APPROPRIATE POLICY DOCUMENT: HEALTH AND CRIMINAL RECORD DATA
Signed before the first medical or DBS result is held · Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 1 Part 4 paragraph 39; UK GDPR Articles 9 and 10
This has to exist BEFORE the first medical certificate or DBS result is held, not after. Paragraph 39 of Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018 makes it a condition of the lawful basis itself. Without it the processing is not merely untidy, it is unlawful, and a driver medical is health data from the moment it arrives.
1. What this covers
Two kinds of data that the ordinary rules are not enough for:
- Special category data under Article 9 of the UK GDPR. In our case that is almost entirely health: a driver medical, a fitness to work statement, a sickness self certification, an adjustment somebody asks for, an accident report.
- Criminal offence data under Article 10. A DBS result, a declaration about unspent convictions, and the endorsements on a driving licence where we record them.
It does not cover ordinary personal data. That is dealt with in the privacy notice and the record of processing.
2. The conditions we rely on
| What | Article 9 or 10 condition | Schedule 1 condition |
|---|---|---|
| Driver medicals, fitness to work, sickness records, adjustments | Article 9(2)(b), employment and social protection law | Part 1 paragraph 1, employment, social security and social protection |
| DBS results and convictions declarations, where a role requires them | Article 10, processing under the control of official authority or authorised by law | Part 1 paragraph 1, and Part 2 where the purpose is preventing or detecting an unlawful act |
| Equality monitoring, if we ever run it | Article 9(2)(g), substantial public interest | Part 2 paragraph 8, equality of opportunity or treatment |
We do not rely on consent for any of it. Consent between an agency and somebody who wants work is rarely freely given in the sense the law means, and a basis that can be withdrawn halfway through a compliance obligation is not a basis we can run a business on. Where a worker genuinely has a free choice, such as putting a CV on file, consent is used and it is a separate tick with its own wording.
3. How we comply with each principle
| Principle | What we actually do |
|---|---|
| Lawfulness, fairness, transparency | The condition is recorded above and named in the privacy notice. Nobody is asked for a medical or a DBS without being told why, and the reason is the role rather than the person. |
| Purpose limitation | Used to decide whether somebody can safely and lawfully do a particular job, and for nothing else. Never for marketing, never for a general assessment of somebody, never shared with another client "for information". |
| Data minimisation | We record the OUTCOME, not the detail. "Medical valid to 14 March 2028" rather than a copy of the medical. "DBS clear, certificate seen 2 May, reference number" rather than the certificate. Where a copy must be kept, we say why on the file. |
| Accuracy | Expiry dates are diarised and rechecked. A record that has gone out of date is corrected or removed rather than left to be relied on by somebody in a hurry. |
| Storage limitation | The periods in section 4 below, applied on a diarised quarterly sweep rather than when somebody remembers. |
| Integrity and confidentiality | Held on the volume that only the director can reach, not in email, not in a shared folder, not on a phone. Never sent to a client: the client is told the outcome, which is all they need and all they are entitled to. |
| Accountability | This document, the record of processing, and the retention log the software writes itself. |
4. How long we keep it, and when it goes
| What | How long | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Medical, eyesight and fitness to drive | While the person is engaged and the medical is current, plus 6 months | The most sensitive thing we hold and therefore the shortest period |
| DBS outcome and reference number | 6 months after the engagement ends | DBS code of practice. The certificate itself is not retained at all |
| Sickness self certification and fit notes | 2 years, with the payroll record | Statutory sick pay records |
| Accident and incident reports | 3 years from the incident, longer while a claim is live | RIDDOR and the limitation period for injury |
| Licence endorsements | The engagement plus 2 years, as a date and a result rather than a copy | Evidence of checking, without keeping the licence |
Erasure is a deletion, not an archive. When a period ends the record is destroyed, and a paper copy goes into confidential waste rather than a bin.
5. Keeping this document itself
Paragraph 39 has three requirements about this piece of paper and they are easy to miss:
- It is reviewed and kept up to date while the processing continues.
- It is retained until six months after the processing stops, not destroyed with everything else.
- It is given to the Information Commissioner on request, free of charge. That is why it is written to be read by somebody outside this business rather than as a note to ourselves.
Reviewed at least once a year, and immediately if the law changes or if we start holding a kind of data not listed above. Every version is in the document register.
Approved for and on behalf of the company
Signature: ______________________________________ Date: ______________
Print name: _____________________________________________
Position: _______________________________________________
Signed for and on behalf of HIRINGUK LTD: ______________________________ Date: ______________
Name and position: ______________________________________
HIRINGUK LTD, company number 17414012. Appropriate policy document: health and criminal record data, version 1.0. Reviewed at least once a year and whenever the law changes. © HIRINGUK LTD. This document is issued under Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 1 Part 4 paragraph 39; UK GDPR Articles 9 and 10.
Print this document Key information document, PAYE Terms of engagement, temporary worker Terms of business with the client Assignment confirmation Weekly timesheet, driving Holiday: how it builds up, how it is paid, how to book it Candidate registration and consent Reference request Mobile worker declaration: work you do for anybody else Sickness self certification Driver infringements, and how we handle them Legitimate interests assessment Worker handbook