Job Applicants and Employee Privacy Notice

Fairhive Homes Limited Employee Privacy Notice 

Fairhive Homes Limited is committed to protecting your privacy and complying with all relevant Data Protection Legislation.

This Notice sets out the basis by which the company collect, use and disclose the personal data of all staff (employees, workers, agency workers, contractors) and what protections are in place to keep it secure, as well as your rights in respect of such personal data.

The categories of information that we collect, process and hold include:

• Personal information (such as name, address, telephone number(s), email address)
• Date of birth
• Special categories of personal data including characteristics information such as gender, age, ethnic group, disability
• Next of Kin details (which could include details of your relationship to them and your marital status or sexual orientation)
• Information about your suitability to work for the company and other security screening information
• Information about your skills and experience and any references obtained during your recruitment process (including right to work checks, unspent or spent convictions and criminal record checks where applicable. This includes but is not limited to visas, work permits and passports)
• Qualifications
• Employment contract information (such as start dates, hours worked, post, roles and salary information) and information relating to any collective agreements which apply to you
• Information that the company need in order to pay you and to comply with our PAYE obligations (Bank details, National Insurance Number)
• Work absence information (such as number of absences and reasons)
• Health records including any medical records such as fit notes, occupational health or GP reports
• Information relating to your performance at work including meetings, appraisals, pay rises, bonus payments, promotions and complaints (whether made by you or about you)
• Information relating to disciplinary, grievance and other employee relation processes
• Information that the company need to provide you with benefits and other entitlements such as flexi time, professional subscriptions, pension scheme, health cash plan, car parking / annual travel subsidy, child care vouchers and cycle to work scheme
• Information for insurance purposes, whether  insurance is taken out by us for our own benefit or to provide a benefit to you
• Information on your membership of, or being a representative of, a trade union
• Communications between you and colleagues and between you and HR
• Information to allow you to access our buildings and systems such as Employee ID, computer and facilities access
• Digital data on your use of our telephone and IT systems including laptops, computers, tablets, smartphones and other devices provided by us (in some circumstances this may include us monitoring those systems, please refer to our ICT Acceptable Use policy for further details)
• Digital data on your whereabouts including building access (swipe cards, CCTV footage) and vehicle tracking technologies
• Information relating to your work travel and expenses such as driving licence, vehicle registration and insurance details
• Training and performance information.

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

Some of the information listed above is or could include "special categories" of personal information. Under data protection laws, "special categories" of personal information (also known as sensitive personal data) includes information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic information, biometric information for uniquely identifying a person and information concerning a person's health, sex life or sexual orientation. Information concerning criminal convictions is placed in a similar category. This information is particularly sensitive and we will therefore only process this information where absolutely necessary: we will ensure it is only seen by those who have to see it; and will keep it secure.

What do we do with the information we collect?

We use your information in the following ways:

• To deal with any Employee/Employer related issues
• To carry out the companies obligations arising from any contracts entered into between the company and you
• To calculate and administer payroll
• To be used for general Human Resource purposes
• To prevent fraud and detect crime
• To comply with legal obligations e.g. HMRC and pensions
• To assist in performance management and personal development

We rely on a number of lawful reasons for processing the information set out above. These are that:

• It is necessary for the performance of your work contract with us (whether you have a contract of employment or another form of contract); and/or
• It is necessary for us to comply with our legal obligations, for example, in relation to tax and national insurance, compliance with employment and health and safety laws; and/or
• It is necessary for our legitimate interests, both in conducting our business, and ensuring that we are able to manage our staff throughout the duration of their contract with us and beyond, where necessary; and/or
• Where none of the other lawful reasons apply but it is necessary to protect your life or the life of someone else.

For "special categories" of personal information (as described above), or information which relates to criminal convictions, the commission/alleged commission of criminal offences, or criminal proceedings, we will only process this information where:

• It is necessary for our or your obligations or rights in the field of employment law or social security law (and for this purpose we have a separate policy document which is reviewed from time to time and which outlines how we protect such information and how long the information is held for); and/or
• The personal information has been manifestly made public by you; and/or.
• It is necessary in relation to legal claims; and/or
• It is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest. UK law places our monitoring of diversity and equality of opportunity in this category providing certain safeguards are in place; and/or
• It is necessary to protect your life or the life of someone else and you are physically or legally incapable of giving consent.

There may also be circumstances where we will ask for your freely-given, specific, informed and clear consent to process certain types of information about you if it is not already covered by one of the lawful bases set out above. 

The information we hold about you will be used for the purposes for which it is collected.  We have IT protections and other procedures in place to protect the data we hold.

What if I do not provide the information?

In some cases, where the information is a statutory or contractual requirement, or necessary for your work contract, and you fail to provide certain information, there may be consequences for you. For example, if you fail to provide us with up to date bank details, we may not be able to pay your salary on time.

If that is the case (for example you fail to provide us with information we have to pass to HMRC), we will make sure we give you adequate opportunity to provide the information and to tell you what the possible consequences of your failure to provide it are.

Who collects your information and who will it be shared with?

Mostly, we will be collecting the information about you directly from you. We may also process some personal information which has been provided by a third party, such as an employer giving a reference about you, an insurer or another staff member.

We may share your information with third parties for the following purposes:

• Pension schemes
• Employee Insurance cover
• Check your tax with HM Revenue & Custom
• Where we are under  a legal obligation to do so, for example where we are required to share information under statute, to prevent fraud and other criminal offences or because of a Court Order
• To prevent fraud and detect crime
• To process payroll
• To process other outsourced benefits such as Fairhive Rewards and Simply Health
• Disclosure & Barring Service for criminal record checks
• Credit reference and other agencies who may seek information about you for purposes such as rental references or reference for new employment
• External training companies

How do we protect your information?

We have security arrangements in place to guard against unauthorised access, improper use, alteration and accidental loss of your information. We have a retention policy (see below) and will ensure that where data is no longer required it will be securely destroyed.

Your rights

In accordance with the terms of Data Protection Regulation, you have rights as an individual which you can exercise in relation to the information we hold about you. You have the right to request:

• a copy of the personal information we process about you;
• that any inaccurate information we hold about you is corrected;
• that information about you is deleted in certain circumstances;
• that we stop using your personal information for certain purposes;
• that your information is provided to you in a portable format.

Due to the nature of our relationship with you and our reasons for processing your personal information, in many cases we may not be able to comply with your request in relation to the rights listed above, which are limited to certain defined circumstances. However, we will tell you if that is the case, and explain why.

If you have any concerns about the accuracy of your information, you will need to raise it in writing with the Data Protection Officer. You should be clear about exactly what you believe is inaccurate and how the Data Protection Officer should correct it, providing evidence of the inaccuracies where available.

If you are unhappy with how we are using your personal information or if you wish to complain about our use of information, please contact the Data Protection Officer.  If we cannot resolve your complaint, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, which is the statutory regulator for data protection matters.  The Information Commission can be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

Access to information

To make a request for information we hold about you need to put the request in writing addressing it to the Data Protection Officer at Rick.Smith@fairhive.co.uk.

How long is your information retained for?

The information you provide will be retained by the company as part of your employee file for the duration of your employment plus 6 years following the end of your employment, unless there were particular lawful grounds on which we consider it necessary to continue to retain the information (e.g. if there is ongoing litigation between you and us). This includes your criminal records declaration, fitness to work, records of any security checks and references. Some information may be deleted when your employment ends, such as your bank details and next of kin information.

Review

We review the privacy notice on an annual basis. This privacy notice was last updated on 01/04/2022.