Information that we collect and use about you
The University collects and uses the following personal information about members of staff.
(Please note that we do not hold all categories of personal information for all individuals, and the list may not be exhaustive.)
- Your personal details: your title, name, gender, marital status and date of birth
- Equalities information: your ethnic origin, religious belief, sexual orientation and any disabilities, impairment or long-term physical or mental health condition
- Your personal and work contact details: postal addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers
- Your next-of-kin and emergency contact details
- Your education, previous employment, professional qualifications, curriculum vitae and references
- Your immigration status, right to work documentation and previous addresses
- Your job title(s), job role, contractual entitlements and obligations
- Your remuneration, deductions, pension arrangements, National Insurance number and bank account details
- Your work objectives and activities, training, work-related travel and expenses, performance and conduct
- Your research interests and publications
- Your promotion applications, references and outcomes
- Your use of University buildings and IT facilities
- Your Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) membership information and relevant criminal convictions
- Leave you have requested and taken
- Information your occupational health, health surveillance and sickness
- Your membership of the General Council
- Audio and visual recordings for the purpose of minute taking and transcripts where appropriate.
We collect this information from you during the recruitment process and during your employment.
We will continue to retain equalities information after the deletion of your personal details for the purpose of equality monitoring: this information is anonymised to protect your privacy. This data may also be used in pseudonymised form, for research purposes.
We also receive the following personal information about you from these sources:
- References from the referees you cite in recruitment and promotion applications
- Your tax status and National Insurance number from HM Revenue & Customs
- Your pension scheme membership from the University’s pension scheme providers
- Your training and development records from our external training partners
- Your work commitments with NHS Grampian
- Your PVG membership record and any updates from Disclosure Scotland
Why we process this information, and our lawful basis
We collect and use your personal information for the purposes of staff employment and development, staff health and safety, staff communications, staff equality and diversity, the provision of teaching, the promotion of research, the administration of the University. To this end, staff personal data and statistical information are collated for monitoring and review and research purposes.
There are several lawful bases on which the University routinely processes your personal information. These are:
- to fulfil the University’s contractual relationship with you
- to comply with our legal obligations under equalities, health and safety, immigration, safeguarding and higher education governance legislation
- in the employment of staff for the University’s statutory powers to provide teaching, promote research and administer the University.
- To fulfil the University’s public task; part of which is to undertake research
Disclosing your information
The University routines shares your personal information in the following ways:
- to comply with our legal obligation to provide information to the Higher Education Statistics Authority on behalf of the Scottish Funding Council. The ways in which HESA handles your personal information is described in their privacy notice.
- to comply with our legal obligations as a licensed sponsor of employment visas to provide information to the UK Government.
- to comply with our legal obligations to provide relevant information about conduct in the workplace to Disclosure Scotland and professional regulatory bodies.
- to provide information to the University’s pension scheme providers to administer your pension scheme membership.
- to enable the Occupational Health Service and our other health and safety consultants to assess and monitor your fitness for work, and to undertake health surveillance.
- to co-operate with academic and research partners, or to inform funding bodies, media organisations and the public, about the University’s teaching, research and publication activities.
- to contribute to benchmarking and research in employment services by the Universities & Colleges Educational Association and other external training and staff development companies.
- to share limited information with funding bodies to fulfil the conditions of funding grants. We may be obliged to notify them about allegations of and investigations into research misconduct, bullying and harassment involving University staff.
The third party suppliers we use for IT support and training also have access to your personal information in order to provide these services to the University.
We may disclose personal information to other recipients in exceptional circumstances or when required to do so by law.
We will transfer your personal information to countries and organisations outside the European Union where necessary for you to fulfil your overseas work commitments for the University.
How long your information is kept
The University retains the register of members of the General Council and a core record of staff in perpetuity.
We retain your other personal information,
- whilst the information is relevant to your employment at the University, and
- for a period that allows for the exercise or defence of legal claims, and
- in accordance with codes of practice for the University’s role as a licensed sponsor of employment visas and a registered employer with Disclosure Scotland, and
- to meet statutory requirements to retain information about the health and safety of staff.