Introduction 

At Migrant Help and our subsidiaries, we are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about how we use your data.  We will only use the information we collect about you lawfully.  This, together with our website terms and conditions, tells you about what we collect and how we use and store your personal information.   

If you have any queries about our privacy statement, please contact us on [email protected] 

At Migrant we have over 50 years of knowledge and experience of giving advice and support to vulnerable migrants in the UK.  The services we presently offer are: 

  • Advice and guidance to asylum seekers 
  • Specialist Support for Victims of Trafficking 
  • Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme 

How we collect information from you 

Migrant Help supports vulnerable people in a number of ways and we collect information in different areas: 

  • Asylum Helpline 
  • Regional offices around the country 
  • Victims of Slavery and Support Services, and; 
  • Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme 

These services may be available by telephone, email, SMS, letter and face-to-face in a number of settings. 

Some of the information you give to us will be held on central systems and accessed by authorised staff. 

Third Party Organisations 

You may have provided permission for us to share your data with third parties, including charities or statutory bodies. 

What personal data we collect and how we use it 

Any information we collect about you will: 

  • Be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully and shall not be processed unless certain conditions are met  
  • Be obtained for a specified and lawful purpose and shall not be processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose
  • Be adequate, relevant and not excessive for those purposes  
  • Be accurate and kept up to date  
  • Not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose  
  • Be processed in accordance with the data subject's rights  
  • Be kept safe from unauthorised access, accidental loss or destruction  
  • Not be transferred to a country outside the European Economic Area, unless that country has equivalent levels of protection for personal data  

The type and quantity of information we collect and how we use it depends on why you are providing it.  

Clients 

If contacting the Asylum Helpline for advice and assistance, the Data Storage Agreement and Data Release Storage information will be read to you in English or you can request it be interpreted in an available language.  at this you decline consent, our advisers will be unable to provide you with advice and support.  If you agree, this will be noted our database and a Customer Care Pack will be posted out to you with the English printed version of the consent form.   

If you have contacted Migrant Help for advice and help, we may need to refer or liaise with other agencies such as: 

  • Home Office 
  • Police 
  • Benefits Agency 
  • Social Services 
  • Healthcare services 
  • Educational services 
  • Utility providers 

Records of our work will be kept securely, these may be electronic or paper copy.  Once the application is complete, documentation will be retained for a period of time of ten years beyond the last date of entry on the records.    Any paper documentation is disposed of by secure shredding.  Electronic files will be deleted securely by the IT Department. 

Donors 

If you support us by making a donation, you can do this in two ways, sending a cheque or setting up a direct debit via Just Giving or similar donations system.  We will collect the following details: 

  • Your name 
  • Your contact details 
  • Your bank or credit card details 

If you set up a regular donation using web giving sites, you will need to set up an account the site.  You can select to remain anonymous or give your name, address and amount you wish to donate.  These websites will share the details that you have agreed for them to share.  We will write to you to confirm we have received your donation and ask whether we can keep in contact. 

We will use your data to: 

  • Administer your donation or support your fundraising, including processing gift aid 
  • Ensure we know how you prefer to be contacted.  We will ask you to give your permission via email, letter or telephone 

We do not sell or share personal details third parties for the purposes of marketing.  If we run an event in partnership with another named organisation your details may need to be shared. We will be very clear what will happen to your data when you register. 

CCTV  

We utilise CCTV at some locations.  We comply with necessary legislation regarding signage.  We retain footage for seven days or in the case of an incident, longer as required to investigate or resolve the incident.  The recording is then erased. 

Making a complaint 

Migrant Help has a complaints procedure for their services.  Complaints must be reported in writing either via an email or using the complaints form which can be found on the website. 

All logged complaints are given a unique reference number.  Any complaints regarding Asylum Help will be shared with the Home Office quarterly. No personal details are shared with the Home Office regarding the identity of the complainant.  Each complaint is logged by the reference number given to it.    

How we keep your data safe and who has access  

Migrant Help that there are appropriate technical controls in place to protect your personal details.  For example, our online forms are always encrypted and our network is protected and routinely monitored.  

We undertake regular reviews of who has access to information that we hold to ensure that your information is only accessible by appropriately trained personnel.   

We may use external companies to collect or process personal data on our behalf. We do comprehensive checks on these companies before we work with them, and put a contract in place that sets out our expectations and requirements, especially regarding how they manage the personal data they collect or have access to.   

We may need to disclose your details if required to the government and regulatory bodies or legal advisors. 

We will only ever share your data in other circumstances if we have your explicit and informed consent. 

If you have any queries about this statement please contact the Chief Operating Officer at Migrant Help: [email protected] 

Using our website 

What are cookies? 
This website uses cookies to collect information.  Cookies are small data files which are placed on your device when you browse a website.  Cookies are essential to the effective operation of our website and improve the performance and your experience of using our website. They may be essential to some aspects of the website for example if you are required to register to attend an event or purchase a service. 

Information collected 
Some cookies may collect information about browsing behaviour from the same device.  This includes information about pages viewed. We do not use cookies to collect or record any personal information such as name, address or other contact details. 

How do I disable cookies? 
If you want to disable cookies you need to change your website browser settings to prevent cookies being stored.  How you do this will depend on the browser you use. Typing:  “How do I disable cookies” into any popular search engine will give you a list of pages showing you how to do this in your own Internet browser. 

What happens if I disable cookies? 

This depends on which cookies you disable, but in the site will not operate properly if cookies are switched off.  

IP Addresses 

IP addresses may be collected by analytical systems when connecting to our website are not linked to individuals. 

Your right to know what data we keep, how to make changes or ask us to stop using your data 

Clients and donors of Migrant Help have the right to access any personal data that is being kept about them by Migrant Help.  

  • Any client who wishes to exercise this right should contact their adviser in the first instance;
  • In order to gain access, requests should be made in writing;
  • The organisation aims to comply with requests for access to personal information as quickly as but will ensure that it is provided within 30 days as per the GDPR guidelines. This can be extended where requests are complex or numerous, but the individual must be notified within one month of the receipt of the request and given an explanation why the extension is needed. 

Lawful Basis  

Under the DPA we process data under the “conditions for processing”. Under the GDPR, this is our “lawful basis” for processing personal data. This policy documents our lawful basis. The lawful basis for processing data can include:  

  1. a. Consent of the data
  1. . Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal
  1. . Processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of a data subject or another
  1. . Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the
  1. . Processing is necessary for purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the controller or a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests, rights or freedoms of the data subject.  

 

The conditions for special categories of data, formerly known as sensitive data are:  

  1. a. Explicit consent of the data subject, unless reliance on consent is prohibited by EU or Member State
  1. . Processing is necessary for carrying out obligations , social security, social protection law or a collective
  1. . Processing necessary to protect the vital interests of a data subject where the subject is incapable of giving
  1. . Processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal
  1. . Processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public
  1. . Processing is necessary for the assessing the working capacity of the
  1. . Processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health  

 

Under this basis, we rely on the conditions for specific processing:  

  1. a. Client data - Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller and processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests of the controller.  

In regard to special categories, we will seek consent from clients to collect, store and process their data. 

In addition, in regard to special categories, processing is necessary for the establishment exercise or defence of legal claims.