Acas Disability Discrimination Research: Privacy notice

Who are the data controllers? 

For data protection legalisation, Acas are the data controllers. NatCen is the data processor for the research. This means Acas is responsible for deciding the purpose and legal basis for processing personal data from this study. 

What is the legal basis for processing my data?

For this study, the legal basis for processing your personal data is ‘Public Task’. The condition for processing special category personal data is ‘Reasons of substantial public interest’. These legal bases pertain to Acas’ statutory duty “to promote the improvement of industrial relations” (Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992) and offer conciliation for matters which are or could be the subject of proceedings before an employment tribunal.

Who will have access to my personal data?

Only the research team at NatCen will access to your personal data (name, contact details etc). This is stored securely in line with data protection legislation. 

McGowan Transcriptions is the transcription service NatCen use to transcribe online and telephone interview data. They will have access to recordings and transcriptions from all online and telephone interviews. McGowan Transcriptions is on NatCen’s approved supplier list and compliant with all their information security policy.

How will NatCen use your information?

Data will only be used for research purposes. NatCen will write up the findings in a report in a way that protects your anonymity. The report may contain direct quotes from the data you provide us, however no information that could specifically identify you will be included. 

NatCen will not attribute any views to you but report the overall views of all the people that participated in the research. NatCen will also not tell anyone else, including Acas, what you have personally said, nor will NatCen include any names or personal details in the report. The findings of the research will be published on the Acas website. All information for this study will be securely deleted 6 months after the research is complete. 

You can withdraw your data from this study at any time prior to analysis at the end of February 2024.

Who are NatCen?

NatCen is an independent social research institute. We design, conduct, and analyse research studies in the fields of social and public policy. NatCen researchers are responsible for this project and are delivering the surveys and interviews.

Your data protection rights

You have rights with regards to your personal data. You may have a right to request:

  • a copy of the information that NatCen holds about you ('subject access request' (SAR) in the UK GDPR)
  • that anything inaccurate in your personal data is corrected ('rectification' in the UK GDPR)
  • that we remove your personal data ('right to erasure' in the UK GDPR)
  • that we use your personal data only in specific circumstances ('restriction' in the UK GDPR)
  • that we stop processing your personal data ('object' in the UK GDPR)
  • to get your personal data so you can reuse it across different services ('data portability' in the UK GDPR)

You may also have rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling.

Who to contact if you have a query or complaint? 

To contact the research team at NatCen, please email AcasDDstudy@natcen.ac.uk or call 0808 168 2153 free of charge. 

Alternatively, to contact the research team at Acas directly, please email research@acas.org.uk.

If you have any questions about how your data will be used for this research, you can contact NatCen’s Data Protection Officer at dpo@natcen.ac.uk. Or you can contact Acas’s Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@acas.org.uk. (Acas’s full privacy notice is available at acas.org.uk/privacy)

Under General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), you have the right to lodge a complaint about how information has been used or managed with the Information Commissioner’s Office on 0303 123 1113.