HR Connect – EmploymentCheck Privacy Notice

Who are we?

EmploymentCheck is an online system for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Disclosure Scotland and reference checks provided by HR Connect, part of Commercial Services Kent Ltd. (CSG). CSG are a Local Authority Trading Company wholly owned by Kent County Council. CSG collects, uses and is responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so we are regulated under the under the UK Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation which applies across the European Union (including in the United Kingdom).

For the purposes of the services provided by CSG to the client organisation:

·         We are responsible as ‘controller’ of your personal information where you are the person named as the client organisation contact with whom we liaise in relation to our contract with our client.

·         We are responsible as the ‘processor’ for the personal information we gather as part of the online disclosure service and have no direct relationship with the individual(s) whose personal data we process under the direction of client organisations. Please refer to the client organisation’s privacy policy as the data ‘controller’.

About the information we collect and hold

The table set out below summarises the information we collect and hold for this service, how and why we do so, how we use it and with whom it may be shared.

We seek to ensure that our information collection and processing is always proportionate. We will notify you of any changes to information we collect or to the purposes for which we collect and process it.

Further details on how we handle personal information are set out in our Data Protection Policy and Policy statement on the secure storage, handling, use, retention and disposal of disclosure information.

As there is a statutory and contractual basis for collecting your personal data if you do not provide the following we may be unable to enter into a contract with your organisation.

·         Personal Data: contact name and telephone number (client contact)

How we use your information to make automated decisions

An automated decision is where an electronic system makes a decision using personal information without human intervention (e.g. monitoring your online activities and emails or events which trigger actions such as your sickness absence triggering our capability policy).  This helps us to make sure our decisions are quick, fair, efficient and correct, based on what we know.  These automated decisions can affect the services we may offer you now or in the future.

Automated decision making is allowed in the following circumstances:

1.    Where we have notified you of the decision and given you 21 days to request a reconsideration

2.    Where it is necessary to fulfil our contractual obligations and requirements and appropriate measures are in place to safeguard your rights.  

3.    In limited circumstances, with your explicit consent and where appropriate measures are in place to safeguard your rights.  

If an automated decision is made, based on any particularly sensitive personal information, we must have either your explicit written consent or it must be justified

in the public interest, and we must put in place appropriate measures to safeguard your rights.

How long your personal data will be kept

We will not retain your information for longer than is necessary in providing the service or as is required by law.

Who we share your personal information with

Other than as stated in the table above, we will share personal information with law enforcement, our regulators or other authorities if required by applicable law. 

We will also share your personal information with third parties where it is necessary to administer our working relationship with you or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so (providing this is not overridden by your interests). 

We may also need to share some of the categories of personal information with other parties where a transfer of the business takes place. Usually, information will be anonymised or pseudonymised, but this may not always be possible. The recipient of the information will be bound by confidentiality obligations and legally binding data sharing agreements. 

Our third-party service providers include:

·         ANS - formerly UK Fast.Net Ltd (system hosting)

Access to data is only granted where authorised by CSG and specifically required in line with our contract with them. System data is hosted within the UK by an ISO 27001 accredited supplier and supplier information security standards meet DBS requirements.

Where information may be retained

Information may be retained at our offices and those of our service providers, representatives and agents as described above.

We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the European Commission.  For further details see https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-transfers-outside-eu/adequacy-protection-personal-data-non-eu-countries_en

Where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts approved by the European Commission which give personal data the same protection it has in Europe.  For further details, see https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/international-transfers/

Where we use providers based in the US, we may transfer data to them if they are part of the Privacy Shield which requires them to provide similar protection to personal data shared between Europe and the US.    For further information see European Commission: EU-US Privacy Shield: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-transfers-outside-eu/eu-us-privacy-shield_en

Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the European Economic Area (EEA). 

Reliance on UK exemptions from the GDPR

We may use information in reliance on the exemptions under the

DPA 2018 where allowed e.g. where a claim to legal professional privilege would apply, in relation to the provision of confidential references or for the purposes of management forecasting (to the extent that such forecasting would be prejudiced by advance notification). 

Your Rights

Under the DPA 2018 you have a number of rights which you can access free of charge which allow you to:

·         Know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it

·         Ask to see what information we hold about you

·         Ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you

·         Object to direct marketing

·         Make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office

Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

·         Ask us to delete information we hold about you

·         Have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation

·         Object to decisions being made that significantly affect you

·         Object to how we are using your information

·         Stop us using your information in certain ways

We will always seek to comply with your request however we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties.

Please note: your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioners Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under the General Data Protection Regulation: https://ico.org.uk/

If you would like to exercise a right, please contact dpo@csltd.org.uk or write to Data Protection Officer, Commercial Services Group, 1 Abbey Wood Road, Kings Hill, West Malling, ME19 4YT.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

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

Who to Contact

Please contact dpo@csltd.org.uk to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for.

The General Data Protection Regulation also gives you right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/concerns or telephone 03031 231113.

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. 

This document was last reviewed September 2022. 

Experian Data Services End User Terms

When establishing the true identity of an applicant an external ID verification check may be used as an alternative to Route 1/1a. This will require us to provide an applicant’s details (as presented on the application form) to our chosen supplier Experian, who will compare the data obtained from the applicant against a range of independent, external data sources.

Please take a moment to read the Experian Terms and Conditions with regards to the core terms concerning the nature and use of the services, confidentiality, data protection, compliance and audit.

Experian Terms and Conditions

CSG Policy Statement on the Secure Storage, Handling, Use, Retention & Disposal of Disclosure Information

General principles

As an organisation using the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to help assess the suitability of applicants for positions of trust, Commercial Services Group (CSG) complies fully with the DBS Code of Practice regarding the correct handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of Disclosures and Disclosure information. It also complies fully with its obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018, General Data Protection Regulation and other relevant legislation: 

·         in relation to the circumstances in which it seeks criminal records information;

·         by being concise, clear and transparent about how it obtains and uses such information, and how (and when) it is deleted once it is no longer required; and

·         by ensuring the correct handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of DBS certificates and certificate information.

CSG’s data protection officer (DPO), is responsible for informing and advising CSG and its staff on its data protection obligations, including in relation to criminal records information, and for monitoring compliance with those obligations and with CSG’s policies. If you have any questions or comments about the data protection content of this policy or if you need further information, you should contact the DPO at dpo@csltd.org.uk

Storage & Access

Paper form Disclosure information is always kept separately and securely, in lockable, nonportable, storage containers with access strictly controlled and limited to those who are entitled to see it as part of their duties.  

On-line Disclosure information is kept within the EmploymentCheck on-line system and CSG’s HR/Payroll system. This information is stored for monitoring purposes only. Access to these systems is strictly controlled and only granted to those who need this as part of their duties.  

All other emails or documents recording the disclosure information that are held by any of the authorised staff involved in decision making, will be securely deleted or destroyed immediately upon the risk assessment being completed.  

Handling

In accordance with section 124 of the Police Act 1997, Disclosure information is only passed to those who are authorised to receive it in the course of their duties.  We maintain a record of all those to whom Disclosure information has been revealed as part of the Risk Assessment process and we recognise that it is a criminal offence to pass this information to anyone who is not entitled to receive it. We only share Disclosure information with those who require this as part of their duties.

Usage

Disclosure information is only used for the specific purpose for which it was requested and for which the applicant's full consent has been given.

Retention

Once a disclosure has been received and a recruitment (or other relevant) decision has been made, we do not keep Disclosure information for any longer than is necessary. This is for a period of up to six months, to allow for the consideration and resolution of any disputes or complaints. If, in very exceptional circumstances, it is considered necessary to keep Disclosure information for longer than six months, we will consult the DBS about this and give full consideration to the Data Protection and Human Rights of the individual subject before doing so. Throughout this time, the usual conditions regarding safe storage and strictly controlled access will prevail.

Personal information kept within the EmploymentCheck on-line system is purged after a period of 6 months from the date the application is archived (the recruitment decision made) as outlined in our Privacy Notice.

Disposal

Once the retention period has elapsed, we will ensure that any Disclosure information whether this be paper form or on-line information is immediately and suitably destroyed by secure means or deleting within the EmploymentCheck on-line system. While disclosure documentation is waiting to be disposed of we will ensure that this is kept in a secure lockable, non-portable storage container or securely within the on-line system. We will not keep any photocopies or other images of the Disclosure or any copy or representation of the contents of a Disclosure. However, notwithstanding the above, we may keep a record of:

·         Application ID

·         Username

·         Forename

·         Surname

·         ID Verifier Username

·         DBS Vulnerable Adults checked

·         DBS Children’s Barred List checked

·         Position working with children or adults at the applicant’s home address

·         Volunteer

·         Workforce 

·         Type of check required

·         DBS Application Reference

·         Disclosure number

·         Disclosure issue date

·         Separate barred list check required?

·         Recruitment decision

·         Certificate of Good Conduct required?

·         Certificate of Good Conduct received?

·         Position for which certificate was requested

Acting as an Umbrella Body

Before acting as an Umbrella Body (one which countersigns applications and receives Disclosure information on behalf of other employers or recruiting organisations), we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that they can comply fully with the DBS Code of Practice. We will also take all reasonable steps to satisfy ourselves that they will handle, use, store, retain and dispose of Disclosure information in full compliance with the DBS Code and in full accordance with this policy. We will also ensure that any body or individual, at whose request applications for Disclosure are countersigned, has such a written policy and, if necessary, will provide a model policy for that body or individual to use or adapt for this purpose.