Burnley Council is committed to protecting your privacy and complying with Data Protection laws.
This policy sets out the basis by which we collect, use and disclose the personal data of job applicants, as well as your rights in respect of this data.
Burnley Council is the controller of data for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulations.
If you have any concerns as to how your data is processed you can contact: Ian Evenett, Data Protection Officer at ievenett@burnley.gov.uk
How your information will be used and what data we hold
All the information you provide during the process will only be used for the purpose of progressing your application, or to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements if necessary.
We will not share any of the information you provide during the recruitment process with any third parties for marketing purposes or store any of your information outside the European Economic Area. The information you provide will be held securely by us and/or our data processors whether the information is in electronic or physical format.
We do not collect more information than we need to fulfil our stated purposes and will not retain it for longer than is necessary. The information we ask for is used to assess your suitability for employment. You do not have to provide what we ask for but it might affect your application if you do not.
Application Stage
Application form information is collected by a data processor on our behalf (please see below).
We ask you for your personal details including name and contact details. We will also ask you about your previous experience, education, referees and for further information relevant to the role you have applied for. Our recruitment team will have access to all of this information.
You will also be asked to provide equal opportunities information. This is not mandatory – if you do not provide it, it will not affect your application. This information will not be made available outside of our recruitment and HR team in a way that can identify you. Any information you do provide will be used only to produce and monitor equal opportunities statistics as the Council has a public duty under the Equality Act to do so.
Shortlisting
Our managers shortlist applications for interview. They will not be provided with your name or contact details or with your equal opportunities information.
Interviews/Assessments
We might ask you to participate in assessment days, complete tests and/or attend an interview – or a combination of these. Information will be generated by you and us. For example, you might complete a written test or we will take interview notes. This information is retained by our data processor.
We are required to confirm the identity of our employees, their right to work in the UK and seek assurance as to their qualifications and experience. You will therefore be required to provide to the interview panel:
- Proof of identity
- Proof of qualifications
Offer of employment
If we make a conditional offer of employment we will ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. You must successfully complete these checks to progress to final offer.
You will therefore be required to provide:
- Consent for us to contact your referees (if not already given on the application form)
- You may be asked to complete an application for a Disclosure & Barring check (dependant on role)
- You will be asked to complete a questionnaire regarding your health. This will be done through a data processor (please see below)
If we make a final offer we will also ask you for the following upon commencement of employment:
- Bank details – to process salary payments
- Emergency contact details
- Information related to occupational pension membership
Use of data processors
Data processors are third parties who provide elements of our service. We have contracts in place with our processors. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do so. They will hold it securely and retain it for the period we instruct.
- Liberata are our strategic partner and provide our HR administration service which includes recruitment administration. They have access to your data as detailed above as required to carry out their contractual obligations.
- We may, on occasion, use recruitment consultants to assist with interviews and assessments.
- Your details will be provided to Your Pensions Service who are the administrators of the Local Government Pension Scheme of which Burnley Council is a member organisation. You will be auto-enrolled into the pension scheme and your name, date of birth, national insurance number and salary will be provided.
- Lancashire Teaching Hospitals provide our Occupational Health Service. On conditional offer of employment we will ask that you complete a questionnaire which will determine if you are fit to undertake the work that you have been offered. The questionnaire is sent directly by you to Occupational Health – the information provided will only be seen by them and they will provide us with a fit to work certificate or a report.
Retention of data
If you are unsuccessful following assessment for the position you have applied for we will store your identifiable information for a period of 6 months from the conclusion of the recruitment.
If successful, the information you provide during the application process will be retained by us as part of your employee data for the duration of your employment and for 6 years after the end of your employment with the Council.
Your rights
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act (DPA) you have a number of rights which regard to your personal data. You have the right to
- Access and obtain a copy of your data on request.
- Require the Council to change incorrect or incomplete data
- Require the Council to delete or stop processing your data and
- Object to the processing of your data
- Data portability (in certain circumstances)
If you have provided consent for the processing of your data you have the right (in certain circumstances) to withdraw that consent at any time which will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before your consent was withdrawn.
If you have a compliant about how the Council has processed your data please contact the People and Development Service.
You have the right to lodge a complaint to the Information Commissioners’ Office if you believe that we have not complied with the requirements of the GDPR or Data Protection Act with regard to your personal data.