NICVA Staff Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice is for job applicants and NICVA staff, including volunteers. It explains how personal data is used to recruit staff, manage the employment relationship and meet our legal obligations.

If you're looking for the general NICVA Privacy Notice please click here.

Summary

  • We use your personal data to carry out recruitment, manage the employment relationship, and meet requirements set down by law.
  • When you apply for a job we keep your application form during the process for 6 months.
  • The legal bases that we use for processing are performance of a contract, to meet legal obligations, and where it is in our legitimate interest.
  • We are required by law to process some sensitive personal data for equal opportunity monitoring purposes.
  • You don't have to provide what we ask for in most cases, but it may affect your application if you don't provide information.
  • We keep your information secure and access to your personnel file is limited to HR and senior management.
  • We do not share your information with third parties other than as outlined in this notice, unless required to do so by law.
  • Your information is not stored outside of the European Union or transferred to international organisations.
  • You have the right to access your own information.
  • If you have a data protection question or request please contact the Data Protection Officer

 

General information

This Staff Privacy Notice tells you what we do with your personal information when you are apply to become and are a member of staff at NICVA, and sits alongside the NICVA Privacy Notice. This applies to all current and former applicants, employees, volunteers, interns and placement students.

Data protection is a fundamental right. The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) govern our use of personal data and ensure that your rights are protected.

NICVA staff benefit from the protection of these laws, and they also have a responsibility themselves to protect the personal data of others in line with the law and our own policies.

Purpose and legal basis for processing

NICVA is the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action based at 61 Duncairn Gardens, Belfast, BT15 2GB. Ways to contact us are below.

NICVA is the controller for information about you that is collected and held when you apply for a role, are appointed, and for the duration of your employment, internship or voluntary role with us.

We use information about you to assess your suitability for the position that you have applied for. Beyond this, if you become a member of staff we use personal information to manage the ongoing employment relationship.

The main legal basis we rely on for processing this personal data is processing that is necessary for the performance of a contract (your contract of employment), and to take steps at your request before entering in to a contract. (Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR).

We also process your personal information during application and employment where it is necessary to meet our legal duties and responsibilities as an employer (Article 6(1)(c) of the GDPR). This includes monitoring the composition of our workforce to comply with Fair Employment and Disability Discrimination legislation, the administration of PAYE tax and automatic enrolment on to a workplace pension scheme.

Equal opportunities legislation requires us to monitor the community background and gender composition of our workforce. Other sensitive personal information, such as that about health and disability, racial or ethnic origin, and marital or civil partnership status, may be used for this purpose.

The condition for processing this special category data is met as it is necessary for the purposes of carrying out obligations in the field of employment law to which we are subject (Article 9(2)(b) of the GDPR), specifically The Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998.

We also monitor and promote the equality of opportunity in our workforce as a matter of substantial public interest (Article 9(2)(g) of the GDPR as defined in Schedule 1 Paragraph 8 of the DPA 2018).

Health information may be processed where necessary for the purposes of meeting employment law obligations, the assessment of your working capacity and for preventative or occupational medicine (Schedule 1 Part 1 of the DPA 2018).

Emergency contact information is requested and stored so that we can contact a family member of friend of yours in case of an emergency. As a responsible employer, it is in our legitimate interests to be able to do so, and we think this is on balance with the rights and freedoms of your emergency contact's rights and freedoms (Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR).

What we need

We do not collect more information than we need to fulfil our stated purposes and will not keep it for longer than necessary.

You don’t have to provide what we ask for (except for required criminal conviction declarations), but it may affect your application if you don’t.

We collect contact details to approach your referees for confidential references as part of pre-employment checks.

You may be required to provide proof of relevant qualifications as part of a pre-employment check.

You may be required to provide information about unspent convictions after a conditional offer is made. For certain job roles ("exempt occupations") you may also be required to declare spent convictions and a criminal records check may be carried out. The selection panel only considers criminal records where they are relevant to the position.

If you are successful, we will retain information from your application in your personnel file.

On appointment we also ask for your bank details, national insurance number and emergency contact details. We assume that you have ensured that your emergency contact is happy to act in that capacity and to have their details shared with us.

During your employment or placement, personal information generated by you and by us will include:

  • your contract of employment
  • correspondence with or about you (for example, letters about a change in pay or conditions)
  • payroll, pension, benefits and expenses records
  • holiday, sickness and other absences or leave records
  • responses from the equal opportunities monitoring questionairre
  • performance, training records, certificates and professional qualifications relevant to your job
  • where necessary, records for disciplinary, grievance and industrial relations purposes

Why we need it

We use your personal information during recruitment and ongoing employment, the stages of which are detailed below.

Application and shortlisting

The information provided by you in your application form is used to assess your suitability for the role and carry out shortlisting of candidates for interview. We use the contact details you give us to contact you stay in touch as we progress your application.

We have a legal duty to retain the application information and criminal conviction declarations of all applicants for 6 months.

You will be asked to provide equal opportunities information. This is not mandatory and is not used to shortlist candidates—if you don’t provide it your application will not be affected. At this stage, we won’t make identifiable information available to any staff apart from the Monitoring Officer. Any information you provide will be used to produce and monitor equal opportunities statistics. For more information, see our Equal Opportunities Policy.

Equal opportunities monitoring information must be kept for 3 years after the application process has ended.

Assessment and interview

An assessment of ability is sometimes carried out as part of the application process for some job roles, often alongside or prior to an interview.

Your written assessment test and notes from your interview generated by you and by us is used to grade candidates and is retained as part of your application.

Conditional offer

If a conditional offer is made we will contact the referees who you have indicated can be approached for a reference to be provided in confidence.

We have a legal obligation to determine whether you are eligible to work in the UK and may require to check and keep copies of your original identification documents to do so.

We may ask for details of criminal records and carry out a disclosure check at this stage, in particular where the job role is of a sensitive nature.

Appointees

After being appointed to post, we will retain all information from your application (including interview notes and assessed tasks) as part of your personnel record, such as you name and contact details.

We may keep a reserve list of unsuccessful candidates for a limited period of time.

Your personal information is used to:

  • manage the ongoing employment relationship between you and us
  • maintain a record of your employment with us
  • make payments of your salary or wages and administer your pension
  • meet our legal duties in respect of our employer role
  • supervise and manage you as a member of NICVA staff

What we do with it

If you are a member of staff at NICVA, your name, job title and organisational email address ([email protected]) will be published on the NICVA website. If you wish, your photo will be included to help our contacts identify our staff.

Other personal information related to your job role is treated as ‘open access’ within NICVA (see below).

Relevant and limited personal information will be shared with NICVA's insurance company, bankers, payroll agency, workplace pension scheme provider, health insurers, and relevant staff union representatives.

We run a ‘Give As You Earn’ salary sacrifice scheme. If you wish to participate in this relevant information from the donor form you complete will be shared with the Charities Aid Foundation. Please see the CAF Privacy Notice and the terms and conditions for the Give As You Earn scheme.

Please note that if you have registered for the tax-free childcare voucher scheme, your personal data will be collected and processed by Employers for Childcare, who is the controller of this processing. Please see the EfC Privacy Notice here. Essential information will be shared between NICVA and EfC to allow us to make the necessary adjustments to your salary and to credit your childcare vouchers account. Contact your colleagues in the Finance Unit for more information about these schemes.

Some jobs at NICVA are funded positions. We are often required to provide evidence to funders that a legitimate job application process was carried out and that a suitable candidate has been appointed, and provide evidence of salary payments. In such cases we provide the minimum amount of personal data required by funders to allow them to verify that the appropriate functions have been satisfied. This may include names, application forms and payslips, with redactions where possible.

We do not routinely disclose other personal information about staff to external organisations and individuals. However, NICVA may be legally required to disclose your information to some government agencies.

Personal information will not be made available to other individuals or organisations outside NICVA without the employee's knowledge and consent except in the following circumstances:

  • Information requested in respect of mortgage loan applications.
  • Reference requests.
  • Non-disclosure would hamper the detection of crime.

Internal

Open Access

The following personal data is considered  ‘open access’ and may be disclosed to any member of staff:

  • Name
  • Gender
  • Job Title
  • Unit
  • Office telephone number/extension
  • Grade
  • Employment status
  • Date employment commenced
  • Date terminated
  • Hours of work
  • Line manager's name and job title

Any other data which the employee specifically permits the Human Resources Manager to disclose on an 'open' basis will also be treated as 'open access data'.

Restricted

Access to other personal data is restricted.

Your personnel file will be maintained securely in the Human Resources Unit. Information may be disclosed to your line manager(s) and senior managers and directors where necessary.

Changes affecting your remuneration or status will be notified to the Finance Unit.

Restricted data will only be disclosed in other cases if the following conditions are met:

  • Prior permission is obtained from you.
  • Disclosure is authorised by the Human Resources Manager.
  • Use of the information is in line with NICVA’s Equal Opportunities Policy.

Equality of opportunity monitoring information

Fair employment legislation requires us to monitor the community background and gender composition of our workforce.

In addition to your age, we also collate the following special categories of data about you which is used solely for equality monitoring and statistical purposes as recommended by the Equality Commission:

  • Marital or civil partnership status
  • Disability
  • Race or ethnic origin

Access to this information is restricted to the Monitoring Officer and Human Resources Unit.

We treat this in the strictest confidence and your name will not be shown in the statistics produced. The statistics may not be completely anonymous, however, as individuals could be identified in the case of a unique set of variables.

How long we keep it

Personal data will be maintained for the duration of your employment, during which it will be updated, revised or deleted as appropriate.

Personal information Retention period
Employee details, training and performance records 6 years from the end of employment
Maternity, paternity, adoption and sick leave records 3 years from the end of financial year (after return to work)
Payroll information 6 years from end of the financial year
Emergency contact details End of employment
Right to work documents 2 years from the end of employment
Job application and recruitment information for successful candidates 6 years from the end of employment
Equal opportunity monitoring information for successful candidates and staff 3 years from the end of employment
Job application and recruitment information for unsuccessful candidates 6 months from the end of the application process
Equal opportunity monitoring information for unsuccessful candidates 3 years from the end of the application process

You have the right of access to this information while it is held (see below).

Information will also be retained in respect of staff recruitment such as application forms, references and interview notes, for both successful and unsuccessful applicants.

Monitoring information for all applicants and appointees must be kept for a minimum of three years from the date of receipt of application forms.

Keeping your personal information up to date

There is a requirement on us to maintain accurate and up to date records.

Staff are required to confirm the accuracy of the personal information held about them and to add any further details that may have been omitted. 

You must notify the Human Resources Manager in writing of any changes to your:

  1. Name
  2. Emergency contact details
  3. Personal contact details: address and telephone number
  4. Qualifications (where relevant)

If you want to change the bank account that your wages are paid into, you should inform the Finance Unit directly.

Your Rights

You have certain rights under data protection law:

  1. Right to be informed. You have the right to know how we use your personal information in clear and transparent language.
  2. Right of access. You have the right to know and have access to the personal data we hold about you (more about this below).
  3. Right to data portability. You have the right to receive your personal data in a common and machine-readable electronic format.
  4. Right to be forgotten. You have the right to have your personal data erased.
  5. Right to rectification. You have the right to have your personal data corrected where it is inaccurate or incomplete.
  6. Right to object. You have the right to object to our processing where it is carried out under our legitimate interests.
  7. Right to purpose limitation. You have the right to limit how we use your personal data in certain circumstances.
  8. Rights related to automated decision-making and profiling. You have the right not to be subject to decisions without human involvement.

Though these rights depend on our reason for processing your information, they must be protected. We are committed to upholding your rights in line with the law. The Information Commissioner's Office provides advice and information on how to exercise these rights.

You can contact the Data Protection Officer for further clarification or about any concerns you might have using the details below.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, which upholds data protection rights: https://ico.org.uk/concerns

Accessing your personal data

You have the right to get a copy of information held about you.

If you want a copy your personal data held by us, you should make your request in writing to the Data Protection Officer. The DPO will ensure that your request is carried out in line with your rights. The Human Resources Manager may respond directly to you with a copy of the data as confidential information may be restricted to that unit.

You will receive a response promptly and within one month. There is no fee for this service.

In the case of former members of staff, the request should be made to the Data Protection Officer at [email protected]. You may be required to prove your identity.

You will receive a confirmation that data about you is held by NICVA. A copy of the information will be provided to you, as well as supplementary information about the data processing.

Please note that references provided in confidence are not included in these responses as they are exempt from the right of access. This includes references given for the purposes employment, training, volunteer positions or appointments to office. [1]

You are not entitled to information held about another member of staff, unless that information is also about you and can be provided without affecting the rights of the other person. [2]

Routine amendments or deletions to this data may occur after your request has been made, and therefore the information supplied may be that held at the time of the response.

Changes to this privacy notice

We may change this privacy notice from time to time by updating this page to reflect changes in the law, the type of work we do, and our privacy practices. We will notify current staff of any significant changes to our privacy practice.

This privacy notice was last updated on 21 August 2018.

Contact us

Current members of staff may speak to the Data Protection Officer in person about how their personal data is handled.

Our Data Protection Officer is Stephen Gray. You can also contact him using one of the following channels:

  • Email: [email protected]
  • Address: Data Protection Officer, NICVA, 61 Duncairn Gardens, Belfast, BT15 2GB
  • Phone: 028 9087 7777

If your query is about an employment matter rather than a data protection matter, please contact the HR Manager.

 

[1] Data Protection Act 2018 Schedule 2 Section 24

[2] Data Protection Act 2018 Schedule 2 Paragraph 16

We share NICVA’s policies to assist organisations in drafting their own. However, our policies are relevant to NICVA and are not samples. They should not be replicated, but may be used for reference purposes, in conjunction with other guidance available. NICVA cannot accept any claims arising from error or misinterpretation.

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