If you’ve decided that you want to apply for a role within Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service as an applicant it’s important that you understand how your information will be processed throughout the recruitment and selection process and what rights you have with regard to your personal information.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service recommend that you read this notice before making an employment application.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service collect personal information from you for recruitment related purposes as outlined below.
What do we collect?
We may collect the following information from you which could include your name, address, telephone, email, contact details, NI number, employment history, educational background and qualifications, details of your skills and experience, contact details for referees, equality and diversity data and information about criminal records.
During a recruitment process we will collect information to verify your right to work, such as a passport or birth certificate, and if applicable, you will be asked to provide additional information to complete a criminal records check or Police Security Vetting.
What do we do with the data we collect?
- To provide our recruitment services to you and to facilitate the recruitment process;
- To obtain verification of your details from a third party source including references, qualifications and criminal record checks;
- To undertake statistical analysis of anonymised data for equality and diversity, and internal reporting of your recruitment journey;
- To carry out surveys and collate feedback about your recruitment experience;
- To send you job alerts that you have registered for;
- To process a contract of employment.
The information that’s being gathered during the recruitment and selection process is required to make an informed assessment of whether you meet the role criteria to be offered a contract of employment.
Some of the information requested is necessary to meet legal or regulatory requirements. For example, if you are applying to become a firefighter you will be requested to complete a pre-physical test questionnaire and undertake a medical to meet our employer obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992. The Fire Services (Appointments and Promotion) (England and Wales) Regulations 2004 set out certain criteria that are required, such as proof of age to confirm you are over 18. Find out more about this regulation.
The application is yours and it’s your choice whether you provide the requested information, but, if you don’t supply all the requested information, this might affect your application.
The only form which is voluntary and won’t affect your application is the equality monitoring form. This form will be detached from your application and used only to produce and monitor equal opportunities statistics and provide data for government statistics, for example https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables
How will my information be used during the recruitment and selection process?
All of the information you provide during the process will be used for the purposes of progressing your application.
Your contact details will be used to contact you about your application and the answers and information you provide on the application form will enable us to understand and assess your skills and experience to progress your application to the next stage of the selection process. What you are asked to provide on the application form will depend on the role you’re applying for.
If you’re applying for a firefighter role you will be asked to complete additional forms, for example, a pre-physical test questionnaire. The additional forms will provide an explanation of why the information is required as part of the recruitment and selection process.
In addition to the information that you supply on the application form(s) we shall also collect, hold and appraise information on individual candidates' performance at each stage of the recruitment and selection process. Information will be generated by you or by us. This will include information we gain from your selected referees.
The recruitment and selection process may include psychometric tests to analyse or predict your performance at work. The results will be used to inform a selection decision. Where electronic psychometric tests are used and a selection decision is based solely on a decision made by automated means, you do have a right to obtain human intervention. This allows you to gain an understanding of how the decision was reached and to challenge this decision if you are unhappy with the outcome. You will be informed where this is the case.
Where your information is held?
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service’s online recruitment system is provided by JobTrain Solutions Ltd. All data is held in the UK and is not shared with any third parties.
Who will have access to my information?
We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it such as recruiting managers, recruitment administrators and if successful, your information will be added to an employee database to manage your employment. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
Individuals / teams will only have access to the information they require to progress the application, for example, completed health or physical fitness questionnaires will only be accessed by Occupational Health and not the Recruitment Manager.
If you’re applying for a firefighter role, there are stages in the process where certain information, dependant on the purpose, will be shared with third parties who provide elements of our recruitment service.
- Uniform provider will obtain your name and measurements
- Fire Service Medical Advisor, who is a qualified occupational health physician, will be provided with medical and health information to ensure that your health and fitness is satisfactory to carry out the role
- Urine sample tester (an accredited recognised toxicology laboratory) who carry out drug sampling testing on our behalf
These third parties process your information on our behalf and are unable to do anything with your personal information unless we instruct them to do so. They will hold it securely and not share your personal information with any organisation apart from us.
Your referees will not have access to your recruitment and selection documentation but will be written to for a reference. They could be written to before an offer of employment, unless you object to this.
You will be informed if we are required to check your right to work in the United Kingdom or, for identified posts, undertake a criminal record check. On these occasions, the appropriate government departments would be sent the required information to perform the checks, such as criminal checks via the Disclosure and Barring Service and relevant vetting agencies.
If appointed, your personal information will be shared with those that need to process it for employment purposes, for example the Payroll team. Further information about how your information will be used would be given on appointment.
How long will you keep hold of my information?
If you are unsuccessful in applying for a role your personal information will be kept within the recruitment system for a period of 12 months. If you have been inactive for 12 months you will be contacted by email to ask if you would like to remain on the system. If you do not reply or do not wish to remain on the system then your information will then be deleted or securely destroyed.
Should you be employed, this information will be kept electronically for the duration of your employment, on your personal record file (PRF) and for a period of time, according to the Service’s Retention Schedule. The information would then be deleted or securely destroyed.
If we are destroying hard copy information, a third party securely disposes of it on our behalf. The third party are unable to do anything with your personal information as they are providing a service for us and work under our instruction.
Is there anything else I need to know when it comes to my personal information?
Find out more about the rights you have when it comes to your personal information or who you can contact to discuss it further.
Who can I contact about my personal information?
You can contact our Data Protection Officer with regard to any issues related to the processing of your personal information, including exercising any of your rights or making a complaint.
We encourage people to bring to our attention any instances where they think our collection, or use of, information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate.
Data Protection Officer
Joint Police & Fire Headquarters
Butterley Hall
Ripley
Derbyshire DE5 3RS
Telephone: 01773 305305
Email: dpo@derbys-fire.gov.uk
Right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office
If you wish to complain about any aspect of the handling of your request, then you should contact our Data Protection Officer at:
Data Protection Officer
Joint Police & Fire Headquarters
Butterley Hall
Ripley
Derbyshire DE5 3RS
Telephone: 01773 305305
Email: dpo@derbys-fire.gov.uk
If informal resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an independent internal review by our Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive. Please note that any request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has come to an end.
If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the Information Commissioner. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not investigate your case until our internal review process has been completed.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK's independent body set up to uphold information rights. You have a right to lodge complaints with them.
To find out more about them, visit https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/who-we-are/
To contact them, either visit their website, dial 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545745 or write to them at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Last updated 13 August 2024
Privacy Policy - Recruitment and Selection pdf 94.17 KB