Terms of use

Declaration
By submitting an application form you are actively indicating your understanding and acceptance of the following provisions:

• You have read, understood and accept the 'Privacy Notice’ detailed below under the Data Protection section
• To the best of your knowledge the information you have given on the application form is correct and may be used as part of your Contract of Employment
• Any of the following will disqualify your application or, in the event of discovery after appointment, may result in the termination of your employment:
- Deliberately giving false, incomplete or misleading information
- Canvassing of the staff of the Guide Dogs Group or Trustees
- Failure to disclose unspent criminal convictions within the meaning of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Data Protection
All personal information that you provide will be held and processed in accordance with data protection legislation.

1. ABOUT THIS DATA PRIVACY NOTICE

1.1 This notice is designed to provide information on how the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (referred to as “Guide Dogs”, “we”, “us”, “our”) processes the personal data of job applicants/work experience applicants (referred to as “you”, “your”) who apply to us for a job or a work experience. 

1.2 As a “data controller”, we are responsible for deciding how we process personal data about you. We take your privacy seriously and we are fully committed to protecting your personal data at all times. We will only process your personal data in accordance with, and adhere to the principles (as applicable) contained within, the General Data Protection Regulation and, when enacted, the Data Protection Act 2018 (together referred to as the “GDPR”).

1.3 This notice does not form part of any offer of employment or work experience and we may amend it at any time to reflect any changes in the way in which we process your personal data. If you are in the application process when any changes or updates are made to this notice, we will bring any such changes to your attention as soon as is practicable. We may also notify you in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal data.

1.4 Phillippa Caine, is our Data Protection Officer (“DPO”) and is responsible for ensuring that this privacy notice is maintained. The DPO can be contacted either by email on dataprotectionofficer@guidedogs.org.uk, or by post at Data Protection Officer, Guide Dogs, Hillfields, Reading Road, Burghfield Common, Berkshire, RG7 3YG.

1.5 If you fail to provide information when requested, which is necessary for us to consider your application (such as evidence of qualifications or work history), we will not be able to process your application successfully. 

2. THE KIND OF INFORMATION WE HOLD ABOUT YOU

2.1 “Personal data” is any information about a living individual from which they can be identified such as name, ID number, location data, any online identifier (such as IP address), or any factor specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic or social identity of that person. It does not include data where any potential identifiers have been removed (anonymous data) or data held in an unstructured file. 

2.2 There are “special categories” of more sensitive personal data which are more private in nature and therefore require a higher level of protection, such as genetic data, biometric data, information about sex life or sexual orientation, race or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership and health.

2.3 When we refer to “processing”, this means anything from collecting, using, storing, transferring, disclosing, altering or destroying personal data. 

3. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA 

3.1 We process your personal data for various reasons, relying on a variety of different bases for lawful processing under the GDPR as set out below. 
3.1.1 To comply with our legal obligations or exercise legal rights conferred upon us. This may include:
• checks for eligibility to work in the UK as required by immigration laws, such as passport and visa documentation;
• formal identification documentation relating to you, such as a passport or driving licence, to verify your identity (including your date of birth);
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Access NI and Disclosure Scotland checks where we have a legal right or reason for doing so (for further information see section 5 below);

3.1.2 To pursue our (or a third party’s) legitimate interests as a business. This may include:

• your contact details such as your title, name, address, telephone number and personal email address which will be used to communicate with you in relation to the recruitment process;
• your CV, any education history, employment records, professional qualifications and certifications in order for us to consider your suitability for the job/ work experience you are applying for;
• details of the job role/work experience you are applying for any interview notes made by us during or following an interview with you, in order to assess your suitability for that role;
• pay and benefit discussions with you to help determine whether a job/work experience offer may be made to you;
• voicemails, emails, correspondence, and other communications created, stored or transmitted by you on or to our computer or communications equipment in order to progress the application through the recruitment process; and
• network and information security data in order for us to take steps to protect your information against loss, theft or unauthorised access.

3.2 Some of the above grounds for processing will overlap and there may be several grounds which justify our use of your personal data.

3.3 We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

4. HOW WE USE YOUR SPECIAL CATEGORIES DATA 

4.1 We also collect, store and use your special category personal data for a range of reasons, relying on a variety of different bases for lawful processing under the GDPR, as set out below.

4.1.1 To enable us to perform our legal obligations in respect of employment, social security, social protection law, or needed in the public interest. This may include:
• Health information to assess and/or to comply with our obligations under the Equality Act 2010 (for example a requirement to make reasonable adjustments to your working conditions).
4.1.2 For occupational health reasons or where we are assessing your working capability, subject to appropriate confidentiality safeguards. This may include:
• information about your physical or mental health, or disability status, to assess whether any reasonable adjustments are required for you during the recruitment process, carrying out any medical assessment required for your role, pension and any insurance benefits.

4.1.3 To establish, defend or exercise legal claims in an employment tribunal or any other court of law.

4.1.4 For statistical purposes in the public interest such as equal opportunities monitoring (for example the collection of information about race, ethnic origin, sex or religion). Any such information shall only be used, once collected, for statistical purposes and will not be used in relation to your application for employment/work experience with us. 

5. CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS INFORMATION

5.1 For certain roles, we have a legal right / reason, to undertake Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Access NI or Disclosure Scotland checks. Where we do so, we only do so in accordance with the principles in Article 5 GDPR, and the prevailing legislation in the area of criminal backgrounds checks as updated from time to time. For details on how long we retain criminal convictions information and how it is disposed of, please refer to Appendix 1.   

6. AUTOMATED DECISION MAKING / PROFILING

6.1 We do not envisage that any decisions will be taken about you using automated means, however we will notify you in writing if this position changes.

7. DATA SHARING

7.1 We may share your personal data and special category personal data internally. In particular, it may be shared with: HR employees involved in the recruitment process, employee relations and/or administration of your employment/work experience; line managers; consultants; advisers; and/or other appropriate persons who may be involved in the recruitment process for the job(s)/work experience(s) for which you are applying.

7.2 We may share your personal data and special category personal data with third parties, agents, subcontractors and other organisations (as listed below) where it is necessary to administer the working relationship with you or where we have a lawful basis for doing so:

• background check providers;
• equal opportunity reporting in Northern Ireland;
• providers of legal, accounting and audit services; and
• UK Visas and Immigration for right to work or sponsorship requirements.

7.3 When we disclose your personal data to third parties, we only disclose to them any personal data that is necessary for them to provide their service and where we are sure that they have adequate policies/procedures in place in relation to data security. We have contracts in place with third parties in receipt of your personal data requiring them to keep your personal data secure and not to use it other than in accordance with our specific instructions.

7.4 When we disclose your personal data to third parties, they may disclose or transfer it to other organisations in accordance with their data protection policies. This does not affect any of your data subject rights set out at 12 below. In particular, where you ask us to rectify, erase or restrict (the processing of) your personal data, we have an obligation to ensure that this instruction is passed on to any third parties whom we have disclosed your personal information to.  

7.5 We may also share your personal data and special category personal data with other third parties for other reasons. For example: to provide information to a regulator; or to otherwise comply with the law. To comply with our legal obligations we may share your data with the following:
• HMRC for tax purposes; and
• Home Office for immigration purposes.

7.6 We may obtain personal data and/or special category personal data about you from third party sources, such as recruitment agencies, job boards, recruitment assessment centres, occupational health professionals and background check providers. Where we receive such information from these third parties, we will only use it in accordance with this notice.

7.7 In some cases, they will be acting as a controller of your personal data and therefore we advise you to read their privacy notice and/or data protection policy.

8. TRANSFERRING INFORMATION OUTSIDE THE EEA

8.1 We use cloud based systems to process our data and, as such, this data may be processed outside of the EEA. We adopt the Information Commissioners approved measures when we process outside of the EEA which means that all processing conducted in a location outside of the EEA is carried out in accordance with European Data Protection regulations. If you require further information, please contact our Data Protection Officer at dataprotectionofficer@guidedogs.org.uk. 

9. DATA STORAGE AND SECURITY

9.1 Your personal data and special category personal data is stored in a variety of locations, including: electronically on our secure servers/in hard copy form in access-restricted, locked filing cabinets.

9.2 We take appropriate technical and organisational security measures and have rules and procedures in place to guard against unauthorised access, improper use, alteration, disclosure and destruction and accidental loss of your personal data.

9.3 In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those who have a business need to know and they will only process your personal data on our instructions and subject to a duty of confidentiality. 

9.4 We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected or actual data security breach and will notify you and the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

9.5 Whenever we propose using new technologies, or where processing is construed as ‘high risk’, we are obliged to carry out a data protection impact assessment which allows us to make sure appropriate security measures are always in place in relation to the processing of your personal data. 

10. DATA RETENTION 

10.1 We keep your personal data and special category personal data for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Information about how long we retain such personal data is set out in Appendix 1.

10.2 When applying for a job/work experience with us, we compile and keep a manual and electronic file containing information about you which relates to your application for a job with us. Your information will be kept secure and will be used for the purposes of your job/work experience application, as explained above. 

10.3 If you are offered and you accept a job/work experience with us, your personal data will be retained in manual and electronic personnel file. Any hard copy personnel file will be kept in access-restricted, locked filing cabinets. The retention period varies depending on the role(s) which you have held during your employment/work experience with us, and your personal data will be permanently and securely deleted at the end of this retention period.

11. YOUR DUTIES

11.1 We encourage you to ensure that the personal data that we hold about you for the purposes of your application [or for the purposes of considering you for any similar roles] is accurate and up to date by keeping us informed of any changes to your personal data. You can update your details on our Job Board. 

12. YOUR RIGHTS

12.1 You may make a formal request for access to personal data and/or special category data that we hold about you at any time. This is known as a Subject Access Request. Such a request must be made in writing and we must respond within one month. Please note that under the GDPR we are permitted to extend the 1 month time period for responding by an additional 2 months where in our view your request is complex or numerous in nature. We may also charge a reasonable fee based on administrative costs where in our view your request is manifestly unfounded, excessive or a request for further copies. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with the request in such circumstances. For further details on subject access requests and the types of request listed below, please contact our DPO.

12.2 Under certain circumstances, by law you also have the right to:

12.2.1 have your personal data corrected where it is inaccurate; 

12.2.2 have your personal data erased where it is no longer required. Provided that we do not have any continuing lawful reason to continue processing your personal data, we will make reasonable efforts to comply with your request;

12.2.3 have your personal data be transferred to another person in an appropriate format;

12.2.4 withdraw your consent to processing where this is our lawful basis for doing so; 

12.2.5 restrict the processing of your personal data where you believe it is unlawful for us to do so, you have objected to its use and our investigation is pending, or you require us to keep it in connection with legal proceedings; and

12.2.6 to object to the processing of your personal data, where we rely on legitimate business interests as a lawful reason for the processing of your data. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. We have a duty to investigate the matter within a reasonable time and take action where it is deemed necessary. Except for the purposes for which we are sure we can continue to process your personal data, we will temporarily stop processing your personal data in line with your objection until we have investigated the matter. If we agree that your objection is justified in accordance with your rights, we will permanently stop using your data for those purposes. Otherwise, we will provide you with our justification as to why we need to continue using your data.

12.3 The way we process your personal data and the lawful basis on which we rely to process it may affect the extent to which these rights apply. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please address them in writing to the DPO.  

12.4 We may need to request specific information from you to help us to confirm your identity and ensure your right to access the information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is an appropriate security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. 

12.5 In the limited circumstances where you may have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal data for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time. To withdraw your consent, please contact the DPO.  Once we have received notification that you have withdrawn your consent, we will no longer process your information for the purpose or purposes you originally agreed to, unless we have another legitimate basis for doing so in law. If you withdraw your consent, our use of your personal data which was collected before your withdrawal is still lawful. 

12.6 You have the right to complain to a supervisory body if you are concerned about the way we have processed your personal data. In the UK this is the ICO – www.ico.org.uk.

12.7 Although you have the right to complain to the ICO, we encourage you to contact us first with a view to letting us help in resolving any queries or questions.

13. QUESTIONS 

13.1 If you have any questions about any matter relating to data protection or the personal data and/or special category personal data that that we process about you, please contact the DPO. 

APPENDIX 1

Data category - Personal information within the candidate profile.
Retention period - 12 months - after your last interaction with us via our job board. 
Reason - To allow for pre-population of information for quicker, future applications. 
Disposal - Permanently erased from the server.

Data category - Job/work experience applications and interview records of candidates
Retention Period - 12 months after your last interaction with us via our job board.
Reason - To defend against potential legal claims. 
Disposal - Permanently erased from the HR database and server, and securely destroyed by third party document destruction company.

Data category - Criminal Records Information (such as DBS, Access NI and Disclosure Scotland check results) 
Retention Period - 6 months
Reason - To comply with the relevant codes of practice issued under section 122(2) of the Police Act 1997
Disposal - Permanently erased from the server, and securely destroyed by third party document destruction company.