Job applicant privacy policy

As part of its standard recruitment process, Williams  collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. Williams is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.

What information does Williams  collect?

Williams collects a range of information about you. This includes:

  • your name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number;
  • details of your qualifications, skills, experience and employment history;
  • information about your current level of remuneration, including benefit entitlements;
  • whether or not you have a disability for which Williams needs to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process;
  • information about your entitlement to work in the UK; and
  • equal opportunities monitoring information, including information about your ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health and religion or belief
  • qualifications and licence to drive whilst at work

Williams collects and consolidates this information in a variety of ways. For example, data might be contained in application forms, CVs or resumes, obtained from your passport or other identity documents, or collected through interviews or other forms of assessment.

Williams will also collect personal data about you from third parties, such as references supplied by former employers and information from employment background check providers. We may also seek information from third parties only once a job offer to you has been made and will inform you that it is doing so.

Data will be stored and protected in a range of different systems and locations, including on your application record, in HR management systems and on other IT systems (including email).

Why does Williams process personal data?

We need to process data to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you. It also needs to process your data to enter into a contract with you.

In some cases, Williams needs to process data to ensure that it is complying with its legal obligations. For example, it is required to check a successful applicant’s eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts.

Williams has a legitimate interest in processing personal data during the recruitment process and for keeping records of the process. 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. Williams may also need to process data from job applicants to respond to and defend against legal claims.

Williams processes health information if it needs to make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process for candidates who have a disability. This is to carry out its obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.

Where Williams processes other special categories of data, such as information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health or religion or belief, this is for equal opportunities monitoring purposes.

For some roles, Williams is obliged to seek information about criminal convictions and offences. Where Williams seeks this information, it does so because it is necessary for it to carry out its obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.

If your application is unsuccessful, Williams will keep your personal data on file in case there are future employment opportunities for which you may be suited. Williams will ask for your consent before it keeps your data for this purpose and you are free to withdraw your consent at any time.

Who has access to data?

Your information will be shared internally for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes members of the HR and recruitment team, interviewers involved in the recruitment process, managers in the business area with a vacancy and IT staff have access to the data as is necessary for the performance of their roles.

We will not share your data with third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and it makes you an offer of employment. Williams will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you and employment background check providers to obtain necessary background checks.

Williams will not transfer your data outside the EEA region.

How does Williams protect data?

We take the security and integrity of of your data seriously. It has internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by our employees in the proper performance of their duties.

For how long does Williams keep data?

If you agree to allow us to keep your personal data on file, Williams will hold your data on file for a further 6 months for consideration for future employment opportunities. At the end of that period or once you withdraw your consent, your data is deleted or destroyed.

If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your personnel file and retained during your employment. The periods for which your data will be held will be provided to you in a employee privacy notice.

Your rights

As a data subject, you have several rights.

You can:

  • request access and obtain a copy of your data;
  • request Williams to change incorrect or incomplete data;
  • request Williams to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing;
  • object to the processing of your data where Williams is relying on its legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing; and
  • ask Williams to stop processing data for a period if data is inaccurate or there is a dispute about whether or not your interests override Williams legitimate grounds for processing data.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact [email protected]

If you believe that Williams has not complied with your data protection rights, you can complain to the Information Commissioner https://ico.org.uk/

What if you do not provide personal data?

You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide data to Williams during the recruitment process. However, if you do not provide certain information, Williams may not be able to process your application adequately or even at all.

Automated decision-making

Williams rely on automated decision-making on submission of an on-line recruitment application regarding specific roles.

An example includes the requirement of an individual holding a full UK driving licence for any role that requires capability to drive in the United Kingdom as part of their work.

Williams have a duty of care to employees to ensure they are fit to and allowed to drive for work.

Where proof of a full driving licence is required, Williams will pursue a licence sharing request via the applicant and DVLA under the approved process. More information is available here https://www.gov.uk/check-driving-information

This privacy notice will be updated from time to time in order to update statements and explain their relevance to automated decision making. Such updates will be made as and when changes occur