Guidance

FCDO privacy notice: job applicants and recruitment

Published 2 September 2020

Date last modified: 2 September 2020

1. Who we are

Human Resources Directorate  which is part of the  Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office  King Charles Street  London  SW1A 2AH 

Email: MSUcorres.HR@fcdo.gov.uk

2. What data we process and why

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) pursues our national interests and projects the UK as a force for good in the world. We promote the interests of British Citizens, safeguard the UK’s security, defend our values and tackle global challenges with our international partners. In doing so we process personal data.

In particular, Human Resources Directorate processes personal data for the purposes of recruitment-related activities.

In this regard we may collect, store, and use the following categories of personal information about you:

• personal contact details such as name, title, addresses, telephone numbers, and personal email addresses
• dates of birth, marriage and divorce
• gender
• marital status and dependants
• next of kin, emergency contact information
• national Insurance number
• location of previous employment or workplace
• copy of driving licence, passport, birth and marriage certificates, decree absolute
• recruitment information (including copies of right to work documentation, references and other information included in a CV or cover letter or as part of the application process)
• evidence of how you meet nationality rules and confirmation of your security clearance. This can include passport details, nationality details and information about convictions/allegations of criminal behaviour
• evidence of your right to work in the UK or elsewhere/immigration status

2.1 We do so for the following purposes:

• making a decision about your recruitment
• determining the terms on which you might work for us
• checking you are legally entitled to work in the UK or elsewhere and to provide you with the security clearance appropriate for your prospective role. Checking your eligibility to become an employee or contractor
• business management and planning, including accounting and auditing
• assessing qualifications for a particular job or task
• making decisions about your potential engagement
• making arrangements for the start of our working relationship
• ascertaining your fitness to work
• to prevent fraud
• to conduct data analytics studies to review and better understand employee recruitment rates
• equal opportunities monitoring

2.2 Special category data

In addition we may also process certain special category data as follows:

• information about your race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and political opinions
• information about your health, including any medical condition, health and sickness records
• biometric data

2.3 Information relating to criminal convictions or offences

We may also process information about criminal convictions/allegations and offences.

3. Legal basis for the processing

We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to. In particular we will process personal data about you in the following circumstances:

1. where it is necessary in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you
2. where we need to comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject
3. where the processing is necessary for the performance of our official functions as a government department

Where we process special category data we do so in the following circumstances:

1. in certain circumstances with your explicit consent
2. where the processing of such data is necessary in order to carry out our employment law obligations and such processing is in line with our data protection policy
3. we also process such data where it is necessary in the substantial public interest to do so for the following purposes:

• performing our official functions as a government department

• equal opportunities monitoring

• preventing or detecting unlawful acts

In such cases we will process such data in line with our data protection policy:

1. where it is needed to assess your working capacity on health grounds, subject to appropriate confidentiality safeguards
2. in some circumstances, we will process this type of information where it is needed in relation to legal claims
3. where you have already made the information public

3.1 Information relating to criminal offences

In order to process job applications and conduct vetting we will process data relating to offences committed or alleged to have been committed by you. We process such data in circumstances where it is necessary for us to do so in order to perform our official functions and we do so consistently with our policy document.

3.2 Consequences of not providing personal data

There may also be circumstances in which your failure to provide certain information when requested, means that we will not be able to enter a contract with you (such as providing proof of identity or qualifications).

4. Data sharing

We will in some circumstances have to share your data with third parties, including third-party service providers and other Civil Service bodies such as the Cabinet Office.

‘Third parties’ includes third-party service providers (including contractors and designated agents) and other entities within the Civil Service. The following recruitment activities are carried out by third-party service providers: administration and assessment of your application, IT services, security vetting. The following third-party service providers may process personal information about you: Capita, Hays, CS Jobs, WCN, the Civil Service Commission, UKSV and others.

All our third-party service providers are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your personal information in line with our policies. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes. We only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

We will share your personal information with other Civil Service organisations including the Cabinet Office as part of our regular reporting activities on departmental performance, in the context of statistical analysis; and general management and functioning of the Civil Service. Personal data is also shared with the Office for National Statistics, mainly for statistical purposes.

There may be other circumstances in which we may lawfully share your data with third parties where, for example, we are required to do so by law, by court order, or to prevent fraud or other crimes. Where we share data, however, we shall do so in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

4.1 Data sharing with third countries

As a job applicant, we will not transfer your personal information to countries outside the EU.

5. Automated decision-making

Automated decision-making takes place when an electronic system uses personal information to make a decision without human intervention. We are allowed to use automated decision-making in the following circumstances:

1. where we have notified you of the decision and given you 21 days to request a reconsideration of the decision

2. where it is necessary to perform the contract with you and appropriate measures are in place to safeguard your rights

3. in limited circumstances, with your explicit written consent and where appropriate measures are in place to safeguard your rights

If we make an automated decision on the basis of any particularly sensitive personal information, we must have either your explicit written consent or it must be justified in the public interest, and we must also put in place appropriate measures to safeguard your rights.

You will not be subject to decisions that will have a significant impact on you based solely on automated decision-making, unless we have a lawful basis for doing so and we have notified you. This includes automated questions about nationality and immigration status to check your eligibility as part of your online application.

6. How long we keep your data

We will retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. We must retain, for a minimum of 2 years, sufficient information on your recruitment to provide evidence we have complied with the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

In some circumstances we will anonymise your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we will use such information without further notice to you. Once you no longer have an outstanding job application we will retain and securely destroy your personal information in accordance with our data retention policy or applicable laws and regulations.

7. Your rights

In certain circumstances you have the right to:

• where we process your data is on the basis that it necessary for the exercise of our official functions you are entitled to object to that processing – ie to request that your data is not processed for certain purposes
• erasure – in certain circumstances you are entitled to request that your personal data is erased where one of the statutory grounds applies
• data portability – the right to obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services in certain circumstances
• restrict processing – request that the processing of your personal data is restricted in certain circumstances – for example, where accuracy is contested
• rectification – request that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay. Request that any incomplete personal data is completed, including by means of a supplementary statement
• access – request information about how your personal data is processed and to request a copy of that personal data

If your personal data is processed on the basis of consent, you have the right to:

• withdraw consent to the processing of your personal data at any time

8. How to contact us

If you have any questions about anything in this notice, or if you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, or if you would like to exercise any of your rights, you can contact us at: MSUcorres.HR@fcdo.gov.uk

You can also contact the Data Protection Officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

Data Protection Officer
Knowledge Management Department
Knowledge and Technology Directorate
Room K4.02
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH

Email: Data.Protection@fcdo.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 7008 5000

9. Complaints

You may also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

10. Changes to this notice

We may modify or amend this privacy notice at our discretion at any time. When we make changes to this notice, we will amend the last modified data at the top of this page. Any modification or amendment to this privacy notice will be applied to you and your data as of that revision date.