Job applicant

To support your application to work or volunteer with Link, we collect and maintain personal information that reflects the role applied for and the requirements of the recruitment, selection and vetting process.  

This includes:  

• Personal and contact details – such as your name, preferred name, pronouns, address, contact details, date of birth and previous names where relevant.
• Application and recruitment information – including applications submitted, CVs, supporting statements, qualifications, professional memberships, skills, experience, employment or volunteering history, references and roles applied for.
• Eligibility and identity information – including right to work information, proof of identity, proof of address and details of any legal restrictions relevant to the role.
• Assessment information – including interview notes, selection assessments, role-specific testing and information about reasonable adjustments required during the recruitment process.
• Health and wellbeing information – where relevant, including information needed to support reasonable adjustments and occupational health advice where this is required during the recruitment or vetting process.
• Compliance and safeguarding information – including, where required for the role, criminal conviction details, Disclosure Scotland checks, PVG scheme information and professional or regulatory registration details.
• Other supporting information – including referee details, information about relationships with Link Board members, committee members or staff where relevant, details linked to recruitment schemes such as Refer a Friend, reimbursement details for pre-approved recruitment expenses, and equality monitoring information which is voluntary. 

In some cases, additional information may be processed where this is necessary for operational, safety or compliance reasons.  This may include:  

• information obtained through CCTV systems when you visit Link premises
• call recordings where telephony systems are used
• information from automated screening questions used at the start of an online application process where this is necessary to assess whether essential or legal criteria are met
• information provided by referees, recruitment agencies, occupational health providers, qualification bodies or regulatory bodies where relevant to your application
• bank account details where reimbursement of a pre-approved expense is required during the recruitment process
• The level and type of information collected will depend on the role applied for and the nature of the recruitment and selection process.
• Where automated screening or monitoring activities are carried out, this is undertaken to support legitimate organisational needs such as running a fair and efficient recruitment process, meeting legal requirements and ensuring only applicants who meet essential or legal criteria proceed. 

Any such processing is carried out in a proportionate and transparent way, and only when necessary for the defined purpose.

Personal information is used to manage recruitment and selection activity, assess suitability for roles and ensure Link meets its obligations as a recruiting organisation.

This includes: 

• administering recruitment and selection processes for job and volunteer opportunities
• maintaining accurate application, contact and assessment records throughout the recruitment process
• assessing skills, experience, qualifications and suitability for the role applied for
• supporting reasonable adjustments and obtaining occupational health advice where required
• carrying out right to work, identity, disclosure, PVG and other pre-engagement checks where these are required
• responding to complaints, legal claims or regulatory requirements arising from recruitment activity
• maintaining appropriate records of recruitment activity and outcomes
• administering pre-approved expense reimbursement linked to the recruitment process where relevant
• maintaining and promoting equality in recruitment on an aggregated and anonymised basis 

Information from recruitment systems may also be used where relevant to support the effective administration of recruitment and selection. For example, information from online application portals or screening questions may be used to determine whether applicants meet essential or legal requirements for a role. 

Equality monitoring information may be used by Link on an aggregated and anonymised basis to understand applicant trends and support the development of policies, training and communications. This information is considered at a high level only and is not used to make decisions about identifiable individuals. 

Without this, Link may not be able to consider your application, assess your suitability for the role or meet legal and regulatory obligations connected with recruitment and safeguarding.

Your information is held securely within Link’s recruitment, service delivery and document management systems. Relevant information may also be provided to authorised third parties supporting services such as occupational health, recruitment systems, training or assessment, qualification verification and regulatory compliance.

Access to information is controlled based on role and business need, and systems are configured to ensure appropriate security, audit and access controls are in place. Link applies appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access or disclosure.

Personal information is retained for as long as necessary to manage your application and to meet legal, regulatory and operational requirements. 

Retention periods are set out in Link’s data retention schedule and are reviewed on a regular basis. Where information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymised.

To view how long we keep your personal data, please visit our retention schedule here.

Link processes personal information in line with UK data protection legislation. The legal bases relied on will depend on the purpose of processing and the type of information involved. 

These include: 

• Contractual obligations – to take steps at your request before entering into an employment, worker or volunteer arrangement where this is relevant to the role applied for
• Legal obligations – to comply with statutory and regulatory requirements, such as right to work checks, safeguarding duties, disclosure requirements and other legal responsibilities relevant to recruitment
• Legitimate interests – to support the effective operation of Link, including recruitment administration, workforce planning, service delivery and organisational security
• Consent – where required for specific purposes, such as certain types of optional data or communications, which you can withdraw at any time. 

In addition, some information processed by Link falls within special category data under data protection law. This includes information such as health data, disability information and equality monitoring data. This data is processed where necessary to support reasonable adjustments, meet recruitment and safeguarding duties, or for reasons of substantial public interest where there is a clear basis in law. Appropriate safeguards are in place to ensure this data is handled securely and only accessed where necessary. 

Where relevant for a role, Link may also process criminal conviction data for Disclosure Scotland checks and/or PVG scheme membership. This data is processed only where it is necessary in line with safeguarding and regulatory requirements and where there is a clear basis under data protection legislation. Link maintains an appropriate policy document which sets out how this information is managed, retained and protected in line with statutory requirements.

Personal information is shared where this is necessary to support recruitment activity, assess your application and comply with legal or regulatory requirements. 

Within Link, where there is a legitimate requirement to do so, information may be shared within HR and L&D, recruiting managers and relevant panels or service teams. Outside Link, information may be shared with: 

• recruitment system providers, occupational health, training and assessment providers, and third parties carrying out qualification, membership, driving or other role-related checks
• regulatory bodies and government agencies (for example Disclosure Scotland, HMRC where relevant, or other relevant professional bodies)
• referees, previous employers, recruitment agencies and legal advisers where relevant to your application or a related claim
• auditors, insurers and other organisations where disclosure is required for legal, regulatory or operational reasons

 In some cases, information may also be shared in connection with external requirements such as audits, disclosures to regulators or legal proceedings.

Organisations receiving information will either do so on behalf of Link or as part of their own statutory or regulatory responsibilities. In all cases, appropriate safeguards are in place and only the minimum necessary information is shared.

Most of the information held by Link is provided directly by you during the application and recruitment process. 

Information may also be obtained from other sources where relevant, including:

• application forms, CVs, supporting statements, identity documents and other documents provided as part of your application
• recruitment agencies, referees, previous employers or organisations providing references or application support
• occupational health providers or medical advisers where relevant to support reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process
• training providers, qualification bodies, accreditation bodies or issuing bodies for professional memberships where relevant
• background checking providers and regulatory bodies, such as Disclosure Scotland or professional regulators where relevant
• internal recruitment systems and publicly available professional information where this is relevant and lawfully obtained

If your details change, please update these in iTrent ESS, or if it is not captured there, please contact 03451 400 100 to inform us to ensure that all of the information we hold about you is up to date.

You can also contact our data protection officer at  datamanagement@linkhaltd.co.uk  or by post to Link House, 2c New Mart Road, Edinburgh EH14 14L.

You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. 

You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances. 

You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances. 

You have the  right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances . However, if Link can demonstrate that there is a compelling reason to process such personal data then we may refuse to stop processing your personal data.  

You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.