• Who we are?

  George Watson’s College (“The School”) is managed by the Merchant Company Education Board, a registered Scottish Charity (SC009747). 

  The School’s address is George Watson’s College, Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5EG.

  George Watson’s College, as a Data Controller, is committed to protecting your personal information. In order to do this, it is important that we explain:

  • What information do we collect about you?
  • Why we collect this information?
  • What we need from you?
  • How do we collect that information?
  • What we do with that information?
  • Who do we share information with?
  • How long do we keep your information?
  • How can you access the information we hold on you?
  • Where do we process and store your information?
  • How do we protect your information?

• What information do we collect about you?

  The information we may collect and during the recruitment process includes:

  • Information about who you are – e.g. your name, date of birth, and contact details
  • Details of your qualifications, professional memberships, experience, employment history (including job titles, salary and working hours, and references) and interests
  • Details of your racial or ethnic origin, gender and sexual orientation, religious or similar beliefs, and disability    
  • Details of your referees
  • Details of your connections to the School
  • Information regarding criminal records (if a job offer is made)
  • Information about your health (if a job offer is made)
  • Information on your nationality and immigration status.
• Why we collect this information?

  This information allows us to carry out a fair recruitment process, progress your application, arrange interviews, make informed decisions, and inform you of the outcome at all stages of the process. It also allows us to comply with our legal and equal opportunities obligations, ensure equality of opportunity and treatment, maintain employment records and verify your qualifications.

• What do we need from you?

  We only need the information we ask for during the recruitment process.

• How do we collect that information?

  You provide us with the information we need in: your application form or CV, the anonymised equal opportunities monitoring form, the medical questionnaire, and your passport.

  We may also collect information from your referees, your education provider, from any relevant professional bodies, Disclosure Scotland, and the Home Office.

• What we do with that information?

  We process your personal information to enable us to:

  • make informed recruitment decisions and carry out a fair recruitment process
  • contact you to progress your application, arrange interviews and inform you of the outcome
  • provide anonymised details to those involved in the shortlisting
  • inform those members of staff taking part in the recruitment selection
  • comply with legal and regulatory obligations including equal opportunities monitoring
  • carry out statutory checks
• Who do we share information with?

  We will not share your personal information with any third-party other than those needed to process your application. These may include: Disclosure Scotland and other regulatory authorities, personnel in any recruitment firm we may be using to fill vacancies, your education provider, any relevant professional body (such as GTCS), and the Home Office.

• How long do we keep your information?

  We keep the personal information that we obtain about you during the recruitment process for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed.  How long we keep your information will depend on whether your application is successful and you become employed by us, the nature of the information concerned and the purposes for which it is processed.

  We will keep recruitment information (including interview notes) for no longer than is reasonable, taking into account the time limits for potential claims such as race or sex discrimination, after which they will be destroyed.

  Please be aware that we may have to retain a minimal amount of personal data for historical and statistical purposes. If there is a clear business reason for keeping recruitment records for longer than the recruitment period, we will first consider whether the identity in records can be disguised.

  If your application is successful, we will keep only the recruitment information that is necessary in relation to your employment (Privacy Policy – Working for Us).

  You can withdraw your consent to us collecting and/or storing your personal information at any time. If we do not receive your consent or if you withdraw your consent to us collecting your personal information

• How you can access the information we hold on you?

  You have the right to access the personal information we hold on you. If you wish to receive a copy you may make a data subject access request to our Data Protection Officer, the Bursar.

  We must confirm your identity before we can release any personal information.

  If the personal information is inaccurate or incomplete, you can ask us to correct it. You can also ask for information to be deleted or removed if there is no compelling reason for George Watson’s College to continue to hold it.

• Where do we process and store your information?

  The personal information collected by the School will be held in electronic and/or physical format on secured systems within the European Economic Area. We will not knowingly transfer your personal information outside of the European Economic Area. We only store physical copies of documents containing your personal information on the School’s premises. Information that we store electronically is retained on systems owned and/or managed by the School.

  Details regarding how we store and manage data can be found in our Data Storage and Retention Policy.

• How do we protect your information?

  This can be found in our Information Security policy.

   

• How to Contact Us

  If you have any questions, comments or requests regarding this Privacy Policy please contact:

  The Bursar / Data Protection Officer
  George Watson’s College
  Colinton Road
  Edinburgh
  EH10 5EG
  or
  dataprotection@gwc.org.uk
  or
  0131 446 6000

• Complaints

  If you are not satisfied with the way that we have handled any of your requests or questions relating to our use of your personal data then you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk/concerns or phone 0303 123 1113.

  The Information Commissioner’s Office is the statutory body responsible for overseeing data protection legislation and law in the United Kingdom.

Privacy Policy