Uses of your data
'Retention period' refers to the number of academic years that your data will be held after your final contact with our Service.
| Data category | Source of data | Specific purpose | Legal basis | Retention period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Referral form | information supplied by the client | We collect this information in order to provide a summary record of information shared by the client. | Performance of contract | 5 years or 1 year if accessing the EAP instead. |
| Case notes | Generated by Service staff | This is a summary record of information shared by clients, by session, in order to provide an ethical counselling service | Performance of contract | 5 years |
| Client information | Received from client/third party | To record concern expressed about a client/non-client | pre contract / Legitimate interest | 5 years |
| Non-client information | Received from client/third party | Mainly responses to requests for counselling and queries about the Service or EAP | pre contract / Legitimate interest | 1 year |
| Counsellors' supervision | Counselling sessions |
In line with professional requirements counsellors may discuss counselling sessions with a supervisor external to the Service. The identity of the client is not revealed. The purpose of supervision is to help the counsellor reflect on their work with clients |
Legitimate interest | mainly discussion notes - maximum 24 hours |
| Evaluations | Service evaluation form - voluntary processing | Anonymised online survey to monitor user feedback and inform service development. This survey is delivered by Online Surveys for more information please visit their website Online surveys | Consent | 5 years |
| Database | Referral form and case notes | We record details of clients' contact with the Service e.g. date and session status. We also use BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists) codes to record issues and severity | Legitimate interest | 10 years |
| EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) | External provider | The University Staff Counselling Service is currently working in partnership with MCL Medics. You can access MCL Medic's privacy notice here. | See MCL medics privacy notice | See MCL medics privacy notice |