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Privacy notice for job applicants

Data controller: Suffolk’s Libraries IPS Limited, Ipswich County Library, Northgate Street, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 3DE, 01473 351249

Compliance manager: Mike Ellwood, mike.ellwood@suffolklibraries.co.uk

As part of any recruitment process, Suffolk Libraries collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. Suffolk Libraries is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.

What information does Suffolk Libraries collect?

Suffolk Libraries collects a range of information about you. This includes:

  • Your name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number
  • Information included in your CV and Personal Statement, such as job history, academic background, skills and competencies, personal interests and languages
  • Job preferences and type of employment sought
  • Names and contact details for references. Please note that it is your responsibility to obtain consent for your references prior to providing information about them.
  • Whether or not you have a disability for which Suffolk Libraries needs to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process
  • Information about your entitlement to work in the UK
  • Information for a DBS (disclosure barring scheme) if relevant to your role.

Suffolk Libraries collects this information in a variety of ways. For example, data might be contained your CV or personal statement, obtained from your passport or other identity documents, or collected through interviews or other forms of assessment.

Personal data collected from third parties, such as references supplied from former employers, employment background checks and criminal records checks will only be taken up once a job offer to you has been made.

Data will be stored in a range of different places, including on your application record, in the HR management systems and on other IT systems (including email).

Why does Suffolk Libraries process personal data?

Suffolk Libraries needs to process data to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you. It also needs to process your data to enter into a contract with you.

In some cases, Suffolk Libraries needs to process data to ensure that it is complying with its legal obligations. For example, it is required to check a successful applicant’s eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts.

Suffolk Libraries 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 Suffolk Libraries to manage the recruitment process, assess and confirm a candidate’s suitability for employment and decide to whom to offer a job. Suffolk Libraries may also need to process data from job applicants to respond to and defend against legal claims.

Suffolk Libraries processes health information if it needs to make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process for candidates who have a disability. This is to carry out its obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.

For some roles, Suffolk Libraries is obliged to seek information about criminal convictions and offences. Where Suffolk Libraries seeks this information, it does so because it is necessary for it to carry out its obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.

The organisation will not use your data for any purpose other than the recruitment exercise for which you have applied.

Who has access to data?

Your information will be shared internally for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes:

  • Members of the HR team
  • Interviewers involved in the recruitment process
  • Managers and line managers in the business unit with a vacancy

Suffolk Libraries will not share your data with third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and it makes you an offer of employment. Suffolk Libraries will then share your data with your referees to obtain references for you, employment background checks and the Disclosure and Barring Service to obtain necessary criminal records checks.

Suffolk Libraries will not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.

How does Suffolk Libraries protect data?

Suffolk Libraries takes the security of your data seriously. It has 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.

We train all our employees, relevant to their role, on their role and responsibilities of processing and protecting personal data. We have security provisions in place with our IT and HR and payroll system provider to ensure personal data is secure, such as firewalls, anti-virus software and security profile settings.

For how long does Suffolk Libraries keep data?

If your application for employment is unsuccessful, Suffolk Libraries will hold your data on file for the duration of the relevant recruitment process, after which your data is deleted or destroyed.

If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your personnel file. 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:

  • Access and obtain a copy of your data on request
  • Require Suffolk Libraries to change incorrect or incomplete data
  • Require Suffolk Libraries to delete or stop processing your data, for example, where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing
  • Object to the processing of your data where Suffolk Libraries is relying on its legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing
  • Ask Suffolk Libraries to stop processing data for a period if data is inaccurate or there is a dispute about whether or not your interests override Suffolk Libraries’ legitimate grounds for processing data.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact our compliance manager at mike.ellwood@suffolklibraries.co.uk

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 compliance manager. Alternatively, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.

What if you do not provide personal data?

You are under no statutory obligation to provide data to Suffolk Libraries during the recruitment process. However, if you do not provide the information, Suffolk Libraries may not be able to process your application properly or at all.

Automated decision-making

Recruitment decisions are not based solely on automated decision-making.

Further information

If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact a member of the HR team at recruitment@suffolklibraries.co.uk