Summary

This Privacy Notice is a public document available to anyone who uses the Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC) payroll service and explains how we collect and process personal information relating to Employers and Employees.   This privacy notice applies to all councils and their employees who use the payroll service.

Who are we

SALC is a data controller whose office is Units 1 and 2 Hillview Business park, Claydon, Ipswich, IP6 0AJ. Our main office telephone number is : 01473 833713 and our business email address in relation to payroll is payroll@suffolk-alc.gov.uk. We have a website : www.suffolk-alc.gov.uk. SALC is made up of member local councils and parish meetings in the administrative County of Suffolk. We have a written Constitution and a SALC Board who oversee our strategic direction. Our vision is to provide specialist services that enable local councils to excel in the performance of their duties. 

What information do we collect about you

SALC collects, uses and processes a range of personal information about you during the payroll process.  This includes:

• Your contact details including your name, address, telephone number and personal email address

• Information about your right to work in the UK and copies of proof of right to work documentation

• Employer's HMRC Employer and Accounts Office reference number, address, email address and contact number

• Employee's names, address', national insurance number, date of birth, tax codes, student loan information, pay scale, hours of work, pension details, pension contributions and all information supplied by a P45 and P60

• Information in relation to sickness, maternity, paternity, bereavement and compassionate leave which may directly affect payroll

• Information in relation to any ongoing dispute both employer/employee which may directly affect payroll

• Employment contracts where required

• Holiday entitlement where required

How do we collect your personal information?

SALC collects personal information about you when you join our service by issuing three forms to obtain the information required, this includes an Application to Payroll Service Form, HMRC New Starter Form and SALC New Employee form. Information may also be shared to a secure email, over the phone or via the SALC portal either directly from you, the council or sometimes from a third party such as a solicitor. 

You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide personal information to us during the payroll process, however this may inhibit the ability to process payroll accurately. 

Your personal information may be stored in different places, including on our system, Brightpay and other IT systems, such as the email system.

Why and how do we use your personal information?

We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to.  These are known as the legal basis for processing.  We will use your personal information in one or more of the following circumstances:

• To successfully and thoroughly process payroll on behalf of the council

• To submit accurate and correct information to HMRC

• To accurately calculate an employee's pay

• To accurately calculate an Employer's PAYE/NI liability

• To accurately calculate pension contributions and submit the data to NEST or Suffolk Pension Fund

• To investigate and rectify any disputes with HMRC on behalf of the council

We need all the types of personal information listed under " what information do we collect about you"  primarily to enable us to thoroughly, completely and successfully provide our payroll service, and to enable us to comply with our legal obligations. The purpose for which we are processing, or will process, your personal information are to:

• Comply with statutory and/or regulatory requirements and obligations, eg: checking your right to work in the UK

• Ensure compliance with your statutory rights

• Ensure effective HR and personnel management where required

• Monitor equal opportunities

• Enable us to establish, exercise or defend possible legal claims.

Please note that we may process your personal information without your consent, in compliance with these rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

What if you fail to provide personal information?

If you fail to provide certain personal information when requested, we may not be able to process your payroll properly or at all, we may not be able to provide a payroll service to you, or we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations.  You may also be unable to exercise your statutory rights.

Why and how do we use your sensitive personal information?

We will only collect and use your sensitive personal information when the law allows, which includes special categories of personal information.  Some special categories of personal information, i.e. about your health and information about criminal convictions and offences, is processed so that we can perform or exercise our obligations or rights under employment law and in line with our data protection policy.  Where we need to process such information we will first provide you with full details of the personal information we would like and the reason we need it, so that you can properly consider whether you wish to consent or not.  It is entirely your choice whether to consent.  Your consent can be withdrawn at any time.  

The purposes for which we are processing, or will, process, information about health or criminal convictions and offences are to:

• Manage specific employment requirements which directly affect payroll

• Ensure compliance with your statutory rights

• Ascertain the eligibility for SSP, SMP, SPP and SHPP

• Ensure effective HR, personnel management where directly applicable

Personal information that SALC uses for these purposes is anonymised or is collected with your explicit written consent, which can be withdrawn at any time.  It is entirely your choice whether to provide such personal information.

We may also occasionally use your special categories of personal information, and information about any criminal convictions and offences, where it is needed for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, i.e. for payroll for which you have requested.

However, if you withdraw from the service, we may wish to keep your personal information on file for in case there are any future queries regarding historic payroll processes. We will ask for your consent before we keep your personal information on file for this purpose. Your consent can be withdrawn at any time.

Who has access to your personal information?

Your personal information may be shared internally within SALC for the purposes of payroll of with the council which your employment is with.  We will not share your personal information with third parties during the payroll process unless specific authority has been provided by the council i.e. in the instance of legal involvement.

Your rights in connection with your personal information

Y ou have the right to request a copy of the data we hold about you. Please contact payroll@suffolk-alc.gov.uk if you wish to request access to any of your personal data and we will always endeavour to answer your questions. Please be specific about what personal data you want to see, what it relates to and within what timeframe, as that will assist us. You also have the right to correct information we hold. Please advise us of any changes or corrections by contacting payroll@suffolk-alc.gov.uk. You have the right to withdraw your consent to use any information that was previously provided with your consent. Please advise us if you wish to withdraw any consent previously given by contacting us payroll@suffolk-alc.gov.uk. You can check details of your rights by visiting the Information Commissioner's office (ICO) website.

Changes to this privacy notice (payroll)

SALC will regularly review this notice.  This is a controlled document and is referenced ALC8(b) version 1 and was last updated on 4th September 2024. 

HR and Personnel Matters

 If our Payroll Officer is required to liaise with a third party such as a solicitor or ACAS on behalf of the council, a separate data sharing agreement will be issued to the council to provide consent to discuss personal matters with such representative prior to SALC's involvement. Written consent will always be required from the council, to SALC, before we will share any information.