Data Protection Policy

Introduction 

During the recruitment process and the course of your employment with Titus, we are required to obtain personal information from you in order to fulfil our contractual obligations. The personal data, which may be held on paper or on a computer or other media, is subject to certain legal safeguards specified in the GDPR and other regulations including the Data Protection Act (2018) (hereto referenced as “the Acts”). The Acts impose restrictions on how the company may process personal data, and a breach could give rise to criminal sanctions, fines and bad publicity. 

Additionally, during the course of your employment you may be required to process personal data on behalf of our customers. This policy gives guidance on your obligations in the course of your employment.

Titus is committed to meeting the legal requirements imposed by the Acts at all times, and the security of your personal information is a high priority to us.

Titus Learning Ltd (‘Company’) is a ‘data controller’ and gathers and uses certain information about you. In this notice, references to ‘we’ or ‘us’ mean the Company.

 

Definition of Data Protection Terms

Data is recorded information whether stored electronically, on a computer, or in certain paper-based filing systems.

Data subjects for the purpose of this policy include all living individuals about whom Titus holds personal data. A data subject does not need to be a UK national or resident. All data subjects have legal rights in relation to their personal information.

Personal data means data relating to a living individual who can be identified from that data (or from that data and other information in possession of the company). Personal data can be factual (such as a name, address or date of birth) or it can be an opinion (such as a performance appraisal). It can even include a simple e-mail address. It is important that the information has the data subject as its focus and affects the individual’s privacy in some way. Mere mention of someone’s name in a document does not constitute personal data, but personal details such as someone’s contact details or salary would still fall within the scope of the Acts.

Data controllers are the people or organisations who determine the purposes for which, and the manner in which, any personal data is processed. They have a responsibility to establish practices and policies in line with the Acts. 

Data Users include employees whose work involves using personal data. Data users have a duty to protect the information they handle by following the company’s data protection and security policies at all times.

Data Processors include any person who processes personal data on behalf of a data controller. Employees of data controllers are excluded from this definition but it could include suppliers which handle personal data on the company’s behalf.

Processing is any activity that involves use of the data. It includes obtaining, recording or holding the data, or carrying out any operation or set of operations on the data including organising, amending, retrieving, using, disclosing, erasing or destroying it. Processing also includes transferring personal data to third parties.

Sensitive Personal data includes information about a person’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or similar beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health or condition or sexual life, or about the commission of, or proceedings for, any offence committed or alleged to have been committed by that person, the disposal of such proceedings or the sentence of any court in such proceedings. Sensitive personal data can only be processed under strict conditions, including a condition requiring the express permission of the person concerned.

 

About the information we collect and hold

We will collect and/or hold the following information during our contractual agreement:

name, contact details, address, phone number, email address, emergency contact details, recruitment process, employment information, details of salary, bank details, national insurance, tax code, nationality, sickness absence, details of your next of kin, criminal records (DBS), details of your share incentive arrangements, pension arrangements, sickness and absence records (including sensitive personal information regarding your physical/mental health), trade union membership, grievance information raised by or against you, conduct and disciplinary issues involving you, details of appraisals and performance reviews, details on any performance management/improvement plans, time and attendance records, information about your work output and your other activities at work, applications made for other positions in the company, information on use of our IT and other systems, details of your use of business-related social media, use of your public social media (only in very limited circumstances, to check specific risks for specific functions within our organisation; you will be notified separately if this is to occur); and details in references about you that we give to others.  The information will be collected from various sources (you, doctors, previous employer, emails, websites, applications).

 

Data Protection Principles

Anyone processing personal data must comply with the six enforceable principles of good practice. These provide that personal data must be:-

  • Processed fairly and lawfully and in a transparent manner
  • Collected for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes
  • Adequate, relevant and not excessive for the purpose
  • Accurate, and where necessary, kept up to date
  • Not kept longer than necessary for the purpose
  • Processed in an appropriate manner to maintain security

 

Fair and Lawful Processing

The Acts are not intended to prevent the processing of personal data, but to ensure that it is done fairly and without adversely affecting the rights of the data subject. The data subject must be told who the data controller is, the purpose for which the data is to be processed and the identities of anyone to whom the data may be disclosed or transferred. 

For personal data to be processed lawfully, certain specific conditions have to be met. These are detailed in Article 6 of the GDPR for personal data and Article 9 for sensitive personal data. These include, among other things, requirements that the data subject has consented to the processing, or that the processing is necessary for the legitimate interest of the data controller or the party to whom the data is disclosed. When sensitive personal data is being processed, additional conditions must be met. In most cases the data subject’s explicit consent to the processing of such data will be required.

Processing for Limited Purposes

Personal data may only be processed for the specific purposes notified to the data subject when the data was first collected or for any other purposes specifically permitted by the Acts. This means that personal data must not be collected for one purpose and then used for another. If it becomes necessary to change the purpose for which the data is processed, the data subject must be informed of the new purpose before any processing occurs.

Adequate Relevant and Non-Excessive Processing

Personal data should only be collected to the extent that it is required for the specific purpose notified to the data subject. Any data which is not necessary for that purpose should not be collected in the first place.

Accurate Data

Personal data must be accurate and kept up to date. Information which is incorrect or misleading is not accurate and steps should therefore be taken to check the accuracy of any personal data at the point of collection and at regular intervals afterwards. Inaccurate or out-of-date data should be destroyed.

 

Timely Processing

Personal data should not be kept longer than is necessary for the purpose. This means that data should be destroyed or erased from the company’s systems when it is no longer required. Further information on retention periods is detailed in the Records and Retention Policy.

 

Why and how we collect information

We will collect and use the information for employment purposes such as contracts, emergency details in case of an emergency at work, national insurance to ensure we are paying the correct person and the correct bank account.  The information we process is proportionate to the requirements of an individual.  We keep your information during and after your employment for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal information is processed – the length of time is detailed in our Record and Retention Policy. 

We may collect this information from you, your personnel records, the Home Office, share scheme administrators, pension administrators, your doctors, from medical and occupational health professionals we engage and from our insurance benefit administrators, the DBS, your trade union, other employees, consultants and other professionals we may engage, eg to advise us generally and/or in relation to any grievance, conduct appraisal or performance review procedure, automated monitoring of our websites and other technical systems, such as our computer networks and connections, CCTV and access control systems, communications systems (including Skype and our Helpdesks, remote access systems, or CRM platforms, email and instant messaging systems, intranet and Internet facilities, telephones, voicemail, mobile phone records, relevant websites and applications).

 

How we may share information 

We may need to share some information with other parties, such as external contractors for project bids. Usually, information will be anonymised but this may not always be possible. The recipient of the information will be bound by confidentiality obligations. 

 

Where information may be held 

Information may be held at our offices and third party agencies or service providers.  Information may be transferred in the ordinary course of our business activities internationally to other countries around the world, including countries that do not have data protection laws equivalent to those in the UK. We have security measures in place to seek to ensure that there is appropriate security for information we hold.

 

Your rights

Please contact  Sebastian Francis  at hello@tituslearning.com or on (0113) 320 0346  if you would like to correct or request access to information that we hold relating to you or if you have any questions about this notice. You also have the right to ask Sebastian Francis  for some but not all of the information we hold and process to be erased (the ‘right to be forgotten’) in certain circumstances.

 

Keeping your personal information secure 

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or 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.