Summary

This Privacy Notice is a public document available to anyone and applies to the Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC) recruitment process and explains how we collect and processes personal information relating to job applicants.   This privacy notice applies to all job applicants, whether they apply for a role directly or indirectly through an employment agency.  

Who are we

SALC is a data controller whose office is Units 1 and 2 Hillview Business park, Claydon, Ipswich, IP6 0AJ. Our main office telephone number is : 01473 833713 and our business email address is admin@salc.org.uk. We have a website : www.salc.org.uk. SALC is made up of member local councils and parish meetings in the administrative County of Suffolk. We have a written Constitution and a SALC Board who oversee our strategic direction. Our vision is to provide specialist services that enable local councils to excel in the performance of their duties. 

What information do we collect about you

SALC collects, uses and processes a range of personal information about you during the recruitment process.  This includes:

• your contact details including your name, address, telephone number and personal email address

• personal information included in a CV, any application form, cover letter or interview notes

• references

• information about your right to work in the UK and copies of proof of right to work documentation

• copies of qualification certificates

• copy of driving licence

• other background check documentation

• details of your skills, qualifications, experience and work history with previous employers

• information about your current salary level, including benefits and pension entitlements

• your professional memberships.

We may also collect, use and process the following special categories of your personal information during the recruitment process (as applicable):

• whether or not you have a disability for which we need to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process

• information about your racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs and sexual orientation

• information about criminal convictions or offences.

How do we collect your personal information?

SALC collects personal information about you during the recruitment process either directly from you or sometimes from a third party such as an employment agency.  We may also collect personal information from other external third parties, such as references from current and former employers.  We will only seek personal information from third parties during the recruitment process once an offer of employment has been made to you and will inform you that we are doing so.

You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide personal information to us during the recruitment process.  

Your personal information may be stored in different places, including on your application record and other IT systems, such as the email system.

Why and how do we use your personal information?

We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to.  These are known as the legal basis for processing.  We will use your personal information in one or more of the following circumstances:

• where we need to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you, or to enter into a contract with you

• where we need to comply with a legal obligation

• where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party), and your interests or your fundamental rights and freedoms do not override our interests.

We need all the types of personal information listed under " what information do we collect about you"  primarily to enable us to take steps at your request to enter into a contract with you, or to enter into a contract with you, and to enable us to comply with our legal obligations.  In some cases we may also use your personal information where it is necessary to pursue our legitimate interests (or those of a third party), provided that your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms do not override our interests.  Our legitimate interests include pursuing our business by employing employees, workers and contractors; managing the recruitment process; conducting due diligence on prospective staff and performing effective internal administration.  The purpose for which we are processing, or will process, your personal information are to:

• manage the recruitment process and assess your suitability for employment or engagement

• decide whom to offer a job

• comply with statutory and/or regulatory requirements and obligations, eg: checking your right to work in the UK

• comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled job applicants and with other disability discrimination obligations

• ensure compliance with your statutory rights

• ensure effective HR, personnel management and business administration

• monitor equal opportunities

• enable us to establish, exercise or defend possible legal claims.

Please note that we may process your personal information without your consent, in compliance with these rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

What if you fail to provide personal information?

If you fail to provide certain personal information when requested, we may not be able to process your job application properly or at all, we may not be able to enter into a contract with you, or we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations.  You may also be unable to exercise your statutory rights.

Why and how do we use your sensitive personal information?

We will only collect and use your sensitive personal information when the law allows, which includes special categories of personal information.  Some special categories of personal information, ie about your health and information about criminal convictions and offences, is processed so that we can perform or exercise our obligations or rights under employment law and in line with our data protection policy.  Where we need to process such information we will first provide you with full details of the personal information we would like and the reason we need it, so that you can properly consider whether you wish to consent or not.  It is entirely your choice whether to consent.  Your consent can be withdrawn at any time.  

The purposes for which we are processing, or will, process, information about health or criminal convictions and offences are to:

• assess your suitability for employment or engagement

• comply with statutory and/or regulatory adjustments for disabled job applicants and with other disability discrimination obligations

• ensure compliance with your statutory rights

• ascertain your fitness to work

• ensure effective HR, personnel management and business administration

• monitor equal opportunities.

Where SALC processes other special categories of personal information, ie information about your racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs and sexual orientation, this is done only for the purpose of equal opportunities monitoring in recruitment and in line with our data protection policy.  Personal information that SALC uses for these purposes is anonymised or is collected with your explicit written consent, which can be withdrawn at any time.  it is entirely your choice whether to provide such personal information.

We may also occasionally use your special categories of personal information, and information about any criminal convictions and offences, where it is needed for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, i.e. for the recruitment exercise for which you have applied.

However, if your job application is unsuccessful, we may wish to keep your personal information on file for in case there are future suitable employment opportunities with us. We will ask for your consent before we keep your personal information on file for this purpose. Your consent can be withdrawn at any time.

Who has access to your personal information?

Your personal information may be shared internally within SALC for the purposes of the recruitment exercise, or, in relation to our locum service, the council who has the vacancy that you are applying for.  We will not share your personal information with third parties during the recruitment process.

In the case of our locum service, if your application is successful, the council will then take over the offer of employment or engagement. At that stage they will advise you who they may also share your personal information with including third parties (and their designated agents), including:

• external organisations for the purposes of conducting pre-employment reference and employment background checks

• the DBS, to obtain a criminal record check

• former employers, to obtain references

• professional advisors, such as lawyers

• outsourced provider such as payroll and HR

How do we protect your personal information?

SALC has put in place measures to protect the security of your personal information. It has internal policies, procedures and controls in place to try and prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost or destroyed, altered, disclosed or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, workers, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know in order to perform their job duties and responsibilities. 

Where your personal information is shared with third parties, we require all third parties to take appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal information and to treat it subject to a duty of confidentiality and in accordance with data protection law. We only allow them to process your personal information for specified purposes and in accordance with our written instructions and we do not allow them to use your personal information for their own purposes.

We also have in place procedures to deal with a suspected data security breach and we will notify the Information Commissioner’s Office (or any other applicable supervisory authority or regulator) and you of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

How long do we keep your personal information?

SALC will only retain your personal information for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and processed.

If your application for employment or engagement is unsuccessful, SALC generally hold your personal information for six months, after the end of the relevant recruitment exercise but this is subject to: (a) any minimum statutory or other legal, tax, health and safety, reporting or accounting requirements for particular data or records, and (b) the retention of some types of personal information for up to six years to protect against legal risk, e.g. if they could be relevant to a possible legal claim in a tribunal, County Court or High Court. 

If you have consented to SALC keeping your personal information on file for in case there are future suitable employment opportunities, SALC will hold your personal information for a further six months after the end of the relevant recruitment exercise, or until you withdraw your consent if earlier.

Personal information which is no longer to be retained will be securely and effectively destroyed or permanently erased from our IT systems and we will also require third parties to destroy or erase such personal information where applicable.

In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal information so that it no longer permits your identification. In this case, we may retain such information for a longer period.

Your rights in connection with your personal information

Y ou have the right to request a copy of the data we hold about you. Please contact admin@salc.org.uk if you wish to request access to any of your personal data and we will always endeavour to answer your questions. Please be specific about what personal data you want to see, what it relates to and within what timeframe, as that will assist us. You also have the right to correct information we hold. Please advise us of any changes or corrections by contacting admin@salc.org.uk . You have the right to withdraw your consent to use any information that was previously provided with your consent. Please advise us if you wish to withdraw any consent previously given by contacting us admin@salc.org.uk . You can check details of your rights by visiting the Information Commissioner's office (ICO) website.

Changes to this privacy notice (recruitment)

SALC will regularly review this notice.  This is a controlled document and is referenced ALC8(b) version 1 and was last updated on 19th January 2024.