Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service
Last updated: 4 March 2020
The following privacy notice only applies to staff working for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue and should be read in addition to the main staff privacy notice.
Warwickshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service collects and processes personal data relating to our staff in order to manage our working relationship with you. We are committed to being transparent about how we collect and use your personal data and to meeting our data protection obligations.
Purpose for processing personal information
The Service processes personal information in order for us to carry out basic administration, firefighting, deliver other emergency services, fire protection and fire prevention which includes:
- To ensure the Fire and Rescue meets its statutory obligations, including those related to diversity and equal opportunity
- To provide personalised personal protective equipment
- Managing and maintaining the Health & Safety and the health and fitness of our staff
- Providing support services including Occupational Health and counselling services for our staff
- To provide appropriate training for the various roles
- to ensure that relevant staff have the correct DVLA licence categories in order to drive WFRS vehicles
- Managing working patterns
- Recognising and rewarding staff ie long service awards, commendations
- Reporting incidents and accidents
- Service reviews and improvement
- Maintaining our own accounts and records, including the management of fire service assets and property
- Supporting and managing our employees
- Undertaking research
- Training staff using video and audio recordings
- Using building and vehicle CCTV systems for monitoring and collecting visual images for the purpose of security, the prevention and detection of crime
Types of personal information collected and the lawful basis for processing
The service processes personal information which includes but is not limited to:
- Personal details – for example, name / age / address / National Insurance number and family details
- Personal measurements for kit
- Contact information including email address
- Financial details
- Lifestyle and social circumstances
- Details of incidents and accidents
- Licences, certificates held
- Education, training, competency level and employment details
- Visual (photo/video) imagery and audio recordings
The legal bases for processing this personal information
- For compliance with a legal obligation
- Legitimate interests for employment, network access and system security
We also process sensitive (special category) personal information which may include but is not limited to:
- Physical or mental health details
- Racial or ethnic origin
- Offences and alleged offences
- Trade union membership
The legal bases for processing this sensitive (special category) information are:
- Obligations under employment for staff
- Establishment, exercise or defence of a legal claim
- For assessing the working capacity of an employee
For the staff counselling service and for awards and recognitions, the lawful basis for the processing of personal information is:
- Consent to the processing
Who we may share your information with
Occasionally, we may need to share the personal information you have given to us or we’ve collect about you with partner organisations. These include but are not limited to:
- Other blue light emergency services, for example police/ambulance
- Hospitals, healthcare and welfare organisations
- Personalised equipment suppliers
- Local and central government incl. HMICFRS
- DVLA
- Health and safety executive
- Courts and law enforcement / prosecuting authorities / solicitors
- Insurance companies and loss adjusters
- Press/media
We do have specific data sharing agreements in place with local agencies and sometimes the law requires that we may have to pass your details on to a third party – for example to prevent crime.
Information will only ever be shared when it is strictly necessary to help us provide effective services and in some instances you may have the right to refuse. We will not pass it onto any other parties unless we are required to do so by law or in all reasonable circumstances the disclosure is fair and warranted for the purposes of processing or subject to Data Protection exemptions.
How long we will hold your information
This can be 6, 10, 25, 40, 50 or 75 years depending on the nature of the information recorded.
For further details please see WCC HR retention/disposal schedule on Information Management's Retention and Disposal (staff access only)
Please note: all stated retention periods will be subject to any legal holds imposed under the Inquiries Act 2005 that may concern the information and override standard retention.
Your information rights
Your rights are set out in the WCC staff privacy notice.