Privacy Policy

Data Protection

Policy

Acacia Homecare believes that all records required for the protection of Customers and efficient running of the company should be collected, maintained and kept according to the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR).

Acacia Homecare is registered under the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR) and all storage and processing of personal data held in manual records and on computers at the offices of the Company will comply with the regulations of the act. Acacia Homecare understands that, according to the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR), personal data should:

be obtained fairly and lawfully
be held for specified and lawful purposes
be processed in accordance with the person’s rights under the DPA
be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to that purpose
be kept accurate and up to date
not be kept longer than is necessary for its given purpose
be subject to appropriate safeguards against unauthorised use, loss or damage

Company responsibilities

Acacia Homecare will provide training to all staff to ensure that they are familiar with and able to adhere to the policies on data protection and on confidentiality as part of their induction process.
Learning outcomes will be tested and they will be required to sign a confidentially agreement to evidence their understanding of the policies
Training in the correct method for entering information in Customers’ records will be given to all care staff.
Acacia Homecare will appoint a nominated data user/controller for the Company.
The nominated data user/data controller for the Company will be trained appropriately in the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR).
All staff who need to use the computer system will be thoroughly trained in its use.

Confidentiality

When a support package first starts the person receiving services will be provided with a ‘Customer Pack’. This pack will contain, amongst other things, the Company policies on confidentiality and within those policies there will be reference to the right to share certain information in the best interests of the person receiving support. These will have been explained to the person, their relatives or representatives and authority from them sought to use when it is in their best interests and related to their overall care.

Outside of such authority given by a person receiving support or their representatives and where not concerning people involved in a person’s care and thus legitimately authorised to receive it, all information regarding the person receiving support, their relatives, friends and representatives must remain confidential.

Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR)

Records kept at the office regarding a person receiving support are also subject to control under the Data Protection Act and the person has a right to access any personal data information stored or being processed by the Company. They are entitled to know the source of such personal data; the nature of the personal data held about them, the purposes for which that personal data is being held and processed and the persons to whom that information may be disclosed and the source of that data.

When requested Acacia Homecare will inform its customers of the name of its Data Protection Guardian who ensures that we comply with all aspects of our obligations under the Act. They operate as protectors of data held and will offer the appropriate advice to all company staff. Therefore, if staff have any doubts about their/our obligations under the Act, they should refer to the Data Guardian for guidance. Before staff make any disclosure of information to anyone outside of the Company, they must check first with their Supervisor/Manager who will check with the named Data Guardian. The Data Guardian will inform them of whether the disclosure fits the purpose for which the data is being held. They will also advise on whether the person to whom staff intend to disclose the data is authorised by the Company to have it, and the data subject is aware that this type of disclosure is possible and most importantly has consented to it. This information will then be advised to staff directly by their Supervisor/Manager.

Acacia Homecare has an obligation to store such records for specified lengths of time as laid out in both the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR).

The Data Protection Act is underpinned by eight important principles. These say that

personal data must:

Be processed fairly and lawfully
Be obtained only for specific, lawful purposes
Be adequate, relevant and not excessive
Be accurate and kept up to date
Not be held for any longer than necessary
Processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects
Be protected in appropriate ways
Not be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), unless that country or territory also ensures an adequate level of protection

Process for dealing with a Serious Breach of Confidentiality

Acacia Homecare treats the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information very seriously and will take disciplinary action against any member of staff who is found to have committed such a breach. The disciplinary action would take into account the seriousness of the proven breach. Where the breach of confidentiality was proven and deemed to be serious, such disciplinary action could lead to the dismissal of the person committing such breach.

Responsibilities

Everyone who works for or with Acacia Homecare has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately.

Each team that handles personal data must ensure that it is handled and processed in line with this policy and data protection principles.

However, these people have key areas of responsibility:

The board of directors is ultimately responsible for ensuring that Acacia Homecare meets its legal obligations.

The data protection officer, Vicky Kondal, is responsible for:

Keeping the board updated about data protection responsibilities, risks and issues.
Reviewing all data protection procedures and related policies, in line with an agreed schedule.
Arranging data protection training and advice for the people covered by this policy.
Handling data protection questions from staff and anyone else covered by this policy.
Dealing with requests from individuals to see the data Acacia Homecare holds about them (also called ‘subject access requests’).
Checking and approving any contracts or agreements with third parties that may handle the company’s sensitive data.

The IT manager, Jesse Kondal, is responsible for:

Ensuring all systems, services and equipment used for storing data meet acceptable security standards.
Performing regular checks and scans to ensure security hardware and software is functioning properly.
Evaluating any third-party services the company is considering using to store or process data. For instance, cloud computing services.

The marketing manager, Vicky Kondal, is responsible for:

Approving any data protection statements attached to communications such as emails and letters.
Addressing any data protection queries from journalists or media outlets like newspapers.
Where necessary, working with other staff to ensure marketing initiatives abide by data protection principles.

Subject access requests

All individuals who are the subject of personal data held by Acacia Homecare are entitled to:

Ask what information the company holds about them and why.
Ask how to gain access to it.
Be informed how to keep it up to date.
Be informed how the company is meeting its data protection obligations.

If an individual contacts the company requesting this information, this is called a subject access request.

Subject access requests from individuals should be made by email, addressed to the management at your local office . The data controller can supply a standard request form, although individuals do not have to use this.

The data controller will always verify the identity of anyone making a subject access request before handing over any information.

Disclosing data for other reasons

In certain circumstances, the Data Protection Act allows personal data to be disclosed to law enforcement agencies without the consent of the data subject.

Under these circumstances, Acacia Homecare will disclose requested data. However, the data controller will ensure the request is legitimate, seeking assistance from the board and from the company’s legal advisers where necessary.

Providing information

Acacia Homecare aims to ensure that individuals are aware that their data is being processed, and that they understand:

How the data is being used
How to exercise their rights

Here we set out how the data is being used for customers and employees joining the organisation applicants:

Customer Privacy Policy

Acacia Homecare uses your personal data for a number of different reasons. Personal data in any information that identifies you, or in some cases, information that is about you such as an opinion. It includes your name, all contact details, date of birth, health and medical records, marital status, religious beliefs and likes and dislikes.

We comply with the law in place in the UK around data protection when we use your personal data, which is known as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). It allows us to use your data for a number of reasons without checking with you it is ok for us to do so. For example, where we can show that we have legitimate reasons to use your personal data or where we need to use your personal data to provide us with the services you have requested from us or to meet a legal obligation placed on us.

The personal data we hold for you as mentioned above are requirements so we can provide you with the care package as requested. Your personal data will only be processed in house and not shared with any third parties. The only time it may be shared is when necessary with the NHS, regulatory bodies and/or the authorities.

We will be keeping your records for as long as the care package is in place and for a minimum of 5 years thereafter. We will hold your personal data for a maximum of 10 years if we deem that specific information will be required for legal purposes only.

Your rights:

You can request access to your personal information that we hold or you can ask to stop using or remove your personal data any time by contacting the management at your local office by email, telephone or post. Details can be found on your local office web page or other communication sources.

Employee Privacy Policy

Acacia Homecare uses your personal data for a number of different reasons. Personal data in any information that identifies you, or in some cases, information that is about you such as an opinion. It includes your name, all contact details, date of birth, payroll details, identity documents, health and medical records, marital status, disability status, education history and work history.

The personal data we hold for you as mentioned above are requirements so we can process your application fairly, prove your identity, understand your relevant experience, do necessary criminal checks for legal purposed and include you in our payroll. Your personal data will only be processed in house and not shared with any third parties. The only time it may be shared is with the regulatory bodies, relevant authorities and our payroll company. We will inform you when your details are shared with the above.

We will be keeping your records for successful and unsuccessful applicants for a minimum of 5 years. We will hold your personal data for a maximum of 10 years if we deem that specific information will be required for legal purposes only.

Your rights

You can request access to your personal information that we hold or you can ask to stop using your personal data any time by contacting management at your local office by email, telephone or post. Details can be found on your local office web page or other communication sources.

Website Privacy Policy

1.1 We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors and customers.

1.2 This policy applies where we are acting as a data controller with respect to the personal data of our website visitors and customers in other words, where we determine the purposes and means of the processing of that personal data.

1.3 Our website incorporates privacy controls which affect how we will process your personal data. By using the privacy controls, you can specify whether you would like to receive direct marketing communications and limit the publication of your information.

1.5 In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Acacia Homecare. For more information about us, see Section 13.

How we use your personal data

3.1 In this Section 3 we have set out:

(a) the general categories of personal data that we may process;

(b) in the case of personal data that we did not obtain directly from you, the source and specific categories of that data;

(d) the legal bases of the processing.

3.2 We may process data about your use of our website and services (“usage data“). The usage data may include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths, as well as information about the timing, frequency and pattern of your service use. The source of the usage data is our analytics tracking system. This usage data may be processed for the purposes of analysing the use of the website and services. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely monitoring and improving our website and services.

3.5 We may process your personal data that are provided in the course of the use of our services (“service data”).The service data may include your name, your postal address, your email address and your telephone number. The source of the service data is you. The service data may be processed for the purposes of operating our website, providing our services, ensuring the security of our website and services, maintaining back-ups of our databases and communicating with you. The legal basis for this processing is consent OR our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.

3.6 We may process information contained in any enquiry you submit to us regarding goods and/or services (“enquiry data“). The enquiry data may be processed for the purposes of offering, marketing and selling relevant goods and/or services to you. The legal basis for this processing is consent.

3.10 We may process information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our email notifications and/or newsletters (“notification data“). The notification data may be processed for the purposes of sending you the relevant notifications and/or newsletters. The legal basis for this processing is consent.

3.11 We may process information contained in or relating to any communication that you send to us (“correspondence data“). The correspondence data may include the communication content and metadata associated with the communication. Our website will generate the metadata associated with communications made using the website contact forms. The correspondence data may be processed for the purposes of communicating with you and record-keeping. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business and communications with users.

3.12 We may process any of your personal data identified in this policy where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the protection and assertion of our legal rights, your legal rights and the legal rights of others.

3.14 We may process any of your personal data identified in this policy where necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, or obtaining professional advice. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper protection of our business against risks.

3.15 In addition to the specific purposes for which we may process your personal data set out in this Section 3, we may also process any of your personal data where such processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.

3.16 Please do not supply any other person’s personal data to us, unless we prompt you to do so.

Providing your personal data to others

4.1 We do not provide your personal data to third parties.

International transfers of your personal data

5.1 In this Section 5, we provide information about the circumstances in which your personal data may be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

5.2 The hosting facilities for our website are situated in the USA. The European Commission has made an “adequacy decision” with respect to the data protection laws of the USA. Transfers to the USA will be protected by appropriate safeguards, namely the use of standard data protection clauses adopted or approved by the European Commission.

Retaining and deleting personal data

6.1 This Section 6 sets out our data retention policies and procedure, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal data.

6.2 Personal data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.

6.3 We will retain your personal data as follows:

(a) Your name and contact details will be retained for a minimum period of 5 years following date of enquiry and for a maximum period of 10 years following date of enquiry

6.5 Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we may retain your personal data where such retention is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.

Amendments

7.1 We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.

7.2 You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this policy.

7.3 We may will notify you of significant changes to this policy through the private messaging system on our website.

Your rights

8.1 In this Section 8, we have summarised the rights that you have under data protection law. Some of the rights are complex, and not all of the details have been included in our summaries. Accordingly, you should read the relevant laws and guidance from the regulatory authorities for a full explanation of these rights.

8.2 Your principal rights under data protection law are:

(a) the right to access;

(b) the right to rectification;

(d) the right to restrict processing;

(e) the right to object to processing;

(f) the right to data portability;

(g) the right to complain to a supervisory authority; and

(h) the right to withdraw consent.

8.3 You have the right to confirmation as to whether or not we process your personal data and, where we do, access to the personal data, together with certain additional information. That additional information includes details of the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned and the recipients of the personal data. Providing the rights and freedoms of others are not affected, we will supply to you a copy of your personal data. The first copy will be provided free of charge, but additional copies may be subject to a reasonable fee.

8.4 You have the right to have any inaccurate personal data about you rectified and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have any incomplete personal data about you completed.

8.5 In some circumstances you have the right to the erasure of your personal data without undue delay. Those circumstances include: the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed; you withdraw consent to consent-based processing; you object to the processing under certain rules of applicable data protection law; the processing is for direct marketing purposes; and the personal data have been unlawfully processed. However, there are exclusions of the right to erasure. The general exclusions include where processing is necessary: for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; for compliance with a legal obligation; or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

8.6 In some circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data. Those circumstances are: you contest the accuracy of the personal data; processing is unlawful but you oppose erasure; we no longer need the personal data for the purposes of our processing, but you require personal data for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; and you have objected to processing, pending the verification of that objection. Where processing has been restricted on this basis, we may continue to store your personal data. However, we will only otherwise process it: with your consent; for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person; or for reasons of important public interest.

8.7 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data on grounds relating to your particular situation, but only to the extent that the legal basis for the processing is that the processing is necessary for: the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of any official authority vested in us; or the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party. If you make such an objection, we will cease to process the personal information unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

8.8 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes including profiling for direct marketing purposes. If you make such an objection, we will cease to process your personal data for this purpose.

8.9 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes on grounds relating to your particular situation, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.

8.10 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal data is:

(a) consent; or

(b) that the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract,

and such processing is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. However, this right does not apply where it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.

8.11 If you consider that our processing of your personal information infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. You may do so in the EU member state of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.

8.12 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal information is consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.

8.13 You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice to us, in addition to the other methods specified in this Section 8.

Our details

13.1 This website is owned and operated by our franchisor Acacia Homecare Franchise Ltd

13.2 We, One Healthcare Ltd, are registered in England under registration number 12207789 and our registered office is at 100 Berkshire Place, Winnersh, Wokingham, RG41 5RD

13.3 Our principal place of business is at 100 Berkshire Place, Winnersh, Wokingham, RG41 5RD

13.4 You can contact us:

(a) by post, to the postal address given above;

(b) using our website contact form;

(d) by email, using the email address published on our website from time to time.

0118 321 5219

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