Last updated January 2022

We want everyone who supports us, or who comes to us for support, to feel confident and comfortable with how any personal information you share with us will be looked after.

This Privacy Policy sets out how we collect, use and store your personal information (this means any information that identifies or could identify you).

The Maya Centre Privacy Policy may change so please remember to check back from time to time, this version was last updated on the 4^th January 2022.

Where we have made any changes to this Privacy Policy, we will make this clear on our website or contact you about any changes.

Who we are

The Maya Centre is a counselling centre for women, committed to protecting your personal information and making every effort to ensure that it is processed in a fair, open and transparent manner.

We are a “data controller” for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (“Data Protection Law”). This means that we are responsible for the processing of your personal information.

For further information about our privacy practices, please contact our Data Protection Officer by:

• Writing to The Maya Centre, Elthorne Road, London N19 4AJ
• Calling us on 020 7281 8970
• Emailing us at admin@mayacentre.org.uk

How we collect information about you

Whether you are someone approaching us for counselling or support, seeking information, booking into one of our events or making a donation, we need to keep information about you to give you the best possible attention.

Our legal basis for processing personal data is Legitimate Interest. Our guiding principle is that we only store data most relevant to you and we store this in strict confidence.

We collect information from you in the following ways:

When you interact with us directly:

This could be if you ask us about our activities, register with us for training or an event, make a donation to us, ask a question about mental health, purchase one of our gift cards, complete a survey providing feedback on our services, apply for a job or volunteering opportunity or otherwise provide us with your personal information. This includes when you phone us, visit our website or get in touch through the post, or in person.

We use your personal information:

• To process your donations or other payments, to claim Gift Aid on your donations and verify any financial transactions.
• To provide the services or goods that you have requested.
• To update you with important administrative messages about your donation, an event or services or goods you have requested.
• To comply with the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 and follow the recommendations of the official regulator of charities, the Charity Commission, which require us to identify and verify the identity of supporters who make major gifts so we can assess any risks associated with accepting their donations.
• To keep a record of your relationship with us.
• Where you volunteer with us, to administer the volunteering arrangement.

We may also use your personal information:

• To contact you about our work and how you can support The Maya Centre
• To invite you to participate in surveys or research.

When you visit our website:

This could be by signing up to our newsletter, or by connecting with us on social media. We will use this to send you information about the work of the Maya Centre news about projects, and appeals for funding. We will only email you this information with your consent, which you may amend at any time.

We use Google Analytics on our website to monitor visitor activity and make changes to improve functionality. Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies, which are stored on your devices. The information generated relating to the Maya Centre website can be used to create reports about the use of the site. Details captured during your visit could include, but are not limited to, the pages you visit, how long you spend on each page, how you got to the site (e.g. via a search engine), and what you click on while you’re visiting the site.

All data collected by Google Analytics is anonymous and will not identify you as an individual and we do not record your Internet Protocol address. Google, not the Maya Centre, stores activity information, and you can view Google’s privacy policy on their website, where you can also opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites.

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. You should be aware that we do not have any control over the content or security of external sites and therefore we cannot be held responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting these sites. You should exercise caution when disclosing personal information on any website and should read the website’s privacy statement to understand how your personal data will be used.

When you make a donation

If you give us your personal information in the process of making a donation to us, we will use your information in order to keep an accurate record of the donation and in case we need to contact you for necessary administrative purposes regarding your donation. Unless you opt out of receiving charity marketing, we will also add you to our supporters list and send you information as outlined above. You may opt out of this at any time including at the point of making a donation.

When you receive a service from us

When you receive a service from us, we keep confidential records so that:

• The therapist involved in your care has accurate and up to date information to assess your health and decide what care you need now and in the future.
• Full information is available if you see another therapist.
• There is a clear record to assess the type and quality of care you have received.
• Your concerns can be properly investigated if you have a complaint.
• The Maya Centre can provide statistical data to evidence our performance and improve our services – data used for these purposes is always anonymised.
• If you wish to share your story for a case study, funder, event, or on our website, you can always choose to use your name or remain anonymous.

We will always give you this choice and you can change your mind at any time.

We will not disclose your information to third parties (which can include your relatives) without your consent unless there are exceptional circumstances. Examples of this might include anyone reporting serious self-harm or posing a threat to others or sharing serious issues such as physical abuse or exploitation.

Anyone who receives any personal information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.

Agencies requesting data from The Maya Centre may include

• Social Services and Benefits Agencies who require medical reports on you from time to time, and requests for these will be disclosed only when accompanied by your signed consent.
• The police in matters of overriding public interest, for example where serious criminal offences have been committed.
• Law courts can insist that therapist centres disclose records to them. The Maya Centre must co-operate with the court but only following a formal subject access request which includes your consent.
• Solicitors may ask for reports which will be supplied only where relevant to your treatment and with your consent.
• Insurance companies may ask for reports on prospective clients or in pursuit of claims but client consent is required.

We process personal data about the following people

• clients
• staff
• volunteers
• trustees
• complainants
• supporters
• enquirers
• advisers
• representatives of other organisations

 

We process data depending upon the specific reasons/purposes/ groups listed above. Depending on the purpose, this may include

• personal details such as address, phone number, email
• family details
• health information such as your GP name and address
• lifestyle and social circumstances
• financial details (for donors)
• education and employment details (for members for staff and volunteers)

We also process Sensitive Personal Information that may include

• physical or mental health details
• racial or ethnic origin
• religious or other beliefs of a similar nature
• sexuality
• gender

If you provide us with any Sensitive Personal Information by telephone, email or by other means, we will treat that information with extra care and confidentiality and always in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Legal Basis of Processing

Data Protection regulations permit the processing of your data using the following bases, depending on the purpose of the processing, and how we use it to communicate with you:

Consent basis: we rely on your consent when sending you information by email about our work or fundraising appeals. We regularly update our supporter base and send out specific opt-in emails for our newsletter and other communications. There is always a button to unsubscribe from any Maya Centre communications.

Legitimate interest basis: we rely on legitimate interests when sending you information by post about our work for fundraising appeals and invitation for our networking events via email. When we do this, we will always provide you with easy ways to ask us not to send such information in the future.

 

Your data and your rights

• Access to your personal information: You have the right to request access to a copy of the personal information we hold about you, along with information on what personal information we use, why we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it for and whether it has been used for any automated decision making. You can make a request for access free of charge. Please make all requests for access in writing, and provide us with evidence of your identity to: Emma Brech, CEO, The Maya Centre, Unit 8, 9-15 Elthorne Road, London N19 4AJ or emma@mayacentre.org.uk

You will receive a response within 30 days with no charge, unless we deem it appropriate.

• Right to object: You can object to our processing of your personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes. Please contact us as noted above, providing details of your objection.

• Consent: If you have given us your consent to use personal information (for example, for marketing), you can withdraw your consent at any time.

• Rectification: You can ask us to change or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal information held about you.

• Erasure: You can ask us to delete your personal information where it is no longer necessary for us to use it, or you have withdrawn consent, or where we have no lawful basis for keeping it.

• Portability: You can ask us to provide you or a third party with some of the personal information that we hold about you in a structured, commonly used, electronic form, so it can be easily transferred.

• Restriction: You can ask us to restrict the personal information we use about you where you have asked for it to be erased or where you have objected to our use of it.

• No automated-decision making: Automated decision-making takes place when an electronic system uses personal information to make a decision without human intervention. You have the right not to be subject to automated decisions that will create legal effects or have a similar significant impact on you, unless you have given us your consent, it is necessary for a contract between you and us or is otherwise permitted by law. You also have certain rights to challenge decisions made about you. We do not currently carry out any automated decision-making.

Please note, some of these rights only apply in certain circumstances, where one of your rights does not apply, we will communicate the reason to you.

External requests for us to share data

We do not share your data with anyone without your prior consent, If you do give consent it must be done in person and you must sign the necessary consent form for us to keep in our records. For any data shared we will log who it was shared with and why.

How long we use and store your data

Your data is processed and stored for a period of 6 years to reflect the nature of our activities and those of our funders. If the data is finance related we will hold it for a period of 7 years as per the requirements of HMRC.

Safeguarding your data

Unless required to do so by law, we will never share your information with third parties unless we have your explicit permission to do so. This may be necessary for certain grant programmes or contracts, but we will always explain this to you and seek your permission before sharing.

We are committed to ensuring your personal information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect.

We use encryption methods on our website and other e-communications to ensure your data is kept safe. Our IT systems are constantly monitored with firewalls in place.

Our staff and volunteers are allowed access to your personal data once they have been properly trained in GDPR and data privacy and protection. Staff are issued with Maya Centre laptops and can only use these for their client work – all of our software requires two-factor authentication for staff to be able to record and update confidential records.

All data we collect electronically is securely backed up and hosted within the UK.

Complaints

You have the right to lodge a complaint to us using the following details 

The Maya Centre
Unit 8, 9-15 Elthorne Road
London N19 4AJ
admin@mayacentre.org.uk

and/or with the Information Commissioner’s Office, in the UK  – www.ico.org.uk