Privacy notice for job applicants

1. Introduction

South Tyneside Council is a registered data controller in relation to the data it holds on its employees and those who apply for jobs within the Company.

This statement explains how we use the personal information that we collect from you during our recruitment process. South Tyneside Council takes very seriously your privacy and the security of your information that you provide.

Throughout this notice, 'we' and 'our' refers to South Tyneside Council; 'you' refers to you as an applicant for a job with South Tyneside Council.

If you have submitted your application via the North East Jobs Portal you may also wish to refer to the privacy notice on their website.

2. What information do we collect from you?

For our application and recruitment process we will collect:

Your name, address and contact details, including a current e-mail address. We will contact you during the application process using the email address you provide unless you request an alternative contact method.
The name and address of two referees. You should get the permission of these people for us to contact them in relation to your application.
Details of your current or most recent employment. We will also ask you to provide details of your current or most recent salary but you do not have to provide this.
Details of any previous employment you may have had.
Your qualifications and training.
Membership of any professional body.
Details of identity and eligibility for employment in the UK.
Further information to support your application.

We will ask you to confirm whether you hold a driving licence and what type this is, if this is a requirement of the job.

We have a legal duty to monitor information on equality and diversity in our recruitment process and to ensure that our employment processes are fair and accessible. So, we will also ask you to provide some information for the purposes of monitoring equality and diversity in our recruitment processes. The information that you choose to provide in this section of your application is treated in the strictest confidence. It is not taken into account when deciding on your suitability for the post you have applied for. This information can include:

Gender
Date of Birth
Ethnic Origin
Sexual life
Disability

We will also ask you to declare if you have any relationship with a Senior Officer or Elected Member of the Council, or are applying for a post based at a school and you are related to a member of the Governing Body.

It is important that the data that you provide about you is correct. You should advise us as soon as possible if you need us to make any changes.

For security purposes, if you attend for an interview, your image may be recorded on CCTV in our premises. The CCTV operates continuously and recordings are held for up to one month. If you contact us by phone, our Customer Contact Centre calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes and our recordings are usually held for a period of up to three months.

3. Why do we collect your information? How will we use it?

We use this information to:

Process your application for the post for which you are applying
Assess your suitability for the post for which you are applying
Create your employment record if you are successful in your application and allocate you the equipment and resources that you need to do the job
Improve our recruitment, employment, and equality and diversity, policies and practices
Ensure the safety of our workplace and ensure the health and safety and safeguarding of our customers
Protect our business from fraud or illegal activities
Carry out our statutory and public duties.

We will only use your information in relation to the post for which you are applying. If you wish to apply for more than one job with us you will need to complete a separate application each time.

Where we use information for recruitment monitoring and statistical purposes, we will anonymise and depersonalise the information.

As we are responsible for protecting public funds that we manage we may also use the information that you provide to detect and prevent crime or fraud.

4. On what basis do we process your information when you apply for a job with us?

When you apply for a job with us, you do so voluntarily and you provide your information on the basis that it will be used for the purpose of recruitment.

On our application form, we ask you to give us consent to record and process the information that you provide, for the purposes of the job application. This is in line with Article 6 (1) (b) of the GDPR. If you do not give us consent to use the information that you provide, then we will not be able to process your application.

You may choose not to provide some information requested on the form. However, this may lead to delays in us processing your application and may affect our ability to improve our recruitment policies and processes. Where you have a choice in providing information, this is clearly indicated on the form.

Article 9 (2) (b) enables us to process sensitive personal data for the purposes of monitoring equality and diversity in our recruitment and employment processes.

5. How is your information stored?

Your information will be held by South Tyneside Council in paper, non-computerised, format and electronic, computerised, format.

Paper-based, non-computerised, information is stored securely within access-controlled storage, and is only processed by staff with a need to do so.
Electronic, computerised, information is stored securely on servers managed by South Tyneside Council.

South Tyneside Council has security procedures and an Information Security Policy to ensure that data is handled appropriately and protected from accidental loss or misuse. The Council seeks to comply and align its policies with all parts of the Information Security Standards ISO 27001. Access to information is only permitted where there is a legitimate reason.

6. Who do we share your information with?

We will share your information with those involved in the recruitment process.

For the purposes of the detection of crime or fraud we may share your information with law enforcement bodies, such as the Police, HMRC, or other organisations that inspect and manage public funds. We do not require your permission to share your information for this purpose and we may not notify you that we have done so.

We will not sell your personal data on to third parties. We will not pass on your personal data to unrelated third parties unless we are allowed or required to do so by law, or we have your explicit permission to do so.

7. Where your data may be processed

All of this information is processed within the UK.

8. How long do we keep hold of your information?

If you are successful in your application for a job with us, your information will be used to create your employment record. Otherwise, unless there is a dispute, information is kept for a minimum of 6 months up to a maximum of two years after the date of application, after which time it is securely destroyed.

9. Your rights and choices regarding your information. How can I access the information you hold about me?

Under data protection legislation, you have the right to request access to information about you that we hold. To make a request for your personal information, contact our Data Protection Officer in writing at:

South Tyneside Council, Town Hall and Civic Offices, Westoe Road, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE33 2RL, or
By email on data.protection@southtyneside.gov.uk

In some limited cases we may have to redact names or withhold information where it relates to:

A third party or where the information has been provided in confidence
The prevention and detection of fraud
The apprehension or prosecution of offenders
The assessment and collect of taxes and duties
The ways benefit fraud is detected or prevented
The health and safety of council staff
Where the disclosure of medical opinions may cause distress or serious harm to a person

Of course we will try to provide you with as much information as possible.

You also have the right to:

in certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed
object to processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress
prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing
object to decisions being taken by automated means
claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Data Protection regulations.

You can request consideration of these changes by contacting our Data Protection Officer

10. Changes to our privacy policy

We will keep our privacy notice under regular review and publish updated privacy notices on our website. This notice was last reviewed in January 2020.

11. How to contact us

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, we ask that you raise your concern with us in the first instance, by contacting our Data Protection Officer in writing at:

South Tyneside Council, Town Hall and Civic Offices, Westoe Road, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE33 2RL, or
By email on data.protection@southtyneside.gov.uk

Alternatively, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office at ICO: Concerns.