Data protection and GDPR

The Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are key legislations governing the way personal data is handled in the UK.
They were set up to protect the privacy rights of individuals and to prevent personal data from being processed without the individual’s knowledge or consent.
In recruitment, this can include candidate data such as CVs, application forms, interview notes, and references.

Role in Recruitment Administration

Administrators are responsible for ensuring compliance with data protection laws when collecting and storing recruitment data.
This includes only collecting data necessary for the recruitment process, storing it securely, and not sharing it without the individual’s consent.
It’s crucial that administrators understand the principles of GDPR to keep candidate information safe.

GDPR is based on seven principles: lawfulness, fairness, and transparency; purpose limitation; data minimisation; accuracy; storage limitation; integrity and confidentiality; and accountability.
The principles require that personal data is processed fairly, kept secure, and not held longer than necessary.
Recruitment administrators should understand these principles and ensure they guide their practices in handling personal data.

Under GDPR, an individual’s consent to process their data is crucial.
Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and there must be an unambiguous indication of the data subject’s agreement.
In recruitment, this might involve obtaining a candidate’s consent before storing their details or passing their information to other parties.

Coping with Data Breaches

Data breaches, where personal data is lost, stolen or accessed by unauthorised individuals, can be serious offences under GDPR.
Organisations must have processes in place to detect, report and investigate a data breach.
In recruitment, this could involve reporting a lost CV or a hack of the recruitment database to the relevant authorities promptly.

GDPR gives stronger rights to individuals regarding their personal data. These rights include the right to access their data, rectify inaccuracies, object to or restrict processing and request erasure of their data in certain circumstances.
Administrators must understand these rights and ensure procedures are in place to respond to individuals exercising their rights.

Compliance with data protection laws can prevent legal penalties, reputational damage, and loss of trust from candidates.
A culture of respect for data privacy is important in recruitment. This starts with understanding the importance of data protection and GDPR and implementing them in recruitment processes.