How we use your personal information Version 1.0 - 12/08/2026. We'll tell you if this changes.
Who we are
Essential Jewellery (Essential Jewellery LTD, company number 03453283, registered office Chilbolton Avenue, Winchester, SO225HJ) is the data controller for the information we hold about you as an employee.
Questions, or want to exercise any of the rights below? Contact Alex Andrew - alex@essentialjewellery.com.
Where your information is held
We use Essential HR, our own staff app, for rotas, hours, holiday, pay information and onboarding. It runs on Google Workspace, and the information is stored in our Google account. Google acts only on our instructions and cannot use your information for its own purposes.
What we hold, and why
| What | Why we need it | Our legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Name, address, phone, email, date of birth | Employing you, contacting you | Performance of your contract |
| National Insurance number, passport number, right-to-work evidence | Proving you're entitled to work in the UK, and paying tax correctly | Legal obligation |
| Bank details, sort code, account number | Paying you | Performance of your contract |
| P45 or starter statement | Getting your tax code right | Legal obligation |
| Hours worked, breaks, rota, holiday, TOIL | Paying you correctly, managing the shop | Performance of your contract |
| Sickness absence | Paying sick pay, managing staffing, meeting our duties to you | Legal obligation and our legitimate interests — plus, because this is health information, the "employment" condition in Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 |
| Availability | Building fair rotas | Legitimate interests |
| Your employment contract and signature | Recording what we've agreed | Performance of your contract |
| Manager notes, appraisals and review scores | Supporting and developing you, managing performance | Legitimate interests |
| Poll responses | Asking your opinion on things like rota preferences | Legitimate interests |
| Records of when you signed in to the app | Keeping the app secure | Legitimate interests |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we've weighed our reasons against your privacy and concluded the processing is reasonable and what you'd expect from an employer. You can object — see below.
Where a box is marked legal obligation or performance of your contract, we can't employ or pay you without that information.
Who sees what
- Your store manager sees your rota, hours, holiday, availability, and the notes and reviews they write about you. They cannot see your bank details, National Insurance number, passport number or P45.
- Area managers and admins see the above across stores, and admins can see your full employee details form because they run payroll.
- Your colleagues see the shop rota, which shows when you're working or away. They are not told why you're away — absences show only as "Away".
- HMRC receives payroll information, as required by law.
- Our payroll and accounting software (Sage 50, Xero) receives what it needs to pay you.
We do not sell your information or use it for marketing. There is no automated decision-making: a person decides on your holiday, your reviews and your pay.
How long we keep it
| Payroll and timesheet records | 6 years after the end of the tax year |
| Employment contract | 6 years after you leave |
| Bank details | Deleted shortly after your final payment |
| Right-to-work evidence | 2 years after you leave |
| Sickness records | 3 years |
| Manager notes and reviews | 2 years |
| App sign-in records | 12 months |
Your rights
You can ask us to:
- Give you a copy of what we hold about you (a "subject access request"). This includes manager notes and review scores.
- Correct anything wrong — you can also update most of it yourself in the app.
- Delete information we no longer have a good reason to keep. We can't delete payroll records inside the periods above, because the law requires us to keep them.
- Restrict or object to processing based on legitimate interests, including manager notes and reviews.
- Receive your information in a portable format.
We'll respond within one month, free of charge. Ask Alex Andrew (alex@essentialjewellery.com) to start.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or 0303 123 1113.
Keeping it safe
Access to the app is by a one-time link sent to your work email — there's no shared password. What you can see depends on your role. Sensitive documents such as your P45 and contract are never publicly shared: they're released only after the app checks it's you, or an authorised admin, asking. Every change to staff records is logged.
Please don't share your sign-in link, and tell Alex Andrew (alex@essentialjewellery.com) straight away if you think someone else has had access to your account.
