Data protection for applicants to work at the University

What is this document about?

This Statement explains to enquirers for, and applicants to, employment at the University, how the personal data, which may include special category data, collected from, and about, them may be used. It also includes some examples of how such data is processed.

Who is this for?

The statement will be of primary interest to applicants to jobs in the University, anyone considering working for the University, and will be of general interest to jobs advisers and the wider public.

How does the University check this is followed?

Applicants for jobs offered by the University are given information about the use(s) that will be made of their personal data when they apply for a post either directly to the University or through a recruitment agency. References to the University’s data protection policy and to this notice are included in the application paperwork.

Occasional queries about personal data from applicants indicates that this Statement is known about and read.

Who can you contact if you have any queries about this document?

All enquirers may contact the University’s Data Protection Officer, Samantha Hill, on 023 9284 3642 or Samantha.hill@port.ac.uk.

The University of Portsmouth processes your personal data, in order to keep in contact with you when you express an interest in a post at the University, when you make an enquiry, and to administer your application to work at the University. 

If you have any questions about how the University processes your data, then the following contact information may be useful.

The University’s correspondence address is:
The University of Portsmouth
University House
Winston Churchill Avenue
Portsmouth
PO1 2UP

Main switchboard: 023 9284 8484

The University’s Data Protection Officer is:
Samantha Hill – Information Disclosure Manager
Email: Samantha.hill@port.ac.uk
Direct telephone number: 023 9284 3642

‘Personal data’ is any information that relates to an individual (in this case, you, as an applicant or enquirer to the University) who can be identified either directly by that information or by a combination of that information and other identifiers, such as your name and contact details.

‘Special Category data’ is information that reveals racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade-union membership, the processing of genetic or biometric data in order to identify an individual, data concerning health or data concerning an individual’s sex life or sexual orientation. The University does not collect allo of this data but will collect some for the purposes listed below.

‘Criminal offence data’ is any personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences.

We will collect your personal and special category data - and potentially criminal offence data - directly from you on application and through the completion of feedback surveys

The University of Portsmouth processes your personal data, and if required, your special category data such as ethnicity and health data, and any criminal offence data, for a variety of purposes, involving all aspects of the administration of your application and for the purpose of equal opportunities monitoring.

If you express an interest in engaging in work experience at the University, or you use the University’s Live Chat function, we will use your contact details to provide you with information (either by email or telephone/text) in response to your enquiries or to provide the information you have requested, and to keep in contact with you about other opportunities at the University.

We analyse all interactive behaviour with our website, live chat, emails and advertisements to deliver relevant online advertisements about the University to you at a later date. We will also use your contact details to contact you to gather feedback on our service.

If you apply to work at the University we will use your contact details to keep in touch with you about your application and, if you are selected for interview, to invite you to that interview.

If you are unsuccessful in your application or choose not to take up a job offer, we will keep your data but only for audit and statistical purposes, and in case of queries and so that should you apply again in the next year, much of your application will be auto-filled from the data held in the system.

We will use anonymised data (you will not be able to be identified by the data) for purposes such as to monitor use of our website and for equality monitoring.

The University’s legal basis for processing your personal data in relation to enquiries about the University is that we have asked for your consent to contact you again. When you make an enquiry to the University, we will respond to your enquiry and also ask whether you wish to receive further communications from us that may help you in your decision to apply for another post at the University. You will always be given the option to opt out from receiving, or to unsubscribe from, any further communications.

The University’s legal basis for processing your personal data in relation to applications to work at the University or to undertake work experience at the University, is that the processing is necessary to enable us to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you to facilitate your application for employment.

If we collect any special category data from you when processing your application to work at the University, when requesting your information, we will either:

• ask for your explicit consent to process this data,
• use the legal bases that the processing is necessary in the field of employment or for the purpose of the assessment of the working capacity of an employee, or
• process the data to enable us to promote and maintain equality of opportunity or treatment between different groups of people.

When you apply for a post at the University, you are asked to create an account in the University’s Vacancy database through which you can then complete applications.

If you apply for a post within our Support and Professional Services departments, only an anonymised copy of your application will be shared with the shortlisting panel members. Your application is anonymised at this stage of the process as part of the University’s commitment to equality and diversity, to ensure a fair and consistent approach to recruitment. If you are invited for interview your full application details (minus the equality and diversity data) will be viewable by the panel to prepare for the interview itself.

If you apply for a role in any other department, your details will only be seen by the HR team handling vacancies, and the people involved in the selection for that post.

If you declare any health data we may share this with the Occupational Health team to ensure any needs you may have can be accommodated in the role for which you are successful.

The University uses an application system to assist us with handling the many applications made to work at the University. Our application system stores details of your application for 12 months after you apply and means that when you contact us we will have details of any previous applications you may have made. 

If your post requires a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, the personal data you provide to the University on the DBS application form will be submitted to the University’s DBS checking supplier (Due Diligence Checking), which will review the data and submit the application to the DBS.  The results of the DBS check are reported back to the University, but the details are sent directly to you as the applicant. 

If you are an international applicant and are successful in your application, we will be required to share certain data with the UKVI so that you can receive a visa.  Further details can be found on the university website.

Although the University stores some data in the cloud via Google Apps for Education, where possible the data will be located in the UK. However, data may also be stored on servers within the European Union.

If you take up a post at the University, your application data will be transferred to your staff file, and held for six years after the termination of your employment for any reason.

If you are unsuccessful in your application, your data will be held for one year after the post for which you applied has been filled, so that should you apply for another post it will not be necessary to re-enter much of the data required in an application. However, you retain the right to request this personal data is deleted before the end of the period given above, should you so wish.

You are entitled to request a copy of the data we hold about you (a Subject Access Request) and to raise an objection to the processing of data, where the processing of data we hold about you is likely to cause you damage or distress.  You also have the right to request either the rectification of any incorrect data, the restriction of any further processing of your data or, in the case of enquiries, the erasure of your data (right to be forgotten).

If you require any further information on, or wish to object to, any of the uses to which we put your data, you should contact Samantha Hill, the University’s Data Protection Officer on 023 9284 3642 or Samantha.hill@port.ac.uk.

Finally, you have the right to complain about the processing of your data to the UK regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office. For more information about this body and how to make a complaint, please see www.ico.org.uk