Employee and worker

To manage individuals’ employment with the Link group of organisations, Link collects and processes the following information about you:

• your title, forename, middle names, surname, previous surnames, preferred names, pronouns, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number, date of birth and gender; 
• details of your applications for positions which you have held and their associated terms and conditions of employment during your employment/contract for service; 
• details of your qualifications, professional memberships, skills, experience and employment/contract for service history including start and end dates with previous employers and Link; 
• information about your remuneration, including entitlement to benefits such as pensions, life assurance cover and to administer any flexible benefits you may have accessed; 
• details of your bank account, national insurance number and Link personnel reference number; 
• information about your next of kin and emergency contacts; 
• information about your nationality and right to work in the UK including any legal restrictions; 
• information on criminal convictions or offences as appropriate to the level of disclosure check from Disclosure Scotland as required by legislation. For more information, please refer to the Disclosure Scotland website and helpline.
• details of your work schedule (days of work and working hours) and attendance at work; 
• details of periods leave taken by you, including but not limited to holiday, sickness absence, family leave and career breaks, and the reason for the leave; 
• details of any disciplinary, grievance, dignity at work, capability hearings (performance and/or attendance improvement) in which you have been involved, including any warnings issued to you and related correspondence; 
• assessments of your performance, including appraisals, performance reviews, training you have participated in, performance improvement plans and related correspondence; 
• information about medical or health conditions, including whether or not you have a disability for which the organisation has considered making reasonable adjustments; 
• details of union membership for example as a Staff Representative, if you request to be accompanied by a Union representative or if you request union subscriptions to be deducted from payroll; 
• based on the requirements of the post you may require to hold a driving licence and if necessary have access to a roadworthy vehicle with the required insurance to drive for business purposes. If this is the case then your details will be provided to a third party to undertake these checks on our behalf; 
• based on the legal requirement of the post or post(s), you may be required to be a member of the Disclosure Scotland PVG Scheme whilst in post including updates every three years;
• based on the legal requirement of the post or post(s), or if Link has determined that it is a role where; you would have contact with customers, tenants, service users, or members of the public on a 1-1 basis, there is a contractual requirement for the service area to have a disclosure check, you would have access to sensitive financial or personal information, you would have access to critical organisational infrastructure, or the ability to engage in fraudulent behaviour that would pose a significant risk, you may be required to complete a Disclosure Scotland criminal record and disclosure check at the time of appointment and every three years thereafter for the duration of your appointment to the post; 
• a photograph of you is stored within the HR & Payroll system for identification purposes, for the staff intranet and organisational chart, and to generate an identification badge; 
• photographs of you and work related events such as achievements and awards with your consent may be published on our internal intranet and/or external website;   
• for certain roles, Link may use your work and personal contact details for emergency use for on-call, standby and business/service continuity purposes;
• with your consent, information on equal opportunities monitoring information which is not needed for the purposes of managing the employment relationship so it is optional for you to provide. 
• If you work or visit one of Link’s premises then you may be recorded on our CCTV recordings;
• If you make or receive a telephone call using Link’s external voice communication system, Link may record it.  Recording customer conversations allows Link to assess customer satisfaction, train and develop staff, review call quality, and have access to a verbal record of what is said in the event of a subsequent complaint. It may also mean employees and workers feel more protected knowing that any threatening behaviour can be evidenced and acted upon where necessary.
• For certain roles, Link may use external software to monitor the duration of work undertaken for clients to enable accurate and automation of billable hours.
• The reason(s) for you leaving the organisation.

Link needs to process data to enter into an employment contract with you and to meet its obligations under your employment contract/contract for service. For example, Link needs to process your data to provide you with an employment contract, to pay you in accordance with your employment contract and to administer benefit, pension and entitlements. 

In some cases, Link needs to process data to ensure that it is complying with its legal obligations. For example, it is required to check an employee's entitlement to work in the UK, to deduct tax, to comply with health and safety laws, regulation and to enable employees to take periods of leave to which they are entitled. For certain positions, it is necessary to carry out criminal records checks to ensure that individuals are permitted to undertake the role in question. 

In other cases, Link has a legitimate interest in processing personal data before, during and after the end of your employment. You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data. 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.     

Processing employee and worker data allows Link to: 

• facilitate recruitment and selection processes; 
• maintain accurate and up-to-date employment records and contact details (including details of who to contact in the event of an emergency), and records of employee and worker contractual and statutory rights; 
• operate and keep a record of disciplinary, grievance and dignity at work processes, to ensure acceptable conduct within the workplace; 
• operate and keep a record of employee and worker performance and related processes, to plan for career development, and for succession planning and workforce management purposes; 
• operate and keep a record of absence and absence management procedures, to allow effective workforce management and ensure that employees and workers are receiving the pay or other benefits to which they are entitled; 
• obtain occupational health advice, to ensure that it complies with duties in relation to individuals with disabilities, meet its obligations under health and safety law, and ensure that employees and workers are receiving the pay or other benefits to which they are entitled; 
• operate and keep a record of other types of leave (including but not limited to maternity, paternity, adoption, parental and shared parental leave), to allow effective workforce management, to ensure that the organisation complies with duties in relation to leave entitlement, and to ensure that employees and workers are receiving the pay or other benefits to which they are entitled;  
• ensure effective general HR and business administration; 
• provide references on request for current or former employees and workers; 
• respond to and defend against legal claims; and 
• maintain and promote equality in the workplace. 

The majority of information that we store and process about you is provided directly by yourself, typically through the following methods:

• Application forms and CV’s
• Identity documents (such as passports, driving license, work visa)
• Forms completed you at the start or during your employment
• Information submitted by you, your line manager, or Human Resources into our HR systems (such our HR and Payroll System, our appraisal process, our lone worker system)
• Interviews, meeting notes and other assessments
• Occupational Health Referrals

If required for your role, we may also receive information about you via, or provide information to, third parties for the following reasons:

• Link provides remuneration, benefits and expense reimbursement services to you and is legally required to provide records to regulatory bodies as required; 
• Based on the requirements of the post you may require a driving licence and if necessary have access to a roadworthy vehicle with the required insurance to drive for business purposes. If this is the case then your details will be provided to a third party to undertake these checks on our behalf;  
• Based on the requirements of the post, Link may need to validate that you have the required qualifications and/or professional memberships from the issuing body in circumstances e.g. Scottish Social Services Council;   
• Link may pass on your personal details and details of any reasonable adjustments or dietary requirements to third party training providers or online training systems providers ensuring that you receive the required training to undertake your post safely, legally and competently;  
• Link may provide your work details to third parties to facilitate the assessment or reaccreditation process of professional corporate and employer accreditations, certifications and memberships.  
• Link may be required to provide your employment data to third parties under TUPE legislation;  
• Link may seek legal advice on employment or may be required to contact the appropriate authorities on any other employment related matter as appropriate, including but not limited to; recovery of monies, company property, disputes and employment related correspondence. This may be applied to both current or former employees and workers.
• For certain roles, Link is legally required to make employer disclosures/referrals to the following third party organisations, such as: 
• Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC): employers have responsibilities which are set out in the SSSC Code of Practice for Employers of Social Service Workers and the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001. This includes but is not limited to:  
  • Referral to the SSSC fitness to practice service in relation to your conduct or professional practice where it is believed to be or may be impaired; 
  • Dismissing the social service worker on grounds of misconduct, or on the social worker resigning or abandoning the worker’s position in circumstances where, but resignation or abandonment the worker i) would have been dismissed on the grounds of misconduct, or ii) dismissal on such grounds would have been considered by the employer; and/or  
  • Providing the SSSC with information on the social services worker as the SSSC may require when exercising its functions. 
• Disclosure Scotland: as a provider of “regulated work”, as defined by Schedules 2 and 3 of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007, Link are legally obliged in certain circumstances (known as referral grounds) to submit referrals on individuals to Disclosure Scotland. The legal requirement to refer is contained with section 9 of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 and part V of the Police Act 1997, a legislative framework which is the means by which information is disclosed for employment purposes in Scotland for those people not covered by the PVG scheme. Link complies with the Disclosure Scotland Code of Practice in the use, storage, retention and destruction of disclosure information.
  • Link will use disclosure information only for the purpose for which it was requested and provided. Link will not share disclosure information with a third party unless the subject has given their written consent and has been made aware of the purpose of the sharing.
  • Link does not keep disclosure information for longer than necessary. This will likely be the date the relevant decision has been taken, allowing for the resolution of any disputes or complaints and/or the date an individual ceases to do regulated work for Link. 
  • Link will not retain any paper or electronic image of the disclosure information. Link will record the date of issue, the renewal date, the individual’s name, the disclosure type and the purpose for which it was requested, the unique reference number of the disclosure and details of our decision. 
  • Link ensures that disclosure information is destroyed in a secure manner i.e. by shredding or deletion of electronic images or records. We will ensure that disclosure information which is awaiting destruction will be kept in a secure locked cabinet.
• Link may disclose certain data to internal or external auditors as it relates to the scope of the audit; 
• If you work or visit one of Link’s premises then you may be recorded on our CCTV recordings; 
• If you are employed within a role as a lone worker then Link uses technology to monitor your location whilst at work to provide adequate support and supervision to manage any risk to your health and safety;  
• With your written consent, Link will provide references to prospective employers. Please refer to Link’s Employment Reference Policy for more information;  
• For certain roles, Link is obligated to provide additional information to prospective employers under legislative requirements when it relates to a person’s suitability to work in social services as determined by professional bodies including the Care Inspectorate, Scottish Social Services Council, etc. Link is legally obligated to provide accurate and appropriate references to share information relating to a person’s suitability to work in social services, which may include issues of safety (previous disciplinary issues, dismissals, demotions) and any competencies which may be difficult to address though a selection process (e.g. team working; tenacity; adherence to regulatory codes of practice); 
• Link may receive requests from third parties to make lawful deductions from your pay including but not limited to; HMRC, Child Support Agency, Student Loans, DWP, Solicitors with Court Orders and Sequestration Orders, Debt Collection Agencies, Union membership deductions.  
• Link may provide your information to legal advisors, debt collection agencies or Scottish Courts in order to seek recovery of monies owed.
• Link may be required in extenuating circumstances to provide the minimum information on staff to regulators, Government bodies and agencies and contracting agents in reports, notifiable events or incident reporting/investigations as required by legislation and/or the contracts for service. In considering these requests the release of the information will be carefully considered.    
• Link will not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area. 

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

Personal data

• Your consent.
• We have a contractual obligation.
• We have a legal obligation.
• We have a vital interest.
• We need it to perform a public task.
• We have a legitimate interest.

Special category data

• Explicit consent
• Employment, social security and social protection (if authorised by law)
• Vital interests
• Not-for-profit bodies
• Made public by the data subject
• Legal claims or judicial acts
• Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)
• Health or social care (with a basis in law)
• Public health (with a basis in law)
• Archiving, research and statistics (with a basis in law)

Data will be stored securely and confidentially in a range of different places, including on your online careers portal account, application record, in Link management systems and on other IT systems (including email and SharePoint), occupational health provider’s portal and in secured locked cabinets within the HR Department. 

We review our data retention periods regularly and will only hold your personal data for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as required by law (we may be legally required to hold some types of information), or as set out in any relevant contract we have with you.

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

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

You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.

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 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.