our Subject Access Request Policy. Then complete our Subject Access Request Form and hand in/send to The Data Protection Manager at the address given at the top of this page.

Please note that we have a right to charge a fee of up to £10 for a Subject Access Request.

Service users – you can request your advisor to update your personal details on our electronic case management system by attending our General Advice drop-in session or during an appointment with your caseworker. Alternatively, you can contact The Data Protection Manager using the contact details given at the top of this page.

Members and supporters – you can request to update your personal information or contact preferences by contacting The Data Protection Manager using the contact details given at the top of this page.

You can unsubscribe from our e-newsletter by selecting the unsubscribe link at the bottom of all emails and following the instructions. Alternatively, you can contact The Data Protection Manager using the contact details given at the top of this page.

Please note: If you make a donation you will receive a one-off transactional email about your donation for your records.

Asha (all of its staff and volunteers) are not able to disclose or share information, without prior consent from you. However, there may be some cases when we will share the personal data of our supporters, such as:

A request from a law enforcement agency or court – We may need to disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to a court order or law enforcement agency.

In exceptional circumstances, where we think someone is at serious risk of being harmed or in immediate danger, we may contact the police, a local health or relevant safeguarding team to intervene.

If you have actively indicated to us that you are willing to share your details with another organisation as part of activity you undertake with Refugee Asha, this option will be indicated by a question asked by one of our staff or volunteers on our client consent forms.

We will not keep your personal information for longer than is necessary unless a legal obligation applies. In our experience, service users repeatedly return to our service over a number of years, necessitating the retention of personal information. The maximum time we will retain your data will be 3 years from the last date of consent.

When retaining personal information about children we will endeavour to obtain signed consent from the child’s responsible adult. Where this is not possible (e.g. unaccompanied asylum seeking children) children will give their own consent unless we have doubts about the child’s mental capacity.

Cookies are small text files which are transferred from our websites, applications or services and stored on your device. We use cookies to help us provide you with a personalised service, and to help make our websites, applications and services better for you.

Our cookies may be:

Session cookies –  These are temporary cookies that identify and track users within our websites, applications or services which are deleted when you close your browser or leave your session in the application or service.

Persistent cookies –  These are cookies which enable our websites, applications or services to “remember” who you are and to remember your preferences within our websites, applications or services and which will stay on your computer or device after you close your browser or leave your session in the application or service.

For more information, see our Cookie Policy. 

If you think there is a problem with the way we are handling your personal information, please speak to a member of staff or contact The Data Protection Manager using the contact details given at the top of this page.

If this does not resolve your complaint, you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

We may amend/update this policy by publishing a new version on this website at any time, so we encourage you to check back regularly to make sure that you are still happy with the terms under which we process your personal data.