Careers and Employability Service privacy notice

The Careers and Employability Service is part of the University of Leicester, who are the Data Controller for your information. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at dpo@leicester.ac.uk  

This Privacy Notice provides information about how the University of Leicester collects and uses your personal information.

What information are you collecting?

We may obtain, hold and process data relating to students and graduates including personal details, family and social circumstances, education and training records, employment information and financial details. The University may also hold Information from other third parties such as employers and professional mentors, including business registration information, contact details, employment information and financial details. It may obtain, hold and process special category data of students and graduates including racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, biometric data, and disability data, whether regarding physical or mental health or specific learning difficulty.

Why are you collecting my data?

We process the data of our applicants and students in order to manage our processes and services. Information from non-students such as employers or other professional bodies is collected in order to provide careers services such as applications, event registration and promotion of mentoring and support opportunities available within the University. Only information required for these purposes is obtained and processed, and without it the University may not be able to provide its services to you or meet our student contract obligations.

How will you use this information?

We will use personal data (including special category data) to administer the careers service offered to you and meet the obligations in the student contract including:

• provision of support services in relation to careers development:
  • monitoring of attendance;
  • provision of references;
  • provision of application coaching services
  • submission of applications within the University, to external employers and other third parties on request of the individual
  • providing details of support, mentoring, career opportunities and events available within and outside the University
• maintenance of student records;
• financial transactions (e.g invoices, bursaries and scholarships)
• supplying statutory returns (e.g. HESA Graduates Outcome Survey)

We may also use your data for other administrative purposes, for example: to undertake statistical analysis, carry out compliance audits, promote services, gather and process feedback or answer enquiries.

What is the legal basis for processing the data?

Student and graduate personal data are collected and processed by the University as necessary for the performance of a contract under which the University provides services to students and graduates. Information relating to employers and third parties is also collected on the same basis.

Special category data of students and graduates is collected and processed under the explicit consent of individuals.

If you are sharing my data with others, who are you sharing it with?

For purposes referred to in this privacy notice we may share your personal data with certain third parties. If that is the case, the university has in place contracts with data processors and data sharing agreements with data controllers to ensure your data is kept securely. Students are given the opportunity to opt-out of some data sharing arrangements, but we encourage students to think carefully about the impact of doing so. Where an opt-out is not in place, we will disclose relevant personal data to third parties, including:

• Our employees, partners, agents and contractors, where there is a legitimate reason for receiving information (e.g departmental staff, software providers – such as Target Connect .)
• The University of Leicester Students’ Union for the purposes of applications or volunteering
• Third party education providers (e.g. in relation to exchange programmes or placement opportunities)
• Providers of financial services engaged by the University, for example for the payment of fees, refunds, loans and similar services
• Companies providing employment opportunities

How long will you retain my data?

A summary academic record for individual students will be kept permanently by the University, with detailed records kept for defined periods. CVs and other job related information will be retained for the period of the application process. Details of our retention periods can be found in the University’s Retention Schedule.

What are my rights and how can I enforce them?

You have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data, to object to or restrict how it is used, to request its transfer to another organisation, and to avoid decisions made solely by automated processes.

Some of the above rights are not absolute. If you want to exercise any of the rights described above, please contact the University’s Information Assurance Team via on the email at the end of this notice. 

We will do our best to respond quickly and within the timeframes set out by data protection law. To help us handle your request and improve our services, we may keep a record of our communications with you. 

Complaints to the University

If you are dissatisfied with the way the University have used your information, you should complain to the University’s Information Assurance Team via the email at the end of this notice.

Complaints to the ICO

If you are not satisfied with the way the University has handled your complaint, you also have the right to raise your concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is an independent authority which oversees how personal data is used. Guidance on how to contact the ICO can be found at www.ico.org.uk  

Changes to this privacy notice

This privacy notice was published in July 2026. If you have any questions about this privacy notice or if you would like to access any of your rights, please contact Information Assurance Services: ias@leicester.ac.uk