As part of any recruitment process, we collect and process personal data relating to applicants using our e-recruitment system, Stonefish. We are committed to being transparent about how we collect and use that data and to meeting our data protection obligations.
What information we collect
Our system collects a range of information about you. This includes:
your name, address and contact details − including email address and telephone number
details of your qualifications, skills, experience and employment history
information about your current level of remuneration − including benefit entitlements
whether or not you have a disability for which we need to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process
information about your eligibility to work in the UK, and
equal opportunities monitoring information, including information about your ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability and religion or belief and social mobility
We may collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, data might be contained in application forms, CVs or resumes, obtained from your passport or other identity documents, or collected through interviews or other forms of assessment.
We may also collect personal data about you from third parties, such as health questionnaire information from our Occupational Health service to help ensure consideration is given to additional control measures where and when required. Or information from criminal records checks. We will only seek information from third parties once a job offer has been made to you and will inform you when we are doing so. The only exception to this is if you are selected for interview and have provided us with your permission to contact your referees prior to a job offer being made. In that case, we will go ahead and contact your referees.
For applicants applying for work experience at the University, we may also collect personal data about you from third parties, such as your school, college or partner organisation.
Data will be stored in a range of different places, including on your application record, in HR and Payroll systems and on other IT systems (including email).
Why we process personal data
We need to process data for consideration about entering into a contract or agreement with you, and to complete a contract with you if your application is successful.
In some cases, we need to process data to ensure we are complying with our legal obligations. For example, we are required to check a successful applicant's eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts.
We have a legitimate interest in processing personal data during the recruitment process and for keeping records of the process. Processing data from applicants allows us to manage the recruitment process, assess and confirm a candidate's suitability for work or work experience and decide who to offer a job or placement to. We may also need to process data from applicants to respond to and defend against legal claims.
Processing data from work experience placements allows us to manage the administration and evaluation of the work experience process.
We may process information about whether or not applicants are disabled to make reasonable adjustments for candidates who have a disability. This is to carry out our obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.
We process other special categories of data for equal opportunities monitoring purposes, such as information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief and social mobility.
For some roles, we are obliged to seek information about criminal convictions and offences. Where we seek this information, we do so because it is necessary for us to carry out our obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.
We will not use your data for any purpose other than the recruitment exercise for which you have applied.
Who has access to data
Your information may be shared internally for the purposes of the recruitment or work experience placement process. This includes members of the HR and recruitment team, shortlisting and interview panel members involved in the selection process (this may include external panel members). It also includes other managers in the department, faculty or school with a vacancy (where appropriate) and IT staff if access to the data is necessary for the performance of their roles.
We will not share your data with third parties, unless your application for employment or work placement is successful and we make you an offer of employment. As well as circulating your application and related materials to the appropriate staff at the University, we will share your personal information for the above purposes as relevant and necessary with:
your referees
Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) in order to administer relevant recruitment checks and procedures
UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) in order to administer relevant recruitment checks and procedures
where relevant and as required for some posts, NHS organisations or similar organisations (such as NHS Trusts or Local Education Training Boards)
companies or organisations providing specific services to, or on behalf of, the University (such as RUH Occupational Health Service)
Your data may be transferred outside the UK in order to meet our contractual obligations with you (for example, to conduct reference checks). Such transfers are carried out with appropriate safeguards in place to ensure the confidentiality and security of your personal information.
How we protect data
We take the security of your data seriously. We have internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by our employees in the proper performance of their duties. Further details about the University's security procedures in relation to HR-related data can be found in our Workforce Data Protection & Privacy Statement.
How long the University keeps data
If your application is unsuccessful, we will hold all your data on our e-recruitment system, Stonefish, and on the hard-copy recruitment file for six months after the end of the relevant recruitment process. The exception is if the person appointed to the post is sponsored under the UK's points-based immigration system, where we are required to retain the applications of all candidates shortlisted for final interview for six months or until UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) have examined and approved them, whichever is the longer period). After this point, all personal data will be deleted from Stonefish.
If your application is successful, we will hold all your data on our e-recruitment system, Stonefish, for six months after the end of the relevant recruitment process. All personal data will be deleted from Stonefish after this point. Personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your personnel file (in hard copy or electronic format, or both), and kept on HR and Payroll systems and retained for the duration of your employment. The periods for which your data will be held on our HR and Payroll systems are set-out in the HR Data Retention Schedule.
Wherever possible we will not retain original documents or print-outs and instead will make a note on our central HR and Payroll system that the relevant check or procedure has been completed.
Anonymised data may be retained to allow the University to undertake trend analysis. All remaining data will be anonymised so that they can no longer be traced back to an individual.
Your rights
As a data subject, you have a number of rights. You can:
access and obtain a copy of your data on request
require the University to change incorrect or incomplete data
require the University to delete or stop processing your data, for example where processing the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which they were originally collected; and
object to the processing of your data where the University is relying on its legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing
If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact the University’s Data Protection Officer using the contact details provided at the end of this policy. If you believe that the University has not complied with your data protection rights, you can complain to the Information Commissioner.
What happens if you don't provide personal data
You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide data to the University during the recruitment process. However, if you do not provide the information, we may not be able to process your application properly or at all.
Automated decision-making
Recruitment processes are not based solely on automated decision-making.
Contact details
University of Bath address
University of Bath
Claverton Down
Bath
BA2 7AY
United Kingdom
Data Protection Officer
Mr Sam Sherry
ss731@bath.ac.uk
Address
Data Protection Officer Risk, Resilience and Compliance Wessex House 8.17 University of Bath Claverton Down Bath BA2 7AY