HR Initiatives Limited (“We”) are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.
This privacy policy sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. By visiting https://www.hrinitiatives.co.uk you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.
We take the security and privacy of your data seriously. We need to gather and use information or data about you as part of our business and to manage our relationship with you. We intend to comply with our legal obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in respect of data privacy and security. We have a duty to notify you of the information contained in this policy.
By providing your data you warrant to us that you are over 13 years of age.
Definition of terms
- Data Controller – A Controller determines the purposes and means of processing personal data
- Data Processor – a Data Processor is responsible for processing personal data on behalf of a controller.
- Data Subject – a living person
- Personal Data – any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by refence to an identifier. For example, name, address, email address; IP address.
- Special Categories of Personal Data – Including genetic data, biometric data; race or ethnic origin; medical or health details; trade union membership; political opinion, religious of philosophical beliefs
- Processing – any operations which is performed using data such as collection, recording, storage, use, disclosure.
Information we may collect from you
We may collect and process the following data about you:
- Information you give us. You may give us information about you by filling in the Contact Us forms on our site www.hrinitiatives.co.uk (our site) or by corresponding with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise. This includes information you provide when you register to use our site, subscribe to our service, apply for a job with us directly, apply for a vacancy that we may be handling on behalf of a client, participate in discussion boards or other social media functions on our site, [enter a competition, promotion or survey, and when you report a problem with our site. The information you give us may include your name, address, e-mail address and phone number, as well as other information about you to support an application for employment.
- Information we collect about you. With regard to each of your visits to our site we may automatically collect the following information:
- technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform;
- information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from our site (including date and time); products you viewed or searched for; page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), and methods used to browse away from the page and any phone number used to call our customer service number.
- Information we receive from other sources. We may receive information about you if you use any of the other websites we operate or the other services we provide.
Visitors to our websites
When someone visits www.hrinitiatives.co.uk we use a third-party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. If we do want to collect personally identifiable information through our website, we will be up front about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it.
Use of cookies
Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and allows us to improve our site. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them see our Cookie policy on our Cookies page.
Security and performance
HR Initiatives uses a third-party service to help maintain the security and performance of our website. To deliver this service it processes the IP addresses of visitors to our website.
People who contact us via social media
We use third party providers, Twitter, Facebook and Linked In for our social media interactions.
If you send us a private or direct message via social media the message will be stored by us for three months. It will not be shared with any other organisations.
People who call our HR helpline
When you call the HR helpline we identify users verbally and we may make notes of the calls or advice given to identify which of our services you want to access and to direct your call to the most appropriate person to provide a better service to our clients. We use this information to help improve our efficiency and effectiveness.
Our calls are routed through ‘myinbound’ call routing system which is a Vodafone product /service hosted by Gamma Telecom Ltd. You can view their Privacy Policy here https://www.gamma.co.uk/privacy-policy
People who email us
We use Microsoft 365 for the transmission, storage and exchange of email traffic. you should be aware that any emails we send or receive may not be protected in transit. You can view the Microsoft Privacy Statement here https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-GB/privacystatement
We will also monitor any emails sent to us, including file attachments, for viruses or malicious software. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send is within the bounds of the law.
People who make a complaint to us
When we receive a complaint from a person we make up a file containing the details of the complaint. This normally contains the identity of the complainant and any other individuals involved in the complaint.
We will only use the personal information we collect to process the complaint and to check on the level of service we provide.
We usually have to disclose the complainant’s identity to whoever the complaint is about. This is inevitable where, for example, the accuracy of a person’s record is in dispute. If a complainant doesn’t want information identifying him or her to be disclosed, we will try to respect that. However, it may not be possible to handle a complaint on an anonymous basis.
We will keep personal information contained in complaint files in line with our retention policy. This means that information relating to a complaint will be retained for two years from closure. It will be retained in a secure environment and access to it will be restricted according to the ‘need to know’ principle.
Similarly, where enquiries are submitted to us we will only use the information supplied to us to deal with the enquiry and any subsequent issues and to check on the level of service we provide.
People/Clients who use HR Initiatives Services
HR Initiatives Limited offers various Human Resources services to businesses, including our HR Helpline Service, Recruitment Services, Psychometric Testing Services and other HR related services. We do not offer services to individual people.
We have to hold the details of the people/clients who have requested the service in order to provide it. However, we only use these details to provide the service the person/client has requested and for other closely related purposes. Our clients may discuss issues regarding their own staff and for the purposes of advising our clients we will hold data about their employees for the purposes of advising our client about the specific issue they have contacted us for advice about. We will only hold that data for as long as is necessary to provide a complete advisory service and within the normal time limits for Employment Tribunal Claims.
Job applicants, current and former HR Initiatives employees
HR Initiatives Limited is the data controller for the information you provide to us during the recruitment process unless otherwise stated. If you have any queries about the process or how we handle your information please contact us at info@hrinitiatives.co.uk.
What will we do with the information you provide to us?
All of the information you provide during the recruitment process will only be used for the purpose of progressing your application for employment, or to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements if necessary.
We will not share any of the information you provide during the recruitment process with any third parties for marketing purposes or store any of your information outside of the European Economic Area. The information you provide will be held securely by us and/or our data processors whether the information is in electronic or physical format.
We will use the contact details you provide to us to contact you to progress your application. We will use the other information you provide to assess your suitability for the role you have applied for.
What information do we ask for, and why?
We do not collect more information than we need to fulfil our stated purposes and will not retain it for longer than is necessary.
The information we ask for is used to assess your suitability for employment based on the client’s requirement. You don’t have to provide what we ask for but it might affect your application if you don’t.
Application stage
We ask you for your personal details including name and contact details. We will also ask you about your previous experience, education, referees and for answers to questions relevant to the role you have applied for. You will usually be asked to provide a CV. Our recruitment team will have access to all of this information.
You may also be asked to provide equal opportunities information if the client requests this. This is not mandatory information – if you don’t provide it, it will not affect your application. This information will not be made available to any staff outside of our recruitment team, including hiring managers, in a way which can identify you. Any information you do provide, will be used only to produce and monitor equal opportunities statistics.
Shortlisting
All our Consultants shortlist applications for interview. They will usually be provided with your name and contact details if you have provided it.
Assessments
We might ask you to participate in assessment days; complete tests or occupational personality profile questionnaires; and/or to attend an interview – or a combination of these. Information will be generated by you and by us. For example, you might complete a written test or we might take interview notes. This information is held by HR Initiatives Limited and is shared with our client for the purpose of making recommendations for shortlisting and interview purposes.
If you are unsuccessful following assessment for the position you have applied for, we may ask if you would like your details to be retained for a period of six months. If you say yes, we would proactively contact you should any further suitable vacancies arise.
Conditional Offers of Employment
If we make a conditional offer of employment we will ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. You must successfully complete pre-employment checks to progress to a final offer. We are required to confirm the identity of our staff, their right to work in the United Kingdom and seek assurance as to their trustworthiness, integrity and reliability.
You will therefore be required to provide:
- Proof of your identity – you will be asked to attend our office with original documents, we will take copies.
- Proof of your qualifications – you will be asked to attend our office with original documents, we will take copies.
- We will contact your referees, using the details you provide in your application, directly to obtain references
If we make a final offer, we will also ask you for the following:
- Bank details – to process salary payments
- Emergency contact details – so we know who to contact in case you have an emergency at work
Where we store your personal data
The data that we collect from you is stored within the EU.
Data Security
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. We limit access to the data you provide to our Consultants, employees, and clients for the purposes of providing recruitment or HR advisory services to our clients. If there is a breach of your data we will inform you and any applicable regulator of a breach when we are legally required to do so.
BreatheHR
If you accept a final offer from us, some of your personnel records will be held on BreatheHR which is an internally used HR records system.
Here is a link to their Privacy Notice.
https://www.breathehr.com/en-gb/privacy-policy
Thomas International
We are accredited providers of Thomas International on-line testing materials. If we ask you to complete one of these tests, we will send you a link to the test. Your answers will be provided to and held by HR Initiatives Limited and Thomas International on their Portal.
Here is a link to their Privacy Notice. https://www.thomasinternational.net/en-GB/GDPR/GDPR-2016-679-STATEMENT/
https://www.thomasinternational.net/en-GB/Privacy-cookies/
How long is the information retained for?
If you are successful, the information you provide during the application process will be retained by us as part of your employee file for the duration of your employment plus 6 years following the end of your employment. This includes your fitness to work, records of any references.
If you are unsuccessful at any stage of the process, the information you have provided until that point will be retained for 6 months from the closure of the campaign.
Information generated throughout the assessment process, for example interview notes, is retained by us for 6 months following the closure of the campaign.
Equal opportunities information is retained for 6 months following the closure of the campaign whether you are successful or not.
How we make decisions about recruitment?
Final recruitment decisions are made by hiring managers and members of our recruitment team. All of the information gathered during the application process is considered.
Thomas International online testing is marked and a result is generated automatically. However, if you wish to challenge the mark you have received, the result can be checked manually.
You can ask about decisions made about your application by speaking to your contact within our recruitment team or by emailing info@hrinitiatives.co.uk
Your rights
Even if we already hold your personal data, you still have various rights in relation to it. To get in touch about these, please contact us. We will seek to deal with your request without undue delay, and in any event in accordance with the requirements of any applicable laws. Please note that we may keep a record of your communications to help us resolve any issues which you raise.
Right to object: If we are using your data because we deem it necessary for our legitimate interests to do so, and you do not agree, you have the right to object. We will respond to your request within 30 days (although we may be allowed to extend this period in certain cases). Generally, we will only disagree with you if certain limited conditions apply.
Right to withdraw consent: Where we have obtained your consent to process your personal data for certain activities (for example, for profiling your suitability for certain roles), or consent to contact you about suitable job openings, you may withdraw your consent at any time.
Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR): Just so it’s clear, you have the right to ask us to confirm what information we hold about you at any time, and you may ask us to modify, update or Delete such information. At this point we may comply with your request or, additionally do one of the following:
- we may ask you to verify your identity, or ask for more information about your request; and
- where we are legally permitted to do so, we may decline your request, but we will explain why if we do so.
- We will not ask you for a fee for this service
Right to erasure: In certain situations (for example, where we have processed your data unlawfully), you have the right to request us to “erase” your personal data. We will respond to your request within 30 days (although we may be allowed to extend this period in certain cases) and will only disagree with you if certain limited conditions apply. If we do agree to your request, we will Delete your data but will generally assume that you would prefer us to keep a note of your name on our register of individuals who would prefer not to be contacted. That way, we will minimise the chances of you being contacted in the future where your data are collected in unconnected circumstances. If you would prefer us not to do this, you are free to say so.
Right of data portability: If you wish, you have the right to transfer your data from us to another data controller. We will help with this – either by directly transferring your data for you, or by providing you with a copy in a commonly used machine-readable format.
If you would like to know more about your rights in respect of the personal data we hold about you, please contact us a info@hrinitiatives.co.uk
Complaints or queries
We take any complaints we receive very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.
This privacy notice does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of our collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests for this should be sent to the address below.
If you want to make a complaint about the way we have processed your personal information, you can contact us at info@hrinitiatives.co.uk
Lastly, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner. You can do this be contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office directly. Full contact details including a helpline number can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website (www.ico.org.uk). This website has further information on your rights and our obligations.
Disclosure of personal information
In many circumstances we will not disclose personal data without your consent. However, when we investigate a complaint, for example, we will need to share personal information with the organisation concerned.
Links to other websites
This privacy notice does not cover the links within this site linking to other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.
Changes to this privacy notice
We keep our privacy notice under regular review. This privacy notice was last updated on 21 March 2018.
How to contact us
If you want to request more information about our privacy policy you can email us or write to:
HR Initiatives Limited
PO Box 501, The Nexus Building
Broadway
Letchworth Garden City
Hertfordshire