Advice > About us > Confidentiality policy

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► Confidentiality policy

Confidentiality statement

The Advice & Representation Centre is committed to providing a confidential advice service to its users. The following will be displayed where appropriate in the Centre:

The Advice & Representation Centre offers a confidential service - nothing you tell us will be shared with any other organisation or individual outside of the Centre without your express permission'.

Confidentiality of emails

The confidentiality of our emails and any attachments cannot be guaranteed. They are intended solely for the addressee. Access to emails by any one else is unauthorised. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure copying, distribution or any action taken, or omitted to be taken, in reliance on it is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you receive an email from us in error, please immediately notify advice@ussu.sussex.ac.uk.

Please note: information relevant to students' cases may be held confidentially on file where appropriate. If you do not want information to be held, please contact advice@ussu.sussex.ac.uk immediately.

Definition of confidentiality

The Advice & Representation Centre understands confidentiality to mean that no information regarding a service user shall be given directly or indirectly to any organisation or individual external to the Centre, without that service user's expressed consent to disclose such information.

We recognise that information may be indirectly given out through staff or volunteers discussing service users. All staff and volunteers are therefore prohibited from discussing an individual user of the service outside of the Advice & Representation Centre or with anyone who is not a member of the Advice & Representation Centre team.

Statistical recording

The Advice & Representation Centre is committed to effective statistical recording of service users to enable us to monitor take-up of the service and to identify relevant policy issues.

It is the Assistant Director (Advice & Representation)’s responsibility to ensure that all statistical records given to third parties (such as other members of the University, outside related organisations) shall be produced in anonymous form, so individuals cannot be recognised.

Case records

It is the Assistant Director (Advice & Representation)’s responsibility to ensure all case records are kept in lockable filing cabinets. All case records must be locked away at the end of each working day. Any waste paperwork relating to service users is shredded.

The Advice & Representation Centre keeps case files for 6 years after they are closed. These closed casefiles are kept insecure storage and only Advice & Representation Centre staff have access to this storage facility. After 6 years these files are disposed of through the University’s confidential waste disposal service.

Expressed consent to give information

Where an Advice & Representation Centre team member agrees to take any action on behalf of a client, the client must give their consent and sign an authorisation form. This will be held on the client's file.

If it is felt necessary we will check with clients if it is acceptable to contact them at home or work in relation to their case. We will make no reference to the organisation when making telephone contact with clients.

Breaches of confidentiality

We recognise that occasions may arise where team members feel they need to breach confidentiality. An example of such an occasion would be if we felt a client were at serious risk of harming themselves or others. We also recognize, however, that any breach of confidentiality may damage the reputation of our service and therefore has to be treated with the most serious of approaches.

When a team member feels confidentiality should be breached the following steps must be taken:

1 The team member should raise the matter immediately with the Assistant Director (Advice & Representation).

2 The team member must discuss with the Assistant Director (Advice & Representation) the issues involved in the case and explain why they feel confidentiality should be breached and what would be achieved by breaching confidentiality. The Assistant Director (Advice & Representation) should take a written note of this discussion.

3 The Assistant Director (Advice & Representation) is responsible for discussing with the team member what options are available in each set of circumstances.

4 The Assistant Director (Advice & Representation) is responsible for making a decision on whether confidentiality should be breached. If the Assistant Director (Advice & Representation) decides that confidentiality is to be breached then they should take the following steps:

The Assistant Director (Advice & Representation) should contact the Director of The Students’ Union in the first instance. The Assistant Director (Advice & Representation) should brief the Director on the full facts of the case, ensuring that they do not breach confidentiality in doing so. The Assistant Director (Advice & Representation) should seek authorisation from the Director to breach confidentiality.

If the Director agrees to breach confidentiality, a full written report on the case should be made and any action agreed undertaken. The Assistant Director (Advice & Representation) is responsible for ensuring all activities are actioned.

5 If the Director does not agree to breach confidentiality then this is the final decision of the organisation.

6 A client is fully entitled to complain about a decision to breach their confidentiality using the Union’s complaints procedure.

Legislative framework

The Advice & Representation Centre will regularly monitor this policy to ensure it meets statutory and legal requirements including the Data Protection Act, Children's Act, Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Ensuring the effectiveness of the policy

All Advice & Representation Centre members of staff, volunteers, the Education Officer and Welfare Officer will receive a copy of the confidentiality policy and it will be fully explained to them as part of their induction. Any breach of the policy will be treated as a disciplinary matter.

Copies of the confidentiality policy can be obtained from the Advice & Representation Centre or The Students’ Union Reception.

Last reviewed and amended: November 2010