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Libraries volunteers privacy notice

This notice explains what personal data (information) we hold about you, how we collect, how we use and may share information about you. We are required to give you this information under data protection law.

Who we are

Kent County Council collects, uses and is responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so we are regulated under the General Data Protection Regulation which applies across the European Union (including in the United Kingdom) and we are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.

The personal information we collect and use

Information collected by us

In the course of processing applications we collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:

  • name
  • date of birth
  • contact details (address, email address and telephone numbers)
  • details of any relevant medical conditions or adjustments needed
  • status of DBS check
  • copies of Identification (only for DBS verification, identification documents not retained)
  • emergency contact details
  • copy of signed volunteer charter
  • also voluntarily, gender, disability and ethnic group

How we use your personal information

We use your personal information to:

  • direct your application to the appropriate library
  • recruit you as a volunteer
  • assess support needs
  • monitor groups reached
  • the DBS check is required to ensure that KCC fulfills its safeguarding responsibilities

How long your personal data will be kept

We will hold your personal information for:

  • the duration of your volunteering and 6 years afterwards.

Reasons we can collect and use your personal information

We rely on the following as the lawful basis on which we collect and use your personal data:

We collect special category (sensitive) personal information; we rely upon substantial public interest in order to ensure equality of opportunity or treatment.

As you are a volunteer we rely upon your consent to collect, store and process the personal data that we collect. You may withdraw your consent at any time. If you do withdraw your consent no further personal information will be collected and the existing personal information shall only be retained in accordance with KCC’s data protection policy. If you do withdraw your consent you will no longer be able to take part in any of our projects as a volunteer.

Data relating to your health

We need to collect and process data relating to your past, current and future health in so far as it is necessary to provide a safe working environment for you and for others. This is a requirement of the Health and Safety at Work Act and of the regulations made pursuant to that Act.

You may from time to time provide us with information about your physical and mental health, for example you may wish us to know about a health issue or disability you may have for the purpose of allowing us, our managers or our partner organisations to make adjustments to your volunteer working environment.

We rely upon explicit consent for the processing of this information. If you provide us with this information we will only process it (including sharing the information with our partners) to the extent that it is necessary for that purpose.

You may withdraw your consent at any time. If you do withdraw your consent no further personal information will be collected and the existing personal information shall only be retained in accordance with KCC’s data protection policy. If you do withdraw your consent we will not be able to ensure that any necessary health needs are met.

Who we share your personal information with

We routinely share

  • name and contact details with Employment Check

This data sharing enables DBS processing.

We will share information regarding your health, to the extent it is necessary, with KCC officers or partner organisation who are responsible for creating and promoting a safe working environment for you and for others. We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law.

Your rights

Under GDPR you have rights which you can exercise free of charge which allow you to:

  • know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it
  • ask to see what information we hold about you (subject access request)
  • ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you
  • object to direct marketing
  • make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office

Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

  • ask us to delete information we hold about you
  • have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation
  • object to decisions being made that significantly affect you
  • object to how we are using your information
  • stop us using your information in certain ways

We will always seek to comply with your request however we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties. Please note, your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioner's Office on individuals’ rights under GDPR.

If you would like to exercise a right, please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Who to contact

Please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for.

You can contact our Data Protection Officer, Benjamin Watts, at dpo@kent.gov.uk, or write to: Data Protection Officer, Sessions House, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ.

GDPR also gives you right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted on 03031 231113.

Read our corporate privacy statement.