How and why we process your data for BU purposes

All of the information you provide during the application process will only be used by BU for the purpose of progressing your application or to fulfil any necessary legal requirements. Any information gathered as part of recruitment involving the help of third parties, e.g. recruitment agencies, will be retained by them and disposed of by them in line with the data processing agreements we have in place with them and that organisation’s own privacy policy.

The contact information you provide will be used to contact you to progress your application. All other information provided will be used to assess your suitability for the role applied for against the selection criteria. You will be asked to complete an equality monitoring form – this is completely voluntary.

The information will not be shared with the interview panel and only used to evaluate how well we are eliminating discrimination and advancing equality. This information will not be used as part of the selection process.

The data will be processed within BU’s HR team and, with the exception of data forming part of the Equality Monitoring Form, will be shared with relevant individuals forming part of the interview panel and administrators within BU’s Faculties and Professional Services and external panel members for professorial roles. Your data will also be processed by our internal Health, Safety & Well-Being team, and in anonymised form with BU’s Equality & Diversity Adviser and for some posts the Disclosure and Barring Service and Home Office. We will use the contact details you provide to us to contact you, any recruitment agent acting for you and your designated referees as required to progress your application. We will use the other information that you, any recruitment agent acting for you and your designated referees provide to us to assess your suitability for the post against the pre-determined person specification criteria. Our HR team and the recruitment panel will have access to all of this information.

• To allow us to take steps in anticipation of entering into a contract of employment with you and to perform any contract entered into with you.
• Necessary for legitimate interests pursued by BU in assessing your application and in providing assurance and meeting BU policies in relation to recruitment.
• Necessary for establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
• Necessary for compliance with legal obligations on BU as a prospective employer.

BU will process your data in connection with the operation of BU as a higher education corporation and in our capacity as your employer in accordance with our prevailing policies and procedures. Further details about some of the key areas of processing are set out below.  For some of our processing activities, you will be provided with additional specific processing information at that stage.

We will use staff data for all purposes associated with the administration of the employer/employee relationship. The purposes for which we may use staff data (including special category and criminal convictions data) we collect during an employee’s association with us include:

• employment matters (e.g. promotion, development, conduct, attendance, appraisals, managing progress and performance, grievance and academic misconduct investigations, disciplinary actions and complaints)
• maintaining staff records
• complying with visa requirements
• administering finance (e.g. salary, pension and any other staff benefits)
• providing support services (e.g. through the Employee Assistance Programme, Chaplain and Occupational Health Service based at the Medical Centre in Talbot House)
• providing library, IT and information services (please refer to the Acceptable Use Policy for information about IT monitoring)
• complying with statutory requirements (e.g. monitoring equal opportunities and equal / gender pay, and processing and responding to subject access requests and information requests and complying with our obligations under our publication scheme)  
• carrying out research, surveys and statistical analysis (including using third party data processors to carry out benchmarking and surveys for us)
• providing operational information
• promoting our services and other operational reasons (including displaying staff details on our website where appropriate, handling external business calls via our reception team and our AskBU enquiry service and taking or commissioning photographs or films on campus or at BU events for promotional purposes)
• safeguarding and promoting the welfare of staff
• ensuring the safety and security of our staff
• preventing and detecting crime
• dealing with complaints
• carrying out audits.

The name, professional service or faculty, work email address and telephone number(s) for staff will appear in BU’s internal email and staff intranet directory. This information will be used by call handling staff to direct external calls and general enquiries accordingly. If a member of staff has any personal and / or safety concerns about the release of work related contact information they should contact HR at [email protected] . Staff profiles for academic staff, senior staff and staff in roles that involve significant contact with external organisations and or members of the public will normally be available online in accordance with BU’s policy on the Disclosure of Information on Employees.

We process your information in a number of ways in order to manage the BU estate (land and buildings) on both the Talbot and Landsdowne Campuses, so that we can provide a safe, secure, efficient and well-managed environment.  This includes:

• Operation of CCTV systems.  Data generated through the operation of these systems will in certain circumstances be shared with the police. 

CCTV systems are in place in some parts of BU’s estate for the purposes of ensuring a safe and secure environment, preventing crime and anti-social behaviour and facilitating the detection or prosecution of criminal behaviour.  CCTV footage is processed in accordance with BU’s CCTV policies and procedures.  Images are captured 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  The CCTV systems digitally record seven frames per second. These images are automatically erased after a period of no more than 31 days after they are recorded, unless before that time we are made aware that the images are required for evidence (in which case they are securely stored until the incident is resolved or the information is passed to an official third party).  Access to the footage is securely controlled by BU’s IT security arrangements.  We may provide CCTV footage to the police where they believe that a crime has been or may have been committed and we are satisfied that the CCTV footage may assist them in their investigation and disclosure would comply with the data protection legislation. 

• Management of car parks and provision of parking permits.  This includes sharing data with the third party provider of parking enforcement services (Britannia Parking). 

Your data is processed within BU when we process any application you make for a BU parking permits. A third party provider (currently Britannia Parking Ltd) carries out monitoring and enforcement of the terms and conditions of use of BU car parks.  Separate privacy information about this processing is provided on the signs in BU car parks and when you make any application for a BU parking permit.

• Consent: this means that you have agreed that we can use your data for this specific purpose.

• To allow us to take steps to perform the employment contract with you.

• Necessary for legislative compliance by BU as an employer.

• Necessary for legitimate interests pursued by BU in our capacity as an employer and in assisting in providing a safe and secure environment for staff and students.

• Necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest: this would usually be an activity within BU’s core purpose as a statutory higher education

• Necessary to protect your vital interests or those of another person.

• Necessary for establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

• Necessary for purposes of carrying out obligations and exercising rights in relation to employment, social security and social protection law.

• Explicit consent: this means that you have explicitly agreed that we can use your personal data for this specific purpose. You are able to withdraw your consent at any time. Consent can be withdrawn at any point.

• Necessary for research or statistical purposes, where it is considered that that the use of your data will be proportionate to the aims of the research and that your interests as a data subject will be appropriately safeguarded.