Job application privacy notice

Please ensure that you read this privacy notice (including the Appendix applicable to you) and any other privacy notices we may provide to you from time to time when we collect or process personal data about you through the application process.

ICAEW is the controller for the Personal Data collected from individuals who apply for jobs with ICAEW ("job applicants") unless this is stated otherwise. ICAEW is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) with registration number (Z5765897). In this privacy notice, references to ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’ mean ICAEW. You can contact ICAEW in a number of ways as follows:

• Email: dataprotection@icaew.com
• Post: The Data Protection Office, ICAEW, Metropolitan House, 321 Avebury Boulevard, Milton Keynes, MK9 2FZ UK
• Telephone: +44 (0)1908 248 250

Personal Data is any information which directly or indirectly identifies an individual, for example, your name, address, membership and/or student number, NI number, qualifications, date of birth, photos, videos or voice recordings.

Special categories of personal data are a set of personal data that we are required to look after even more carefully. Subject to the relevant data protection law, special categories of personal data may include details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data. In limited circumstances, we collect special categories of personal data about you through the application process, for example, we may collect details of your health data to ensure that we can make reasonable adjustments for you.

We may also collect information about your criminal convictions and offences which is another type of information that we need to look after very carefully. This happens where we are required to do so for legal or regulatory purposes, for example recruiting into regulatory areas.

You give us your personal data in your direct interactions with us as part of the recruitment process for example by completing an application form, submitting your CV, through interviews, meetings or other assessments.

We also collect personal data from other sources as set out below.

You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide Personal Data to us during the recruitment process. However, if you do not provide us with your Personal Data we will not be able to process your application properly or at all. To create an account, only name and email address is required, all other fields are optional.

Processing data from job applicants allows us to manage the recruitment process, assess and confirm a candidate's suitability for employment and decide to whom to offer a job. In order to comply with data protection laws, we need a lawful basis to process your Personal Data. Subject to the relevant data protection law, we may use the following lawful bases to obtain and use your Personal Data.

Performance of a Contract – We need to process your Personal Data to take steps at your request, prior to entering into a potential employment contract with you.

Legal or Regulatory Obligation – In some cases, we need to process data to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation which we are subject to.

Legitimate Interest – Where processing the Personal Data is in our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) provided that your fundamental rights do not override such interests. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process data for our legitimate interests

Consent – Where we collect and process your Personal Data in some cases, including where we collect and process special category Personal Data, such as information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health or religion, in order to maintain and promote equal opportunities within the workplace. Personal Data used for these purposes is collected with the explicit consent of applicants, which can be withdrawn at any time. Applicants are free to decide whether or not to provide such Personal Data and there are no consequences for failing to provide, or withdrawing the consent to collection of, such Personal Data, unless such Personal Data is strictly necessary for a certain purpose and consent is the only legal basis for us to process it.

The tables below describe the ways in which we use your personal data and the legal bases we rely on to do so, subject to the relevant data protection law. Where appropriate we have also set out our legitimate interests in processing your personal data. Table A covers the Personal Data we collect and hold up to the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process. By the term shortlisting we mean any part of the recruitment process which takes place up to the point where a conditional offer of employment is made.

Table B covers the Personal Data we collect and hold before making a final decision to recruit (i.e. making any offer of employment unconditional).

Table A: Personal Data collected and used up to and including the shortlisting stage

Table B: personal data collected and used before making a final decision to recruit

Subject to the relevant law, you are required by law, or in order to enter into your contract of employment, to provide us with the information in Table B to enable us to verify your right to work and suitability for the position.

Where the information we process is special category data such as your health data, subject to the relevant data protection law, the additional bases for processing that we rely on may include:

1. Where you have provided ICAEW with your explicit consent to the processing.
2. Where processing is necessary in relation to carrying out our obligations and exercising our rights as your employer.
3. Where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.

We keep Personal Data that we obtain about you during the recruitment process for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed, except as otherwise required or permitted by law. How long we keep your information will depend on whether your application is successful and you become employed by us, the nature of the information concerned and the purposes for which it is processed.

We will keep recruitment information (including interview notes) for no longer than is reasonable, taking into account the limitation periods for potential claims such as race or sex discrimination (as extended to take account of early conciliation), after which they will be destroyed. If there is a clear business or legal reason for keeping recruitment records for longer than the recruitment period, we may do so but will first consider whether the records can be pseudonymised, and the longer period for which they will be kept.

If your application is successful, we will keep only the recruitment information that is necessary in relation to your employment. You will be provided with a copy of our Employee Privacy Notice before entering into your contract of employment.

If we make you an offer of employment we will then share your data with the following:

1. The referees you have provided in order to obtain references for you.
2. ICAEW may share your personal data with third-party processors who provide services to the organisation. These services include:
   
   • Recruitment agencies;
   • Right to Work check agencies;

3. We may share your personal data with organisations where we have a legal obligation, contract or other legitimate interest to do so, subject to the relevant data protection law, including:
   
   • Building landlords and facilities management organisations (CCTV and access control systems);

4. We do not share personal data of job applicants with any joint controllers.

Your Personal Data may be transferred to other third-party organisations in certain scenarios in accordance with law:

1. If we are discussing a merger or acquisition, Personal Data may be transferred to respective third parties under suitable terms as to confidentiality;
2. If we are reorganised or sold, Personal Data may be transferred to a buyer who can continue to provide services to you;
3. If we are required to by law, or under any regulatory code or practice we follow, or if we are asked by any public or regulatory authority, for example the Police, we may need to share your Personal Data; or
4. If we are investigating or defending any legal claims your Personal Data may be transferred as required in connection with defending such investigations and/or claims.

Your personal data may be transferred to countries outside of your country, the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA). For example, your Personal Data may be shared with one of our overseas offices if necessary or where you provide ICAEW with an international referee. Where data is transferred outside of your country, the UK and the EEA, it is done so on the basis of appropriate safeguards, for example binding corporate rules, model clauses or a declaration of adequacy.

In some cases, we or our suppliers may need to process Personal Data outside your country, the EEA and/or the UK. Where this is the case we will only share the minimal amount of Personal Data necessary for the purpose of processing and, where possible, we will share the Personal Data in an anonymised form.

Whenever we transfer your Personal Data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

1. We will only transfer your Personal Data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for Personal Data by the UK;
2. Where we use certain processors, we may use specific contracts approved by the UK which give Personal Data the same protection it has within the UK. When we rely on this measure we will ensure that the third-party can comply with the provision of such contracts and we have confirmed that the country to which the Personal Data is transferred has adequate data protection laws in place to protect Personal Data.

Please contact us at dataprotection@icaew.com if you would like further information about the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your Personal Data.

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent Personal Data from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your Personal Data to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your Personal Data will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Under the relevant data protection law, you may have rights including:

1. Your right of access – You have the right to request access to, or ask us for copies of, your Personal Data.
2. Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to rectify Personal Data you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete Personal Data you think is incomplete.
3. Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to erase your Personal Data in certain circumstances.
4. Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your Personal Data in certain circumstances.
5. Your right to object to processing – You have the right to object to the processing of your Personal Data in certain circumstances.
6. Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the Personal Data you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
7. Rights related to automated decision making, including profiling -You have the right to ask for explanations on a decision based on automated processing that may significantly affect you, and the right not to be subjected to a decision based solely on automated processing (including profiling) which may significantly affect you. We do not make any employment decisions, solely using automated decision making technologies.

In most cases we will deal with your request as soon as possible and at the latest within one calendar month of the request, subject to the relevant data protection law. If we need to extend the time period for responding to your request, we will let you know within the period. We do not charge a fee for any such requests, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If you wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact our Data Protection Office via email using dataprotection@icaew.com

If you have any concerns about the Personal Data we use about you, you have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues, by contacting them at www.ico.org.uk, or the relevant data protection authority of your country as mentioned in the applicable Appendix. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO or the relevant data protection authority, so please feel free to contact us in the first instance via email using dataprotection@icaew.com.

This Appendix applies to individuals who reside in the People's Republic of China (for the purposes of this privacy notice, excluding Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan) (China).

This Appendix supplements the main body of this privacy notice should be read together with the main body. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between this Appendix and the main body of this privacy notice, this Appendix shall prevail.

Legal basis for processing your Personal Data

We process your Personal Data for the purposes mentioned in the main body of this privacy notice with your consent or as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law (e.g. where the processing is necessary for concluding or performing a contract with you, where the processing is necessary to perform legal obligations, etc.).

Processing of your Personal Data upon the expiry of the relevant retention period

We will irreversibly destroy or anonymize your Personal Data upon the expiry of the relevant retention period in a way that prevents that information from being restored or reconstructed.

Sensitive Personal Data

Sensitive Personal Data is Personal Data that, once leaked or illegally used, may easily cause the personal dignity of a natural person to be infringed or his/her personal or property security to be endangered. It includes data related to biometrics, religious belief, specific identity, medical health, financial account and location tracking, the Personal Data of a minor under the age of 14 (Minor Personal Data), as well as government issued ID information. The sensitive Personal Data about you we process may include certain Identity Data (such as information related to identification documents and marital status), Criminal Offence Data, Equal Opportunities Data, Health Data and certain Nationality and Immigration Data (such as Visa and Passport Information). We only process your sensitive Personal Data where such processing is strictly necessary for the relevant purposes identified in the main body of this privacy notice. Our processing of your sensitive Personal Data will adhere to the safeguards mandated by applicable laws and regulations. However, depending on the specific type of sensitive Personal Data involved, such processing may result in various impacts, including potential harm to your reputation, property, or personal safety in the event of a data breach.

We will not knowingly collect or process Minor Personal Data except with consent of the parent or guardian or as otherwise permitted by law. When we collect or process Minor Personal Data, we will process such data in accordance with the safeguards set out in applicable laws and regulations.

If you are a parent or guardian who believes that we collect or process any Minor Personal Data of your child without your consent or would like to erase, correct, or exercise any other right regarding any Minor Personal Data of your child, or have inquiries or complaints about how we process Minor Personal Data, please contact our Data Protection Office, which is in charge of protection of Minor Personal Data, through the means mentioned in the main body of this privacy notice.

Sharing of your Personal Data

With your express consent where required, we may share your Personal Data with third parties as described in the main body of this privacy notice.

Overseas transfer of your Personal Data

As ICAEW operates globally, with your express consent where required, we may transfer your Personal Data outside of China, including to the UK and other jurisdictions where we, our service providers and other relevant third parties conduct business. In particular, your Personal Data may be transferred to our office in the UK for our storage and processing in accordance with this privacy notice.

Your additional rights

Besides the rights listed in the "Your Rights" section in the main body of the privacy notice, you also have the following rights:

1. Your right to deregister your account – You can request to deregister your account with us. However, if you deregister your account, we may not be able to process your application properly or at all.
2. Your right to withdraw your consent – You can withdraw your consent to our processing of certain Personal Data about you when we rely on your consent for such processing. Please note that your withdrawal may lead to certain consequences (e.g. our failure to process your application properly or at all) if such processing is strictly necessary for a certain purpose and consent is the only legal basis for our processing.

Inquiries or complaints

If you have any requests to exercise rights, inquiries or concerns about the Personal Data we use about you, please contact us at china@icaew.com. You also have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Cybersecurity Administration of China (CAC) or its local counterparts.

This Appendix applies to individuals who reside in the Republic of Singapore. It supplements and should be read together with the main section of this privacy notice. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between this Appendix and the main body of this privacy notice, this Appendix shall prevail.

Consent

We will collect, use or disclose your Personal Data for purposes which you have provided your consent which can be express, deemed or by notification, unless exempted, in accordance with Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act (2012) and its regulations (PDPA). Where we have collected, used or disclosed your personal data based on consent, you may withdraw consent with reasonable notice, and we will inform you of the likely consequences of the withdrawal.

Purpose limitation & notification

We will only collect, use or disclose Personal Data for the purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate under the given circumstances and for which you have given consent (unless exempted by law).

Accuracy, access & correction

We will make reasonable effort to ensure that your Personal Data collected is accurate and complete. You have right to access Personal Data which we hold about you, request a copy of that information and details of what we have done with that information (i.e., how long we kept it for and to whom we disclosed it) within a year before your request.

You have a right to request us to correct your Personal Data where it is inaccurate or out of date. We will make the necessary corrections as soon as practicable and send the corrected data to other organisations to which your Personal Data was disclosed pursuant to this privacy notice within a year before the correction was made.

Retention limitation

We will cease retention of your Personal Data or dispose of it in a proper manner if it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and we have no other legal ground for processing the data, or if the collection, use or disclosure of your Personal Data was based on consent and the consent has been withdrawn.

Transfer limitation

For international transfers (i.e., a cross-border disclosure) of your Personal Data from Singapore to overseas, we will put in place contractual measures to ensure the overseas recipients process your personal data in accordance with our instructions and have in place technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data with a level of protection comparable to the protection under the PDPA.

Data breach notification

We will notify you of any data breach that is or is likely to be of significant scale, or results in or is likely to result in significant harm to you.

Data portability

Where required by law, at your request, we will transmit your Personal Data that is in our possession or under our control, to another organisation in a commonly used, machine readable format.

Inquiries or complaints

If you have any requests to exercise rights, inquiries or concerns about the Personal Data we use about you, please contact our Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@icaew.com. If we are unable to help you, you may contact Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission (http://www.pdpc.gov.sg).