Terms & Conditions

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE:

Please make yourself aware of the following before you book any service with us. By entering into a service with us you agree to the following:

Counselling:

  • Counselling is provided at a reduced cost to people on a low/limited income we want to reserve this counselling service as such.
  • So that our counselling service is not abused we will ask you to confirm this at point of referral and the service is offered on this basis.
  • You will be means tested as part of the assessment process
  • If you are not on low/limited income and still want therapy, talk to us we can sign post you to other local friendly services.
  • Your practitioner will always maintain complete confidentiality, with the following possible exceptions: If they have a reasonable concern that you are at risk of being harmed from another person. If they have a reasonable concern that you may be seriously harming yourself. If they have a reasonable concern that you are/may be, harming another. These exceptions all include safeguarding concerns, a safeguarding concern is where there is a concern that somebody is at risk of abuse from someone else. We also have a duty of care to report any acts of terrorism or other serious criminal activity. If any of the above applies your practitioner will be obliged to contact the relevant people/authorities, they will, where possible and appropriate, discuss this with you prior to taking any action but reserve the right to take action without consent if there is a serious risk as outlined above.
  • As the person sharing your story, you are the expert and as such it is important for you to realise the significance of your contribution in each session. We can only work with what you bring into the session; we will support and encourage you to explore what you would like to; but you need to realise the importance of your contribution. During your sessions we expect you to be open to looking at things from a different perspective. To be aware that sometimes the process of counselling can be a very emotional experience; if you become upset and want to take a pause; we can do this. Please note that we have a zero-tolerance approach to violence, aggression, and any abusive activity towards our volunteers. If this happens we will contact the appropriate authorities and your sessions will come to an end with immediate effect.
  • Counselling Sessions are a minimum of 50 minutes maximum of 60 minutes and will start and end at the time agreed.
  • When your counselling session is due to start, if you do not answer the phone or connect the video link or you do not arrive within 10 minutes of the start time; then your session can not proceed.
  • If this occurs and we have not heard from you the session will be recorded as a DNA [Did not attend]
  • Any changes to your appointment must be made with at least 24 hours notice.
  • Any appointments that are not cancelled in time, or not cancelled at all, or otherwise unattended will be recorded as a DNA. These sessions will count as part of your sessions and are chargeable.
  • Should you cancel or DNA a total of 3 occasions this will result in automatic discharge.
  • If you are discharged for any reason please note that we will not be able to refund your booking fee.
  • Sessions will not proceed until paid for in full.
  • When attending you must ensure that you are in a confidential space.

Well-being and Mentoring Support:

This is provided at a low cost as above. The above conditions set out for counselling also apply to Well-being and Mentoring.

Your practitioner will always maintain complete confidentiality, with the following possible exceptions: If they have a reasonable concern that you are at risk of being harmed from another person. If they have a reasonable concern that you may be seriously harming yourself. If they have a reasonable concern that you are/may be, harming another. These exceptions all include safeguarding concerns, a safeguarding concern is where there is a concern that somebody is at risk of abuse from someone else. We also have a duty of care to report any acts of terrorism or other serious criminal activity. If any of the above applies your practitioner will be obliged to contact the relevant people/authorities, they will, where possible and appropriate, discuss this with you prior to taking any action but reserve the right to take action without consent if there is a serious risk as outlined above.

As the person sharing your story, you are the expert and as such it is important for you to realise the significance of your contribution in each session. We can only work with what you bring into the session; we will support and encourage you to explore what you would like to; but you need to realise the importance of your contribution. During your sessions we expect you to be open to looking at things from a different perspective. To be aware that sometimes the process can be a very emotional experience; if you become upset and want to take a pause; we can do this. Please note that we have a zero-tolerance approach to violence, aggression, and any abusive activity towards our volunteers. If this happens we will contact the appropriate authorities and your sessions will come to an end with immediate effect.

Well-being and mentoring Sessions are a minimum of 30 minutes maximum of 60 minutes and will start and end at the time agreed.

Booking Arrangements:

When your counselling session is due to start, if you do not answer the phone or connect the video link or you do not arrive within 10 minutes of the start time; then your session can not proceed.

If this occurs and we have not heard from you the session will be recorded as a DNA [Did not attend]

Any changes to your appointment must be made with at least 24 hours notice.

Any appointments that are not cancelled in time, or not cancelled at all, or otherwise unattended will be recorded as a DNA. These sessions will count as part of your block of sessions and are chargeable.

Should you cancel or DNA a total of 3 separate occasions this will result in automatic discharge. If you are discharged for any reason please note that we will not be able to refund your fee.

Sessions will not proceed until paid for in full and booking fees must be made within 7 days of assessment otherwise your referral will be closed.

When attending you must ensure that you are in a confidential space.

Refunds

As there is a cost to us providing the service, and to related adminsitrative aspects of such, refunds are not routinely provided. It is very important that you engage following your referral and assessment. If you fail to engage and are discharged, your booking fee will not be refunded.

Groups / Online Social Support:

This is also provided free of charge to LGBT+ people and their immediate allies. You will not be asked to contribute to this.

LGBT+ Awareness Training:

This is chargeable, and the costs are detailed on the training page.

ARCUS General Terms and Conditions of Service:

Our responsibilities:

  • Provide an environment with a zero tolerance to:
    • Hate crime
    • Verbal or physically aggressive behaviour
    • Hatred of any kind
  • Provide a safe environment for you to use our services.
  • Provide you with the correct level support you require as an individual.
  • Provide information and advice that you may wish to take advantage of.
  • Undertake regular supervision, as outlined by their professional governing body. If your case is discussed during this; your details will be anonymised.
  • Continuously seek to further our own personal and professional development and are always undergoing continuous training to ensure our skills are as fresh and up to date as possible.
  • Adhere to an Ethical Framework for Good Practice, which outlines our duty of care, code of practice and responsibility towards each client we work with.
  • We will make case notes before and after each session (and possibly during the session). These notes are to aid our understanding and to record what has happened, they will always be stored securely.
  • You can request to see these notes, or have copies sent to you, by making this request in writing to contact@Arcuslgbt.com
  • We hold professional liability insurance which covers our work.
  • Your practitioner will be prepared and ready for your session together and it will start on time. (There may be times due to emergencies when we run late however your session will remain at the full session where opening times permit, otherwise it will be rescheduled).
  • If at any time the practitioner feels that the session is moving beyond their level of expertise or for any reason is becoming unsafe, ineffective, you become too distressed to carry on, or there is a breach of our terms and conditions; they will reserve the right to end the session and will support you in finding more specialist help or in seeking a different practitioner.

Your responsibilities:

  • Abide by all reasonable instructions of Arcus and the individual counselling agreement where applicable.
  • Not be under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs while using our services
  • Treat fellow service users, clients and volunteers with dignity, respect and autonomy.
  • Treat the environment with respect in order to maintain it as a safe, clean and tidy place.
  • Sessions are usually conducted on a one to one basis [except social groups]
  • Sessions will only proceed on this basis unless an alternative to this is previously agreed
  • If you take any kind of prescribed medication or have any condition which is likely to influence the session you should inform your practitioner of this.
  • If you have been discharged for any reason you may refer yourself again, however when returning to the service, you will lose your place on the waiting list and will join at the end of the queue.

Also, please note:

In the event that a person is in serious distress and we have a reasonable concern that you are at risk of being harmed, seriously harming yourself or harming another, we reserve the right to contact the appropriate level of support for you.  We will, where possible obtain consent for this; however we reserve the right to do it without consent in order to keep you safe.

In the instances of hate crime, verbal or physical aggression and any other unreasonable behaviour you will be asked to leave the environment. In the event of the above, police will be contacted in all cases

In the hopefully rare event that you wish to make a complaint you can do this by contacting our office on 01325 978810

Privacy Policy:

This privacy policy applies between you, the User of this Website and Arcus, the owner and provider of this Website. Arcus takes the privacy of your information very seriously. This privacy policy applies to our use of any and all Data collected by us or provided by you in relation to your use of the Website.

This privacy policy should be read alongside, and in addition to, our Terms and Conditions, which can be found here

Please read this privacy policy carefully.

Definitions and interpretation

  1. In this privacy policy, the following definitions are used:
Datacollectively all information that you submit to Arcus via the Website. This definition incorporates, where applicable, the definitions provided in the Data Protection Laws;
Data Protection Lawsany applicable law relating to the processing of personal Data, including but not limited to the Directive 96/46/EC (Data Protection Directive) or the GDPR, and any national implementing laws, regulations and secondary legislation, for as long as the GDPR is effective in the UK;
GDPRthe General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679;
User or youany third party that accesses the Website and is not either (i) employed by Arcus and acting in the course of their employment or (ii) engaged as a consultant or otherwise providing services to  Arcus and accessing the Website in connection with the provision of such services; and
Websitethe website that you are currently using, https://arcuslgbt.com/, and any sub-domains of this site unless expressly excluded by their own terms and conditions.
  • In this privacy policy, unless the context requires a different interpretation:
    • the singular includes the plural and vice versa;
    • references to sub-clauses, clauses, schedules or appendices are to sub-clauses, clauses, schedules or appendices of this privacy policy;
    • a reference to a person includes firms, companies, government entities, trusts and partnerships;
    • “including” is understood to mean “including without limitation”;
    • reference to any statutory provision includes any modification or amendment of it;
    • the headings and sub-headings do not form part of this privacy policy.

Scope of this privacy policy

  • This privacy policy applies only to the actions of Arcus and Users with respect to this Website. It does not extend to any websites that can be accessed from this Website including, but not limited to, any links we may provide to social media websites.
  • For purposes of the applicable Data Protection Laws, Arcus is the “data controller”. This means that Arcus determines the purposes for which, and the manner in which, your Data is processed.

Data collected

  • We may collect the following Data, which includes personal Data, from you:
    • name;
    • date of birth;
    • gender;
    • job title;
    • profession;
    • contact Information such as email addresses and telephone numbers;
    • demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests;
    • IP address (automatically collected);

in each case, in accordance with this privacy policy.

How we collect Data

  • We collect Data in the following ways:
    • data is given to us by you  ; and
    • data is collected automatically.

Data that is given to us by you

  • Arcus will collect your Data in a number of ways, for example:
    • when you contact us through the Website, by telephone, post, e-mail or through any other means;
    • when you use our services;

in each case, in accordance with this privacy policy.

Data that is collected automatically

  • To the extent that you access the Website, we will collect your Data automatically, for example:
    • we automatically collect some information about your visit to the Website. This information helps us to make improvements to Website content and navigation, and includes your IP address, the date, times and frequency with which you access the Website and the way you use and interact with its content.

Our use of Data

  • Any or all of the above Data may be required by us from time to time in order to provide you with the best possible service and experience when using our Website. Specifically, Data may be used by us for the following reasons:
    • internal record keeping;
    • transmission by email of marketing materials that may be of interest to you;

in each case, in accordance with this privacy policy.

  1. We may use your Data for the above purposes if we deem it necessary to do so for our legitimate interests. If you are not satisfied with this, you have the right to object in certain circumstances (see the section headed “Your rights” below).
  2. For the delivery of direct marketing to you via e-mail, we’ll need your consent, whether via an opt-in or soft-opt-in:
    1. soft opt-in consent is a specific type of consent which applies when you have previously engaged with us (for example, you contact us to ask us for more details about a particular product/service, and we are marketing similar products/services). Under “soft opt-in” consent, we will take your consent as given unless you opt-out.
    1. for other types of e-marketing, we are required to obtain your explicit consent; that is, you need to take positive and affirmative action when consenting by, for example, checking a tick box that we’ll provide.
    1. if you are not satisfied about our approach to marketing, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time. To find out how to withdraw your consent, see the section headed “Your rights” below.

Who we share Data with

  1. We may share your Data with the following groups of people for the following reasons:
    1. any of our group companies or affiliates – To ensure smooth referrals.;
    1. third party service providers who provide services to us which require the processing of personal data – To ensure smooth referrals.;
    1. third party payment providers who process payments made over the Website – To ensure smooth payment options.;
    1. relevant authorities – To ensure client safety.;

in each case, in accordance with this privacy policy.

Keeping Data secure

  1. We will use technical and organisational measures to safeguard your Data, for example:
    1. access to your account is controlled by a password and a user name that is unique to you.
    1. we store your Data on secure servers.
  2. Technical and organisational measures include measures to deal with any suspected data breach. If you suspect any misuse or loss or unauthorised access to your Data, please let us know immediately by contacting us via this e-mail address: contact@Arcuslgbt.com.
  3. If you want detailed information from Get Safe Online on how to protect your information and your computers and devices against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other online problems, please visit http://www.getsafeonline.org. Get Safe Online is supported by HM Government and leading businesses.

Data retention

  1. Unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law, we will only hold your Data on our systems for the period necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this privacy policy or until you request that the Data be deleted.
  2. Even if we delete your Data, it may persist on backup or archival media for legal, tax or regulatory purposes.

Your rights

  1. You have the following rights in relation to your Data:
    1. Right to access – the right to request (i) copies of the information we hold about you at any time, or (ii) that we modify, update or delete such information. If we provide you with access to the information we hold about you, we will not charge you for this, unless your request is “manifestly unfounded or excessive.” Where we are legally permitted to do so, we may refuse your request. If we refuse your request, we will tell you the reasons why.
    1. Right to correct – the right to have your Data rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete.
    1. Right to erase – the right to request that we delete or remove your Data from our systems.
    1. Right to restrict our use of your Data – the right to “block” us from using your Data or limit the way in which we can use it.
    1. Right to data portability – the right to request that we move, copy or transfer your Data.
    1. Right to object – the right to object to our use of your Data including where we use it for our legitimate interests.
  2. To make enquiries, exercise any of your rights set out above, or withdraw your consent to the processing of your Data (where consent is our legal basis for processing your Data), please contact us via this e-mail address: contact@Arcuslgbt.com.
  3. If you are not satisfied with the way a complaint you make in relation to your Data is handled by us, you may be able to refer your complaint to the relevant data protection authority. For the UK, this is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO’s contact details can be found on their website at https://ico.org.uk/.
  4. It is important that the Data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your Data changes during the period for which we hold it.

Links to other websites

  • This Website may, from time to time, provide links to other websites. We have no control over such websites and are not responsible for the content of these websites. This privacy policy does not extend to your use of such websites. You are advised to read the privacy policy or statement of other websites prior to using them.

Changes of business ownership and control

  • Arcus may, from time to time, expand or reduce our business and this may involve the sale and/or the transfer of control of all or part of  Arcus. Data provided by Users will, where it is relevant to any part of our business so transferred, be transferred along with that part and the new owner or newly controlling party will, under the terms of this privacy policy, be permitted to use the Data for the purposes for which it was originally supplied to us.
  • We may also disclose Data to a prospective purchaser of our business or any part of it.
  • In the above instances, we will take steps with the aim of ensuring your privacy is protected.

General

  • You may not transfer any of your rights under this privacy policy to any other person. We may transfer our rights under this privacy policy where we reasonably believe your rights will not be affected.
  • If any court or competent authority finds that any provision of this privacy policy (or part of any provision) is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision or part-provision will, to the extent required, be deemed to be deleted, and the validity and enforceability of the other provisions of this privacy policy will not be affected.
  • Unless otherwise agreed, no delay, act or omission by a party in exercising any right or remedy will be deemed a waiver of that, or any other, right or remedy.
  • This Agreement will be governed by and interpreted according to the law of England and Wales. All disputes arising under the Agreement will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.

Changes to this privacy policy

  • Arcus reserves the right to change this privacy policy as we may deem necessary from time to time or as may be required by law. Any changes will be immediately posted on the Website and you are deemed to have accepted the terms of the privacy policy on your first use of the Website following the alterations.  
       
      You may contact  Arcus by email at contact@arcuslgbt.com

Attribution

21 January 2022