EmploymentCheck Privacy Notice

Last updated July 2025

This Privacy Notice will be reviewed on a regular basis or when a change in legislation and/or practices dictates and any changes will be notified to you by posting an updated version on our websites and/or by contacting you via email.

We recommend that you regularly check for changes and review this policy when visiting our website.

Introduction

Kent County Council (KCC) has entered into a Service Level Agreement with HR Connect EmploymentCheck service for the provision of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to collect and use certain personal information about you when using the DBS online system provided by EmploymentCheck.

Who are we?

KCC is registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and they are regulated under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

KCC ICO registration number is Z5297748: View our entry on the ICO data protection register.

KCC Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.

For further information on how KCC manages and process personal information, please see our Privacy statement - Kent County Council.

EmploymentCheck is an online system used for processing personal information collected for the purpose of conducting DBS checks.  This service is provided to KCC by HR Connect, part of Commercial Services Group (a local authority trading company owned by Kent County Council). 

HR Connect EmploymentCheck brand is a trading style of Commercial Services Kent Ltd (Reg No. 5858177), part of Commercial Services Group, a company registered in England and Wales.

For more details about HR Connect and how they process personal information please visit their Privacy Policy.

We understand that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of all our customers and their employees and other people with whom we interact in the course of undertaking our services. 

This Privacy Notice offers both our customers and their employees with meaningful and accessible guidance on our approach to handling personal data.

About the information we collect and hold

The table set out below summarises the information we collect and hold for this service, how and why we do so, how we use it and with whom it may be shared.

We seek to ensure that our information collection and processing is always proportionate. We will notify you of any changes to information we collect or to the purposes for which we collect and process it.

 * We will comply with the additional conditions set out in the Data Protection Act 2018 which relate to criminal convictions and other special categories of personal data (sensitive personal information).  Further details on how we handle sensitive personal information (and information relating to criminal convictions and offences) are set out in our Data Protection Policy and Policy Statement on the Secure Storage, Handling, Use, Retention & Disposal of Disclosure and Criminal Records Information (see Annex A).

Please contact the DPO at KCC for further info.

We may less frequently use your criminal information for legal claims, where required to do so by a Court or where you have made the information public. 

As there is a statutory and contractual basis for collecting your personal data if you do not provide the following we may be unable to progress your DBS application which may affect your ability to commence/continue in a job role or voluntary position.

·         Personal Data: Title, Name(s), Date of Birth, Address History, NI Number, Contact Details, Nationality, Gender, Town & Country of Birth, ID documents to verify your identity

·         Personal Sensitive Data: If any Convictions, Cautions, Reprimands or Warnings

How long your personal data will be kept

We will hold your personal information for a period of up to 6 months following receipt of your disclosure and a recruitment (or other relevant) decision has been made and the application archived.

In very exceptional circumstances where it is considered necessary to keep Disclosure information for longer than six months, we will consult the DBS about this and give full consideration to the Data Protection and Human Rights of the individual subject before doing so.

The following information is retained for the purposes of disclosure renewals:

• Forename
• Surname
• DBS Vulnerable Adults checked
• DBS Children’s Barred List checked
• Workforce
• Type of check required
• Disclosure number
• Disclosure issue date
• Position for which certificate was requested

Upon expiry any personal data will be securely destroyed in accordance with our Data Retention and Disposal Schedule policy and procedure.

Who we share your personal information with

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law.

We will share your personal information with our professional advisers if required for the purposes of establishing, exercising or defending legal proceedings.

We engage the following trusted third party providers, with whom data may be shared (as required) to enable the delivery of this service:

• Cantium Business Solutions Ltd Privacy Policies (IT provider)
• ANS Group Ltd Privacy Policy (system hosting)

Access to data is only granted where authorised and specifically required in line with our contract with them. System data is hosted within the UK by an ISO 27001 accredited supplier and supplier information security standards meet DBS requirements.

Where an external ID check is required in order to meet the DBS’s ID verification requirements we will share your personal data with Experian in order to undertake this check. When a search is made please be advised that:

1. Experian may check the details you supply, against any particulars on any database (public or otherwise) to which Experian has access in order to carry out the relevant verification service,
2. A specific (non-credit) footprint is left by Experian, and
3. A record of the decision made is available for us (Experian’s Client) to retrieve for auditory purposes.

For further information please see Experian’s Information Notice

Your Rights

Under the Data Protection Act 2018 you have a number of rights which allow you to:

·         Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal data, however there are some exemptions which means you may not receive all the information you ask for.

·         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 information you think is incomplete.

·         Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal data in certain circumstances.

·         Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.

·         Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.

·         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.

·         Your right to withdraw consent – When we use consent as our lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent.

If you make a request, we have one calendar month to respond to you. If a request is deemed to be complex or a number of requests have been received from an individual, the response time may be extended by up to 2 months.

We will always seek to comply with your request however we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties.

Please note: your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioners Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation ico.org.uk

If you would like to exercise a right, please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk.

Consent  - Withdrawal

In some circumstances where you have provided your consent for the processing of your criminal records information you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by notifying us in writing via email to data.protection@kent.gov.uk.  On receipt of notification that you have withdrawn your consent we will no longer process your information for that purpose, unless we have another legitimate basis for doing so in law.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information 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.

Who to Contact

Please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for.

You can contact our Data Protection Officer, Benjamin Watts, at dpo@kent.gov.uk.

The UK General Data Protection Regulation also gives you right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted with any concern on telephone 03031 231113

Further information can be found by visiting Kent County Council's Privacy Statement

Annex A - Policy Statement on the Secure Storage, Handling, Use, Retention & Disposal of Disclosure and Criminal Records Information

General principles

As an organisation using the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to help assess the suitability of applicants for positions of trust, Kent County Council (KCC) complies fully with the DBS Code of Practice regarding the correct handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of Disclosures and Disclosure information.

KCC is also committed to complying with its data protection obligations under the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 in relation to Disclosure and criminal records information, in particular:

• in relation to the circumstances in which it seeks criminal records information;
• by being concise, clear and transparent about how it obtains and uses such information, and how (and when) it is deleted once it is no longer required; and
• by ensuring the correct handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of DBS certificates and certificate information.

KCC’s data protection officer (DPO),Benjamin Watts, is responsible for informing and advising KCC and its staff on its data protection obligations, including in relation to criminal records information, and for monitoring compliance with those obligations and with KCC’s policies. If you have any questions or comments about the data protection content of this policy or if you need further information, you should contact the DPO at dpo@kent.gov.uk.

Storage & Access

Paper form Disclosure information is always kept separately and securely, in lockable, non-portable, storage containers with access strictly controlled and limited to those who are entitled to see it as part of their duties.

All other emails or electronic documents recording disclosure information (e.g. as set out in section 9), is securely deleted or destroyed immediately upon the risk assessment being completed.  In exceptional circumstances where the Head of Service determines it is relevant to the ongoing relationship it will be kept securely for no longer than is necessary and no more than six months. 

On-line Disclosure information is kept within the Employment check on-line system and KCC’s central HR/Payroll system. This information is stored for monitoring purposes only. Access to these systems is strictly controlled and only granted to those who need this as part of their duties.

Handling

In accordance with section 124 of the Police Act 1997, Disclosure information is only passed to those who are authorised to receive it in the course of their duties.  We maintain a record for 6 months of all those to whom Disclosure information has been revealed and we recognise that it is a criminal offence to pass this information to anyone who is not entitled to receive it. We only share Disclosure information with those who require this as part of their duties.

To note: those registered care homes which are inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and those establishments which are inspected by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW) may retain the certificate until the next inspection. Once the inspection has taken place the certificate should be destroyed in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice.

Usage

Disclosure information is only used for the specific purpose for which it was requested and for which the applicant's full consent has been given.

Retention

Once a disclosure has been received and a recruitment (or other relevant) decision has been made, we do not keep Disclosure information for any longer than is absolutely necessary. This is for a period of up to six months, to allow for the consideration and resolution of any disputes or complaints. If, in very exceptional circumstances, it is considered necessary to keep Disclosure information for longer than six months, we will consult the DBS about this and give full consideration to the Data Protection and Human Rights of the individual subject before doing so. Throughout this time, the usual conditions regarding safe storage and strictly controlled access will prevail.

All personal information kept within the Employment check on-line system is purged after a period of 6 months.

Disposal

Once the retention period has elapsed, we will ensure that any Disclosure information whether this be paper form or on-line information is immediately and suitably destroyed by secure means or deleting within the Employment check on-line system. While disclosure documentation is waiting to be disposed of we will ensure that this is kept in a secure lockable, non-portable storage container or securely within the on-line system. We will not keep any photocopies or other images of the Disclosure or any copy or representation of the contents of a Disclosure. However, notwithstanding the above, we may keep a record of the date of issue of a Disclosure, the name of the subject, the type of Disclosure requested, the position for which the Disclosure was requested, the unique reference number of the Disclosure and the details of the recruitment decision taken.