As part of any recruitment process, we collect and process personal information, or personal data, relating to job applicants. This personal information may be held on paper or in electronic format and applies to all job applicants, whether they apply for a role directly or indirectly through an employment agency. It is non-contractual.

NYMR, uses and processes a range of personal information about you during the recruitment process. This includes:

  • your contact details, including your name, address, telephone number and personal e-mail address
  • personal information included in a CV, any application form, cover letter or interview notes
  • references
  • information about your right to work in the UK and copies of proof of right to work documentation
  • copies of qualification certificates
  • copy of any Identification provided
  • other background check documentation
  • details of your skills, qualifications, experience and work history with previous employers
  • information about your current salary level, including benefits and pension entitlements
  • your professional memberships

We may also collect, use and process the following special categories of your personal information during the recruitment process: whether or not you have a disability for which NYMR needs to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, information about your racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs and sexual orientation

How do we collect personal information regarding job applicants?

We collect personal information about you during the recruitment process either directly from you or sometimes from a third party such as an employment agency. We may also collect personal information from other external third parties, such as references from current and former employers, information from background check providers, information from credit reference agencies and criminal record checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Other than employment agencies, we will only seek personal information from third parties during the recruitment process once an offer of employment or engagement has been made to you and we will inform you that we are doing so, or at another time with your agreement.

You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide personal information to NYMR during the recruitment process.  Your personal information may be stored in different places, including on your application record or in IT systems, such as the e-mail system.

Why and how do we use the personal information of job applicants?

We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to. These are known as the legal bases for processing. We will use your personal information in one or more of the following circumstances:

  • where we need to do so to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you, or to enter into a contract with you (1)
  • where we need to comply with a legal obligation (2)
  • where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party), and your interests or your fundamental rights and freedoms do not override our interests (3).

We need all the types of personal information listed under ‘What types of personal information do we collect about job applicants?’ primarily to enable us to take steps at your request to enter into a contract with you, or to enter into a contract with you (1), and to enable us to comply with our legal obligations (2). In some cases, we may also use your personal information where it is necessary to pursue our legitimate interests (or those of a third party), provided that your interests or your fundamental rights and freedoms do not override our interests (3). Our legitimate interests include: pursuing our business by employing employees, workers and contractors; managing the recruitment process; conducting due diligence on prospective staff and performing effective internal administration. We have indicated, by using (1), (2) or (3) next to each type of personal information listed above, what lawful basis we are relying on to process that particular type of personal information.

The purposes for which we are processing, or will process, your personal information are to:

  • manage the recruitment process and assess your suitability for employment or engagement
  • decide to whom to offer a job
  • comply with statutory and/or regulatory requirements and obligations, e.g. checking your right to work in the UK
  • comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled job applicants and with other disability discrimination obligations
  • ensure compliance with your statutory rights
  • ensure effective HR, personnel management and business administration
  • monitor equal opportunities
  • enable us to establish, exercise or defend possible legal claims

Please note that we may process your personal information without your consent, in compliance with these rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

What if you fail to provide personal information as part of the job application process?

If you fail to provide certain personal information when requested, we may not be able to process your job application properly or at all, we may not be able to enter into a contract with you, or we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations. You may also be unable to exercise your statutory rights.

Why and how do we use the sensitive personal information of job applicants?

We will only collect and use your sensitive personal information, which includes special categories of personal information and information about criminal convictions and offences, when the law additionally allows us to.
Some special categories of personal information, i.e. information about your health, and information about criminal convictions and offences, is also processed so that we can perform or exercise our obligations or rights under employment law and in line with our data protection policy.

We may also process information about your health and information about any criminal convictions and offences where we have your explicit written consent. In this case, we will first provide you with full details of the personal information we would like and the reason we need it, so that you can properly consider whether you wish to consent or not. It is entirely your choice whether to consent. Your consent can be withdrawn at any time.

The purposes for which we are processing, or will process, health information and information about any criminal convictions and offences, are to:

  • assess your suitability for employment or engagement
  • comply with statutory and/or regulatory requirements and obligations, e.g. carrying out criminal record checks
  • comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled job applicants and with other disability discrimination obligations
  • ensure compliance with your statutory rights
  • ascertain your fitness to work
  • ensure effective HR, personnel management and business administration
  • monitor equal opportunities

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, i.e. for the recruitment exercise for which you have applied.  However, if your job application is unsuccessful, we may wish to keep your personal information on file in case there are future suitable employment opportunities with us. We will ask for your consent before we keep your personal information on file for this purpose. Your consent can be withdrawn at any time.

Where NYMR processes other special categories of personal information, i.e. information about your racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs and sexual orientation, this is done only for the purpose of equal opportunities monitoring in recruitment and in line with our data protection policy. It is entirely your choice whether to provide such personal information.

We may also occasionally use your special categories of personal information, and information about any criminal convictions and offences, where it is needed for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Who has access to the personal information of job applicants?

Your personal information may be shared internally within NYMR for the purposes of the recruitment exercise, including with members of the HR department, members of the recruitment team, managers in the department which has the vacancy and IT staff if access to your personal information is necessary for the performance of their roles.

We will not share your personal information with third parties during the recruitment process unless your job application is successful and we make you an offer of employment or engagement. At that stage, we may also share your personal information with third parties (and their designated agents), including:

  • external organisations for the purposes of conducting pre-employment reference and employment background checks
  • the DBS, to obtain a criminal record check
  • former employers, to obtain references
  • professional advisors, such as lawyers

We may also need to share your personal information with a regulator or to otherwise comply with the law.

We may share your personal information with third parties where it is necessary to take steps at your request to enter into a contract with you, or to enter into a contract with you, where we need to comply with a legal obligation, or where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party).

How long does NYMR keep the personal information of job applicants?

We will only retain your personal information for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and processed.

If your application for employment or engagement is unsuccessful, we will generally hold your personal information for one year after the end of the relevant recruitment exercise but this is subject to: (a) any minimum statutory or other legal, tax, health and safety, reporting or accounting requirements for particular data or records, and (b) the retention of some types of personal information for up to six years to protect against legal risk, e.g. if they could be relevant to a possible legal claim in a tribunal, County Court or High Court. If you have consented to us keeping your personal information on file for in case there are future suitable employment opportunities with us, we will hold your personal information for a further six months after the end of the relevant recruitment exercise, or until you withdraw your consent if earlier.

If your application for employment or engagement is successful, personal information gathered during the recruitment process will be retained for the duration of your employment or engagement and in accordance with the privacy notice for employees, workers and contractors.

Personal information which is no longer to be retained will be securely and effectively destroyed or permanently erased from our IT systems and we will also require third parties to destroy or erase such personal information where applicable.