Data Protection Q&A

Earlier in the week I got an email from Sally, a long term friend and recruiter, who was after some advice.  She is running first stage interviews for a client and partaking in a mini-assessment centre (technical interview and presentation exercise).  She wanted to check if she was legally obliged to show the candidate her original interview/assessment notes if requested.

I thought the answer was yes.  However, I'm no legal expert so I turned to my favourite recruitment legal guru, Louise Fernandes of Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP.  She has written articles for the newsletter for some years now.

Quick as a flash she was back with an answer for Sally.  Louise may well turn this response into a full article for the newsletter but I thought it might be useful to share it here:

In relation to the recruiter's query, a candidate will normally be entitled to review notes taken during an interview process, given that they are likely to contain 'personal data'. The employee would have to make a data subject access request, pay £10 and wait 40 days. An alternative approach for a candidate who is concerned that he or she has been discriminated against is to serve a questionnaire including a request for copies of interview notes. The recruiter would not be obliged to respond but a failure to do so within 8 weeks or evasive or equivocal answers could lead to a tribunal drawing inferences of discrimination in any subsequent proceedings.

The Information Commissioner's Office provides further guidance in this area, in the "Employment Practices Code", which can be accessed at www.ico.gov.uk. The guidance does not impose legal obligations itself, but does provide good practice benchmarks in a number of areas, including recruitment and selection.

It seems there are a number of data protection issues that arise during the recruitment process.  Field Fisher Waterhouse have produced a briefing note on data protection in the recruitment and selection of employees, which expands on Louise's answer.  It's normally only available to their clients although I have a copy that Louise is happy for me to pass on.  Drop me an email if you want it.  You can also contact Louise Fernandes if you want any further information.   Finally, they have a dedicated employment law website which might be useful to bookmark.