The General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 protect each of us as individuals, because they stop organisations using our personal data that we’re unhappy with, or didn’t even know about. They also put a responsibility on these companies to keep any data they hold about us up-to-date and secure.
Your rights
In the course of our working relationship, we will collect, store and use data about you. Your data helps us to employ you, pay you, contact you, provide a service to you, meet our contractual obligations to you, meet our legal obligations as an employer and improve our services. We have a comprehensive, transparent privacy policy which explains what this all means in practice.
We also wish to highlight that during the course of your employment, your recruitment agencies and workplaces will collect, store and use your personal data. This includes data that we share with your agency about you. We recommend that you read the privacy policy belonging to any organisation that holds your personal data, so you can understand what they’re doing with it and why. They should give this information to you, but it will usually also be available on their website.
Your responsibilities
Personal data
In the course of your duties, it’s likely that you will gain access to personal data belonging to other people. For example, customers or staff at your workplaces. At times this may include very sensitive data, such as in a medical or school setting.
Personal data is any information about an individual that could identify them, either directly or indirectly. It includes everything from names and addresses to allergy information and exam results.
While you’re working as our employee, you have a responsibility to protect any personal data that you have access to in the course of your assignment duties. You must follow these rules:
- Only attempt to access or view personal data when you are specifically instructed to do so by us, your recruitment agency or your workplace.
- Use personal data only for the purposes of carrying out tasks that you have specifically been asked to do as part of your assignment duties.
- Do not disclose personal data to anyone else, except when authorised to do so (e.g. because it’s part of your duties or for safeguarding reasons).
- Do not make copies of personal data unless authorised to do so.
- Do not remove personal data from the premises, unless authorised to do so.
- Comply with the privacy polices of your recruitment agencies and workplaces. For the purposes of data protection, act as if you were an employee of their organisation.
- Follow our computer, internet and email policy to help prevent virus infections.
You may be committing a criminal offence if you deliberately try to access or disclose data without authority. If you have any concerns or are unsure about what’s expected of you, please contact us.
Confidential and sensitive information
In the course of your duties, it’s likely that you will learn confidential or sensitive information about your recruitment agency or workplace. For example, details about their operating methods, processes, technology systems, training and development procedures, trade secrets, the identity and affairs of their customers or potential customers.
You must not disclose this information to anyone else unless required by law. You must not make use of this information other than to perform the duties of your assignment. These rules apply both during and after your assignment.
These rules apply equally to anything that you invent or develop in connection with your assignment that could reasonably be considered confidential.
At the end of each assignment, you must return all documents and materials that belong to the recruitment agency or workplace, such as equipment, security passes, access codes, electronic storage devices and keys. This includes any documents or materials that were created by you during your assignment.
Unless instructed to do so, do not make copies of any documents or materials that belong to your recruitment agency or workplace.