Privacy Policy

Because of the different uses we have for different types of data, we handle data on individuals who use our services (individuals we call our "guests") differently than individuals who volunteer at or support Glass Door. Also please find information below on how we handle information about staff and job applicants.  

Glass Door Services (casework and shelter)

If you are receiving advice, guidance or support from us, we will need to process your data because of your specific relationship with us.

We will keep all your case information – including notes, letters, documents and information given to us about you – in a confidential record that is specific to you. These will either be held in locked draws or on our customer relationship management system (CRM) “In-Form” (www.homeless.org.uk), which retains our advice, guidance and support. This means that we can keep the information you provide us, so we are able to see the history and relevant details of your case(s). This ensures that we provide appropriate and accurate advice or support.

We take information security very seriously. No one is allowed access to our system or files unless they need the information in order to effectively provide our services.

To ensure that our services meet a high standard of quality, client files are sometimes checked by a quality assurance service (Advice Quality Standard – AQS). All audit information is provided in office; therefore files will never be taken out of premises by auditors. All auditors are bound by confidentiality policies set out in this notice.

Any advocacy done on your behalf to any external agency will be done with your prior written or verbal explicit consent. Information or emails exchanged with these services will be over a secure network with the appropriate levels of encryption considered.

We may use your data for statistical reports. These statistics will not include any information that could be used to identify any individual.

Fundraising/campaigning/direct marketing

We would love to keep you up to date with our fundraising, marketing and campaign activity.

We use a range of marketing activities and channels to contact our supporters – including our website, face-to-face fundraising, direct mail and email.

We will obtain your consent to contact you by email for marketing purposes.

We will send you marketing by post, on the basis of it being within our legitimate interests to do so, unless you opt-out. See section ‘Our legal basis for processing data’ for more information about our use of legitimate interests.

Glass Door does not engage in telephone campaigning with its supporters. We will only call you if we encounter any issues with your donation, Gift Aid or sign-up.

We send digital and print marketing materials on the following activities:

1. updates about Glass Door’s work and future plans (via print newsletters, annual reports, e-newsletters) to inform you of how your involvement is making a difference in the lives of the people who turn to us for support
2. appeals and fundraising activities – including requests for donations; information about how you can leave a gift in your will, how you can raise money on our behalf, attend or take part in a fundraising event; and updates on the impact that your fundraising activities have had on our work
3. events – primarily our annual Sleep Out event but including details of our challenges, such as RideLondon or other sponsored runs and activities, as well as other events such as concerts and exhibitions in aid of Glass Door. Please note that if you sign up to a Glass Door event, we will also send you administrative communications about how you can take part. On occasion we will also send you a reminder about the same event in future years, in case you want to participate in it again.
4. volunteering – information about how you can help support Glass Door by giving up your time or using your influence to progress our aims, along with updates on the impact of your involvement and invitations to volunteer-specific training and networking opportunities.

We will never share or sell your personal data to a third-party organisation for its marketing, fundraising or campaigning purposes.

Administrative communications to supporters

In addition to the fundraising and marketing communications that you receive from Glass Door, we will also communicate with you by post, telephone, and email in relation to administrative and transactional matters. For example, we will email you after you have set up a Direct Debit or to confirm your details. There may also be other occasions where we need to contact you about your donation – for example, if there is a problem with a payment or in relation to your gift aid declaration.

On occasion, we will also contact you about an event that you have signed up to participate in, i.e. to provide any other necessary information for our Sleep Out such as dates, things to bring and be aware of etc.

Volunteers at Glass Door’s Night Shelters will only be contacted for administrative reasons in extenuating circumstances, i.e. to inform you if a shelter venue has been moved at late notice.

As mentioned above, we may still need to communicate with you for administrative purposes even where you have opted out of marketing communications from us.

Supporter research and analysis

We may use profiling and database segmentation techniques to analyse your personal information, and create a profile of your interests, preferences and ability to donate. This allows us to ensure communications are relevant and timely, to provide an improved experience for our supporters. It also helps us understand the background of our supporters so that we can make appropriate requests to those who may be willing and able to donate more than they already do, or leave a gift in their will. This enables us to raise funds quicker and in the most cost-effective way.

Our Fundraising team uses information that is already in the public domain (information that has been published in print or online) to identify high-net-worth individuals who may be interested in supporting our work with a major gift. These publicly available sources of information include Companies House, the electoral register, the phone book, the Charity Commission’s Register of Charities, Who’s Who, LinkedIn, company annual reports, and articles in newspapers and magazines. We do not use publicly available sources that we consider would be intrusive for this purpose, such as Facebook, Twitter, JustGiving, the Land Registry, online planning applications, or websites that are like these. We also carry out research to identify existing supporters who may be able to join our major donor programme. This is based both on publicly available information and information our supporters have given us voluntarily (e.g. where a person lives, who they bank with, what their occupation is and their age).

Under data protection legislation, you have the right to object to your data being processed in this way. If you have any concerns, please contact our Fundraising team.

We are also legally required to carry out checks on individuals who give us large donations, to comply with our duties in respect of anti-money laundering legislation and the prevention of fraud.

Applying for a Glass Door job

When you apply for a job with us, your personal data will be collated to monitor the progression of your application, and the effectiveness of the recruitment process through the statistics collected. Where we need to share your data – such as for gathering references, obtaining a Disclosure and Barring Services (depends on the role), or a prison clearance (depends on the role) – you will be informed beforehand, unless the disclosure is required by law. These checks are done only after a position has been offered and only to the successful candidate. We will contact referees supplied by the applicant only after receiving permission from the applicant to do so.

Personal data about unsuccessful applicants are held for 12 months after the recruitment exercise is complete for that vacancy. You, as an applicant, can ask us to remove your data before this time if you do not want us to hold it.

Once you have taken up employment with Glass Door, we will compile a file relating to your employment. The information contained in this will be kept secure and will only be used for purposes directly relevant to your employment. Once your employment with us has ended, we will retain the file in accordance with the requirements of our retention schedule and then delete it from our files.