Unilink Software Ltd

Facilitators' scheduling application for Offender group work programmes (eVid scheduler)

Unilink's bespoke application to assist in the scheduling and management of programmes delivered in a probation environment. An intuitive interface allows the assignment of facilitators, treatment managers, rooms, multiple groups, multiple programmes across multiple sites. Eliminates double bookings, warns of unallocated facilitators/rooms and has an accompanying mobile app.

Features

• Windows application for Administrators and accompanying iOS app for facilitators
• Graphical calendar with animated warnings of incomplete information
• Customisable scheduling routine to cater for different office working practices
• Variety of calendar views. Built in user guide. Access controls
• Staff qualifications, availability, leave and absences recorded
• Fully integrated links and customisable options for each user
• Automatic postponing of sessions and inter-office distance calculation
• Reporting with various printouts for Offenders/Reception/Facilitators/Management
• App provides facilitators instant anywhere/anytime access to their diaries
• Facilitators can request Leave/Cover directly from their own mobile device

Benefits

• Enables management of multiple location scheduling from one central office
• Optimise use of staff and rooms at all times
• Reduce planning time for groups, facilitators and rooms
• Eliminate double bookings of rooms and staff
• Highlights incomplete information with different degrees of severity
• Allocate resources impartially and fairly with justification for recommendations
• Provide operational reports for staff use
• Provide management reports for detailed analysis
• Administrators/Facilitators can access the application/app remotely
• Large and small scale scheduling without error or complexity

£6,050 an instance a year

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at enquiries@unilink.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

505766552384938

Contact

Ann Caple
020 7036 3810
enquiries@unilink.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Private cloud
• Service constraints: No
• System requirements:
  • Windows or Mac PC/laptop to use the application
  • IOS Device (iPhone/iPad) for the mobile app

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Best Effort (maximum 4 hours)
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Unilink provides a mature, ITIL compliant facility, well liked by its users.; Unilink provides second, third and fourth line support to the customer’s service desk function for the correction of incidents, issues and configurations within the eVid Scheduler application and infrastructure.; Unilink Support Service operates Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00 via its manned service support helpdesk. Third and fourth line support calls are normally escalated to a technical account manager.; Unilink standard service response for priority 1 calls is within 1 hour. Service Level Agreements and Key Performance Indicators are included within each service contract.; Unlimited support is included in the cloud hosting costs.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: Onsite training is provided, which involves users setting up their real data on the live environment.; ; Full user guides are provided for both the Windows application and the mobile app. ; ; The Windows application is accessed via an RPD connection meaning it can also be accessed from the Mac platform. A simple shortcut file is all that is required to access the application.; ; An installation guide is provided for installing the mobile app.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • PDF
  • Other
• Other documentation formats: Word Document
• End-of-contract data extraction: Numerous reports can be run through the application. A full database export can be produced if necessary.
• End-of-contract process: Users can run as many reports as they wish through the application. If database generated reports or extracts are required, these will be charged at an additional cost.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: No
• Application to install: Yes
• Compatible operating systems:
  • IOS
  • MacOS
  • Windows
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: Windows application is designed for Administrators. The mobile iOS app provides information for facilitators, in particular their week by week diaries, leave, full breakdown on any sessions they are/have been involved with, contact numbers and current status of their colleagues (e.g. currently facilitating/on leave).
• Service interface: No
• User support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 A
• API: No
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Users of the application have Customise screen which includes various options including changing the colour theme and choosing if group codes are manually or automatically generated.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: All resources can be dynamically resized when required.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: No

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Conforms to BS7858:2019
• Government security clearance: Up to Security Clearance (SC)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: United Kingdom
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: In-house
• Protecting data at rest:
  • Physical access control, complying with CSA CCM v3.0
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
  • Other
• Other data at rest protection approach: The VPS is hosted in Amazon, and Amazon complies to a broad set of Assurance Programs. Please see https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/ for the complete list.; ; Data at rest can be encrypted if needed.
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Reports generated through the application can be printed, or exported in pdf, html, xls or rtf formats.
• Data export formats: Other
• Other data export formats:
  • PDF
  • HTML
  • XLS
  • RTF
• Data import formats: Other
• Other data import formats: N/a

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: Other
• Other protection between networks: RDP is currently configured on this server to negotiate the highest possible client-compatible Security Layer, which is (from the lowest):; •RDP Security Layer;; •SSL (TLS 1.0).; It is also currently configured to negotiate the highest possible client-compatible Encryption Level (from the lowest):; •Low: 56-bit Encryption from Client to Server, Unencrypted from Server to Client;; •High: 128-bit Encryption (both directions);; •FIPS Compliant: Federal Information Process Standard 140-1 validated encryption method.; Both the Security Layer and Encryption Level can be fixed so that they require a client to meet a minimum level, and otherwise disconnect.
• Data protection within supplier network: Other
• Other protection within supplier network: This server is an Amazon Instance that is logically partitioned off on its own Virtual Private Cloud network. The only route to this server is by RDP connection through a locked down firewall. The same method of data encryption is used as explained in 'Protection between networks'.

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: Availability will be equal (at its maximum) to the service level of Amazon EC2 as stated in https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/sla/.; ; "...; AWS will use commercially reasonable efforts to make Amazon EC2 and Amazon EBS each available with a Monthly Uptime Percentage (defined below) of at least 99.95%; ..." - Amazon EC2 SLA, 01/06/2013
• Approach to resilience: Available on request.
• Outage reporting: Not currently

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication: Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: App Users are provided access to the application via an RDP 'Remote App' Link, which requires them to login to RDP and then again to the application.; ; App Admins access the application in a similar manner to App Users. They are provided access to the application via an RDP 'Remote App' Link, which requires them to login to RDP and then again to the application.; ; Developers and Server Admins can login to the Server Desktop directly in order to update Server, Application and Database configurations. The details for this type of access are restricted to Developers and the Server Admins.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least once a year
• Management access authentication: Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: No audit information available
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• How long system logs are stored for: At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: Lloyds Register
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 08/07/2020
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: Our ISO 27001 certificate covers all requirements except for 'A.14.2.7 Outsourced development' as we do not outsource any development work.
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• Other security certifications: No

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards: ISO/IEC 27001
• Information security policies and processes: Unilink is ISO 27001 and 9001 certified and is audited by Lloyds Register. Overseen by Unilink Information Security Board.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Configuration and change management approach: Unilink is an ISO 27001 accredited company that uses ITIL change management processes.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: Registered with NCSC early warning service and CISP member for advanced warning of vulnerabilities. Internal security team works closely with supply chain partners such as Microsoft and Cisco to assess potential threats and implement mitigation measures including emergency patch deployment where advised to do so.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: Undertake proactive security monitoring of internal network and monitoring tools deployed on customer installations
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: ISO270001 compliant incident management and ITIL incident reporting process. Security incidents escalated to ISB.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0)

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Covid-19 recovery
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

  Fighting climate change

  Unilink is passionate about the protection of the environment, which is why we have worked hard for our Carbon Neutral status—made official in, and maintained since 2020. Notably, our environmental commitments and policies are compliant with ISO:14001 standards. Through our ‘Green Team’ initiative, run by staff volunteers, we are constantly exploring the next steps in our journey toward minimising Unilink’s carbon footprint and environmental impact. A handful of actions forming our overall strategy include:; ; • Converting our fleet to electric cars;; • Installing solar panels for power generation at our offices;; • Rewarding staff through our cycle to work schemes;; • Embedding EnergyStar™ components into our Acante biometric kiosks; and,; • Taking close measurements of our carbon usage, investing into Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) reduction projects to counteract the impact Unilink makes.; ; Unilink has offset 240 metric tonnes of CO2 to date and planted over 240 trees in the UK toward rebuilding our damaged ecosystems. ; ; We are committed to reducing the environmental impact through our supply chain. We will create longer term & meaningful partnerships with suppliers to avoid lowest price transactional arrangements that don’t benefit the environment. We use our environmental expertise to help coach & mentor our Micro supply chain members. We will set objectives & plans to support this & then monitor progress to help improve practice.; ; We collect data on our efforts through a variety of channels, all of which are recorded in our Enterprise Data Management (EDM) system. Unilink supplies this information to clients and partners on a regular basis and invites all parties to suggest areas for improvement and initiative ideas to achieve this.

  Covid-19 recovery

  A key consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the negative impact on mental health in addition to increased isolation. ; Alongside out partner Serco, Unilink helped develop the Vulnerability Predictor Tool (VPT). This web-based application analyses patterns of behaviour and identifies individuals who may be at likely to self harm or attempt to take their own life. Through analysis of interactions processed by Unilink’s Prisoner Self-Service Kiosks/In Cell Devices and held in Unilink’s Custodial Management System (CMS) database, at-risk individuals can be identified and offered the help they need. With further development, this tool could assist safeguarding in other environments as well.; Unilink supports staff who are vulnerable to Covid-19 or sheltering, as well as encouraging personal Covid-19 recovery. To achieve this Unilink introduced a flexible working policy to reinforce the importance of our teams’ work/life balance and enable staff to work from home by equipping them with technology and home office equipment. This allows staff to negotiate work hours which alternate from ‘core’ hours to better balance their personal lives and, where possible, lower the risk of contracting Covid during interactions with colleagues. ; Physical and mental wellbeing infrastructure has also been established throughout our organisation. This includes a platform for wellbeing feedback within our HR system (Natural HR) which is monitored weekly and actioned upon by our HR team. We circulate a weekly newsletter, providing information from every part of the company. The newsletter also highlights channels through which staff can access support. These channels range from contacting our HR team, or Samaritans, to making use of our Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC) Life membership. The latter provides a comprehensive health and wellbeing platform with a plethora of mindfulness workshops, courses, and support services offered to our team free of charge.

  Tackling economic inequality

  By converting to home-based working, Unilink have furthered our ability to recruit from more deprived areas of the UK than surround our various offices. By uplifting talented individuals from less advantageous locations, Unilink has embraced new voices into our organisation. Diversity of background is especially important because it supports our social purpose of helping rehabilitate those people in prison or on probation, who come from every type of background.; Our CEO mentors at the Imperial College London Imperial Venture Mentoring Service (IVMS). Through our apprenticeship programme, we nurture the interests of the next generation toward meaningful careers. We offer training plans for experience, personal development & professional qualifications, mentoring, rotation of different teams & departments. Apprentices are offered management support as well as regular constructive feedback alongside monitoring/review meetings throughout their placement with us.; One particularly disadvantaged group is that of prison leavers—to whom Unilink dedicate time and resources. We are currently offering our IT expertise to the charity Turnaround Project, who offer training and employment experience before people complete their sentences in order to ‘turnaround’ prison leavers’ future prospects. We are working with the Northern Ireland prison service on a pathfinder project to develop, at our cost, social media training for soon to be released prisoners to understand social media marketing for a small business they might set up outside of prison. Unilink make donations to various trusts and charities who work toward similar rehabilitation aims. The Koestler Trust, for example, promotes art in prisons. Our partnership with Code 4000 helps to teach software development and technical skills to prisoners during their time in custody. Upon completion of their sentence, 0% of these graduates have reoffended or returned to custody since the organisation’s conception in 2016. Other initiatives we support include The Longford Trust, Nepacs, Pact, and Key4Life.

  Equal opportunity

  Unilink believe everyone should have the chance to achieve their potential, and our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Policy (sponsored by the Board) aims to achieve this in a variety of ways:; - Unilink actively encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates via specialist agencies/publications & using a diverse interview panel;; - Flexible working hours and work-from-home options ensure staff are not at a disadvantage due to disabilities, culture, or religious dependencies;; - We offer accessible working environments to support disabled team members;; - We offer WCAG 2.1A-compliant application forms/channels; our UX design take into account digitally excluded users; - We train employees on the benefits of diversity within the workforce, with annual training workshops for: anti-slavery and human trafficking; equality, diversity & inclusion; environmental impacts; and, sustainable procurement;; - Unilink embed our social values ethos via direct employee action, with a team of volunteer staff who regularly discuss our EDI policy and suggest improvements;; - Unilink welcomes and facilitates cultural celebrations within the workplace.; ; The positive impact of this work is measured through regular staff surveys which gauge the opinions of our team regarding the engagement with and embracing of EDI values. This data is segmented, analysed, and reviewd in regular meetings wherein our senior team can establish our plan of action moving forward. We additionally utilise our Human Resources (HR) System—Natural HR—to monitor the diversity of our workforce regarding the nine main protected characteristics.; ; Employees who suffer from any form of disability are offered HR check-ups from our Head of HR to ensure Unilink supply all necessary assistance/equipment necessary for the fulfilment of their role. This commitment can be traced back to our hiring practices, wherein Unilink takes great care in properly accommodating the needs of all candidates, ascertaining these well in advance of interviews.

  Wellbeing

  Unilink has robust structures in place to support the wellbeing of our workforce and boost company-wide morale. Our HR system (Natural HR) invites daily feedback from staff regarding their wellbeing. This offers a release valve for staff, and ensures HR can assist the team, offer counsel, and put remedial measures in place for employees should they need it. All responses are monitored by our HR team and trends discussed at weekly meetings. Unilink’s Head of HR is responsible for undertaking wellness check-ups, and following up on concerns raised in Natural HR or directly with the HR team. Unilink offers membership of the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC), and support via CSSC Life which provides a comprehensive health and wellbeing platform.; ; To support the work/life balance of our team, we have established a flexible working policy. Managers within Unilink are open to discussion regarding deviation from core hours in order for our staff to better support their personal lives. We also have a generous overtime payment policy. Any work beyond defined contractual hours will incur a higher rate of pay up to two times the employee’s hourly rate (depending on whether they are working a weekday, weekend, or Bank Holiday).; ; But Unilink is interested in more than our staff wellbeing and aim to support our communities as well. We encourage our team to play a role in the wider community and support their endeavours via direct and matched funding of any charitable event they wish to run. In the past this has involved sponsorship of local sports teams and youth football clubs, as well as Macmillan Coffee Mornings and Children in Need internal fundraising initiatives. We have sponsored events of an organisation in Scotland called “families outside” which helps friends and family stay in touch with their loved ones in prison.

Pricing

• Price: £6,050 an instance a year
• Discount for educational organisations: No
• Free trial available: No

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at enquiries@unilink.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.