Privacy Policy

1. Aims

AWH Holdings Ltd aims to ensure that all personal data collected about employees, clients and other individuals is collected, stored and processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).

This policy applies to all personal data, regardless of whether it is in paper or electronic format.

2. Legislation and guidance

This policy meets the requirements of the GDPR and the provisions of the DPA 2018. It is based on guidance published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on the GDPR and the ICO’s code of practice for subject access requests.

It also reflects the ICO’s code of practice for the use of surveillance cameras and personal information.

3. Definitions

Personal data - Any information relating to an identified, or identifiable, individual.

This may include the individual’s:

Name (including initials)
Identification number
Location data
Online identifier, such as a username

It may also include factors specific to the individual’s physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity.

Special categories of personal data - Personal data which is more sensitive and so needs more protection, including information about an individual’s:

Racial or ethnic origin
Political opinions
Religious or philosophical beliefs
Trade union membership
Genetics
Biometrics (such as fingerprints, retina and iris patterns), where used for identification purposes
Health – physical or mental
Sex life or sexual orientation

Processing - Anything done to personal data, such as collecting, recording, organising, structuring, storing, adapting, altering, retrieving, using, disseminating, erasing or destroying.

Processing can be automated or manual.

Data subject - The identified or identifiable individual whose personal data is held or processed.

Data controller

A person or organisation that determines the purposes and the means of processing of personal data.

Data processor - A person or other body, other than an employee of the data controller, who processes personal data on behalf of the data controller.

Personal data breach - A breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to personal data.

4. The data controller

The Company processes personal data relating to employee’s, clients and other individuals and therefore is a data controller.

AWH Holdings Ltd is registered as a data controller with the ICO and will renew this registration annually or as otherwise legally required.

5. Roles and responsibilities

This policy applies to all staff employed by AWH Holdings Ltd, and to external organisations or individuals working on our behalf. Members of staff who do not comply with this policy may face disciplinary action.

5.1 Data privacy officer

The data privacy officer is responsible for overseeing the implementation of this policy, monitoring our compliance with data protection law, and developing related policies and guidelines where applicable.

They will provide an annual report of their activities directly to the board and, where relevant, report to the board their advice and recommendations on any AWH Holdings Ltd data protection issues.

The privacy officer is also the first point of contact for individuals whose data AWH Holdings Ltd processes, and for the ICO.

Our privacy officer is XXXX and is contactable via privacy officer @ XXXX

5.2 All staff

Employees are responsible for:

Collecting, storing and processing any personal data in accordance with this policy
Informing AWH Holdings Ltd of any changes to their personal data, such as a change of address
Contacting the privacy officer in the following circumstances:
- With any questions about the operation of this policy, data protection law, retaining personal data or keeping personal data secure
- If they have any concerns that this policy is not being followed
- If they are unsure whether or not they have a lawful basis to use personal data in a particular way
- If they need to rely on or capture consent, draft a privacy notice, deal with data protection rights invoked by an individual, or transfer personal data outside the European Economic Area
- If there has been a data breach
- Whenever they are engaging in a new activity that may affect the privacy rights of individuals
- If they need help with any contracts or sharing personal data with third parties

6. Data protection principles

The GDPR is based on data protection principles that AWH Holdings Ltd must comply with.

The principles say that personal data must be:

Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner
Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate AWH Holdings Ltd poses
Adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it is processed
Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
Kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed
Processed in a way that ensures it is appropriately secure

This policy sets out how AWH Holdings Ltd aims to comply with these principles.

7. Collecting personal data

7.1 Lawfulness, fairness and transparency

We will only process personal data where we have one of 6 ‘lawful bases’ (legal reasons) to do so under data protection law:

The data needs to be processed so that AWH Holdings Ltd can fulfil a contract with the individual, or the individual has asked AWH Holdings Ltd to take specific steps before entering into a contract
The data needs to be processed so that AWH Holdings Ltd can comply with a legal obligation
The data needs to be processed to ensure the vital interests of the individual e.g. to protect someone’s life
The data needs to be processed so that AWH Holdings Ltd can perform a task in the public interest, and carry out its official functions
The data needs to be processed for the legitimate interests of AWH Holdings Ltd or a third party (provided the individual’s rights and freedoms are not overridden)
The individual has freely given clear consent

For special categories of personal data, we will also meet one of the special category conditions for processing which are set out in the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

7.2 Limitation, minimisation and accuracy

We will only collect personal data for specified, explicit and legitimate reasons. We will explain these reasons to the individuals when we first collect their data.

If we want to use personal data for reasons other than those given when we first obtained it, we will inform the individuals concerned before we do so, and seek consent where necessary.

Staff must only process personal data where it is necessary in order to do their jobs.

When employees no longer need the personal data they hold, they must ensure it is deleted or anonymised. This will be done in accordance with AWH Holdings Ltd’s Records Management Policy/Data Retention Schedule.

8. Sharing personal data

We will not normally share personal data with anyone else, but may do so where:

There is an issue that puts the safety of our staff at risk
We need to liaise with other agencies – we will seek consent as necessary before doing this
Our suppliers or contractors need data to enable us to provide services to our staff – for example, IT companies. When doing this, we will:
- Only appoint suppliers or contractors which can provide sufficient guarantees that they comply with data protection law
- Establish a data sharing agreement with the supplier or contractor, either in the contract or as a standalone agreement, to ensure the fair and lawful processing of any personal data we share
- Only share data that the supplier or contractor needs to carry out their service, and information necessary to keep them safe while working with us

We will also share personal data with law enforcement and government bodies where we are legally required to do so, including for:

The prevention or detection of crime and/or fraud
The apprehension or prosecution of offenders
The assessment or collection of tax owed to HMRC
In connection with legal proceedings
Where the disclosure is required to satisfy any safeguarding obligations
Research and statistical purposes, as long as personal data is sufficiently anonymised or consent has been provided

Where we transfer personal data to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area, we will do so in accordance with data protection law.

9. Subject access requests and other rights of individuals

9.1 Subject access requests

Individuals have a right to make a ‘subject access request’ to gain access to personal information that AWH Holdings Ltd holds about them. This includes:

Confirmation that their personal data is being processed
Access to a copy of the data
The purposes of the data processing
The categories of personal data concerned
Who the data has been, or will be, shared with
How long the data will be stored for, or if this isn’t possible, the criteria used to determine this period
The source of the data, if not the individual
Whether any automated decision-making is being applied to their data, and what the significance and consequences of this might be for the individual

Subject access requests must be submitted in writing, either by letter, email or fax to the Privacy officer. They should include:

Name of individual
Correspondence address
Contact number and email address
Details of the information requested

If staff receive a subject access request they must immediately forward it to the privacy officer.

9.2 Responding to subject access requests

When responding to requests, we:

May ask the individual to provide 2 forms of identification
May contact the individual via phone to confirm the request was made
Will respond without delay and within 1 month of receipt of the request
Will provide the information free of charge
May tell the individual we will comply within 3 months of receipt of the request, where a request is complex or numerous. We will inform the individual of this within 1 month, and explain why the extension is necessary

We will not disclose information if it:

Might cause serious harm to the physical or mental health of another individual

If the request is unfounded or excessive, we may refuse to act on it, or charge a reasonable fee which takes into account administrative costs.

A request will be deemed to be unfounded or excessive if it is repetitive, or asks for further copies of the same information.

When we refuse a request, we will tell the individual why, and tell them they have the right to complain to the ICO.

9.3 Other data protection rights of the individual

In addition to the right to make a subject access request (see above), and to receive information when we are collecting their data about how we use and process it (see section 7), individuals also have the right to:

Withdraw their consent to processing at any time
Ask us to rectify, erase or restrict processing of their personal data, or object to the processing of it (in certain circumstances)
Prevent use of their personal data for direct marketing
Challenge processing which has been justified on the basis of public interest
Request a copy of agreements under which their personal data is transferred outside of the European Economic Area
Object to decisions based solely on automated decision making or profiling (decisions taken with no human involvement, that might negatively affect them)
Prevent processing that is likely to cause damage or distress
Be notified of a data breach in certain circumstances
Make a complaint to the ICO
Ask for their personal data to be transferred to a third party in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (in certain circumstances)

Individuals should submit any request to exercise these rights to the privacy officer. If employees receive such a request, they must immediately forward it to the privacy officer

10. Photographs and videos

As part of AWH Holdings Ltd activities, we may take photographs and record images of individuals within the company.

We will obtain written consent from employees for photographs and videos to be taken for communication, marketing and promotional materials. We will clearly explain how the photograph and/or video will be used.

Uses may include:

Within AWH Holdings Ltd on notice boards and in company magazines, brochures, newsletters, etc.
Online on our website or social media pages
By the company on promotional material such as brochures or website

Consent can be refused or withdrawn at any time. If consent is withdrawn, we will delete the photograph or video and not distribute it further.

11. Data protection by design and default

We will put measures in place to show that we have integrated data protection into all of our data processing activities, including:

Appointing a suitably qualified privacy officer, and ensuring they have the necessary resources to fulfil their duties and maintain their expert knowledge
Only processing personal data that is necessary for each specific purpose of processing, and always in line with the data protection principles set out in relevant data protection law (see section 6)
Completing privacy impact assessments where AWH Holdings Ltd’s processing of personal data presents a high risk to rights and freedoms of individuals, and when introducing new technologies (the privacy officer will advise on this process)
Integrating data protection into internal documents including this policy, any related policies and privacy notices
Regularly training members of staff on data protection law, this policy, any related policies and any other data protection matters; we will also keep a record of attendance
Regularly conducting reviews and audits to test our privacy measures and make sure we are compliant
Maintaining records of our processing activities, including:
- For the benefit of data subjects, making available the name and contact details of our AWH Holdings Ltd and privacy officer and all information we are required to share about how we use and process their personal data (via our privacy notices)
- For all personal data that we hold, maintaining an internal record of the type of data, data subject, how and why we are using the data, any third-party recipients, how and why we are storing the data, retention periods and how we are keeping the data secure

12. Data security and storage of records

We will protect personal data and keep it safe from unauthorised or unlawful access, alteration, processing or disclosure, and against accidental or unlawful loss, destruction or damage.

In particular:

Paper-based records and portable electronic devices, such as laptops and hard drives that contain personal data are kept under lock and key when not in use.
Papers containing confidential personal data must not be left on office desks or left anywhere else where there is general access.
Where personal information needs to be taken off site, staff must sign it in and out from AWH Holdings Ltd office.
Passwords that are at least 8 characters long containing letters and numbers are used to access AWH Holdings Ltd computers, laptops and other electronic devices. Employees are reminded to change their passwords at regular intervals.
Encryption software is used to protect all portable devices and removable media, such as laptops and USB devices.
Where we need to share personal data with a third party, we carry out due diligence and take reasonable steps to ensure it is stored securely and adequately protected (see section 8).

13. Disposal of records

Personal data that is no longer needed will be disposed of securely. Personal data that has become inaccurate or out of date will also be disposed of securely, where we cannot or do not need to rectify or update it.

For example, we will shred or incinerate paper-based records, and overwrite or delete electronic files. We may also use a third party to safely dispose of records on AWH Holdings Ltd’s behalf. If we do so, we will require the third party to provide sufficient guarantees that it complies with data protection law.

14. Personal data breaches

AWH Holdings Ltd will make all reasonable endeavours to ensure that there are no personal data breaches.

In the unlikely event of a suspected data breach, we will follow the procedure set out in appendix 1.

When appropriate, we will report the data breach to the ICO within 72 hours. Such breaches in a AWH Holdings Ltd context may include, but are not limited to:

Sensitive personal information being made available to an unauthorised person.
The theft of a company laptop or phone containing non-encrypted personal data.

15. Training

All staff and local committee are provided with data protection training as part of their induction process.

Data protection will also form part of continuing professional development, where changes to legislation, guidance or AWH Holdings Ltd’s processes make it necessary.

16. Monitoring arrangements

The privacy officer is responsible for monitoring and reviewing this policy.

This policy will be reviewed and updated if necessary every 2 years and shared with the employees.

Appendix 1: Personal data breach procedure

This procedure is based on guidance on personal data breaches produced by the ICO.

On finding or causing a breach, or potential breach, the staff member or data processor must immediately notify the privacy officer
The privacy officer will investigate the report, and determine whether a breach has occurred. To decide, the privacy officer will consider whether personal data has been accidentally or unlawfully:
- Lost
- Stolen
- Destroyed
- Altered
- Disclosed or made available where it should not have been
- Made available to unauthorised people
The privacy officer will make all reasonable efforts to contain and minimise the impact of the breach, assisted by relevant staff members or data processors where necessary. (Actions relevant to specific data types are set out at the end of this procedure)
The privacy officer will assess the potential consequences, based on how serious they are, and how likely they are to happen
The privacy officer will work out whether the breach must be reported to the ICO. This must be judged on a case-by-case basis. To decide, the privacy officer will consider whether the breach is likely to negatively affect people’s rights and freedoms, and cause them any physical, material or non-material damage (e.g. emotional distress), including through:
- Loss of control over their data
- Discrimination
- Identify theft or fraud
- Financial loss
- Unauthorised reversal of pseudonymisation (for example, key-coding)
- Damage to reputation
- Loss of confidentiality
- Any other significant economic or social disadvantage to the individual(s) concerned
If it’s likely that there will be a risk to people’s rights and freedoms, the privacy officer must notify the ICO.
The privacy officer will document the decision (either way), in case it is challenged at a later date by the ICO or an individual affected by the breach.
Where the ICO must be notified, the privacy officer will do this via the ‘report a breach’ page of the ICO website within 72 hours. As required, the privacy officer will set out:
- A description of the nature of the personal data breach including, where possible:
  - The categories and approximate number of individuals concerned
  - The categories and approximate number of personal data records concerned
- The name and contact details of the privacy officer
- A description of the likely consequences of the personal data breach
- A description of the measures that have been, or will be taken, to deal with the breach and mitigate any possible adverse effects on the individual(s) concerned
If all the above details are not yet known, the privacy officer will report as much as they can within 72 hours. The report will explain that there is a delay, the reasons why and when the privacy officer expects to have further information. The privacy officer will submit the remaining information as soon as possible
The privacy officer will also assess the risk to individuals, again based on the severity and likelihood of potential or actual impact. If the risk is high, they will promptly inform, in writing, all individuals whose personal data has been breached. This notification will set out:
- The name and contact details of the privacy officer
- A description of the likely consequences of the personal data breach
- A description of the measures that have been, or will be, taken to deal with the data breach and mitigate any possible adverse effects on the individual(s) concerned
The privacy officer will notify any relevant third parties who can help mitigate the loss to individuals – for example, the police, insurers, banks or credit card companies
The privacy officer will document each breach, irrespective of whether it is reported to the ICO. For each breach, this record will include the:
- Facts and cause
- Effects
- Action taken to contain it and ensure it does not happen again (such as establishing more robust processes or providing further training for individuals)
Records of all breaches will be stored.
The privacy officer and board will meet to review what happened and how it can be stopped from happening again. This meeting will happen as soon as reasonably possible

Actions to minimise the impact of data breaches

We will take the actions set out below to mitigate the impact of different types of data breach, focusing especially on breaches involving particularly risky or sensitive information. We will review the effectiveness of these actions and amend them as necessary after any data breach.

Sensitive information being disclosed via email

If special category data (sensitive information) is accidentally made available via email to unauthorised individuals, the sender must attempt to recall the email as soon as they become aware of the error.
Members of staff who receive personal data sent in error must alert the sender and the privacy as soon as they become aware of the error.
If the sender is unavailable or cannot recall the email for any reason, the privacy officer will ask the IT department to recall it.
In any cases where the recall is unsuccessful, the privacy officer will contact the relevant unauthorised individuals who received the email, explain that the information was sent in error, and request that those individuals delete the information and do not share, publish, save or replicate it in any way.
The privacy officer will ensure we receive a written response from all the individuals who received the data, confirming that they have complied with this request.
The privacy officer will carry out an internet search to check that the information has not been made public; if it has, we will contact the publisher/website owner or administrator to request that the information is removed from their website and deleted.

Other types of breach may include:

Employee’s pay information being shared with local committee.
A AWH Holdings Ltd laptop containing non-encrypted sensitive personal data being stolen or hacked.