Staff welfare services

We at Staff Welfare pride ourselves on our discretion; the conversations we have with our clients are confidential within Staff Welfare. The only exceptions to this would be if;

• a serious crime has been committed,
• we consider someone to be at threat of serious harm
• there is safeguarding issue
• or on the rare occasion that we are contacted by the Covid-19 track and trace team.

Wherever possible in such situations, we would discuss with you what we felt necessary to take forward and who we would be contacting.

It may be that we need to talk to someone else about information which you require, but your permission to do this will be obtained first. In the case of any discussions you feel it would be appropriate to have with your GP or other health provider or support person, we would ask for your written consent prior to contacting them.

Also see Privacy notice for details of how we manage your data

The first appointment will be a short telephone assessment session which will be arranged as soon as possible.

At the telephone assessment the options for support will be discussed. Sometimes these discussions will include the options of support from other helping agencies if this is considered appropriate.

If agreed, further appointments will be made at the assessment session, usually within three to four weeks of the assessment. This is usually for an in-person meeting although we can also offer a phone call or video appointment. Appointments normally last between 45 minutes and an hour.

An electronic evaluation form will be sent to you after your work with the Staff Welfare Service is complete.

We ask you to take the time to fill this out and return it to us as it is a valuable method of monitoring the service we provide.

Evaluations are anonymous but you may want to add either your name or your Staff Welfare Officer’s name if you wish to raise anything specific and would like a response to your comments.

The Staff Welfare Officers are all members of the Institute of Welfare and work within the Institute’s code of ethics.  Staff Welfare offers a service which is based on trust and discretion and operates under a strict code of confidentiality within the requirements of the law.

This privacy notice explains what information the Staff Welfare collects and what that information is used for. Staff Welfare is an autonomous part of the Office of Human Resources (OHR), a Division of the Cabinet Office.

How and why we ask you to share your personal information

Staff Welfare needs to process personal information to provide support services to Isle of Man Government employees.

You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide your personal information to Staff Welfare however, if you do not provide your information, we may not be able to offer our services properly or at all.

Our legal basis for processing your information

We process your personal information on a consent basis. You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting staffwelfare@gov.im.

Types of personal information we collect about you

Below you will find an overview of the categories of information that we may collect.

• We collect personal information from you when you enquire about our counselling services in order to set up an initial appointment. This information includes contact details and other relevant personal information.
• We make notes after each counselling sessions which act as an aide memoire and are kept securely by each individual counsellor.
• Communications between the counsellor and client to arrange appointments or send information e.g. texts or emails.
• Once a client finishes counselling, all data regarding their counselling is destroyed within a month.
• All Staff Welfare Officers are required to receive clinical supervision. This is confidential and anonymised and no personal information is shared.
• Your personal information will be used only to provide you with our services and to give you information relating to our services. We will not share your personal details with any other person or organisation without your knowledge and permission, unless there is a legal requirement, such as if there is a child or adult safeguarding issue, a perceived risk of harm or a serious illegal activity has come to light.

Information you provide to us directly

Category of Information:  Personal details
Example of that type of information:  Name, email address, telephone number, address

Category of Information:  Employment details
Example of that type of information: Isle of Man Government Department

How long do we keep your personal information?

Once a client finishes counselling, all data regarding their counselling sessions is routinely destroyed within a month.

“The service offered was individualised, fair and non-judgemental, understood diversity and treated information confidentially at all times. Highly recommended.”

“Welcoming, non-judgemental and professional.”