Heathcoat Fabrics

Privacy Policy for Job Applicants

  1. Introduction
    • Heathcoat Fabrics Limited are a “data controller”. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you.
    • If you are applying for work with us (whether as an employee or worker) this privacy notice makes you aware of how and why your personal data will be used, namely for the purposes of the recruitment process, and how long it will usually be retained for. It provides you with certain information that must be provided under the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) and all applicable regulations, domestic legislation, successor legislation relating to the protection of individuals with regards to the processing of personal data to which the Company and any Group Company is subject to (GDPR).
  2. Data protection principles
    • We will comply with data protection law and principles, which means that your data will be:
      • used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way,
      • collected only for valid purpose that we have clearly explained to you and not used in any way that is incompatible with these purposes,
      • relevant to the purposes we have told you about and limited only to those purposes,
      • accurate and kept up to date,
      • kept only as long as necessary for the purposes we have told you about, and
      • kept securely.
  1. Types of personal data
    • In connection with your application for work with us, we will collect, store, and use the following categories of personal information about you:
      • the information you have provided to us in your application form, curriculum vitae, covering letter and any other communication,
      • any information you have provided about your current level of remuneration or employment benefits,
      • any information you have provided relevant to requesting that we make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, including whether or not you have a disability,
      • any information about your entitlement to work in the UK,
      • any information you provide to us during an interview, and
      • numeracy, literacy and any other such screening test results.
    • We may also collect, store and use the following “special categories” of more sensitive personal information:
      • information about your health, including any medical condition, health and sickness records, and
      • information about criminal convictions and offences.
  1. Collecting personal data
    • We collect personal information about job applicants from a variety of sources. This information may be supplied by you in application forms or CVs, cover letters, email communications, contained in your passport or identity documents, or collected through interviews and other forms of assessment.
    • In some cases, we may collect personal data about you from third parties such as former employers.
  2. Processing personal data
    • We need to process data to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you. We also need to process your data to enter into a contract with you.
    • In some cases, we need to process data to ensure that we are complying with legal obligations. For example, we are required to check applicant’s eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts.
    • We have a legitimate interest in processing personal data during the recruitment process and for keeping records of the process. Processing data from job applicants allows the Company to manage the recruitment process, assess and confirm a candidate’s suitability for employment and decide to whom to offer a job. We may also need to process data from job applicants to respond to and defend against legal claims.
    • We process health information if we need to make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process for candidates who have a disability. This is to carry out our obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.
    • For some roles, we are obliged to seek information about criminal convictions and offences. Where we seek this information, we do so because it is necessary to carry out our obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.
    • We will not use your data for any purpose other than the recruitment exercise for which you have applied, unless you instruct us otherwise.
  3. Access to personal data
    • Your information will be shared internally for the purposes of the recruitment process. This includes members of the HR team, interviewers involved in the recruitment process and managers in the business area with a vacancy.
    • The Company will not share your data with third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. The Company will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you.
  4. Failure to provide personal data
    • If you fail to provide information when requested, which is necessary for us to consider your application (such as evidence of qualifications or work history), we may not be able to process your application successfully.
  5. Automated decision-making
    • You will not be subject to decisions that will have a significant impact on you based solely on automated decision-making.
  6. Personal Data security
    • We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need-to-know. They will only process your personal information on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
    • We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.
  7. Personal Data retention
    • If your application for employment is unsuccessful, we will hold your data on file for 6 months after the end of the relevant recruitment process.
    • If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your personnel file and retained during your employment. The periods for which your data will be held will be available within the Company’s privacy policy, a copy of which you can view on the Company’s website.
  8. Rights of access, correction, erasure, and restriction in connection with personal data
    • Under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:
      • request access to your personal information (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it,
      • request correction of the personal information that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected,
      • request erasure of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal information where you have exercised your right to object to processing (see below),
      • object to processing of your personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground,
      • request the restriction of processing of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal information about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it and
      • request the transfer of your personal information to another party.
    • If you want to exercise any of these rights, please contact the Data Protection Officer in writing.
  9. Withdrawing consent
    • In the limited circumstances where you may have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal information for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time. To withdraw your consent, please contact the HR Department. Once we have received notification that you have withdrawn your consent, we will no longer process your information for the purpose or purposes you originally agreed to, unless we have another legitimate basis for doing so in law, and as notified to you in this privacy notice.
  10. Queries or complaints about personal data
    • If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how we handle your personal information, please contact the Data Protection Officer in writing.
    • If you believe that we have not complied with your data protection rights, you have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioners office.