Privacy Notice - Recruitment

Stockton‐on‐Tees Borough Council is a registered data controller and we collect and use information personal to you in accordance with data protection legislation.

This outlines what you can expect from us when you apply for work with us and provide us with your personal information. It makes you aware of how and why your personal information will be processed for the purposes of recruitment. The term 'processing' describes everything that can be done with your personal information including collection, recording, storage, disclosure, erasure and destruction.

Why are we asking for your information and how will we use the information about you?

We collect and use your personal information in order to take steps to enter into a contract with a successful applicant or to comply with our legal obligations regarding recruitment and employment. We collect special category (sensitive) personal information with your consent, or for reasons of substantial public interest (equality of opportunity or treatment).

We use your personal information to:

• assess your skills, qualifications and suitability for the role
• communicate with you about the recruitment process
• check you have the necessary permission to work in the UK
• carry out appropriate background checks, including medical checks, references and DBS checks where required
• comply with legal and regulatory requirements
• access funding from third parties, such as apprenticeships

Who will use your information?

Your personal information may be shared with other services within the Council for the purposes of recruitment, including with members of the HR and Recruitment team and the officers/managers involved in the recruitment process, or where we are legally required to do so.

Job offers are conditional on receiving satisfactory pre‐employment checks. When a conditional job offer is made and accepted some of your personal information may be shared with:

• referees provided by you on your application form
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to obtain necessary criminal records checks
• Occupational Health for pre‐employment health screening
• the administrators of the Local Government Pension Scheme and the Teachers' Pension Scheme, for the purpose of auto‐enrolment into the pension scheme

We will not share any of the information you provide during the recruitment process with any third parties for marketing purposes.

We use the North East Jobs website to advertise our job vacancies. If you want to apply for a job or be notified about upcoming vacancies with us, you will need to register and create an account on their website. North East Jobs have their own privacy notice which you can read on the North East Jobs privacy notice webpage.

Occasionally the Council may use a recruitment agency or third‐party service provider to assist us in the recruitment and selection of specific appointments. These service providers will have their own privacy policy and they need to comply with all applicable legal obligations. We encourage you to contact them directly if you have any concerns or questions about how they process your personal information.

If you would like further information about who your information is shared with, please contact the Information Governance team on foiandcomplaints@stockton.gov.uk.

What personal information do we hold about you?

Much of the personal information we collect about you will have been provided by you during the application and new starter process including:

• your name, address, date of birth, and contact details, including email address and telephone number
• details of your qualifications, skills, experience, employment history, other relevant experience and achievements
• National Insurance number
• information about your current level of renumeration
• details of membership of any professional and technical bodies, for example, Social Work England or Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• any conditions or restrictions relating to fitness to practice by a regulatory or licensing body; and disqualification under the Childcare Act
• information about driving ability if a post requires a specific type of licence
• disclosure information, only applicable if the post requires a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• documentary evidence showing you are entitled to work in the UK
• employment references
• any information you provide to us during the interview together with the outcome and results of any interviews, assessments or tests which formed part of the recruitment process
• information providing you with the outcome of an interview selection process, including correspondence and any feedback given
• if you are related to an Elected Member or Senior Officer of the Council to ensure that you are neither disadvantaged nor favoured in your application
• original qualification certificates in accordance with the essential or desirable criteria required for the post
• Social Work England registration certificate as statutorily required for Social Workers, or HCPC Registration certificate as statutorily required for Occupational Therapists

We may also process 'special category' personal information in the following ways:

• to determine whether or not you have a disability for which the Council needs to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. We may also use this information to take positive action in terms of undertaking to interview any applicant who declares a disability and who meets the essential (minimum) criteria for the job
• pre‐employment health checks by the Council's Occupational Health Advisor to identify any health issues that may require support, or to assess whether there are any statutory and legal reasons why an individual may not carry out particular work
• equal opportunities information to monitor the diversity of applicants in line with the Council's Equal Opportunities policy including: age, gender, marital status, race or ethnicity, nationality, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender re‐assignment and disability. Monitoring forms are removed from the application form before the selection process
• we will process information about your criminal convictions history where necessary and as required by law, in order to satisfy ourselves that there is nothing in your criminal convictions history which makes you unsuitable for the role

How long will we keep your personal information?

We will retain your personal information for a period of 1 year after we have communicated to you our decision about whether or not to appoint you. We retain this information so that we can demonstrate, in the event of a legal claim, that we have not unlawfully discriminated against candidates and that we have conducted the recruitment exercise in a fair and transparent way. After this period, we will securely destroy your personal information.

If you accept an offer of employment, any relevant personal information collected during your pre‐employment period will become part of your personnel record and held in accordance with the Stockton-on‐Tees Borough Council Retention Schedule.

Access to your information and correction

You have the right to request the following in relation to the personal information we hold. Subject to some legal exceptions, you have the right to:

• request a copy of the information the Council holds about you
• have any inaccuracies or incomplete information corrected
• have your personal information erased (also known as the right to be forgotten)
• place a restriction on our processing of your data
• object to processing
• request your data to be ported (data portability)

If you would to like to exercise any of the rights outlined above contact the Information Governance team on foiandcomplaints@stockton.gov.uk. If you would like further information about your rights to your information, please visit our Good governance webpages.

What happens if I don't provide you with my personal information?

If you do not provide us with the personal information we have requested, it may not be possible to consider your application. For more information about how this might affect you, please  contact the Information Governance team. For more information about how this might affect you, please contact the Information Governance team on foiandcomplaints@stockton.gov.uk.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way. 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 breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

How to contact us

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Data Protection Officer is Martin Skipsey.

If something goes wrong with your personal information or if you have any questions about how we use it, please contact the Information Governance team in the first instance at foiandcomplaints@stockton.gov.uk or 01642 527521.

If you remain unhappy about the way in which we have handled your personal information and wish to complain, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office.

Address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745

Fax: 01625 524 510