How Alfred University uses employee/applicant information (GDPR Information Privacy Statement)

This page provides information about the use of personal information while you are a member of staff, worker, consultant, volunteer, affiliated lecturer or academic visitor at Alfred University. As a member of staff (or equivalent) you also have certain legal and contractual responsibilities to protect the personal information of other people (e.g. other employees, students, research participants) by handling it appropriately; relevant policies and guidance are available at: ITS Guidelines and Policies

What is 'personal information'?

'Personal information' means any information which relates to or identifies you as an individual.

Who will process my personal information?

The information published here applies to the use, sharing and disclosure of your personal information by Alfred University.

What personal information will be processed?

Alfred University will keep a record of the details you provided on your application form, any supporting documents requested and additional details provided by any reference and recorded following any interview process. We will maintain various administrative and financial records about your employment at Alfred, and about your use of the academic and non-academic facilities and services that we offer. Where relevant, we may supplement these records with personal data from the public domain (e.g. your publications) or other sources.

Your personal information is created, stored and transmitted securely in a variety of paper and electronic formats. Access to your personal information is limited to staff who have a legitimate interest in it for the purpose of carrying out their contractual duties.

In addition to this, the University may process some information about you that is classed as 'sensitive' or 'special category' personal data, and which requires additional protections. This includes information concerning your health/disability for planning and monitoring purposes, or in order to provide care, help or suitable adjustments. For certain roles, other sensitive information may be processed, such as information about past criminal convictions, working with children or vulnerable adults, and your fitness to practice in certain regulated professions. Access to, and the sharing of, your 'sensitive' personal data are controlled very carefully.

What is the purpose and legal basis of the processing?

The University will process your personal information for a range of contractual, statutory or public interest purposes, including the following:

1. To assess your suitability for a particular role or task (including any relevant right to work checks)
2. To support you in implementing any health-related adjustments to allow you to carry out a particular role or task
3. Where relevant, to monitor, evaluate and support your teaching and research
4. To administer remuneration, payroll, pension and other standard employment functions
5. To administer HR–related processes, including those relating to performance/absence management, disciplinary issues and complaints/grievances
6. To operate security, governance (including conflicts/declarations of interest), audit and quality assurance processes and arrangements
7. To deliver IT facilities to you
8. To deliver facilities services and staff benefits to you, and where appropriate to monitor your use of those benefits/services in accordance with University policies
9. To communicate effectively with you by post, email and phone, including the distribution of relevant newsletters
10. To support your training, health, safety, and welfare
11. To compile statistics and conduct surveys and research for internal and statutory reporting purposes
12. To fulfill and monitor our responsibilities under equalities, immigration and public safety legislation
13. To enable us to contact others in the event of an emergency

We consider the processing of your personal information for these purposes to be either necessary for the performance of our contractual obligations with you (e.g. to manage your employment contract), or necessary for compliance with a legal obligation (e.g. the administration of taxes), or necessary for the performance of tasks we carry out in the public interest (e.g. non–statutory reporting or research). We require you to provide us with any information we reasonably ask for to enable us to administer your contract.

Who will my personal information be shared with? Your personal information is shared as permitted or required by law, on a considered and confidential basis, with a range of external organizations, including the following:

1. Prospective and actual research funders, sponsors or collaborators
2. The external providers of any staff benefits or pensions
3. Relevant government departments or agencies
4. On occasion and where necessary, the police and other law enforcement agencies
5. On occasion and where necessary, auditors
6. On occasion and where necessary, subsidiary companies of Alfred University
7. Companies or organizations providing specific services to, or on behalf of, the University
8. We will provide references about you to external enquirers or organizations where you have requested or indicated that we should do so
9. We will include your basic contact details in our online directory. Some Departments expect staff to maintain a publicly available personal profile or webpage.

Other than as set out above, we will not normally publish or disclose any personal information about you to other external enquirers or organizations unless you have requested it or consented to it, or unless it is in your vital interests to do so (e.g. in an emergency situation).

How can I access my personal information?

You have the right to access the personal information that is held about you by the University. If you have further questions, you can contact Human Resources in Greene Hall.

You also have the right to ask us to correct any inaccurate personal information we hold about you, to delete personal information, or otherwise restrict our processing, or to object to processing or to receive an electronic copy of the personal information you provided to us. Please note that all of these rights are qualified in various ways.

How long is my information kept?

We store your personal information as part of your staff record for the duration of your employment. After you leave, certain records pertaining to your employment are retained indefinitely so that the details of your employment can be confirmed and for statistical or historical research.

Whom can I contact?

If you have any questions about how your personal information is used, or wish to exercise any of your rights, please consult with Human Resources.