Privacy Policy

EMPLOYEE PRIVACY NOTICE



INTRODUCTION



Homes for Students collects and processes personal data[1] relating to its prospective, current and former employees to manage the employment relationship.



Homes for Students is committed to protecting your privacy and complying with all relevant data protection legislation including the Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA 2018”) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”). This Privacy Notice sets out your rights, and the basis by which we collect, use and disclose the personal data of our Employees.



WHO WE ARE



We are Homes for Students (“HfS”) of: The Innovation Centre, Hornbeam Park, Harrogate, HG2 8QT. We are the Data Controller for your personal information and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@wearehomesforstudents.com. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration number ZA159143.



WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS NOTICE?



This document sets out the Employee Privacy Notice which applies to Employees in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. This includes employees working for any of our Brands.



WHO DOES IT APPLY TO?



This Employee Privacy Notice applies to all employees, contractors and agency workers, including those employed in wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland). It includes prospective, current and former employees (“Employees”), including those who are incorporated into our business on TUPE terms.



HOW DO WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION



Some of the ways in which we collect personal data are as follows:




  • during the recruitment process;

  • in the course of managing your employment with HfS;

  • through CCTV footage in some of our properties;

  • through the use of call recording where you have a customer facing role and we utilise technology to record calls with our customers.



WHAT TYPE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?



Personal data is processed for the performance of your contract of employment e.g. your bank details and name and address. Some of the information we collect is for statutory legal requirements e.g. gender pay reporting and some information is collected voluntarily from you e.g. if you select to join any of the voluntary benefits we offer.



Special categories of personal data are also processed by us, this includes information about your physical or mental health, medical reports or the outcome of a criminality check, if applicable.



Full details of our processing activities are available at Annex A.



HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION




  • we may store your personal data;

  • we may share your personal data with both staff and third-parties as needed;

  • we may use your personal data for monitoring purposes;

  • we may share your personal data outside of the European Economic Area (EEA);

  • we may retain your personal data.



Storage of personal information



Data will be stored in a range of different places; including in your personnel file, in Homes for Students HR management and payroll system - ADP, and in other IT systems, including Homes for Students email system.



Sharing your personal information



We may share your personal data as follows:




  • In order to obtain employment references from other employers, obtain employment background checks from third-party providers and obtain necessary criminal records checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service.




  • Your information will be shared internally, including with members of HR, those involved with recruitment, payroll, your line manager, managers in the business area in which you work and Senior Management if access to the data is necessary for the performance of their roles.




  • Homes for Students also shares your data with third parties (data processors) that process data on its behalf in connection with payroll, pensions, IT, the provision of benefits and the provision of any occupational health services that it requests due to disabilities or ongoing sickness absences relating to your employment.




  • With clients when required for reasons such as, but not limited to, identification (access to buildings and systems) and call recording for training, quality and management information purposes.




  • With third-parties in the context of a sale of some or all of our businesses. In such circumstances the data will be subject to confidentiality arrangements and you shall be made aware that this information is to be shared as part of a transfer of undertaking.




  • Where we are under a legal obligation to do so, for example where we are required to share information under statute or to comply with legislation, to prevent fraud and other criminal offences or because of a Court Order.



Monitoring of employees



HfS only carries out monitoring of communications and data transfers where it is vital to our legitimate interests. HfS believes all monitoring, in whatever form, must be both lawful and fair to its workers. HfS will carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment prior to undertaking general monitoring activity, unless it has reasonable cause to believe that a criminal offence has taken place or there is other serious misconduct.



HfS may record telephone calls made to, or from, a call centre, either to listen to the calls as part of employee training or for quality control purposes including where requested by HfS’s clients to validate the quality of the services being provided by HfS.



Sometimes, it may be necessary to have a record of when a contract is entered into using the telephone system. These recordings will be retained in accordance with HfS’s Data Retention Policy.



HfS will comply with the guidance prepared by the Information Commissioner for employers in the Employment Practice Data Protection Code (part of DPA 2018): https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1064/the_employment_practices_code.pdf



Transferring personal data outside the EEA



We process some personal data outside the European Economic Area including, but not limited to, payroll and rewards (Connect). We put appropriate technical and organisational measures in place (including Standard Contractual Clauses where appropriate) to keep your personal data secure.



Examples of personal data processed by outside the EEA include:




  • ADP for our HR and payroll related activities. ADP is headquartered in the United States of America. Your Personal Data may be accessed by or transferred to ADP Group Companies and Suppliers in the United States or elsewhere in the world in accordance with the ADP Privacy Code: http://www.adp.com/privacy/pdf/PrivacyCodeBDO.pdf.

  • Connect (Reward Gateway (UK) Ltd. A number of Service Providers are located outside of the EEA. Data is transferred in compliance with their privacy policy provided here: https://connecthfs.rewardgateway.co.uk/Privacy



Retention of your personal data



HfS has a Data Retention Policy and Schedules, which apply to various functional activities, including employee information. The Policy mandates how long records, including personal information, must be retained. Retention periods are determined by legislation and business requirements.



The Data Retention Policy can be found on Connect or a copy can be requested from the Data Compliance Manager: dataprotection@wearehomesforstudents.com for those who do not have access to Connect.



Full details of our processing activities are available at Annex A.



LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING



HfS must have a legal basis for processing the personal information of employees. The legal basis for processing varies for the different types of personal information we collect, process and disclose.



Most commonly, the conditions for processing personal information will be one of the following (not exhaustive):




  • it is required by law;

  • it is necessary for the performance of the contract of employment you have entered, or have requested to enter;

  • you have given your consent for the processing to take place e.g. voluntary benefits. Please note that where we have relied on your consent as the legal basis for processing your personal information, you have the right to withdraw this at any time.



Full details are available at Annex A.



SECURITY MEASURES



HfS takes the security of your data seriously and we have put the following measures in place:




  • internal policies and controls which aim to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by its employees in the performance of their duties;




  • system restrictions to protect your data when it is stored on internal network drives or databases to ensure only those employees who require access have the right to do so;




  • data security processes, whereby personal data is protected with encryption and passwords if it is to be transferred;




  • where we engage third-parties to process personal data on our behalf, they do so on the basis of written instructions, are under a duty of confidentiality and are obliged to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the security of data.



WHAT IF YOU DO NOT PROVIDE YOUR PERSONAL DATA?



You have some obligations under your employment contract to provide Homes for Students with data.



In particular, you are required to report absences from work and may be required to provide information about disciplinary or other matters under the implied duty of good faith. You may also have to provide Homes for Students with data in order to exercise your statutory rights, such as in relation to statutory leave entitlements. Failing to provide the data may mean that you are unable to exercise your statutory rights under your contract of employment.



Certain information, such as your contact details, your right to work in the UK and payment details have to be provided to enable Homes for Students to enter into a contract of employment with you. If you do not provide certain information, this will hinder Homes for Students’ ability to efficiently administer the rights and obligations arising as a result of the employment relationship.



AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING



Employment decisions at Homes for Students are not based solely on automated decision-making. Decision-making at Homes for Students includes human involvement when processing personal data regarding its employees.



YOUR RIGHTS



As a data subject, you have a number of rights. Further information regarding these rights is available on the Information Commissioner’s website:



https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/accountability-framework/individuals-rights/



You can:




  • access and obtain a copy of your data on request, also known as a Data Subject Access Request (“DSAR”). In accordance with the DPA 2018, HfS will aim to respond to these requests within one calendar month of receiving a valid request (which includes providing confirmation of identity and clarity about the information you require);




  • require HfS to change incorrect or incomplete data;




  • require HfS to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing; and




  • object to the processing of your data where HfS is relying on its legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing.



If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please use the webform here or email dataprotection@wearehomesforstudents.com.



YOUR RIGHT TO COMPLAIN



If you have any concerns or complaints regarding the processing of your personal data, or our compliance with the DPA 2018 or UK GDPR, you should contact the Data Compliance Manager at dataprotection@wearehomesforstudents.com.



You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Supervisory Authority. Their contact details in the UK are:



Website: www.ico.org.uk



Telephone: 0303 123 1113 3.



Postal address: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.



REVIEW OF THIS PRIVACY NOTICE



This document was reviewed on 30th January 2023. We keep our privacy notice under regular review and the most up to date version will be available on Connect, or you can request a copy from the Data Compliance Manager.





[1] information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual