Additional Information for Applicants
As an organisation using the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to assess applicants’ suitability for positions of trust, Tees Active Limited undertakes to treat all applicants for positions fairly and not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a DBS check on the basis of a conviction or other information revealed.
Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working within Tees Active Limited. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of the offence(s), or other information received.
This policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders, which is made available to all Disclosure applicants at the point a DBS check is requested is also available at the outset of the recruitment process upon request or via the internet at www.teesactive.co.uk .
We actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential and welcome applications from a wide range of candidates, including those with criminal records. We select all candidates for interview based on their skills, qualifications and experience.
A DBS check is only requested after a thorough risk assessment has indicated that one is both proportionate and relevant to the position concerned. For those positions where a DBS check is required, all job adverts, application forms and interviews will identify that a DBS check will be requested in the event of the individual being offered the position.
Unless the nature of the position allows Tees Active Limited to ask questions about your entire criminal record, we only ask about ‘unspent’ convictions as defined in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. We ensure that all those in Tees Active Limited who are involved in the recruitment and DBS check process have been suitably trained to identify and assess the relevance and circumstances of offences, and have received appropriate guidance in the relevant legislation relating to the employment of ex-offenders, e.g. the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974.
Where a DBS check is to form part of the recruitment process, we will encourage all applicants to provide details of their criminal record at the application stage. We will request that this information is sent under separate, confidential cover, to a designated person within Tees Active Limited and we guarantee that this information will only be seen by those who need to see it as part of the recruitment process.
For applicants who have disclosed convictions or conviction information either at the application stage, interview or in a separate discussion, we ensure that an open and measured discussion takes place on the subject of any offences or other matter that might be relevant to the position. Failure to declare information that is directly relevant to the position sought could lead to withdrawal of an offer of employment or casual work.
As part of our recruitment policy we request the appropriate level of DBS check at the final part of the recruitment stage, when a position has been offered. Should the returned DBS check disclose more offences, more serious offences or relevant non-conviction information than previously disclosed by the applicant this could lead to the withdrawal of an offer of employment or casual work. We undertake to discuss any matter revealed in a DBS check with the person seeking the position before withdrawing a conditional offer of employment or casual work.
When assessing the relevance of any convictions or conviction information we will consider the following factors:
- Whether the conviction is relevant to the position being offered
- The seriousness of the offence
- The length of time since the offence took place
- Whether the applicant has a pattern of offending behaviour
- Whether the applicant’s circumstances have changed since the offence(s) took place
- How the individual moved forward and stop the offending behaviour.
The information on the DBS check ie level of check, issue date and certificate number will be retained for our records and renewal purposes. Information contained on the DBS check will be stored until the recruitment decision has been reached by our HR Manager, as Lead Signatory. This will be in line with the Company’s policy on the storage, handling and retention of DBS information and the DBS Code of Practice.
We make every subject of a DBS check aware of the existence of the DBS Code of Practice and how to obtain copy of it.
Disclosure and Barring Service and Disclosure Information:
Ex-Offender – a person who has been convicted of a criminal offence and the crime is now “spent” under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974.
Spent Conviction – once a rehabilitation period has expired and no further offending has taken place, a conviction is considered to be ‘spent’. A rehabilitation period is a set length of time from the date of conviction, according to the sentence imposed.
Unspent Conviction – a conviction is described as unspent if the rehabilitation period associated with it has not yet lapsed.
Levels of DBS check – There are 3 levels of DBS checks: basic, standard and enhanced.
The level of disclosure requested will depend on a number of factors (e.g. the nature of the access to children and vulnerable adults) which will determine whether or not ‘spent’ convictions have to be disclosed by the applicant. This will determine the type of information provided by the police and other bodies, and can include:
- Convictions
- Imprisonment
- Reprimands
- Warnings
- Youth custody/sentences
- Cautions
- Arrests
- Bind-overs
- Allegations / Police investigations
- Bail
- Fines (exc. minor motoring offences)
- Police intelligence information (given to the organisation only)
The DBS Code of Practice and a full glossary of terms relating to Disclosures and Exoffenders can be found on the website www.dbs.gov.uk
If you do not have access to the internet you can contact the HR Department who can arrange for you to review the DBS Code of Practice (01642) 524570.
If your application is successful you will be required to produce any one of the documents below prior to commencing employment.
- A passport showing that you are a British citizen, or have a right of abode in the UK.
- A document showing that you are a national of a European Economic Area (see Appendix 1) country or Switzerland. This must be a national passport or identity card.
- A residence permit issued by the Home Office if you are a national or Border of Immigration Agency from a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
- A passport or other document issued by the Home Office which has an endorsement stating that you have current right of residence in the United Kingdom as a family member of a national from a European Economic Area country or Switzerland who is resident in the United Kingdom.
- A passport or other travel document endorsed to show that you are entitled to stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or have no time limit on your stay.
- A passport of other travel document endorsed to show that you are permitted to stay in the United Kingdom; and that this endorsement allows you to stay and do the type of work you are being offered, if you do not have a work permit.
If none of the above are available please supply a combination of two of the following documents (one of which must be 1).
First Combination:
- A document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance Number and name. This could be a P45 or P60, National Insurance card, or a letter from a Government agency.
- A full birth certificate/adoption certificate issued in the United Kingdom, which includes the names of the holder’s parents.
- A birth certificate/adoption certificate issued in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland; OR
- A certificate of registration or naturalisation stating that the holder is a British citizen; OR
- A letter issued by the Home Office or Border of Immigration agency to the holder which indicates that the person named in it can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or has no time limit on their stay: OR
- An immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office or Border Of Immigration Agency to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the person named in it can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or has no time limit on their stay; OR
- A letter issued by the Home Office to the holder which indicates that the person named on it can stay in the United Kingdom, and is allow Border Of Immigration Agency to do the type of work we may offer; OR
- An Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office or Border of Immigration Agency to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the person named in it can stay in the United Kingdom, and allows them to do the type of work we may offer.
Second combination (which must contain part 1a below)
- (a) A work permit or other approval to take employment that has been issued by the Home Office or Border Of Immigration Agency.\
- (a) A Passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the holder is able to stay in the UK and take the Work Permit in question; OR
- (a) A letter issued by the Home Office or Border of Immigration Agency to the holder confirming that the person named on it is able to stay in the UK and can take the Work Permit employment in question.
An Application Registration Card issued by the Home Office or Border of Immigration Agency stating permitted to take employment.
Appendix 1
The following countries are part of the EEA:
- Austria*
- Greece*
- Netherlands*
- Belgium*
- Iceland
- Norway
- Denmark*
- Ireland*
- Portugal*
- Finland*
- Italy*
- Spain*
- France*
- Liechtenstein
- Sweden*
- Germany*
- Luxembourg*
- United Kingdom*
- Cyprus*
- Czech Republic*
- Estonia* Hungary*
- Latvia*
- Lithuania*
- Malta*
- Poland*
- Slovakia*
- Slovenia*
- Romania
- Bulgaria
Those countries marked with * are also members of the European Union.
From 1 June 2002 nationals from Switzerland have also had the same free movement and employment rights as existing EEA nationals.
Appendix 2
Documents provided must be in current name; any documents that are in previous maiden name will need additional documentation, i.e. Marriage certificate. We would also ask you to declare any other names you have been known by and during which periods.
As part of any recruitment and selection process, Tees Active Limited (TAL) collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. The company is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.
What information do we collect?
The company collects a range of information about you. This includes:
- Your name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number.
- Details of your qualifications, skills, experience and employment history.
- Information about your current level of remuneration, including benefit entitlements.
- Whether or not you have a disability for which the organisation needs to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process.
- Information about your entitlement to work in the UK.
- The company may collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, data might be contained in application forms, obtained from your passport or other identity documents, or collected through interviews or other forms of assessment.
- The company may also collect personal data about you from third parties, such as references supplied by former employers/tutors, information from employment background check providers and information from criminal records checks. We will seek information from third parties only once a job offer to you has been made and will inform you that it is doing so. Data will be stored in a range of different places, including on your application record, in HR management systems and on other IT systems including email.
Why do we process personal data?
The company needs to process data to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you. It may also need to process your data to enter into a contract with you. In some cases, we need to process data to ensure that it is complying with its legal obligations. For example, it is required to check a successful applicant’s eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts.
The company has a legitimate interest in processing personal data during the recruitment and selection process and for keeping records of the process. Processing data from job applicants allows the organisation to manage the recruitment and selection process, assess and confirm a candidate’s suitability for employment and decide to whom to offer a job. The company may also need to process data from job applicants to respond to and defend against legal claims.
The company will collect information about whether or not applicants are disabled to make reasonable adjustments for candidates who have a disability. The company processes such information to carry out its obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment. For some roles, we are obliged to seek information about criminal convictions and offences. Where the company seeks this information, it does so because it is necessary for it to carry out its obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.
The company will not use your data for any purpose other than the recruitment exercise for which you
have applied.
Who has access to your data?
Your information may be shared internally for the purposes of the recruitment and selection exercise. This includes [members of the HR and recruitment team, interviewers involved in the recruitment process, managers in the business area with a vacancy and IT staff if access to the data is necessary for the performance of their roles.
The company will not share your data with third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and it makes you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with current/former employers//tutors to obtain references for you, employment background check providers to obtain necessary background checks, the Disclosure and Barring Service to obtain necessary criminal records checks and our Occupational Health provider, if necessary.
The organisation will not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.
How do we protect your data?
The company takes the security of your data seriously. It has internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by our employees in the proper performance of their duties.
For how long will we keep your data?
If your application for employment is unsuccessful, the company will hold your data on file for 6 months after the end of the relevant recruitment and selection process. If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment and selection process will be transferred to your personnel file and retained during your employment. The periods for which your data will be held will be provided to you in a new privacy notice and our Retention Policy.
Your rights
As a data subject, you have a number of rights. You can:
- Access and obtain a copy of your data on request.
- Require the company to change incorrect or incomplete data.
- Require the company to delete or stop processing your data. For example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing; and object to the processing of your data where the company is relying on its legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing.
To exercise any of the above rights, or if you have any questions relating to your rights, please contact us by using the details set out in the “Contacting us” section below. If you are unhappy with the way we are using your personal information you can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office or your local data protection regulator. We are here to help and encourage you to contact us to resolve your complaint first.
What if you do not provide personal data?
You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide data to the organisation during the recruitment and selection process. However, if you do not provide the information, the company may not be able to process your application properly or at all.
Contacting Us
If you have any questions about this privacy notice, please contact us via [email protected] or telephone (01642) 528584. In the event of any query or complaint in connection with the information we hold about you, please email [email protected] or write to us at Tees Active Limited, 3rd Floor, Redheugh House, Thornaby Place, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 6SG.
