NEREO National Recruitment Branding Pilot

Privacy Statement

Scotland Employment Attitudes Survey · tellusabout.org.uk

This privacy statement applies to the Scotland Employment Attitudes Survey, which is aimed at people currently working outside the public sector in Scotland. It explains what information is collected, why, how it is stored, and what your rights are.

Please read this statement before completing the survey. By submitting your responses, you confirm that you have read and understood it.

01 Who we are

This survey is being conducted as part of the NEREO National Recruitment Branding Pilot, a collaborative research initiative involving Scottish local authorities working in partnership with COSLA, the Society of Personnel Directors Scotland (SPDS), and Myjobscotland.

The purpose of the pilot is to understand how Scottish councils can position themselves as employers of choice, particularly in the eyes of people who currently work in the private sector. The research will inform the development of shared employer branding principles and a national recruitment campaign on behalf of Scottish councils.

For the purposes of this privacy statement, the data controller is the lead local authority coordinating the NEREO pilot. If you have any questions about how your data is handled, please contact us at the details provided in Section 9 below.

02 What information we collect

This survey collects the following types of information:

• The area of Scotland in which you live
• Your current employment situation (for example, employed in the private sector, self-employed, or seeking work)
• Your age group
• Your approximate gross annual household income (by band)
• Your highest level of educational attainment
• Your views on what makes an employer attractive
• Your attitudes towards the private and public sectors as places to work
• Your perceptions of local councils as employers
• Your career values, motivations, and psychological preferences
• Your responses to statements about identity, risk, and career ambition
• Your opinions on job advertising and what influences your job search
• Open-text reflections on employer attractiveness and council employment

We do not collect your name, email address, home address, or any other information that would directly identify you. A system-generated respondent ID is assigned to each submission for data management purposes only.

03 Special category data

This survey does not intentionally collect any special category personal data as defined under UK GDPR, such as data concerning racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health, sexual orientation, or trade union membership.

There is a possibility that respondents may voluntarily include such information in open-text responses. Where this occurs, the information will be treated with additional care and will not be used in any way that could identify the individual.

04 Why we collect this information

We collect this information in order to:

• Understand the motivations, values, and attitudes of people who currently work outside the public sector in Scotland
• Identify the psychological and practical barriers that may prevent private sector workers from considering council employment
• Develop character-type profiles of different jobseeker audiences that can inform recruitment advertising principles for Scottish councils
• Understand what messaging, channels, and employer characteristics would make Scottish councils more attractive as employers
• Compare the perspectives of private sector workers with those of public sector workers surveyed separately
• Produce evidence-based recommendations for a shared national employer brand for Scottish local government

Your responses will be analysed in aggregate alongside those of other respondents. No individual will be identifiable in any published findings, reports, or recommendations.

05 Our lawful basis for processing

We process the information collected through this survey under the following lawful bases as set out in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR):

If you choose not to complete the survey, this will have no impact on you whatsoever. There is no obligation to participate and no consequence to declining.

06 How we store and protect your information

Survey responses are collected via Podio, a cloud-based platform, through a webform hosted at tellusabout.org.uk. The data is stored within the NEREO project workspace, which is accessible only to authorised members of the research team.

The following safeguards are in place:

• Access to the Podio workspace is restricted to named members of the NEREO research team
• No directly identifiable personal data, such as names or email addresses, is collected through this survey
• Data exports for analysis are stored on password-protected, encrypted devices
• Open-text responses are reviewed before any publication to ensure no individual can be identified from the content
• Data will not be transferred outside the United Kingdom without appropriate safeguards in place
• The tellusabout.org.uk website is hosted securely and accessed via HTTPS

07 How long we keep your information

Survey response data will be retained for the duration of the NEREO pilot and for a period of up to 24 months following the conclusion of the research, to allow for longitudinal analysis and any follow-up research activity.

After this retention period, all raw survey data will be securely deleted. Anonymised, aggregated findings may be retained indefinitely for use in published reports, policy documents, and future employer branding activity.

08 Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Please note that because this survey is designed to be anonymous, we may not be able to locate or isolate your specific responses once submitted. If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 9.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been handled inappropriately. The ICO can be contacted at ico.org.uk or by telephone on 0303 123 1113.

09 Contact us

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, or about how your data is used in connection with this survey, please contact:

10 Your consent

By proceeding with this survey, you confirm that:

• You have read and understood this privacy statement
• You understand that your participation is entirely voluntary and that you may close the survey at any point before submission without any consequence
• You consent to your anonymised responses being used for the purposes described above
• You understand that once submitted, your responses may not be individually retrievable due to the anonymous nature of the survey
• You are 18 years of age or over

tellusabout.org.uk · Operated by NEREO   Last updated July 2026