Recruitment privacy notice
This Recruitment Privacy Notice explains what personal data (information) we will hold about you, how we collect it, how we will use it, and how we may share it during the recruitment process. We are required to notify you of this information, under data protection legislation. Please ensure that you read this notice (sometimes referred to as a ‘privacy notice’) and any other similar notice we may provide to you from time to time when we collect or process personal information about you.
1.1 Harper Macleod LLP (‘Company’) is a ‘data controller’ and gathers and uses certain information about you.
2.1 We will comply with the data protection principles when gathering and using personal information, as set out in our data protection policy.
3.1 We may collect the following information up to and including the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process:
- Your name and contact details (i.e. address, home and mobile phone numbers, email address);
- Details of your qualifications, experience, employment history (including job titles, salary and working hours) and interests;
- Details of your referees.
3.2 We may collect the following information after the shortlisting stage, and before making a final decision to recruit:
- Information relating to proof of address including your address history;
- Information about your previous academic and/or employment history, including details of any conduct, grievance or performance issues, appraisals, time and attendance, from references obtained about you from previous employers and/or education providers;
- Information regarding your academic and professional qualifications;
- Information regarding your criminal record, (Disclosure Scotland check);
- Your nationality and immigration status and information from related documents, such as your passport or other identification and immigration information;
- Information in relation of Bank of England’s database of Financial Sanctions and Terrorists;
- Information relating to credit reference – we may search public records such as the Electoral Roll that are available from Credit Reference Agencies. The search will include information held in relation to any outstanding credit commitments, including those people whom you are financially associated with. It will not be seen by lenders, nor will it be used when assessing your ability to obtain credit related products.
3.3 You are required in order to enter into your contract of employment to provide the categories of information noted above to us to enable us to verify your right to work and suitability for the position.
4.1 We may collect this information from you, your referees (details of whom you will have provided), your education provider, recruitment agencies or other companies who have recommended you to us, the relevant professional body, Disclosure Scotland, the Bank of England (in relation to Financial Sanctions) and the credit reference agency, Creditsafe.
5.1 We will typically collect and use this information for the following purposes:
- to take steps to enter into a contract;
- for compliance with a legal obligation (e.g. our obligation to check that you are eligible to work in the United Kingdom);
- for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest; and
- for the purposes of our legitimate interests, but only if these are not overridden by your interests, rights or freedoms.
5.2 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.
6.1 We may also need to share some of the above categories of personal information with other parties. Usually, information will be anonymised but this may not always be possible. The recipient of the information will be bound by confidentiality obligations. We may also be required to share some personal information with our regulators or as required to comply with the law.
7.1 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.
7.2 This table summarises the information we collect and hold up to and including the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process, how and why we do so, how we use it and with whom it may be shared.
| The information we collect | How we collect the information | Why we collect the information | How we use and may share the information |
| Your name and contact details (ie address, home and mobile phone numbers, email address) | From you or from recruitment agencies or other organisations who have recommended you. | Legitimate interest: to carry out a fair recruitment processLegitimate interest: to progress your application, arrange interviews and inform you of the outcome at all stages | To enable HR to contact you to progress your application, arrange interviews and inform you of the outcomeTo inform the relevant manager or department of your application |
| Details of your qualifications, experience, employment history (including job titles, salary and working hours) and interests | From you, in the completed application form or CV and interview notes (if relevant) | Legitimate interest: to carry out a fair recruitment processLegitimate interest: to make an informed decision to shortlist for interview and (if relevant) to recruit | To make an informed recruitment decision |
| Information regarding your criminal record | From you, in your completed disclosure Scotland application form | To comply with our contractual obligationsFor reasons of substantial public interest including preventing or detecting unlawful acts, suspicion of terrorist financing or money laundering in the regulated sector, and protecting the public against dishonesty. | To make an informed recruitment decisionTo carry out statutory checks |
| Details of your referees | From your completed referee form | Legitimate interest: to carry out a fair recruitment process | To carry out a fair recruitment processInformation shared with relevant managers, HR personnel and the referee. |
7.3 This table summarises the additional information we collect before making a final decision to recruit, i.e. before making an offer of employment unconditional, how and why we do so, how we use it and with whom it may be shared.
| The information we collect | How we collect the information | Why we collect the information | How we use and may share the information |
| Information about your previous academic and/or employment history, including details of any conduct, grievance or performance issues, appraisals, time and attendance, from references obtained about you from previous employers and/or education providers | From your referees (details of whom you will have provided). | Legitimate interest: to make an informed decision to recruit.To comply with our legal obligations.Legitimate interests: to maintain employment records and to comply with legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations and good employment practice. | To obtain the relevant reference about you.To comply with legal/regulatory obligations.Information shared with relevant managers and HR personnel.Information may be shared with clients in accordance with our client contracts. |
| Information regarding your academic and professional qualifications | From you, from your education provider, from the relevant professional body. | Legitimate interest: to verify the qualifications information provided by you. | To make an informed recruitment decision.Information may be shared with clients in accordance with our client contracts. |
| Information regarding your criminal record, in criminal records certificates (Disclosure Scotland checks) | From you and from Disclosure Scotland. | To perform the employment contract.To comply with our client contractual obligations.Legitimate interest: to verify the criminal records information provided by you.For reasons of substantial public interest (preventing or detecting unlawful acts, suspicion of terrorist financing or money laundering in the regulated sector and protecting the public against dishonesty). | To make an informed recruitment decision.Information shared with Disclosure Scotland and other regulatory authorities as required.Information may be shared with clients in accordance with our client contracts. |
| Your nationality and immigration status and information from related documents, such as your passport or other identification and immigration information | From you and, where necessary, the Home Office. | To enter into/perform the employment contract.To comply with our legal obligations.Legitimate interest: to maintain employment records. | To carry out right to work checks.Information may be shared with the Home Office.Information may be shared with clients in accordance with our client contracts. |
| Information in relation of Bank of England’s database of Financial Sanctions and Terrorists | From the Bank of England’s database. | To comply with our client contractual obligations. | Information may be shared with clients in accordance with our client contracts. |
| Information relating to credit reference – we may search public records such as the Electoral Roll that are available from Credit Reference Agencies. | From you | To comply with our client contractual obligations. | Information may be shared with clients in accordance with our client contracts. |
7.4 You are required (in order to enter into your contract of employment) to provide the categories of information in the tables above to enable us to verify your right to work and suitability for the position.
8.1 Information may be held at our offices and those of our group companies, and third party agencies, service providers, representatives and agents as described above.
9. How long we keep your personal information for
9.1 We keep the personal information that we obtain about you during the recruitment process for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed. How long we keep your information will depend on whether your application is successful and you become employed by us, the nature of the information concerned and the purposes for which it is processed.
9.2 We will keep recruitment information (including interview notes) for no longer than is reasonable, taking into account the limitation periods for potential claims such as race or sex discrimination (as extended to take account of early conciliation), after which they will be securely destroyed. If there is a clear business reason for keeping recruitment records for longer than the recruitment period, we may do so but will first consider whether the records can be pseudonymised, and the longer period for which they will be kept.
9.3 If your application is successful, we will keep only the recruitment information that is necessary in relation to your employment.
9.4 We have a data retention policy that sets out the periods and rules for retaining and reviewing all information that we hold. This sets out different retention periods, which depend upon the nature of the information, and you can request details by contacting us at [email protected].
10. Your rights to correct and access your information and to ask for it to be erased
10.1 Please contact our Data Protection Officer who can be contacted at [email protected] if (in accordance with applicable law) you would like to correct or request access to information that we hold relating to you or if you have any questions about this notice. You also have the right to ask our Data Protection Officer for some but not all of the information we hold and process to be erased in certain circumstances.
11. Keeping your personal information secure
11.1 We will protect your personal information in order to prevent unauthorised access to, or use or disclosure of, your personal information through a number of organisational and technical security measures. Your personal information is stored on our systems to which access is both physically and electronically controlled. We have been assessed and certified as meeting the requirements of ISO/IEC 27001:2013. 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.
11.2 For the purposes of IT hosting and maintenance, the personal information we hold is located on servers within the European Union.
11.3 Our staff receive data protection training and we have detailed data protection and information security procedures in place.
11.4 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.
12. How to complain
We hope that our Data Protection Officer can resolve any query or concern you raise about our use of your information. If not, contact the Information Commissioner on their website or telephone: 0303 123 1113 for further information about your rights and how to make a formal complaint.