General Data Protection Regulation

What is FEjobs doing about the GDPR?

eTeach.com and FEjobs are fully GDPR-compliant web platforms. The system has recently undergone a fundamental upgrade in processes and services for schools and colleges. Additional upgrades will continue to be rolled out during 2018 which will allow all education establishments to take control over their own recruitment process and create a completely GDPR-compliant recruitment process. 

Flexibility on college’s visibility of candidate data

Schools or colleges using the eTeach or FEjobs system have a great deal of visibility over applicant data, not all of which needs to be processed by all staff members. We understand that each college is different, so the system contains the facility to update your own account settings allowing you to:

• Specify the level at which each shortlisting team member can access candidate data
• Archive old vacancies thereby deleting applicant data from your account
• Pre-set the number of days for which applicant data is stored and automatically deleted
• Let candidates know how long you will be storing their applications.

Cyber essentials certification

FEjobs has a certificate of assurance from Cyber Essentials which details our compliance with the requirements of the Cyber Essentials Scheme.

Microsoft cloud and security

By using Microsoft cloud, we are using industry-leading security measures and privacy policies to safeguard your data in the cloud, including the categories of personal data identified by the GDPR. Candidate data is safely and securely stored within the EU and all data traffic is securely encrypted. Our in-house systems implement secure passwords and registration and login processes compliant with GDPR, as well as fully encrypting web traffic.

Encryption

All candidate data stored on eTeach and FEjobs servers and our backup systems are encrypted. Encrypting the data keeps it more secure and protects from hacking attempts.

What do FEjobs customers need to do?

Application forms

It is the recommendation of FEjobs that colleges move away from downloadable, paper forms, i.e. the attachment of word documents or forms that are emailed between the candidate, job board and hiring staff. In our view this method is not secure and will possibly mean many colleges and HR providers will have a problem with GDPR compliance.

As a recommended alternative, we would advise making use of the eTeach online application forms. Using its bespoke online application forms, the system allows the collection of candidate data electronically, and delivers the data directly into your system to be processed or viewed as if through a secure window. Candidate data is secured behind an encrypted and password-controlled environment.

Furthermore, colleges are encouraged to think about the questions on their application form and ask: ‘Do we need a candidate to answer this question in order for us to shortlist?’. National insurance number, bank details, and reasonable adjustments are a few examples of information that you generally don’t need to know when shortlisting. Minimising the number of questions asked will be a positive step in your school’s recruitment – not only will this reduce the risk of non-compliance, it will also streamline your recruitment process resulting in more candidate applications – 60% of schools and colleges lose excellent candidates due to long and arduous application forms.

Equal opportunities

Users of the online application method

Via our platform, customers have the option to include a separate equal opportunities form or exclude it completely. If colleges choose to include it, FEjobs has the capability to collect information of a sensitive nature and store it in a secure way. Once a candidate completes the equal opportunities form, the data will be transferred to a separate, encrypted database. Colleges will have the ability to export this data by vacancy and date at the most granular level without exposing the individual candidates. This granular data will include the status of each candidate in a vacancy workflow.

As you move the applicant from one workflow to another, their data will be updated in the encrypted database. This way, at any point in time, you will be able to extract the data and examine the fallout rate of candidates for a single vacancy or a set period of time. This is all that is required to demonstrate your compliance to equal opportunities.

Users of a downloadable equal opportunities form

Once a candidate has completed and uploaded your equal opportunities form, it will be sent to the college at the email address chosen but will NOT be stored in the FEjobs database.

Moving forward, colleges must collect equal opportunities data on a separate form and not keep this data on the main application form as we believe that storing this data is both unnecessary and a major security risk. If you choose to continue to collect equal opportunities data within your main application form, it is at your establishment's risk and neither FEjobs nor eTeach will take responsibility. You will also not be able to report on the data as detailed above and will need to compile your own statistics.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’m new to the GDPR and would love more details on what it is

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a guide to explain the provisions of the GDPR to help organisations comply with its requirements: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/

Alongside the Guide to GDPR, they have produced a number of tools to help organisations to prepare for the GDPR: https://ico.org.uk/media/1624219/preparing-for-the-gdpr-12-steps.pdf https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/resources-and-support/data-protection-self-assessment/getting-ready-for-the-gdpr/