During the recruitment process, The Biodiversity Consultancy (TBC) collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants.
TBC is committed to being clear and transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.
What information does TBC collect and process?
TBC collects and processes a range of personal information (personal data) about you. Personal data means any information about an individual from which the person can be identified. This includes
- Personal contact details, such as your name, title, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number;
- details of your qualifications, skills, experience and employment history, including start and end dates, with previous employers;
- information about your remuneration, including entitlement to benefits such as pensions;
- information about your entitlement to work in the UK; and any other country or location you will be based in
- equal opportunities monitoring information, including information about your ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health and religion or belief.
TBC collects this information in a variety of ways during the application and recruitment process. For example, data may be contained in application forms and CVs, obtained from identity documents, such as your passport and collected through interviews, online assessment tests.
In some cases, TBC collects personal data about you from third parties, such as references supplied by former employers, information from employment background check providers and information from criminal records checks permitted by law.
Data is stored in a range of different places, including on your application record, in TBC’s HR management systems and in other IT systems (including TBC’s email system).
Why does TBC process personal data?
TBC needs to process data prior to entering into a contract with you. We also need to process data to enter into an employment contract with you and to meet our obligations under that employment contract.
In addition, TBC needs to process data to ensure that we are complying with our legal obligations. For example, we are required to check an employee's entitlement to work in the UK before employment begins.
TBC has a legitimate interest in processing personal data during the recruitment process and in keeping records of that process. Processing such data from job applicants enables TBC to manage the recruitment process, assess the suitability of candidates and make informed decision as to whom we wish to recruit. TBC may also have to process data from job applicants in order to defend legal claims.
TBC processes health information if we need to make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process for candidates with a disability.
For certain positions, it is necessary to carry out criminal records checks to ensure that individuals are permitted to undertake a particular role.
If you fail to provide personal information
You are under no obligation to provide TBC with data during the recruitment process. However, if you do not prove certain information when requested, TBC may not be able to process your application for employment properly or at all.
You are under no obligation to provide information for equal opportunities monitoring purposes and there are no consequences for you if this information is not provided.
For how long do you keep data?
TBC will only hold your personal data for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collected it. If your application for employment is unsuccessful, TBC will hold your data on file for 6 months after the end of the recruitment process. At the end of that period, your data is deleted or destroyed, unless you Opt In for TBC to keep your data on file for the purpose of future recruitment needs.
If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your personnel file and we shall issue a new privacy notice which sets down the periods for which your data will be held.
Who has access to data?
Your information will be shared internally for the purposes of the recruitment process, including with the hiring team and HR.
TBC will not share your data with third parties unless we make you an offer of employment. In those circumstances, TBC shall share your data with third parties where required by law and where it is necessary in order to administer the working relationship with you or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so.
The Company will not transfer your data to countries outside the UK.
How does TBC protect data?
TBC takes the security of your data seriously. TBC has internal policies and controls in place to prevent your data being lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by its employees in the performance of their duties.
Your rights
As a data subject, you have a number of rights. You can:
- access and obtain a copy of your data on request (known as a “data subject access request”);
- require TBC to change incorrect or incomplete data;
- request erasure of your personal information. This enables you to ask TBC 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 TBC is relying on its legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing; and
- ask TBC to suspend the processing of your personal data for a period of time if data is inaccurate or there is a dispute about its accuracy or the reason for processing it.
If you would like to exercise any of these rights, or you have any questions about the privacy notice, please contact Amanda Woods, Head of People.
If you believe that the Company has not complied with your data protection rights, you have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
