Job applicants, current and former employees St Helens Borough Council is the data controller for the information you provide during the process unless otherwise stated.

If you have any queries about the process or how we handle your information please contact us at recruitment@sthelens.gov.uk (for applicants only) or People Management & OD, Corporate Services Directorate, Town Hall, Corporation Street, St Helens, WA10 1HP.

What will we do with the information you provide to us?

All of the information you provide will only be used for the purpose of progressing your application, to communicate with you via telephone, email or message or to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements if necessary.  We will not share any of the information you provide during the recruitment process with any third parties for marketing purposes or store any of your information outside of the European Economic Area.

The information you provide will be held securely by us whether the information is in electronic or physical format. We will use the contact details you provide to us to contact you to progress your application.

We will use the other information you provide to assess your suitability for the role you have applied for.

What information do we ask for, and why?

We do not collect more information than we need to fulfil our stated purposes. If you are unsuccessful your information will be retained for a period that does not exceed 12 months from the date of the interviews. The information we ask for is used to assess your suitability for employment. You don’t have to provide what we ask for but it might affect your application if you don’t.

Application stage

 If you use our online application system or submit a written application, these will be collected and processed by us. We ask you for your personal details including name and contact details. We will also ask you about your previous experience, education, referees and for answers to questions relevant to the role you have applied for.

We will also ask you about previous criminal convictions that are not spent, or where the post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, all convictions. This will be made clear on the application for the role. Our recruitment team and the recruitment panel will have access to all of this information.

You will also be asked to provide equal opportunities information. This is not mandatory information – if you don’t provide it, it will not affect your application. This information will not be made available to any staff outside of our recruitment team, including hiring managers, in a way which can identify you. Any information you do provide will be used only to produce and monitor equal opportunities statistics.

We will use the Anonymous application functionality that our Applicant tracking System provides however this will not be a mandatory requirement for all recruitment processes.

We do however also encourage hiring managers to engage with individuals upon receipt of interest / application and it is for the hiring manager to determine how they wish to run their recruitment.  If for example a manager wishes to engage with individuals upon receipt of an application or interest in working for the Council, this would negate the anonymised application functionality.

Shortlisting

Our hiring managers shortlist applications for selection and assessment. They will be provided with your application details, except for your equal opportunities information if you have provided it.  When applied, the anonymised applications remain so for the shortlisting process.  Once an application has been processed at this stage and an outcome determined, the name will become known to the hiring manager.

Selection and Assessments

We might ask you to participate in open days, visits to the workplace, assessment days; complete tests or occupational personality profile questionnaires; and/or to attend an interview – or a combination of these. Information will be generated by you and by us.

For example, you might complete a written test or we might take interview notes. This information is held by the authority.

If you are unsuccessful following assessment for the position you have applied for, we will retain this information for a period that does not exceed 12 months from the date of the interviews.

Conditional offer

If we make a conditional offer of employment we will ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. You must successfully complete pre-employment checks to progress to a final offer.

We are required to confirm identity, right to work in the United Kingdom and seek assurance as to trustworthiness, integrity and reliability. You will therefore be required to provide:

• Proof of your identity and that you have the right to work in the UK in accordance with Section 15 to 25 of the Asylum and Nationality Act 2006– you will be asked to attend our office with original documents, we will take copies. Some school employees may present their original documents to the school who will take copies and certify them, before sending them to us.
• Proof of an essential qualifications – you will be asked to attend our office with original documents, we will take copies. Some school employees may present their original documents to the schools who will take copies and certify them, before sending them to us.
• If you are engaged in certain posts you will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service, which will verify your declaration of convictions. These posts are those that undertake regulated activities with children (in accordance with Department for Education (DfE) guidance) or with adults (in accordance with Department of Health (DH) guidance). You will either be required to complete the appropriate application form, or if you subscribe to the DBS Update Service, we will, with your consent, carry out a Status Check using the on line service.
• If required, we will contact your referees, using the details you provide in your application, directly to obtain references. In posts that involve working with children or vulnerable adults we may also be required to take up additional references from previous employers to ensure safer recruitment. You consent to this by signing and submitting your application.
• We will also ask you to complete a questionnaire about your health. This is to establish your fitness to work. This is done through Council’s Occupational Health Service.
• If we make a final offer, we will also ask you for the following:
• Bank details – to process salary payments
• Emergency contact details – so we know who to contact in case you have an emergency at work
• Membership of the Local Government Pension scheme – you will automatically join the Scheme (unless your contract is of a temporary nature for less than 3 months or you are a teacher) and information relevant to your membership will be shared with the Merseyside Pension Fund (MPF).
• Membership of the Teachers’ Pension scheme – if you are a teacher you will automatically join the Scheme and information relevant to your membership will be shared with the Teacher Pension Agency (TPA).

Post start date

All of the information you provide will be used to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements if necessary. Any information relating to your employment, during its course, will be processed for the necessary performance of the contract of employment and held on your personnel file.

Code of Conduct

Our Code of Conduct requires all staff to declare if they have any potential conflicts of interest, or if they engage in additional employment. If you complete a declaration, the information will be held on your personnel file. All personnel files are retained for a period that does not exceed 7 years from the date of the termination of employment.

You have a right to access the information held by the Applicant Tracking System and including the ability to remove this information.  You also have the right to access information by making a Subject Access Request, in accordance with the Council’s Policy, details of which are on the Council’s Website and Intranet.

You also have the right to request the rectification of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data held. Information will be shared with HMRC in respect of tax and national insurance contributions.

Information will also be shared with the Merseyside Pension Fund in respect of pension scheme membership for none teaching employees and the Teachers Pensions Agency, for teachers.

Information will also be shared with the National Fraud Initiative under the Council’s duty to protect the public funds it administers for the purpose of the prevention and detection of fraud.

Information may also be shared with other organisations were you consent to have deductions made from your pay, or where such deductions are ordered by a court of law.

The Council will also use your data to respond to Statutory Returns as required by Government Agencies

St Helens Council Data Protection Officer St Helens Council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at: dataprotection@sthelens.gov.uk Right to Complain You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (Tel: 0303 123 1113, Online https:///ico.org.uk/, Post Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF).

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