The HelpLine is committed to providing a high-quality service to individuals from the Jewish Community facing challenges.  We hold the privacy and dignity of those seeking our support in high regard, and we recognise the importance of confidentiality in our interactions with individuals who contact us for help. It is important that anyone contacting The HelpLine has complete confidence and trust in our services. Our service is confidential and anonymous, and we protect any information that individuals choose to share with us. The HelpLine therefore operates through an independent telephone system and app, which acts to remove the caller’s number before it comes through to The HelpLine. Calls, SMS text and WhatsApp conversations are therefore completely anonymous, conversation histories remain within an anonymous conversation thread. The HelpLine therefore hold no identifiable personal information regarding the telephone number called from. No one within The HelpLine can access that information.

The HelpLine is instead provided with an anonymous identifier for the call and chat, so we are able to keep general records of previous calls and chats (see Record Keeping below). However, we have no way to link this to a telephone number or a person’s name. Where identifiable information, such as real name is shared, this will not be recorded, and callers are encouraged to give an alternate name they wish the person taking the call to use during a call.

Any information that an individual discloses to a member of The HelpLine, support email or live chat team, (both staff and volunteers) is treated respectfully and sensitively. The team work closely to ensure that individuals receive the best support we can offer, so sometimes it is necessary to share information within the team.  Personal information conveyed to The HelpLine will not be shared with HelpLine and non-HelpLine (including support email and live chat) staff and volunteers or external organisations without explicit and informed consent (other than in the exceptional circumstances listed below). Sometimes in order to help an individual, in cases when the caller/chatter has chosen to waive anonymity, we may need to liaise with external organisations so that we can provide effective support, e.g. contacting other support agencies or counsellors. In these circumstances we will ask for permission to share any relevant information needed at that time, which will not be stored.

The Jewish community is relatively small, and all staff and volunteers sign a confidentiality agreement that they will respect confidentiality and privacy policies even where they may think they know someone. This is to provide assurance to callers that they can call us in confidence. It is good practice to hand over a call to another volunteer if personal knowledge could compromise the caller or person responding to the call.

Exceptional circumstances and limitations to confidentiality

As we do not hold or have access to callers’ numbers there are no instances when we are unable to maintain our commitment to confidentiality. If a caller provides information in extremis we will agree the purpose of that information, e.g., to call an ambulance and that information is not retained. All calls to The HelpLine are recorded by QContact (the phone system provider), stored until the AI summary has been created which is usually within an hour or two, in rare cases up to 24 hours, and then deleted. The HelpLine does not have access to call recordings at any time. During this period, an AI creates call summaries that exclude personal information and are accessible to The HelpLine. This process ensures the safeguarding of both callers and call handlers and aims to maintain high service quality and anonymity. Calls can be listened into in real time by The HelpLine’s supervisors for quality assurance and training purposes only. Again, no identifiable information is recorded or stored.

Record Keeping

Individuals may provide information of a personal and sensitive nature about their health, finances, work circumstances or personal difficulties during calls. A record of the discussion will be kept to ensure that the appropriate response is provided, particularly if the individual contacts The HelpLine again. Notes may record the key points or issues raised, the information given by HelpLine staff/volunteers, relevant background information and any follow-up action. Access to this information is limited to staff only on a need-to-know basis.

We keep cloud based records of all the information provided to us. All personal and sensitive data is processed in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018.

We collect routine statistical information about those using our services, which is anonymised and used for reporting and evaluation purposes. This information may be summarised and used in The HelpLine publications. We take great care to ensure that no individually identifiable information is disclosed.

The period for which records are held before destruction is informed by current data protection legislation and good practice within the HelpLine sector.

Access to Records

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (2018) individuals have the right to access information held about them. Individuals may request a copy of the personal data held about them by The HelpLine by emailing info@thehelpline.org.uk  Information which is truly anonymous is not covered by the UK GDPR and to be absolutely clear, we do not hold any identifying information on any individual calling The HelpLine. Individuals may call or contact our offices for other purposes such as for newsletter or volunteering and contact information may be stored for those purposes only.

Rigorous Recruitment

We adhere to the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (SCP) Key Standards for Recruitment and guidelines for recruiting all staff and volunteers, paid or unpaid by obtaining full personal details and application forms with particular relevance to previous work with children and young people, and vulnerable adults. We operate a similar safe recruitment process for volunteers.

We always take up two written or documented verbal references and insist that any appointment, will only be confirmed subject to a satisfactory DBS check at the appropriate level. For overseas staff the equivalent process will be accessed by the individual themselves. For Israeli citizens this is Certificate attesting existence/non-existence of a Criminal Record and for US citizens this Identity History Summary/Rap Sheet (or Proof One Does Not Exist).

At interview we have sound procedures and recording to ensure we are satisfied and can evidence that the applicant is appropriate and suitable. We aim to have at least one person on each interview panel will have undertaken Safer Recruitment Training. 

Induction & Training 

We have a clear induction and training strategy. All new staff and volunteers will undertake induction that covers protection and safeguarding of vulnerable children and adults before taking calls on the HelpLine. All staff and volunteers will have on-going training in safeguarding and protection.

Confidentiality 

We have a clear policy covering confidentiality and information sharing and these details will be made available to all adults, children, parents and carers through The HelpLine’s website. 

Reviewed July 2024