Willow Privacy Notice for Volunteers  

Data Controller: Willow Foundation, Gate House, Fretherne Road, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 6NS.  Tel: 01707 259777 

Person Responsible for volunteers Data Protection:  

Jo Tredgett, HR & Volunteer Manager, Tel: 01707 591149 

Purpose 

Willow is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. 

This privacy notice describes how we collect and use personal information about you during and after your volunteering relationship with us, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). 

It applies to all volunteers. 

Introduction 

Willow is a “data controller”.  This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you.  We are required under data protection legislation to notify you of the information contained in this privacy notice. 

This notice applies to current and former volunteers.  We may update this notice at any time. 

It is important that you read this notice, together with any other privacy notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal information about you, so that you are aware of how and why we are using such information. 

What information does Willow collect? 

We collect and process a range of information about you.  This may include: 

• Your name; 
• Your contact details, including your address, postcode, email address and telephone numbers; 
• Your date of birth; 
• Information about your marital status and emergency contacts; 
• Details of your  volunteering schedule including days and hours of volunteering; 
• Details of any training including induction, health and safety, data protection and where required, manual handling; 
• References in support of your volunteer application; 
• Equal opportunities monitoring information, including information about your ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health and religion or belief. 

We may collect this information in a variety of ways.  For example, data might be collected through application forms, CVs or resumes; from forms completed by you at the start of or during volunteering (such as volunteer new starter forms); from correspondence with you; or through interviews, meetings or other assessments. 

In some cases, the organisation may collect personal data about you from third parties, such as references supplied by former colleagues or employers. 

Data will be stored in a range of different places, including on our database system Raisers Edge and in other IT systems (including Willow’s email system and SharePoint). 

Why does Willow process personal data? 

The organisation needs to process data to enter into a volunteer agreement with you and to meet its obligations under those agreements.   

In some cases, we need to process data to ensure we are complying with our legal obligations.  For example, to comply with health and safety laws. 

In other cases, Willow has a legitimate interest in processing personal data before, during and after the end of the volunteering relationship.  Processing volunteer data allows Willow to: 

• Make a decision about your recruitment or appointment; 
• Determine the terms on which you volunteer for us; 
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date volunteering records and contact details (including details of who to contact in the event of an emergency); 
• Ensure effective general volunteer and business administration; 
• Provide references on request for current or former volunteers; 
• Respond to and defend against legal claims; and 
• Maintain and promote equality in the workplace. 

Some of the above grounds for processing will overlap and there may be several grounds which justify our use of your personal information. 

Where the organisation processes other special categories of personal data, such as information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health or religion or belief, this is done for the purposes of equal opportunities monitoring. 

Who has access to data? 

Your information may be shared internally, including with the HR & Volunteer Manager, members of the Finance team , your supervisor, managers in the business area in which you work and IT Systems Support if access to the data is necessary for the performance of their roles. 

Willow shares your data with third parties in order to obtain references from other employers or character referees, prior to volunteering commencing. 

Willow will not transfer your data to countries outside the European Economic Area. 

How does Willow protect data? 

Willow takes the security of your data seriously.  The organisation has internal policies and controls in place to try to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by its employees in the performance of their duties. Further detail is included in Willow’s Data Security Policy. 

Where Willow engages third parties to process personal data on its behalf, they do so on the basis of written instructions; are under a duty of confidentiality and are obliged to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the security of data. 

For how long does Willow keep data? 

We will hold your personal data for the duration of your volunteering relationship.  The period for which your data is held after the end of your volunteering with us is 2 years.  

Your rights 

As a data subject, you have a number of rights.  You can: 

• Access and obtain a copy of your data on request; 
• Require the organisation to change incorrect or incomplete data; 
• Require the organisation to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing; and 
• Object to the processing of your data were the organisation is relying on its legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing 

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact Jo Tredgett, HR & Volunteer Manager by email at: [email protected] or by post: Gate House, Fretherne Road, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 6NS. 

If you believe that the organisation has not complied with your data protection rights, you can complain to the Information Commissioner. 

What if you do not provide personal data? 

Certain information such as contact details and emergency contact details has to be provided to enable Willow to enter into a volunteering agreement with you.   If you do not provide other information, this will hinder Willow’s ability to administer the rights and obligations arising as a result of the volunteering relationship efficiently. 

Automated decision-making 

Volunteering decisions are not based solely on automated decision-making. 

Related Policies 

There are a number of supporting Data Protection Policies:

• Data Protection  
• Data Retention 
• Data Security 
• Data Strategy 
• Data Usage and Privacy 

If you are unable to access these online, please speak to your supervisor in the first instance who will be able to provide you with hard copies.