Privacy Policy

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Privacy Notice

Introduction

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is an EU directive, comes into force in May 2018 and will be incorporated into UK data protection laws, so will apply even after the UK leaves the EU. The GDPR consolidates and strengthens current data protection safeguards as developed under the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) considers that if organisations are already compliant with the current data protection laws, they will most likely find it easy to comply with the GDPR.

This privacy notice is a public document, available to anyone using church facilities who might provide their personal information for any purpose, and in whatever ways, including on the church website.

1. Business details

Our registered church building is at 143-145 Glendale Gardens, Leigh-on-Sea SS9 2BE

Leigh Elim Church is a registered charity as a member of the Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance, who provide services to the public.

Leigh Elim Church run one church and some outreach services to people in the local community.

2. Aims of this notice

Leigh Elim Church is required by law to tell you about your rights and our obligations regarding our collecting and processing any of your personal information, which you might provide to us. We have a range of policies and procedures to ensure that any personal information you supply is only with your active consent and will always be held securely and treated confidentially in line with the applicable regulations. We have listed the relevant documents in a later section (6) and can make any available on request.

3. What personal information we collect about Church Members, Volunteers/Employees and Third parties

Church Members

As a registered charity, we collect some personal information on our members, including contact information, pastoral records and some financial information, which is essential to our being able to provide effective care and support. The information is held on church records (manual and electronic), which are subject to security and authorised access policies. Personal information that becomes inactive, e.g. from members who do not remain in church are also kept securely for as long as it is needed, before being safely disposed.

Volunteers/Employees

Leigh Elim Church operates a safe recruitment policy to comply with the regulations in which all personal information obtained, including CVs and references, is, like members information, securely kept, retained and disposed of in line with data protection requirements. All employees are aware of their right to access any information about them.

Third parties

All personal information obtained about others associated with the church, including contractors, visitors, etc will be protected in the same ways as information on service users and employees.

4. How we collect information

The bulk of members’, volunteers’ and thirds parties’ personal information is collected directly from them or through form filling, mainly manually, but also electronically for some purposes, e.g.: when contacting the church via its website.

With volunteers, personal information is obtained directly and with consent through such means as references, testimonials and criminal records (DBS) checks. When recruiting staff, we seek applicants explicit consent to obtain all the information needed for us to decide to employ them.

All personal information obtained to meet our regulatory requirements will always be treated in line with our explicit consent, data protection and confidentiality policies.

Our website and databases are regularly checked by experts to ensure they meet all privacy standards and comply with our general data protection security and protection policies.

5. What we do with personal information

All personal information obtained on members, volunteers and third parties is used only to ensure that we provide a service, which is consistent with our purpose of being a church whom serve the local community, which meets all regulatory standards and requirements. It will not be disclosed or shared for any other purpose.

6. How we keep your information safe

As already stated, Leigh Elim Church has a range of policies and procedures that enable us to comply with all data protection requirements. Foremost are:

Access to Member and Volunteer Data
Complaints
Computer Security
Confidentiality of Members Information
Personal Data Protection
Record Keeping

7. With whom we might share information

We only share the personal information of members, volunteers and others with their consent on a “need to know” basis, observing strict protocols in doing so. Likewise, we would not disclose information about our employees without their clear agreement, e.g. when providing a reference.

The only exceptions to this general rule would be where we are required by law to provide information, e.g.: to help with a criminal investigation. Even when seeking to notify the local authority of a safeguarding matter, we would only do so with consent or ensure that the information provided is treated in confidence.

Where we provide information for statistical purposes, the information is aggregated and provided anonymously so that there is no privacy risk involved in its use.

8. How personal information held by Leigh Elim Church can be accessed

There are procedures in place to enable any member, volunteer or third party whose personal information we possess and might process in some way to have access to that information on request. (See the policies and procedures listed in No. 6 above.) The right to access includes both the information and any uses which we might have made of the information.

9. How long we keep information

Church Members

We will hold your personal data for as long as you are a member of the church. If you are found not to be in regular attendance, the church leadership team will have the right to reconsider your membership and may contact your regarding this.

Volunteers

Your personal data will be used as long as you remain a part of a team at Leigh Elim Church. Having left a team, your contact information will no longer be used in relation to church events/communications regarding that team’s service to the church.

10. What are your rights regarding your personal data?

All members, volunteers and third parties have the following rights regarding their personal data.

The right to access your data
The right to rectify your personal data
The right for your data to be erased from our records
The right for your consent to be withdrawn
The right to lodge a complaint about Leigh Elim Church with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

11. How we keep our privacy policies up to date

Pastor Derrick Wilks and Maria Purkiss (Church Secretary) have been appointed to control and process personal information in our organization. They are delegated to assess all privacy risks continuously and to carry out comprehensive reviews of our data protection policies, procedures and protocols at least annually.