COMMUNICATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

1. Scope

1.1 This policy applies to all staff, volunteers, and partnership members of Whitleigh Community Trust (WCT) and Whitleigh Big Local (WBL). Who are expected to comply with this policy at all times to protect the privacy confidentiality and interests of WCT/WBL.

2. Purpose

2.1 This policy is in place to promote responsible usage of social media whilst minimising the risks to WCT/WBL through inappropriate use of social media; inform all parties of their obligations regarding the use of social media; and to enhance the continuing development of Whitleigh Community Trust and Whitleigh Big Local through social media channels.

2.2 This policy deals with the use of all forms of social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and all other social networking sites, internet postings and blogs. It applied to the use of social media from business purposes as well as personal use that may affect WCT/WBL in any way.

2.3 The purpose of this policy is to inform staff, volunteers, and partnership members of their obligations regarding their own use of the WCT/WBL social media. If any member of staff, when dealing with community members, is subject to harassment or derogatory comments via social media, they should bring this to the attention of the Community Development Manager.

3. Responsibilities

3.1 Everyone who operates or contributes to WCT/WBL social media channel must be given access. Anyone that would like to have access and help develop any of these social media channels much contact either the Admin & Communications Officer or the Community Development Manager as they grant the access.

4. Rules for Social Media

4.1 Should the WCT/WBL Admin and Communications team come across a derogatory social media post that refers to a WCT/WBL employee, volunteer, or partnership member by name, they will inform the Community Development Manager.

4.2 Any member of staff, volunteer or partnership member who feels that they have been harassed or bullied or are offended by material posted or uploaded by a colleague on to a social media channel should inform the Community Development Manager.

4.3 Please do not disclose commercially sensitive, anti-competitive, private, or confidential information. If you are unsure whether the information you wish to share falls within one of these categories, you should discuss this with your Admin and Communications Team or Community Development Manager.

4.4 Workers, Volunteers, Trustees and Partnership members need to be mindful of their roles within the organisation and the community. Therefore, not act in any way that deliberately brings Whitleigh Community Trust and Whitleigh Big Local into disrepute. Please refer to Code of Conduct for more information.

4.5 Whilst using WCT/WBL social media do not do the following:

• Upload, post, forward or post a link to any abusive, obscene, discriminatory, harassing derogatory, gossip or defamatory content. • Upload, post, or forward any content belonging to a third party unless you have that third party’s consent. • Escalate heated discussions. Try to be conciliatory, respectful and quote facts to lower the temperature and correct misrepresentation. Never contribute to a discussion if you are angry or upset, return to it later when you can contribute in a calm and rational manner. • Discuss colleagues, competitors, community members or partnerships without prior approval. • Use any of the social media channels for illegal or criminal activities. • Broadcast unsolicited views on social, political, religious, or non-business-related matters.

5. Personal Use of Social Media

5.1 It is recognised that you may wish to monitor social media channels for work purposes via a personal account, for example the WBL Facebook page. This can provide the organisation with useful insight into how we are seen and how we can develop our services.

5.2 Such monitoring must be relevant to your work and must not negatively impact on the time you spend on your core duties or be a mask for personal use of social media in work time.

5.3 Workers, Volunteers, Trustees and Partnership members should not post hurtful, derogatory, or harmful comments on their own personal or others personal social media pages that could bring Whitleigh Community Trust and Whitleigh Big Local into disrepute.

CORPORATE EMAIL USAGE

Our corporate email usage policy helps everyone use their WCT/WBL email addresses appropriately. Email is essential in our everyday jobs. We want to ensure staff and partnership members understand the limitations of using their corporate email accounts.

6. Scope

6.1 This policy applies to all staff and partnership members who are assigned (or given access to) a corporate email. This email may be assigned to an individual (e.g. firstname@whitleighcommunitytrust.org.uk or firstname@whitleighbiglocal.org.uk.)

7. Inappropriate use of Organisational Email

7.1 Our staff and partnership members represent Whitleigh Community Trust and Whitleigh Big Local whenever they use their corporate email address. They must not do the following: • Sign up for illegal, unreliable, disreputable, or suspect websites and services. • Send unauthorised marketing content or solicitation emails. • Register for a competitor’s services unless authorised. • Send insulting or discriminatory messages and content. • Intentionally spam other people’s emails, including co-workers.

8. Appropriate use of Organisational Email

8.1 All staff and partnership members are allowed to use their corporate email for work-related purposes without limitations. For example, emails can be used to: • Communicate with current or prospective community members and partners. • Log in to purchase software they have legitimate access to after been given authorisation. • Give their email address to people they meet at meetings or organisational events. • Sign up for newsletters, platforms and other online services that will help them with their daily WCT/WBL duties.

9. Email Security

9.1 Email is often the medium of hacker attacks, confidentiality breaches, viruses, and other malware. These issues can compromise our reputation, legality, and security of our equipment. Staff and partnership members must: • Select strong passwords with at least eight characters (capital and lower-case letters, symbols, and numbers) without using personal information (e.g., birthdays). • Remember passwords instead of writing them down and keep them secret.

9.2 Staff and partnership members should always be vigilant to catch emails that carry malware or phishing attempts. We instruct everyone to: • Avoid opening attachments and clicking on links when content is not adequately explained (e.g., “Watch this video, it’s amazing.”) • Be suspicious of clickbait titles. • Check email and names of unknown senders to ensure they are legitimate. • Look for inconsistencies or style red flags (e.g., grammar mistakes, capital letters, excessive number of exclamation marks!!!.)

9.3 If a staff or partnership member is not sure that an email, they received is safe, they can ask out Admin & Communications Officer or Community Development Manager.

GDPR / PRIVACY STATEMENT

At Whitleigh Community Trust / Whitleigh Big Local we aim to minimise the personal data we collect and process about you.

10. How Date is Collected

10.1 WCT/WBL collect data about individuals in the following ways: • When people follow us or join our Facebook page, we get corresponding information from those platforms. • When people join our community groups, your contact details will be collected for data evidence. • When people use our services, we will collect contact and address information. • You will be asked if we have permission to take photos and publish them on our social media channels or for use in marketing materials: you will have the option to opt out of these at any time by contacting the Admin and Communications Officer or the Community Development Manager or let us know at the time the photos are being taken.

11. How Your Information Is Used

11.1 WCT/WBL use your information in the following ways: • To make you aware of activities we would like you to consider being involved in. IF you have opted in. • Photos are used to celebrate activities or promote future activities and opportunities. • Contact details will be kept from community groups for data evidence.

12. Deleting Information

12.1 Any of these records can be accessed and removed by emailing hello@whitleighbiglocal.org.uk. If community members have contact WCT/WBL and are not sure whether their information has been stored in anyway, we will respond as soon as possible giving community members the option to remove their data if needed.

12.2 WCT/WBL does not share personally identifiable information with third parties. If we think a community member would benefit from being introduced to another organisation, we will ask for consent before the introduction is made.