Privacy Policy

National Grid Electricity Distribution Candidate Privacy Policy

This policy explains how we use personal information we collect from candidates applying for roles at National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED). It explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and what rights individuals have in relation to that information.

Who we are

In this privacy policy references to National Grid Electricity Distribution (“NGED”) are references to the following companies: National Grid Electricity Distribution (East Midlands) Plc (company number 2366923), National Grid Electricity Distribution (West Midlands) Plc (company number 3600574), National Grid Electricity Distribution (South West) Plc (company number: 2366894) and National Grid Electricity Distribution (South Wales) Plc (company number: 2366985). References to "we", "us", and "our" are references to NGED. Our registered office is at Avonbank, Feeder Road, Bristol BS2 0TB.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about this policy, or about how we use your personal information, you may contact us using the following details:

E-mail us at: nged.info@nationalgrid.co.uk;

Call us on: 0800 096 3080.

What personal information do we collect about you?

We collect the following personal information about you:

    • your name;

    • your address;

    • your email address;

    • your contact number;

    • information relating to your apprenticeship, if you are applying for one;

    • other information you provide as part of your CV or application, including for example, information about your previous employment, your hobbies and interests, and your driver’s licence;

    • personal information that you share with us when you interact with us, for example, when you email us, when you use our website chat function, or when you contact us by phone;

    • personal information you provide to us when you enquire about a role listed on our website;

    • we may collect some sensitive personal information from you. For example we may collect personal information about:

      • criminal convictions, your racial or ethnic origin, or your sexual orientation, which we collect for diversity and equal opportunities monitoring purposes; and

      • your health, which we use to process your suitability for a role; and

    • we may also ask for additional information to assist us with our recruitment process and in the event you are offered a job.

We collect personal information about you from other sources

We collect personal information about you from other sources including  previous employers, referees, recruitment agencies and third party suppliers who provide services to us (for example, when we undertake criminal records or identification checks). If you are applying for a role, which involves driving a vehicle we may also obtain information about your driver’s licence from third parties. We also use social media (such as LinkedIn), job boards and online sites to find and contact potential candidates for roles at NGED (thereby collecting some personal information about potential candidates from those sites).  If you use social media and make your profiles visible to the public, we may review your social media profiles.

How do we use your personal information?

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

  • to process your application, to verify information you have provided to us is correct (for example, by contacting referees);

  • to assess your suitability for a role (for example by carrying out criminal records or identification checks); and

  • for purposes relating to the administration of your apprenticeship of you are applying for one, to contact you about your application, and for equality and diversity monitoring.

With whom do we share your personal information?

We may share your personal information with third parties if we need to in order to process your application. For example, we may share your personal information with certain third party suppliers who carry out services on our behalf, with recruitment agencies who may be involved in the recruitment process, and with other members of our group of companies. We may also share you personal information with third parties if we need to for legal reasons, including in protecting our legal rights or those of a third party, or if the law requires to us. In relation to apprenticeships, we may share your personal information with third parties involved in the administration of the apprenticeship.

What is our legal basis for using your personal information?

We rely on the following legal grounds whenever we process your personal information:

  • it is in our legitimate interests to process it (for example it is in our legitimate interests to process your application when we are considering your suitability for a role);

  • because we need to use in to exercise certain rights or perform certain employment rights or obligations which either you or us may have; and

  • we may process your personal information for reasons of substantial public interest, or if we obtain your consent.

For how long do we keep your personal information?

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to process and administer your application.  In relation to personal information we have collected from you, we may retain this for as long as it remains useful and relevant to us to ensure we are treating applicants fairly and equally in accordance with equality and employment laws.  

What rights do you have in relation to the personal information we hold about you?

You have the following rights in relation to your personal information:

• to have access to any personal information we hold about you;

• to ask us to erase the personal information we hold about you;

• to ask us not to use your personal information for direct-marketing purposes;

• to restrict the way that we process your personal information;

• to have your personal information provided to a third party provider of services;

• to have a copy of any personal information which we hold about you; and

• to object to our processing of your personal information.

If you need help or wish to exercise any of the above rights or have questions about them, please contact us using the details above. We will consider all such requests and provide our response as soon as we can. Please note, however, that personal information may be exempt from such requests in certain circumstances, which may include needing to keep processing your personal information for our legitimate interests or to comply with a legal obligation. Please note that we may request you provide us with information necessary to confirm your identity.

Complaints and queries

If you have any complaints, queries or questions about how we use your personal information, you may contact us using the contact details set out above.  We will then get in touch with you to see how we can help. If you have a complaint about how we use your personal information, we would always prefer you to contact us first. However, you may also make a complaint to the relevant data privacy regulator if you wish to do so. Please let us know if you are unsure about how to get in touch with the data privacy regulator.