Privacy Policy

Common Unity Limited and Forward For Life Limited

PRIVACY POLICY, December 2023


INTRODUCTION

Common Unity and Forward For Life are committed to protecting your personal information. Your personal data is yours, and we want you to be confident that we are using it responsibly, and that you can tell us to stop using it if you want. This Privacy Policy gives you detailed information on why and when we collect your personal information, how we use it, how we keep it secure, and how you can let us know if you would like us to change how we manage it. We’ll always aim to be very clear when we ask you to share any information with us and won’t do anything unexpected with it.

We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updates to this policy will be posted on this page and we may also inform you of any changes by email where appropriate.

This policy was last updated on 12 December 2023 in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Further information on data protection regulations and laws can be found at https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public

You can read the policy below.


ABOUT US

Common Unity Limited and Forward For Life Limited are companies registered in England and Wales. Common Unity has the company number 6943198. Forward For Life Limited has the company number 8301193. Both organisations can be contacted at the following address/email addresses if you have questions regarding your personal information or its use:

Common Unity/Forward For Life, 69 Steward Street, Suite 219, Birmingham, B18 7AF

info@forwardforlife.org or info@common-unity.org

Forward For Life Limited is the Data Controller of your personal information and will ensure it is used and stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998), the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations (2003) and as of the 25th of May 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679).


WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT AND HOW? 

We may collect and retain information which provides information about you that can be used to identify you. We only collect the information that is necessary to carry on our business activity, provide the particular product or service you have requested and to keep you informed. The type of personal data that we collect and how it is used depends on where and when it is gathered.


INFORMATION WE OBTAIN DIRECTLY FROM YOU :

– When you ask to subscribe to our Mailing List, we will collect your name and email address. 

– If you apply to be a volunteer or undertake a work placement we may collect your name, email address, phone number and date of birth. We will also ask whether you are a student and, if you are, where you study. We may use some of this data to contact you by email with news about our activities and volunteering opportunities.  If you begin to work with us, we will also collect emergency contact information.

– When you register to take part in an event or workshop, we collect your name and email address. We may collect additional information if the event/workshop specifically requires it.

– When you make a financial transaction directly with Common Unity and/or Forward For Life such as a purchasing a delegate place on our training, we may collect your name, email address, contact phone number(s), billing address, postal address and details of the amount paid.

– For events we may ask if you have any access or dietary requirements.

– When you send an email to Common Unity and Forward For Life, we may keep your email address for correspondence.

– We may also keep a record of your interactions with us, such as what events you have booked, any projects you may have participated in or supported and whether you have received, opened or clicked through any emails we may have sent.

– We collect information from feedback forms, both hard copy and online – any use of this data will be anonymised.

– When you post something about Common Unity and Forward For Life publicly on social media (e.g. X/Twitter, Instagram) we may record the post for use in publicity or for evaluation purposes. We also may reply to comments or questions you make to us on social media platforms.

– We collect job-related information if you apply to work with us.

– In certain circumstances and with your explicit consent we collect equal opportunities monitoring and other sensitive personal data. This may include sensitive personal data such as ethnic origin, gender, gender identity, disability, age, sexual orientation and/or social-economic background for equal opportunities monitoring purposes. Any use of this data would be anonymised. We take steps to ensure that any sensitive personal data is only collected where necessary, is subject to enhanced security measures, used only for the purposes agreed, and erased when no longer necessary.

– When we are recording live, audio or still images to document an event, workshop or performance we will always have clear signage up stating why we are recording. Please speak to a member of staff at the time if you do not wish to be recorded. These images may be used for archive or promotional purposes.


WEBSITES

When you visit websites run by Common Unity and Forward For Life, we may collect the following information:

– Automatically populated IP address: a public IP address is a unique number which allows a computer, group of computers or another internet connected device to browse the internet.  The log file records the time and date of your visit, the pages that were requested, the referring website (if provided) and your internet browser version.  This information is collected to help diagnose and manage the website, to audit the geographical make-up of visitors, and to establish how they have arrived at the website.

– Cookies: A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added, and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences. We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system. Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us. You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Some web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.


INFORMATION WE OBTAIN INDEPENDENTLY FROM YOU :

– Your information may be shared with us by independent organisations who we are working in partnership with. These organisations will only share information if you have indicated your consent and / or if it is required to complete a contract. You should check the organisation’s Privacy Policy when you provide your information to understand fully how they will process and safeguard your data.

– We may also collect information available publicly such as information found in places like Companies House, your biography on your work website or information that has been published in articles/ newspapers.

– Depending on your settings or the privacy policies of social media and messaging services like Facebook or Twitter, you might give third parties (like Common Unity and Forward For Life) permission to access information from those accounts or services. The majority of this behaviour is anonymised.  For more information on how to control your privacy settings for these services please consult the specific social media platform’s Privacy Policy. You may also see adverts from us on social media that are tailored to your interests.

This is not an exhaustive list, and we may retain different types of information for different individuals based on our activity and the service we are providing.  We have defined retention periods for your personal data based on the nature of the relationship we have with you. For information on how long we retain your data for, please contact Common Unity and Forward For Life using the contact details at the end of this policy.


WHY AND HOW WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION 

We may use your information for the purposes listed below either on the basis of:

– performance of your contract with us and the provision of our services to you.

– your consent (where we request it).

– where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation; or

– our legitimate interests (see below for further explanation).


LEGITIMATE INTEREST

Where we refer to using your information on the basis of our ‘legitimate interests’, we mean our legitimate business interests in conducting and managing our business and our relationship with you, including the legitimate interest we have in:

– personalising, enhancing, modifying or otherwise improving the services and/or communications that we provide to you;

– detecting and preventing fraud and operating a safe and lawful business;

– improving security and optimisation of our network, sites and services; 

– providing you with customer service.

Where we use your information for our legitimate interests, we make sure that we consider any potential impact that such use may have on you. Our legitimate interests don’t automatically override yours and we won’t use your information if we believe your interests should override ours unless we have other grounds to do so (such as your consent or a legal obligation). If you have any concerns about our processing, please get in touch using the contact details below.

Specifically, we use the information we collect from you in the following ways:

In the normal course of running our business, and to provide a service or carry out a contract with you:

– To fulfil booking requests.

– To process payments.

– To contact you with important changes or information relating to your bookings.

Where we have your consent:

– To send you our general marketing with information about what’s on, offers and news.

– To collect sensitive personal date for Equal Opportunities monitoring or safeguarding.

– To process any job applications submitted to us and set up payroll, pension plan etc. for new employees.

Where we have justifiable reason (including legal obligation and legitimate interest):

– To keep in contact with you about our news, events, new site features, services, or projects that we believe may be of interest to you (on the basis of our legitimate interests to provide you with marketing communications where we may lawfully do so). This will be targeted and determined on a case-by-case basis; not to be confused with our general marketing newsletter for which consent is required.

– To interact with users on social media platforms including Instagram, X, for example, responding to comments and messages, posting, ‘retweeting’ and ‘liking’ posts (on the basis of our legitimate interest in promoting our brand and communicating with interested individuals).

– To carry out aggregated and anonymised research about general audience engagement with our sites and services (on the basis of our legitimate interest in providing the right kinds of services to our site users and audiences).

– To enable us to comply with laws, our policies and procedures, to enforce protect or defend, legal rights (including those of third parties such as producers of shows performed at the theatre), or to protect the rights, property or safety of our employees and to share information with our technical and legal advisors (on the basis of our legitimate interests to operate a safe and lawful business or where we have a legal obligation to do so).

– To protect, investigate, and deter against fraudulent, unauthorised, or illegal activity, including identity fraud (on the basis of our legitimate interests to operate a safe and lawful business or where we have a legal obligation to do so).


LEGAL COMPLIANCE

– If we are required by law or requested by the police or a regulatory or government authority investigating potentially illegal activities to provide information concerning your activities, we will do so. We may also disclose personal data to appropriate third parties to assist in anti-fraud checks and investigations.


SHARING YOUR DATA WITH THIRD PARTIES

– Common Unity and Forward For Life will never share, sell, rent or trade personal information to any third parties for marketing purposes without your prior consent. We will ask for your consent to share personal information with organisations we are working in partnership with.

– There may be other instances when we are obliged to share personal data, for example if required to do so by the police or a regulatory or government authority investigating illegal activities.


HOW WE PROTECT PERSONAL DATA 

– Common Unity and Forward For Life is committed to protecting the personal information entrusted to us. Only employees and approved contractors/developers appointed by Common Unity and Forward For Life’s senior management team and who need the information to perform a specific job are granted access to personally identifiable information. We adopt robust and appropriate technologies and a Data Management Policy to protect your data from unauthorised access and improper use.

– In processing personal information as described in this document, some personal data may be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). By way of example, this may happen if any of the computer servers used to host Common Unity and Forward For Life’s website or file system are located in a country outside of the EEA. If Common Unity and Forward For Life transfers personal information outside of the EEA in this way, we will take steps to ensure that privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in the privacy policy.

– Common Unity and Forward For Life may transfer your data to the USA to organisations such as Microsoft or Google. The USA has weaker data protection laws than that of the EEA and therefore we will ensure that only organisations who are a part of the EU privacy shield initiative will handle personal information. More details on this certification can be found at www.privacyshield.gov/welcome

– Please note: Common Unity and Forward For Life are not responsible for the privacy notices and practices of other websites even if accessed using links from https://cuffl.org/ or other websites under our ownership being https://the-waitingroom.org and https://www.urbrum.org/ and we recommend that you check the policy of each website you visit and contact its owner or Data Protection Officer if you have any concerns or questions.

– Despite all our precautions, no data transmission over the internet are 100% secure. This means that we cannot guarantee the security of any information which you disclose to us and so wish to draw your attention to the fact that you do so at your own risk.


GIVING YOU CONTROL

– Personal data is your data, and we want to make sure you feel in control of it.

– If you are under 18, please ensure that you obtain your parent/guardian’s consent beforehand whenever you provide personal information to the website. If you don’t have that consent, you must not provide personal information to us.

We want it to be easy for you to access and amend the personal information that we hold about you, or request that we stop contacting you. 

– You can contact us by emailing or writing using our contact details below.

– At any time, you have the right to ask Common Unity and Forward For Life to amend or stop how it uses your personal information, including for marketing purposes.

– If you would like to see what information we hold about you, you can request full details of personal information we hold about you under The General Data Protection Regulation, by contacting Common Unity and Forward For Life via the contact details below. Please send a description of the information you would like to see, together with proof of your identity.

– You have the right to have any of your personal data that is held by us corrected. If you have any concern about the accuracy of your personal data, please let us know using the below contact details.

– If you would like us to remove the personal information we hold about you, please contact us using the below contact details.

– You have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority, The Information Commissioner’s Office – www.ico.org.uk


CONTACT US

Please contact us if you have any questions about how your data is used, or wish to be removed from any communications or data processing activities:


Email us: 

info@common-unity.org
info@forwardforlife.org


Write to us:

Common Unity and Forward For Life, 69 Steward Street, Suite 219, Birmingham B18 7AF.