Red file scheme privacy notice
The council has a duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (“the HSWA”) to take such steps that are reasonably practicable to ensure a safe working environment for its staff.
We are legally required under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) to record and report incidents of work-related violence.
What we are doing
To meet this obligation we maintain a centralised register of serious incidents (and therefore individuals) who do, or may, pose a serious risk to staff or contractors. This is referred to as the red file scheme. This register is managed by the Health and Safety Team.
We are committed to ensuring that personal information we process is secure, and we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect.
Personal information collected
- Name
- Address and contact details
- Notes and other information we obtain directly from you about actual or potential violent behaviour. For example, we may make a note of the words you said if you threatened a member of staff
- Notes and information we obtain from any council department or third parties in relation to actual or potential violent behaviour
- Photographs or images recorded by our CCTV systems
How we collect this information
We collect this information via several methods including:
- from those who have experienced violence or aggressive behaviour
- council employees who have completed an incident report form
- from other organisation, agencies or service providers
- information we may receive about an individual for a legal reason
Who we share data with
- Council staff who look after the red file register.
- Staff who are visiting, working with or need to contact an individual who is on the register
- Individuals who are on the red file register
- We also have a duty to pass information to third party organisations, such as the Police, if there has been a crime committed.
- We may also share the information with other agencies, organisations and contractors that could come into direct contact with an individual on the register
Access is controlled and limited to those who need the information in order to carry out their duties safely.
Legislation that applies
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
Retention periods
The inclusion of any individual on the register will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and all entries will be subject to periodic annual review to ensure their accuracy.
Where a risk of violence no longer exists, the entry will be removed from the register.