As part of any recruitment process, SPCL collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants – SPCL is a Data Controller. The organisation is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.
What information do we collect?
SPCL will collect a range of information about you during an application process. This includes:
SPCL may collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, data might be contained in application forms, CVs, obtained from your passport or other identity documents, or collected through interviews or other forms of assessment. We may also collect personal data about you from third parties, such as references supplied by former employers and the outcome of criminal record checks and security clearance checks, where relevant, will be supplied by the Disclosure and Barring Service. We will seek information from third parties only once a job offer to you has been made and will inform you that we are doing so.
Data will be stored in a range of different places, including on your application record, in HR management systems and on other IT systems (including email).
Why does SPCL process personal data?
We need to process data to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you. We may also need to process your data to enter into a contract with you. In some cases, we need to process data to ensure that we are complying with our legal obligations. For example, it is mandatory to check a successful applicant’s eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts.
SPCL has a legitimate interest in processing personal data during the recruitment process and for keeping records of the process. Processing data from job applicants allows us to manage the recruitment process, assess and confirm a candidate’s suitability for employment and decide to whom to offer a job. We may also need to process data from job applicants to respond to and defend against legal claims.
SPCL may process special categories of data, such as information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation or religion or belief, to monitor recruitment statistics. We may also collect information about whether or not applicants are disabled to make reasonable adjustments for candidates who have a disability. We process such information to carry out our obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.
If your application is unsuccessful, SPCL may keep your personal data on file in case there are future employment opportunities for which you may be suited. We will ask for your consent before we keep your data for this purpose and you are free to withdraw your consent at any time.
Who has access to data?
Your information may be shared internally for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes senior managers, HR advisors, interviewers involved in the recruitment process, and IT staff if access to the data is necessary for the performance of their roles.
We will not share your data with third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you, complete employment background check providers to obtain necessary background checks and where relevant DBC checks.
How SPCL protect data?
We take the security of your data seriously. We have internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by our employees in the proper performance of their duties.
How long does SPCL keep data for?
If your application for employment is unsuccessful, the organisation will hold your data on file for up to one year after the end of the relevant recruitment process. If you agree to allow us to keep your personal data on file, we will hold your data on file for a further 6 (six) months for consideration for future employment opportunities. At the end of that period, or once you withdraw your consent, your data is deleted or destroyed. If you are informed that your application has been unsuccessful you will be asked whether you give us consent to hold your details for the further six (6) months in order to be considered for other positions or not.
If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your Human Resources file (electronic and paper based) and retained during your employment. The periods for which your data will be held will be provided to you in a new privacy notice.
Your rights
As a data subject, you have a number of rights. You can:
Further details about your rights are set out at: http://www.southamptonprimarycare.org.uk
If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please follow the contact the SPCL Data Protection Officer, Dr Ali Robins, at spcl.admin@nhs.net or at our head offices at 49 Portsmouth Road, Woolston, Southampton, SO19 9RL.
If you believe that the organisation has not complied with your data protection rights, you can complain to the Information Commissioner https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/.
What if you do not provide personal data?
You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide data to SPCL during the recruitment process. However, if you do not provide the information, we may not be able to process your application properly or at all.
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