Privacy notice for job applicants
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-07)

This privacy notice explains how we handle your personal data when you apply for a role with the IAA.

1. Responding to our advertisement

Depending on the role you have applied for, you will send the IAA:

a completed application form

a diversity monitoring questionnaire

a covering email/letter

your CV

a personal statement

Therefore, when responding to an advertisement for a vacancy at the IAA, you will provide us with your personal data.

When sending us the above documents, you are providing us with your personal data. This data will be used in our recruitment process to determine whether you are suitable for the vacancy.

2. Data we process from your application form

What personal data do we process?

Your personal data will be collected at various stages of the recruitment exercise, depending on the role you have applied for. During the course of the recruitment exercise, you will provide the IAA with:
- data relating to your identity
- data relating to your immigration history
- data relating to your previous employment and experience
- data relating to your qualifications
- data relating to any interests you have that may conflict with the activities of the IAA
- data relating to the references you have provided
To find out more about the data we process from your application form please click here (#annex-a).

Why do we process your personal data?

Under paragraph 17 of Schedule 5 to the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (as amended), the Commissioner may appoint staff that they consider appropriate for the vacancy. We must therefore process your personal data to determine and ensure that you are suitable for the role.

Therefore, as a public body, it is necessary for us to process your data as described in this notice in the exercise of official authority vested in us (Article 6 UK GDPR).

IAA staff must be eligible to work in the UK whilst employed at the IAA. Therefore, as part of this process, we must determine whether you are eligible to work in the UK, pursuant to our statutory obligations under (but not limited to):

the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 and 2016

the Freedom of Movement Directive (2004/38/EC)

the Commonwealth Immigrants Acts 1962 and 1968

the Immigration Act 1971

the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

the UK Borders Act 2007

the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009

It is therefore necessary for us to process data relating to your immigration status and history as described in this notice in order to comply with the legal obligations that we are subject to (Article 6 UK GDPR).

How do we process your personal data?

Application Stage

Your data is provided to us when you submit your documents. Once you submit these documents to us, they will be uploaded onto a secure area of our IT system on SharePoint that can only be accessed by members of IAA Human Resources.

The IAA is a completely remote organisation and we strongly encourage applicants to send their application forms via electronic means.

The documents you send as part of this process will not be made available to people who are not involved in the recruitment exercise.

Your documents are securely destroyed in accordance with the retention period. To find out more about how we retain data in respect of our recruitment process please click here (#retention).

Interview Stage

Once the deadline to respond to a job advertisement has passed, we will begin considering the document received and shortlist candidates for interview.

Depending on the vacancy you have applied for, this may involve you sitting an assessment to assist us in determining whether you are suitable for the role.

Other than members of IAA Human Resources, your documents will also be shared with members of staff that will be involved in shortlisting candidates.

Should you be shortlisted, the same members of staff will usually sit as the interview panel. However, please note that this is subject to availability.

The members of staff involved in shortlisting candidates will generally include a member of IAA Human Resources, the line manager who would supervise you (if successful) and another member of staff.

Selection Stage

The interview panel will reach a joint decision when selecting the appropriate candidate for the role. The IAA will make a formal offer of employment to the candidate, subject to the outcome of any necessary background checks.

3. Data we process from your diversity monitoring questionnaire

What personal data do we process?

Please note that this questionnaire is optional. You are under no obligation to complete and/or submit this form to the IAA.

However, we encourage completing this form as the data provided would help us monitor diversity and ensure that our HR processes are fair.

You will be asked to send this form to a different email address to a specific member of the IAA Human Resources team. Details of where to send it will be on the form itself.

To find out more about the data we process from your diversity questionnaire please click here (#annex-b).

Why do we process your personal data?

We encourage diversity in the workforce and welcome applications from everyone.

We will only process data from your diversity questionnaire in the following ways if you have indicated your consent for us to do so. As the data involved is special category data, your consent must be explicit.

Please indicate your explicit consent on the questionnaire by ticking the relevant box.

How do we process your personal data?

The data provided in the questionnaire will only be used for diversity monitoring purposes.

Any diversity monitoring exercises or analysis of the data will be done in an anonymised form.

Any sharing or publication of the results from these exercises or analysis, will be done in an anonymised form.

The data from the questionnaire will not be available to any member of staff that is involved in the selection process as described above.

Members of IAA Human Resources who are involved in the decision-making process of a recruitment exercise will only have access to data from the questionnaire after the recruitment exercise is complete. No other members of staff will have access to this data.

If your application is successful, your diversity questionnaire will be stored in a secure area of our IT system on SharePoint that can only be accessed by members of IAA Human Resources.

If your application is unsuccessful, your diversity questionnaire will be securely destroyed after two years.

To find out more about how we retain data in respect of our recruitment process please click here (#retention).

4. Retention and Storage

If you are unsuccessful in your application, we will hold your personal data for a period of two years, in line with Civil Service standards. Your data will be stored in a secure area of our IT system on SharePoint that can only be accessed by members of IAA Human Resources. Temporary access to other members of staff may be granted if necessary.

After this period, all of the documents you have sent the IAA as part of the recruitment process will be securely destroyed.

If you are successful in your application, we will continue to hold your personal data after the recruitment process, in anticipation of you joining the IAA.

Please click here (#ifsuccessful) for further details on how the IAA processes your personal data if you are successful.

Reserve List

If your application meets the criteria but you did not get the vacancy as other candidates met that criteria to a higher standard, we will place you on a reserve list in order of merit.

We will ask you for your consent for us to inform you of any suitable vacancies that may come up within six months from the date of you being informed about the outcome of your initial applications.

If you have provided us with your consent, we will inform you of any vacancies that we believe would be suitable for you.

We will not contact you regarding new vacancies after the six-month period.

5. If successful

If you are successful in the recruitment exercise, you will be sent an email confirming the job offer and an electronic pre-appointment check form.

The purpose for this form is to gather the necessary personal data of chosen candidates to enable them to join the IAA.

To find out more about the data we process across the entire recruitment exercise, please click here (#annex-a).

The IAA HR Team will also send an electronic reference request form to your previous employer. Again, this is also necessary for you to join the IAA.

Both the pre-appointment check form and reference request form are hosted on a platform known as JotForms. Once the forms are completed, the IAA will download the forms from the platform, save them to the IAA system and delete them from the platform.

During the course of employment at the IAA, the HR team will use this platform to administer and facilitate other forms such as, but not limited to, equipment return forms. The forms hosted on this platform will change from time to time based on business need.

6. Your rights

As a data subject, you have the following rights:
- to be informed of how we process your personal data
- subject access
- rectification
- erasure
- restriction
- portability
- objection
Under GDPR there are also rights attached to the automated individual decision-making (i.e. profiling). However, we do not process your data using automated decision-making means.

Exercise your rights

If you choose to exercise your rights, please contact the IAA Information Officers who will take the necessary steps. They can be contacted on xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

6. Who is the Data Controller?

Immigration Advice Authority

Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) PO Box 567 Dartford Kent DA1 9WX

Email: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

Telephone: xx-xxxx-xxxx

7. Who are the Data Protection Officers?

Information relating to the IAA Data Protection Officers can be requested at xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

ANNEX A: Data we process about you for recruitment purposes

This is the personal data we process as part of the entire recruitment exercise; from your initial application up to the pre-appointment check form if you are successful. This is the data across the whole process. You will not be expected to provide all of this information at once in your application.

Data relating to your identity
- your name, title and address
- your email address
- your contact numbers
- your address (and correspondence address if different)
- your marital status
Data relating to your immigration status and history
- your nationality and place of birth
- any previous/other nationalities you may hold
- whether you are subject to immigration control
- whether there are any restrictions on your continued residence or employment in the UK
- whether you have been lawfully resident in the UK for the last 3 years
Data relating to your qualifications
- title of your qualification(s)
- subject area your qualification relates to
- grade/classification/mark attained
- dates the course was undertaken
- details of where course was undertaken
- dates qualifications were awarded
Data relating to your previous employment and experience

details of your previous employment. This would include:

name, address and type of business of your previous employer(s)

name, address and type of business of your current employer (if applicable)

dates you were employed by them

details of the position you held and an outline of your main duties

your reason for leaving your previous employer(s)

your present salary (if you are currently employed)

your current notice period you are required to serve with your employer (if you are currently employed)

details of time unaccounted for

whether you are a civil servant

whether you are an employee of an accredited non-departmental public body

data relating to the reference you have provided. This includes their name, address, email address, contact numbers and details of how they know you

Data relating to any interests you have that may conflict with the activities of the IAA
- details of any business interests you or your partner (if applicable) that conflict with the activities of the IAA
- details of any other interests that may conflict with the activities of the IAA
Other types of data we process in the recruitment exercise

As part of our application process we ask candidates a number of questions in our application forms in order for us to assess your suitability for the role.

You may wish to answer these questions by providing examples of situations where you have demonstrated the necessary skills for the vacancy. Therefore, any information you have provided in answer to these questions will be processed to assess your suitability for the role:

dates you will not be able to attend an interview should your application reach the interview stage

your emergency contact details

employment reference contact details

data relating to your health

information to allow you to apply for the appropriate security clearance

information required for a Disclosure and Barring Service check

ANNEX B: Data we process from your diversity questionnaire
- your name and title
- your position
- your NI number
- your age bracket
- your gender and gender identity
- your working pattern
- your ethnic origin
- whether you consider yourself to be disabled
- your religion or belief
- your sexual orientation