Legal notices

Data Protection Privacy Statement – Applying for a vacancy

In order to deliver services to the citizens and communities in Bedford Borough, it is necessary for the Council to collect, gather and process personal data about residents, staff and other individuals. Bedford Borough Council is committed to protecting your personal data when you use its services and/or correspond with it.

The Council has registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office. This registration can be viewed on the ICOwebsite (opensinanewwindow) Registration Number Z5916725. As a Data Controller, the Council sets out the purposes and methods for processing information and ensures safeguards over any personal and special category information it processes.

The sections below explain the arrangements we have in place to protect the information entrusted to the Council. In relation to applying for a vacancy, Bedford Borough Council will process your personal data for the following processing purposes:

The personal data we may collect at the application stage includes, but not exclusively, the following:

 your personal details including your name, address, date of birth, email address, phone
numbers
 gender
 marital status
 whether or not you have a disability for which the Council needs to make reasonable
adjustments during the recruitment process
 information included on your job application including references, education history and employment history
 documentation relating to your right to work in the UK
 driving licence
 information used for equal opportunities monitoring such as your sexual orientation,
religion or belief and ethnic origin

In some cases, the Council needs to process data to ensure that it is complying with its legal obligations. For example, it is required to check a successful applicant's eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts.

In other cases, the Council has to process data based on their legitimate interest and/or for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest during the recruitment process and for keeping records of the process. Processing data from job applicants allows the organisation to manage the recruitment process, assess and confirm a candidate's suitability for employment and decide to whom to offer a job. The Council may also need to process data from job applicants to respond to and defend against legal claims. 

The Council may process special categories of data, such as information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation or religion or belief, to monitor recruitment statistics. It may also collect information about whether or not applicants are disabled to make reasonable adjustments for candidates who have a disability. The Council processes such information to carry out its obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment. 

The Council will only collect criminal conviction data appropriate to the nature of your role and where legally permitted. This data will usually be collected at the recruitment stage, however, may also be collected during your employment. This information is sought because it is necessary for the Council to carry out its legal obligations and to exercise specific rights in relation to employment.

The Council will not use the data for unsuccessful candidates for any purpose other than the recruitment exercise for which you have applied.

It is processing this personal data by virtue of the following Lawful Basis:

Consent of the data subject, Performance of a contract, Compliance with a legal obligation, Performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

Personal data provided for applying for a vacancy may be shared with, or obtained from the following organisations (in addition to any other disclosure required by a Court of Law or in response to a valid request by, normally, a law enforcement agency:

Your data will be shared with colleagues within the Council where it is necessary for them to undertake their duties with regard to recruitment. This includes, for example, Personnel Services and those responsible for screening your application and interviewing you. Due to the technology that we use, if you apply for more than one role with the Council, colleagues that are not involved with the recruitment to a particular role for which you have applied may see your data.

The Council will not transfer your data to countries outside the European Economic Area.

We may share your data with third parties for example to obtain employment references and to obtain a criminal records check. We require third parties to respect the security of your data and to treat it in accordance with the law.

The processing of your personal data will be restricted in time to:

If your application for employment is unsuccessful, the organisation will hold your data on file for 6 months after the end of the relevant recruitment process. At the end of that period [or once you withdraw your consent], your data is deleted or destroyed.

If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be used for employment purposes. The periods for which your data will be held will be provided to you in the Council's employee privacy notice. Personal data is kept in personnel files or within the Council's HR and IT systems.

Your personal data will be held by/for the Council within the UK or the EU. The information you have provided is a statutory or contractual requirement: this is something we have to do. Please see details below, including any consequences if we do not receive the information:

The reason for processing your data is to allow us to carry out an effective recruitment process. Whilst you are under no obligation to provide us with your data, we may not be able to process, or continue with (as appropriate), your application. 

Please see details below in respect of any other reason we will be using your information:

We may process personal data for Freedom of Information requests. However, personal data is not shared as the data is anonymised.

We have a range of measures to protect the personal data you provide. These include: cyber security; physical security of the Council’s buildings and training on Data Protection for staff.

Bedford Borough Council is the Data Controller processing your information, who can be contacted as follows:

Information Governance

Bedford Borough Council

Borough Hall Cauldwell Street

Bedford MK42 9AP

Email: dpo@bedford.gov.uk

Telephone: 01234 267422

If you wish to enquire about your rights as a data subject, whether you wish to request a copy of your own information that Bedford Borough Council holds, request for data portability; rectification or erasure of your data for any reason or objection to any processing, please contact the Council’s GDPR Data Protection Officer at the above address or by email: dpo@bedford.gov.uk

Alternatively if you are unhappy in the way Bedford Borough Council has handled the processing of your information in any way, you have the right to contact the UK’s Supervisory Authority: The Information Commissioner’s Office who can be contacted: 

By web form: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/

By email: casework@ico.org.uk or,

By telephone: 0303 123 1113

Changes to this Notice

We keep this Privacy Notice under regular review and we will place any updates on its Internet site. This Notice was last updated in September 2019.