Privacy Policy
Overview
In line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), this Privacy Policy informs you of the types of data we process about you. We also include the reasons for processing your data, the lawful basis that permits us to process it, how long we keep your data for, and your rights regarding your data.
The Data Controller (the body responsible for your information) is The UK Career Academy Foundation (we trade as Career Ready), a Charity whose registered address is 124 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX. Charity Numbers: 1092891 (England & Wales) and SCO43678 (Scotland).
In this policy, references to ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’ means Career Ready.
We have aimed to make this policy as clear as possible, given the subject matter. This includes using ‘plain English’ where we can, providing definitions of technical and legal terms, and providing a separate section for each of the main types of people who interact with us.
If you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy and our use of your personal data or would like to exercise any of your rights, please get in touch via dpo@careerready.org.uk.
Data protection principles
We want everyone who supports us, or who comes to us for support, to feel confident and comfortable with how their personal information will be looked after and used.
We are committed to treating you with respect and openness, and as part of this commitment to you, we have appointed a Data Protection Officer whose role it is to monitor our compliance with data protection legislation.
Under GDPR, all personal data obtained and held by us must be processed according to a set of core principles. In accordance with these principles, we will ensure that:
- processing is fair, lawful, and transparent.
- data is collected for specific, explicit, and legitimate purposes.
- data collected is adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes of processing.
- data is kept accurate and up to date. Data which is found to be inaccurate will be rectified or erased without delay.
- data is not kept for longer than is necessary for its given purpose.
- data is processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of personal data including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage by using appropriate technical or organisational measures.
- we comply with the relevant GDPR procedures for international transferring of personal data.
Data subjects’ rights
You have the following rights in relation to the personal data we hold for you:
- The right to be informed about the data we hold about you and what we do with it.
- The right of access to the data we hold about you. For your own privacy and security, we may require you to prove your identity before providing the requested information.
- The right for any inaccuracies in the data we hold about you, however they come to light, to be corrected. This is also known as ‘rectification’.
- The right to have data deleted in certain circumstances. This is also known as ‘erasure’. Please note: we are not obliged to do so if we need to retain such data to comply with a legal obligation (including safeguarding purposes) or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
- The right to restrict the processing of the data.
- The right to transfer the data we hold on you to another party. This is also known as ‘portability’.
- Where you have provided consent to our use of your data, you also have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This means that we will stop processing your data.
If you wish to exercise any of the rights explained above, please contact us via the details listed at the top of this page. We will consider all such requests and will acknowledge your request within five working days (and within any time period required by law).
Making a complaint
If you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy and our use of your personal data or would like to exercise any of your rights, please get in touch via dpo@careerready.org.uk.
We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which regulates the use of information in the UK. If you are unhappy with the way we process your data, you can make a complaint to the ICO. They can be contacted by:
- Telephone: 0303 123 1113
- In writing: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
- Online: www.ico.org.uk/concerns
Cookies and tracking technologies
This website uses cookies and other tracking technologies. Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user’s experience more efficient. They contain information that is transferred to the hard drive of your computer or electronic device. The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are essential for the operation of this site. For all other types of cookies, we need your permission.
When visiting our website, you can view the cookies used on this site via the pop-up banner. This banner also gives you the option to consent to the ‘non-essential’ cookies. You can change your cookies preferences or disable cookies via your browser.
Reviews and updates to this policy
This policy is kept under regular review. Any changes we make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by email.
This policy was last reviewed in August 2025.
Overview
This section of our Privacy Policy outlines our use of data and data responsibilities for students and alumni of the Career Ready programme.
What personal information we collect about you
We may collect and process the following data:
- Personal details: name and date of birth
- Contact details: home address, email address(es), phone number(s)
- Special category data: ethnicity, gender, disabilities and additional learning needs
- Social mobility indicators: Free School Meal status; Education Maintenance Allowance status; Indices of Multiple Deprivation/Scottish Indices of Multiple Deprivation decile (based on your postcode); parental history of higher education, parental occupation
- Education data: school and post-school institutions, qualification details, and academic and other interests
- Programme outcome data: responses to programme surveys
- Destination data: further and/or higher education enrolment, employment outcomes and associated data points
- Media consent: photography and film permissions, case studies, and quotes about your involvement with Career Ready
- Additional personal details: National Insurance Number, evidence of right to work in the UK, bank details, emergency contact details (parent or carer name and contact details); experience of being in care or of being a young carer, personal interests, refugee or asylum status.
Most of this data will be collected directly from you, but there are instances where we may obtain information from third parties, for example:
- We may ask your school/college coordinator to provide or confirm certain information, such as your eligibility for Free School Meals or Education Maintenance Allowance.
- We may obtain information about what you have gone on to do after the programme from your public LinkedIn profile or from organisations such as the Higher Education Statistics Agency or Skills Development Scotland.
Why we collect and how we use this information
This data is collected and used under the legal basis of ‘legitimate interest’ for the effective purposes of:
- Identifying participants for our programme, in line with our social mobility objectives
- Delivering our programme in partnership with employers, schools and colleges, local authorities, and other third parties who we may work in partnership with
- Evaluating the impact of our programme
- Reporting on the impact of our programme
- Promoting our work and raising awareness as a charity
Who we share it with
Relevant personal information may be shared with external partners and third parties, as outlined in the ‘student declaration’ part of our programme application process.
This includes selected third parties such as a student’s mentor, school/college, local authorities, government and other statutory bodies, employer partners, and evaluation and research partners. Our basis for doing so is outlined in the preceding section of this policy.
We may also share your personal information with selected third parties permitted by law (for example, where required to disclose certain information to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation).
We will always share the minimum amount of information necessary, including omitting data that could identify you except where this is required for the delivery of the programme, legal or safeguarding reasons, or to understand and improve the programme – for example, by sharing information about employment outcomes with delivery partners.
How long we keep it for
Data for students is kept indefinitely for safeguarding purposes, for the purpose of research and evaluation projects regarding the impact of our work as a charity, and for the delivery of alumni activities.
Your rights
All students and alumni have the following rights regarding their personal data:
- The right to be informed about the data we hold about you and what we do with it.
- The right of access to the data we hold about you. For your own privacy and security, we may require you to prove your identity before providing the requested information.
- The right for any inaccuracies in the data we hold about you to be corrected, however they come to light. This is also known as ‘rectification’.
You also have the following rights regarding your data. However, please note that exercising these rights may result in you no longer being able to take part in the Career Ready programme. This is because we rely on this information for the delivery of our programme. In such circumstances, we will inform you of this.
- The right to have data deleted in certain circumstances. This is also known as ‘erasure’. Please note: we are not obliged to do so if we need to retain such data to comply with a legal obligation (including safeguarding purposes) or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
- The right to restrict the processing of the data.
- The right to transfer the data we hold about you to another party. This is also known as ‘portability’.
- Where you have provided consent to our use of your data, you also have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This means that we will stop processing your data.
If you wish to exercise any of the rights explained above, please contact us via the details listed at the top of this page. We will consider all such requests and will acknowledge your request within 5 working days (and in any event within any time period required by law).
Overview
This section of our Privacy Policy outlines our use of data and data responsibilities for volunteers on the Career Ready programme as well as individuals at our partner organisations who help facilitate our programme and partnership delivery. This includes mentors, trustees, masterclass presenters, Scotland Advisory Board members, Local Advisory Board members, Youth Advisory Board members, and school and local authority coordinators.
What personal information we collect about you
We may collect and process the following data (not all of which are compulsory or applicable to all individuals depending on their role):
- Personal details: Name and age
- Contact details: Home address, email address(es), phone number(s), work address
- Special category data: Ethnicity and gender
- Social mobility indicators: Means-tested financial support when at school, occupation of main household earner when aged 14
- Employment information: Employer name, job title, job level, areas of professional knowledge and interest
- Volunteering information: Volunteering interests, reasons for volunteering
- Programme outcome data: Responses to programme surveys
- Media consent: Photography and film permissions, case studies, and quotes about your involvement with Career Ready
- Additional personal details: Personal interests, Career Ready alumni status
- DBS/PVG: clearance status and the results of check/search
Why we collect and how we use this information
This data is collected and used under the legal basis of ‘legitimate interest’ for the effective purposes of:
- Selecting volunteers for our programme and providing matches with students and opportunities
- Delivering our programme in partnership with employers, schools and colleges, local authorities, and other third parties who we may work in partnership with
- Evaluating the impact of our programme
- Reporting on the impact of our programme
- Understanding the demographics of our volunteers
- Promoting our work and raising awareness as a charity
Who we share it with
We may, on occasion, carefully select partners and service providers to help conduct and improve our business and they may process personal information about you on our behalf. We may appoint digital marketing agents to conduct marketing activity on our behalf; such activity may result in the compliant processing of personal information.
Relevant information, including results of mentor feedback surveys, may also be shared with external partners and third parties, such as employer partners and research partners. Such data will only be shared anonymously. Our basis for doing so is outlined in the preceding section of this policy.
How long we keep it for
We will retain personal data for as long as it is deemed necessary for the purposes for which that data was collected and to the extent permitted by applicable laws.
Our need to use your personal information will be reassessed on a regular basis.
The use and any sharing of personal data will also comply with legal or regulatory obligations to which we are subject.
Your rights
All volunteers have the following rights regarding their personal data:
- The right to be informed about the data we hold about you and what we do with it.
- The right of access to the data we hold about you; for your own privacy and security, we may require you to prove your identity before providing the requested information.
- The right for any inaccuracies in the data we hold about you to be corrected, however they come to light. This is also known as ‘rectification’.
You also have the following rights regarding your data. However, please note that exercising these rights may result in you no longer being able to take part in the Career Ready programme. This is because we rely on this information for the delivery of our programme. In such circumstances, we will inform you of this.
- The right to have data deleted in certain circumstances. This is also known as ‘erasure’. Please note: we are not obliged to do so if we need to retain such data to comply with a legal obligation (including safeguarding purposes) or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
- The right to restrict the processing of the data.
- The right to transfer the data we hold about you to another party. This is also known as ‘portability’.
- Where you have provided consent to our use of your data, you also have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This means that we will stop processing your data.
If you wish to exercise any of the rights explained above, please contact us via the details listed at the top of this page. We will consider all such requests and will acknowledge your request within 5 working days (and in any event within any time period required by law).
This section covers the data we collect on people applying for jobs at Career Ready and who are employed at Career Ready.
What personal information we collect about you
Job applicants provide several pieces of data to us directly during the recruitment period and subsequently upon the start of their employment. In addition, we will collect data about you from third parties, such as employment agencies or former employers when gathering references.
As part of the job application process and during your employment, we may process the following data:
- Personal details: name and date of birth
- Contact details: home address, email address(es), phone number
- Special category data: ethnicity, gender, disabilities and additional learning needs
- Education history, including qualifications
- Employment records, including information such as salary, appraisals, file notes, any changes to your terms and conditions and, where appropriate, any records relating to change management, disciplinaries and grievances
- Annual leave and absence records, including sickness and other absences
- Payroll information, including your bank account details, pensions and tax details
- Additional personal details: National insurance number, evidence of right to work in the UK, emergency contact details, DBS / PVG disclosure number
- Training records and certificates
Personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences may be collected as part of the recruitment process and during your employment or we may be notified of such information directly by you or a third party, such as the Police, in the course of you working for us. Due to the nature of the organisation’s work with young people, some roles may be exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and, as such, data shared with us may include spent convictions, cautions, reprimands, warnings, or information held by the police about relevant non-conviction information or barred list checks.
The legal basis is that this is necessary for the purposes of performing or exercising employment law obligations or rights, or for safeguarding; in some cases, it could be with your consent. This type of personal data will be retained confidentially and securely, and access will be strictly controlled.
Where necessary, we may keep information relating to your health, which could include reasons for absence and GP reports and notes. This information will be used to comply with our health and safety and occupational health obligations. If during the course of your employment you are referred to an external occupational health provider, you should refer to their privacy statement for information about how they will retain your information.
Who we share it with
Sometimes we will pass information about you to third parties, where the law allows it. For example, we would confirm the dates and nature of your employment with Career Ready to a prospective employer. We provide information to your provider if you join a pension scheme. We may share information for auditing purposes, as part of our annual financial audit. You should refer to the privacy notices of these other organisations where applicable. We will share information with HMRC for UK taxation purposes.
Why we collect and how we use this information
We are legally obliged to collect, retain and disclose certain information about you, for example to ensure you pay the correct rate of taxation, to fulfil our statutory reporting duties and comply with other obligations. We believe we have a legitimate interest to request and hold emergency contact information from you. We use ‘contractual obligation’ as a lawful basis for processing the personal data of job applicants, as well as employees.
How long we keep it for
Your HR file is kept for six years from the date you leave the employment of Career Ready. If you were a member of a pension scheme, some information will be kept longer to allow payment of a pension.
Personal data is kept in files within our secure IT system or within a third-party HR system (Bright HR). We may also store data and track applicants via an external system (Charity Jobs). Basic information such as your name, job title and line manager is held on third-party systems (Culture Amp and Reward Gateway) to enable workplace activities such as colleague surveys and access to employee benefits. Data access is restricted to relevant parties only and we will never sell your information.
To support our aims as a charitable organisation, your contact details may be used to send you email communications regarding fundraising and other marketing activities, as well as wider updates about our work.
We will only send you fundraising and marketing communications if you have explicitly provided consent for us to do so. You may opt-out to receive these communications at any time by clicking the ‘unsubscribe’ link at the end of these emails or by contacting us at dpo@careerready.org.uk.
We may appoint digital marketing agents to conduct marketing activity on our behalf; such activity may result in the compliant processing of personal information.
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