RECRUITMENT PRIVACY POLICY

DATA PRIVACY NOTICE

Data Privacy notice for job applicants, employees, workers, volunteers and contractors (UK)

What is the purpose of this document?

- We are committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information.

- This privacy notice describes how we collect and use personal information about you during and after your working relationship with us, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

- It applies to all employees, workers and contractors.

We are a "data controller". This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you. We are required under data protection legislation to notify you of the information contained in this privacy notice.

This notice applies to current and former employees, workers and contractors. This notice does not form part of any contract of employment or other contract to provide services. 

We may update this notice at any time. If we do, we will provide you with an updated copy, summarising the changes where relevant. We may also notify you in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal data.

It is important that you read and retain this notice, together with any other privacy notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal information about you, so that you are aware of how we collect, store and use your personal data during and after your working relationship with us and so that you are aware of your rights under data protection law.

Data protection principles

We will comply with data protection law. This says that the personal information we hold about you must be:

1. Used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way.

2. Collected only for valid purposes that we have clearly explained to you and not used in any way that is incompatible with those purposes.

3. Relevant to the purposes we have told you about and limited only to those purposes.

4. Accurate and kept up to date.

5. Kept only as long as necessary for the purposes we have told you about.

6. Kept securely.

Who we collect your personal data from 

We collect personal data about employees, workers and contractors through our recruitment processes, either directly from candidates or sometimes from third parties such as recruitment agencies, head hunters, background check providers and referees. 

We may sometimes collect additional data from third parties including former employers, credit reference agencies and HMRC.

We will collect additional personal data during the course of your work for us including from our customers and suppliers. Where necessary, we will provide a further privacy notice to you about the source of that data and what we are doing with it.

The kind of information we hold about you

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

There are "special categories" of more sensitive personal data which require a higher level of protection such as health information or criminal convictions. Special category data are treated with additional care and are addressed separately in this notice.

If any of the following information changes, please contact us so that we can ensure all the information we hold about you is accurate and up-to-date.

We will collect, store, and use the following categories of personal information about you:

- Personal contact details such as name, title, addresses, telephone numbers, and personal email addresses.

- Date of birth.

- Gender.

- Marital status and dependants.

- Next of kin and emergency contact information.

- National Insurance number.

- Bank account details, payroll records and tax status information.

- Salary, annual leave, pension and benefits information.

- Start date (and, if different, start date of continuous employment).

- Location of employment or workplace.

- Copy of driving licence.

- Recruitment information (including copies of right to work documentation, copy of your passport or other photo ID, copy of proof of address document (for example bank statement or utility bill), references and other information included in a CV or cover letter or as part of the application process).

- Employment records (including job titles, work history, photographs, working arrangements (office-based, hybrid, remote), working hours, training records and professional memberships).

- Compensation history, conflict of interest or gift declarations.

- Performance information.

- Disciplinary and grievance information.

- CCTV footage and other information obtained through electronic means such as swipe card records.

- Information about your use of our information and communications systems.

- Photographs.

- Results of HMRC employment status check and details of your interest in and connection with the intermediary through which your services are supplied.

- Leaving data and reason for leaving.

We may also collect, store and use the following "special categories" of more sensitive personal information:

- Information about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation and political opinions.

- Trade union membership.

- Information about your health, including any medical condition or disability, including sickness records, accident at work records, tailored adjustment records and correspondence with and information provided to and received from medical health professionals.

- Genetic information and biometric data.

- Information about criminal convictions and offences.

How is your personal information collected?

We typically collect personal information about employees, workers and contactors through the application and recruitment process, either directly from candidates or sometimes from an employment agency or background check provider. We may sometimes collect additional information from third parties including former employers, credit reference agencies or other background check agencies.

We will collect additional personal information in the course of job-related activities throughout the period of you working for us. 

How we will use information about you

We will only use your personal information when we have a lawful basis to do so. Our lawful basis for each purpose for which we use your personal data is set out below. Most commonly, we will use your personal information in reliance on:

1. Contract performance. Where we need to process your personal data to perform the contract we have entered into with you.

2. Legitimate interests. Where we need to use your personal data for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. We consider any potential impact on you and your rights when determining whether we can process your personal data for our legitimate interests. 

3. Legal obligation. Where we need to use your personal data to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.

Less commonly, we may need to process your personal data in emergency situations when it is in your vital interests or those of another person.

Situations in which we will use your personal information

We need all the categories of information in the list above (see The kind of information we hold about you) primarily to allow us to perform our contract with you and to enable us to comply with legal obligations. In some cases, we may use your personal information to pursue legitimate interests of our own or those of third parties, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. The situations in which we will process your personal information are listed below. 

The kind of information we hold about you) primarily to allow us to perform our contract with you and to enable us to comply with legal obligations. In some cases, we may use your personal information to pursue legitimate interests of our own or those of third parties, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. The situations in which we will process your personal information are listed below. 

- Making a decision about your recruitment or appointment.

- Determining the terms on which you work for us.

- Checking you are legally entitled to work in the UK.

- Paying you and, if you are an employee, deducting tax and National Insurance contributions.

- Providing benefits to you.

- Liaising with your pension provider.

- Administering the contract we have entered into with you.

- Business management and planning, including accounting and auditing.

- Conducting performance reviews, managing performance and determining performance requirements.

- Making decisions about salary reviews and compensation.

- Assessing qualifications for a particular job or task, including decisions about promotions.

- Gathering evidence for possible grievance or disciplinary hearings.

- Making decisions about your continued employment or engagement.

- Making arrangements for the termination of our working relationship.

- Education, training and development requirements.

- Dealing with legal disputes involving you, or other employees, workers and contractors, including accidents at work.

- Ascertaining your fitness to work.

- Managing sickness absence.

- Complying with health and safety obligations.

- To prevent fraud.

- To monitor your use of our information and communication systems to ensure compliance with our IT policies.

- To ensure network and information security, including preventing unauthorised access to our computer and electronic communications systems and preventing malicious software distribution.

- To conduct data analytics studies to review and better understand employee retention and attrition rates.

- Equal opportunities monitoring.

Some of the above grounds for processing will overlap and there may be several grounds which justify our use of your personal information. 

If you fail to provide personal information

If you fail to provide certain information when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have entered into with you (such as paying you or providing a benefit), or we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations (such as to ensure the health and safety of our workers).

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your personal information for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so. 

Please note that we may process your personal information without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

How we use your special category data 

"Special categories" of particularly sensitive personal information require higher levels of protection. We only use your special category data when, in addition to having a lawful basis that is required to process personal data (referred to previously in this notice), there is an additional ground that permits us to do so. Those additional grounds include:

1. Employment law. Where we need to carry out rights and legal obligations in connection with employment law. 

2. Legal claims. When using your special category data is necessary for establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

3. Substantial public interest. When using your special category data is necessary to undertake matters deemed to be of substantial public interest. These include equal opportunities monitoring, preventing or detecting unlawful acts, protecting the public against dishonesty, compliance with regulatory requirements in relation to unlawful acts, provision of confidential counselling and in relation to our occupational pension scheme.

4. Assessment of working capacity. When using your special category data is necessary for the assessment of your working capacity by a health professional.

5. Vital interests (incapacity). When using your special category data is necessary to protect your vital interests, or someone else's vital interests, in circumstances in which you may be physically or legally incapable of giving consent.

Our obligations as an employer

We will use your particularly sensitive personal information in the following ways:

- We will use information relating to leaves of absence, which may include sickness absence or family related leaves, to comply with employment and other laws.

- We will use information about your physical or mental health, or disability status, to ensure your health and safety in the workplace and to assess your fitness to work, to provide appropriate workplace adjustments, to monitor and manage sickness absence and to administer benefits.

- We will use information about your race or national or ethnic origin, religious, philosophical or moral beliefs, or your sexual life or sexual orientation, to ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting. 

- We will use trade union membership information to pay trade union premiums, register the status of a protected employee and to comply with employment law obligations.

Do we need your consent?

We do not need your consent if we use special categories of your personal information in accordance with our written policy to carry out our legal obligations or exercise specific rights in the field of employment law. In limited circumstances, we may approach you for your written consent to allow us to process certain particularly sensitive data. If we do so, we will provide you with full details of the information that we would like and the reason we need it, so that you can carefully consider whether you wish to consent. You should be aware that it is not a condition of your contract with us that you agree to any request for consent from us.

Information about criminal convictions

You will have been given information about whether any criminal records checks were required for your role when you applied to work for us.

We may only use information relating to criminal convictions where, in addition to one of the grounds that is required to process personal date (referred to previously in this notice) there is a further ground that permits us to do so, including: 

1. Employment. When processing criminal offence data is necessary to perform or exercise obligations or rights which are imposed or conferred by law either on us or on you in connection with employment.

2. Legal rights. When processing criminal offence data is necessary for the purpose of, or in connection with, any legal proceedings (including prospective legal proceedings), for the purpose of obtaining legal advice, or is otherwise necessary for the purposes of establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.

3. Deemed substantial public interest. When processing criminal offence data is deemed to be of substantial public interest because it concerns preventing or detecting unlawful acts, protecting the public against dishonesty or because it concerns compliance with regulatory requirements in relation to unlawful acts.

Data sharing

We may have to share your data with third parties, including third-party service providers and other entities in the group.

Any disclosures or data sharing will be done in accordance with the law or relevant contractual arrangements. All the entities in our group and other third parties are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data. We only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions. They are not allowed to use your personal data for their own purposes.

Why might you share my personal information with third parties?

We may share your personal information with third parties where required by law, where it is necessary to administer the working relationship with you or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so. 

Which third-party service providers process my personal information?

"Third parties" includes third-party service providers (including contractors and designated agents) and other entities within our group. The following activities may be carried out by third-party service providers: payroll, pension administration, benefits provision and administration, IT services. 

How secure is my information with third-party service providers and other entities in our group?

All our third-party service providers and other entities in the group are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your personal information in line with our policies. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes. We only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

When might you share my personal information with other entities in the group?

We will share your personal information with other entities in our group as part of our regular reporting activities on company performance, in the context of a business reorganisation or group restructuring exercise, for system maintenance support and hosting of data.

What about other third parties?

We may share your personal information with other third parties. We may also need to share your personal information with a regulator or to otherwise comply with the law.

Cross-border data transfers

Where we transfer your personal information from the UK to the European Economic Area (EEA), those transfers are made in accordance with the UK government's adequacy decision in favour of countries in the EEA. 

Whenever we transfer your personal information out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

- We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data. 

- Where we use certain service providers located outside the UK, we use specific contracts approved by the UK which give personal data the same protection it has in the UK. 

If you would like further details on the specific mechanism we use when transferring your personal information out of the UK, contact the HR Department. 

Data security

We have put in place measures to protect the security of your information. Details of these measures are available upon request.

Third parties will only process your personal information on our instructions and where they have agreed to treat the information confidentially and to keep it secure.

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal information on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

DATA RETENTION

How long will you use my information for?

We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements. 

In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use such information without further notice to you. Once you are no longer an employee, worker or contractor of the company we will retain and securely destroy your personal information.

In some circumstances, you can ask us to delete your personal information. This is considered in the next section.

RIGHTS OF ACCESS, CORRECTION, ERASURE, AND RESTRICTION 

Your duty to inform us of changes

It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal information changes during your working relationship with us. 

Your rights in connection with personal information

Under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:

- Request access to your personal information (commonly known as a "data subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it. We will provide you with copies of your personal information, such as where we got the information from and who we have shared it with.

- Request correction of the personal information that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected.

- Request erasure of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal information where you have exercised your right to object to processing (see below).

- Object to processing of your personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes.

- Request the restriction of processing of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal information about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.

- Request the transfer of your personal information to another party. 

If you want to review, verify, correct or request erasure of your personal information, object to the processing of your personal data, or request that we transfer a copy of your personal information to another party, please contact us in writing.

No fee usually required

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal information (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request for access is clearly unfounded or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with the request in such circumstances.

What we may need from you

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access the information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is another appropriate security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.

Right to withdraw consent

In the limited circumstances where you may have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal information for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time. To withdraw your consent, please contact us in writing. Once we have received notification that you have withdrawn your consent, we will no longer process your information for the purpose or purposes you originally agreed to, unless we have another legitimate basis for doing so in law.

Questions or complaints

If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy notice or how we handle your personal information, or if you wish to exercise any of the rights it refers to, contact our Legal Counsel who has been appointed to oversee compliance with this privacy notice.

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO's contact details are available on from the ICO's website: https://www.ico.org.uk.

Changes to this privacy notice

We reserve the right to update this privacy notice at any time, and we will provide you with a new privacy notice when we make any substantial updates. We may also notify you in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal information.