Privacy notice for Research for the Centre for Ageing Better
Evaluating the Employer Pledge and exploring Age Inclusive Recruitment (AIR)
In line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), this privacy notice explains how your personal data will be collected, processed, used, and protected during your participation in this research. It also explains your rights under the law relating to your personal data and sits alongside an information sheet with further information about the research.
Your privacy is important. We want to make sure you know how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of employers and their employees. We will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a way that is consistent with our obligations and your rights under the law.
What is the purpose of this research?
This research is being conducted by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), in partnership with IFF Research and the International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS), on behalf of the Centre for Ageing Better. The Centre for Ageing Better have commissioned IES and its partners to conduct:
- an evaluation of its Employer Pledge to help understand its emerging impact, illustrate its value and feed into the programme’s continued development and improvement,
- an exploratory study to understand how employers implement age-friendly and inclusive recruitment practices and the effectiveness of these practices in supporting age-positive hiring.
What personal data will be collected?
Personal data (name, e-mail address, job role, employer and telephone number, if necessary) is being collected solely for the purpose of scheduling and carrying out interviews, and for any follow up clarifications. Any personal data collected during interviews will be included in the research dataset.
How will my personal data be used and stored?
The information collected during interviews will be used only for the current research. Your personal data will not be published in any reports.
All data will be stored in secure, UK-based servers in restricted-access folders. The research team have put various security measures in place to keep personal data secure and to prevent any unauthorised access to or use of it in accordance with the Data Protection Act (2018) and UK GDPR requirements. No data will be saved on servers or shared with third parties outside the UK. The personal data will be kept separately from the interview recording, transcript and notes.
What is the legal basis for processing my data?
The legal basis for processing personal data is covered by GDPR Article 6 (1) (f) which states that; ‘processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party except where such interest are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of the personal data’.
We have carried out a legitimate interest assessment which concludes that we have a legitimate interest in processing the personal data in order to conduct the evaluation, the processing identified is necessary in order to meet this purpose, and there are minimal impacts of the processing on the individuals involved (which we will take steps to ensure).
Who will have access to my personal data?
No data will be shared with, or accessed by, anyone not directly involved with the study. We will not share notes or recordings with the Centre for Ageing Better or with any other organisation, except approved members of our research partners, IFF Research and iCeGS.
How long will my data be kept?
The personal data we may have used to contact you, as well as the audio files from interview recordings, will be securely deleted from the IES systems. Deletion will take place three months after the project is complete and the final reports have been signed off (the Pledge Evaluation is currently estimated to end in March 2026, while the AIR study will end in March 2027). IES will retain aggregated and anonymous research outputs and reporting on their secure servers.
What are my rights?
Under the GDPR, you have rights as an individual, even after you have given the information and consented to its use for research purposes. You have the right:
- to ask us for access to information about you that we hold
- to have your personal data rectified, if it is inaccurate or incomplete
- to request the deletion or removal of personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing
- to restrict our processing of your personal data (i.e. permitting its storage but no further processing)
- to object to direct marketing (including profiling) and processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics
- to not to be subject to decisions based purely on automated processing where it produces a legal or similarly significant effect on you.
You can read more about the rights granted to you under GDPR here: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/
Who can I contact if I would like to withdraw my data?
Participation in this research is entirely voluntary, and you can choose what information you provide during the interview.
You have the right to withdraw the information you have provided as part of the interviews up to two weeks after participating. After this point, interview data will be anonymised and aggregated; therefore, it will not be possible to withdraw your data. If you have taken part in an interview but would like to withdraw your information, please contact the IES Project Manager, Dr Sally Wilson (sally.wilson@employment-studies.co.uk)
Who can I contact with a complaint?
If you’re unhappy with how we handle your data, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): www.ico.org.uk
Who can I contact with a query about how my data will be used?
If you have any questions about how your data will be used, please contact the IES Project Manager, Dr Sally Wilson (sally.wilson@employment-studies.co.uk)