Introduction
At Breaking Barriers, we are committed to protecting your personal information (information that could identify you) and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains the types of personal information we may collect, and how it will be used and stored.
We suggest that you read this Privacy Policy carefully. We may update it occasionally, so please check back from time to time. This policy was last updated in September 2025.
Who are Breaking Barriers?
Breaking Barriers is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), a registered charity in England and Wales (registered charity number 1161901) and a registered charity in Scotland (registered charity number SCO52265). In this policy ‘Breaking Barriers’ also refers to Breaking Barriers Trading Ltd – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Breaking Barriers CIO set up to provide employment-related services to refugees. In this policy the terms ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ refer to Breaking Barriers.
Breaking Barriers is a “data controller” for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“Data Protection Law”). This means we are responsible for determining the purposes and means of processing of personal information.
For further details of our privacy practices, please contact our Data Protection Officer via: [email protected]
Write to: Data Protection Officer, Breaking Barriers, WeWork, Aldwych House, 71-91 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4HN
The lead Data Protection Authority for Breaking Barriers is the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Walter Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, (ico.org.uk). If you feel that your data is not being managed in an appropriate manner, please contact us. You can also raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
When you volunteer for Breaking Barriers, what information do we collect about you and how do we collect and use it?
As someone who gives your time to Breaking Barriers, we only hold information about you that we need to give you the best possible experience during your volunteering with us.
We also appreciate that you may support Breaking Barriers in other ways, for example you may also donate to us. We also have a privacy notice on our website for our supporters – do please read this from time to time if you support us in other ways.
Much of the information we hold about you will be shared by you when you first apply to volunteer by sharing the information directly with Breaking Barriers via our web-based application form, but we will continue to collect further information as you progress through the application stage and go on to generously donate your time to us.
This usually includes:
- Your first and last name
- Your contact details including your email address and mobile phone number
- Your post code
- A short statement from you on why you want to volunteer for us and the type of volunteering you are interested in
- Whether you wish to volunteer remotely or in person
- Whether you may have any teaching qualifications
- Any accessibility requirements we may need to put in place as part of the application process and assessment
- Details of any second languages you may speak (other than English)
- Whether you already have a current DBS certificate
- Your employment status and employer
- A declaration that you are over 18 (but not your DoB)
- A recent picture of you (not mandatory)
- Your CV or LinkedIn page URL
- Any expressed pronouns
As you continue through the application process and go on to successfully volunteer with us, we may also collect:
- References about you from your preferred referees
- Where required for some roles, the outcome of any DBS (Disclosing and Barring Service) check
- A record of your engagement and contact with us
How and why do we use your personal information?
We may use your personal information for the following purposes:
- To assess your application to volunteer for Breaking Barriers
- To make any needed reasonable adjustments for the interview process or your further engagement as a volunteer
- To safeguard your personal wellbeing and that of staff, other volunteers and our clients
- To administer and manage volunteer sessions and your engagement in them
- With your agreement, to share your story as part of case studies and campaigning
- To provide analysis of the range of careers that our volunteers come from
- To maintain records of, and analyse the types of volunteering undertaken and the results of those activities
- To meet legal requirements upon Breaking Barriers for example, meeting health and safety requirements
Protecting Vulnerable Individuals
Safeguarding: We have a duty, wherever possible, to share any concerns about the safety of individuals with the relevant authorities. This means, where necessary, we may share personal information (including names and contact details, and conversations, emails, posts, messages, replies, questions, or comments that indicate someone might be at risk). This includes references to, or indications of, abuse or neglect.
Wherever possible we will notify individuals about our concerns and/or decisions affecting them. However, we reserve the right to share information with external agencies without checking with the individual first. Especially if it is thought that sharing our concerns with an individual might put others at risk, or increase the risks identified, or interfere with a police process, and/or where we are under a legal reporting obligation
What legal bases do we use to process your information?
There are a number of lawful bases under which personal information may be processed (used), but we believe that the key legal basis in our support to you are:
Consent: This is where we have your specific agreement to processing your personal information. For example, where you agree to our featuring your story in our communications or where you have given your explicit consent to our being aware of any health issues that we need to know about in order to provide you with the best volunteering experience.
Legitimate Interest: This is where we believe we have a legitimate purpose to use your information and where it does not pose any risk to your privacy rights. An example may be where we are analysing the range of careers that our volunteers come from and use some of your information to assist and requesting references to support your application.
Whenever we process your personal information on the basis of legitimate interests, we make sure that we take your rights and interests into account. We will not process your information if it not necessary for our legitimate purposes, or we feel that your rights and interest are in opposition to and outweigh ours.
A legal obligation: This is where we are lawfully obligated to use certain information. An example of this is where we hold the outcome of any DBS check that is required for a role.
Vital Interests: This would apply only if we needed to share your information to safeguard your (or someone else’s) physical well-being in the most extreme circumstances – it is used to protect your or someone else’s life.
Where do we store your information and who may we share it with?
Like many organisations, we use electronic products to store information. Some of our suppliers may be outside of the UK. We have robust contracts in place and have undertaken rigorous checks to ensure that they meet the standards of data protection that the UK GDPR and DPA 2018 provide. Our key suppliers that we use to store volunteer records are:
- Salesforce. This is our primary database where your information and engagement with us is recorded. Salesforce are a US based company, with data centers globally. Salesforce are registered on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and under the UK Data Protection (Adequacy) (USA) Reg 2003 (known as the UK-US ‘data bridge’) are deemed to meet the required standards to maintain the privacy of citizens when data is transferred to and processed by them on behalf of UK based organisations. Their privacy policy is here Privacy Policy – Salesforce.com
- CloudAlly – We also use CloudAlly which provide back-up services to our data stored in Salesforce.
It is unlikely that we will need to share your personal information with the exceptions of:
- Requesting references, and
- Fulfilling any legal obligation upon us e.g. for safeguarding reasons
6. How do we keep your information safe?
We are committed to keeping your personal information safe, and we have appropriate physical, technical and organisational measures in place to protect information under our control from improper access, processing, destruction or loss.
Data is only accessible by staff and third-party service providers who are bound by appropriate policies and procedures to protect your information and comply with Data Protection laws.
How long do we keep your information?
Unsuccessful applicants: Occasionally during the application process you or we may decide that the volunteering role you have applied for is not right for you, or Breaking Barriers. In these circumstances we will keep your information for six months and then delete it.
If you go on to volunteer for us, we will keep your information for the duration of your volunteering and then for up to 10 years should your engagement come to an end.
Your rights
We want to ensure that your rights are upheld in respect of any personal information we process. These rights include:
- The right to be informed: You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal information.
- The right of access: You can request a copy of the information that we have about you. This is called a ‘subject access request’. Information will be provided free of charge in most cases. Please let us have details of the personal data you want to see and proof of your identity. You can make this request via the contact details above.
- The right to rectification: You can ask us to correct any of your personal information that is out of date, incomplete or incorrect.
- The right to erasure: You can ask us to delete your personal information. Please note, for legal reasons we may be required to keep certain information (e.g. financial details that we are duty-bound to keep for 6 years).
- The right to restrict processing: In certain circumstances, you have the right to limit the way we use your personal information. For example, when you have advised us that information is incorrect and we are in the process of verifying this.
- The right to data portability: You have the right to receive personal information you’ve provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and to request that we transmit this information to another data controller.
- The right to object: You have the absolute right to object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes. We will therefore stop all marketing communications set out in the Marketing section of this policy on request. On request we will also stop (or, in the case of cookies, advise you how to stop) any profiling related to direct marketing that uses your personal data.
- You also have a right to object to some other types of processing of your personal information, including processing on the basis of our legitimate interests. Although this is not an absolute right, we will comply with your request other than in exceptional circumstances where, for example, we are processing data in defence of a legal claim.
- Rights related to automated decision-making: Automated decision-making is a decision made by automated (e.g. electronic) means without human intervention. You have a right not to be subject to automated decision-making that has legal, or similarly significant, effects except where you have given consent, it is authorised by law, or it is necessary for a contract between you and an organisation.
Breaking Barriers does not carry out any automated decision-making with legal, or similarly significant, effects. However, please refer to your Right to object for information on your rights in respect of profiling (which is a form of automated decision-making) related to direct marketing.