Privacy Notice

The Housing Executive is a recruitment business which provides work-finding services to its clients and work-seekers. The Housing Executive must process personal data (including sensitive personal data) so that it can provide these services – in doing so, The Housing Executive acts as a data controller. Julie Kellaway is the data protection lead for The Housing Executive

You may have given your personal details to The Housing Executive directly, via our registration form, in application to a role or by sending us your CV, or we may collect them from another source such as a professional networking website (e.g. Linked In). The Housing Executive must have a legal basis for processing your personal data. For the purposes of providing you with work-finding services and/or information relating to roles relevant to you we will only use your personal data in accordance with the terms of the following statement.

1. Collection and use of personal data

a. Purpose of processing and legal basis

The Housing Executive will collect your personal data (which may include sensitive personal data) and will process your personal data for the purposes of providing you with work-finding services. The legal bases we rely upon to offer these services to you are:

  • Consent – The Housing Executive seeks explicit, informed consent for the processing of Sensitive Personal Data, particularly regarding its internal diversity monitoring, provision of suitable adjustments for candidates with a disability and in the recruitment to positions involving working with children or vulnerable adults.
  • Contractual obligation – Processing of your personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract i.e. in the representation of candidates to clients and third parties as potential workers.
  • Legal obligation – Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that The Housing Executive is subject to, E.g. employment law.
  • Legitimate interest – Processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by The Housing Executive or a third party, i.e. providing work-finding services to candidates.

b. Legitimate interest

Where The Housing Executive has relied on a legitimate interest to process your personal data our legitimate interests is/are as follows:

  • Provision of work-finding services – to include (but not limited to) communication of recruitment opportunities; verification of your employment history, qualifications and experience for a role; application to positions via intermediary systems;

c. Recipient/s of data

The Housing Executive will process your personal data and/or sensitive personal data with the following recipients:

  • Recruitment Intermediaries (and their systems) – Adecco (Beeline, Fieldglass), Comensura (Cnet, C5net), Cohesion (MORS), Hays (3SS), Matrix (CR.net), Pertemps (PAWS), Reed (REMAS).
  • Clients – identified with each recruitment opportunity.
  • Software/support services – Payroll Manager, Timesheet Portal, Swiftpage, Sage Accounts, DGT Technoloy, Lermer & Associates, Profiling for Success, Due Duligence Checking Ltd.

d. Statutory/contractual requirement

Your personal data is required by law and/or a contractual requirement (e.g. our client may require this personal data), and/or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract. You are obliged to provide the personal data and if you do not the consequences of failure to provide the data are:

  • withdrawal of an application
  • the loss/withdrawal of an offer of employment,
  • a delay in payment for services.
  • suspension of work finding services provided by The Housing Executive.

The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 requires us to confirm the identity of all our candidates before supplying them to our clients. As an employer, under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 we have a duty to prevent illegal working by carrying out document checks to confirm if a person has the right to work in the UK. The documents stipulated as acceptable by the UK Government and its agencies include your personal data and the record keeping provisions means that The Housing Executive process items of your personal data for this reason.

 2. Data retention

The Housing Executive will retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary. Different laws require us to keep different data for different periods of time.

The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, require us to keep work-seeker records for at least one year from (a) the date of their creation or (b) after the date on which we last provide you with work-finding services.

We must also keep your payroll records, holiday pay, sick pay and pensions auto-enrolment records for as long as is legally required by HMRC and associated national minimum wage, social security and tax legislation.

Where The Housing Executive has obtained your consent to process your sensitive personal data, we will do so in line with our retention policy. Upon expiry of that period The Housing Executive will seek further consent from you. Where consent is not granted The Housing Executive will cease to process your sensitive personal data.

Document Legal Retention Requirement The Housing Executive Policy
Work-seeker records; including application form/CV, ID checks, interview notes, terms of engagement (see also below), details of assignments and opt-out notices 1 year from the last date of providing work-finding services as an Employment Agency or Employment Business (Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003) Physical records (e.g. ID checks, interview notes) kept for 5 years from the last date of accessing work-finding services.Electronic records (CV, terms of engagement, details of assignments) kept for a further 5 years
Terms of engagement with temporary worker and terms of business with clients 6 years in order to deal with any civil action in the form of contractual claim (Limitation Act 1980). Hard copy kept for minimum of 1 year.Electronic copy kept for 10 years
Working time records:

  • 48 hour opt out notice
  • Annual leave records
2 years from the time they were created Timesheets kept with Payroll/ invoicing records – 7 years
References 1 year following the introduction or supply of a work-seeker to a client. (Conduct Regulations 2003) 5 years following the introduction or supply of a work-seeker to a client – unless part active work-seeker record.
Records held relating to right to work in the UK 2 years after employment or engagement has ended. 5 years following the introduction or supply of a work-seeker to a client – unless part active work-seeker record.
Criminal records checks/ Disclosure Barring checks No specified limit 5 years – unless part active work-seeker record
National Minimum Wage documentation:

  • Total pay by the worker and the hours worked by the worker
  • Overtime/shift premia;
  • Any deduction or payment of accommodation;
  • Any absences eg rest breaks, sick leave, holiday;
  • Any travel or training during working hours and its length;
  • Total number of hours in a pay reference period
For HMRC purposes: 3 years after the end of the pay reference period following the one that the records cover (National Minimum Wage Act 1998)Or 6 years (5 in Scotland) in order to show that you have paid at least national minimum wage rates if a breach of contract claim is brought against you. Kept with payroll/ invoicing records – 7 years
Sickness records – statutory sick pay Records can be kept in a flexible manner which best suits your business but should be kept for payroll purposes (see below) Kept with payroll/ invoicing records – 7 years
Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption pay 3 years from the end of the tax year to which it relates Kept with payroll/ invoicing records – 7 years
Pensions auto-enrolment (including auto-enrolment date, joining date, opt in and opt out notices, contributions paid) 6 years except for opt out notices which should be kept for 4 years. Kept with payroll/ invoicing records – 7 years
Payroll information 3 years from the end of the tax year Kept with payroll/ invoicing records – 7 years
ITEPA (the intermediaries legislation) records Report due every quarter, to be kept for no less than 3 years after the end of the tax year to which they relate. 5 years

3. Your rights

Please be aware that you have the following data protection rights:

  • The right to be informed about the personal data The Housing Executive processes on you;
  • The right of access to the personal data The Housing Executive processes on you;
  • The right to rectification of your personal data;
  • The right to erasure of your personal data in certain circumstances;
  • The right to restrict processing of your personal data;
  • The right to data portability in certain circumstances;
  • The right to object to the processing of your personal data that was based on a public or legitimate interest;
  • The right not to be subjected to automated decision making and profiling; and
  • The right to withdraw consent at any time.

Where you have consented to The Housing Executive processing your sensitive personal data you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time by contacting Julie Kellaway or Phill Maxted by email rec@thehousingexecutive.com

 4. Complaints or queries

If you have any questions about the Data Protection policies or if you wish to complain about this privacy notice or any of the procedures set out in it please contact: The Housing Executive’s  Data Protection Lead, Julie Kellaway or our Operations and Compliance Manager, Phill Maxted either by phone on 020 7620 3048 or in writing on rec@thehousingexecutive.com.

You also have the right to raise concerns with Information Commissioner’s Office on 0303 123 1113 or at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/, or any other relevant supervisory authority should your personal data be processed outside of the UK, if you believe that your data protection rights have not been adhered to.