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Privacy Policy

Introduction

The Institute of Education (referred to as “The Institute”, “we”, “our”, “us”) fully respects your right to privacy and actively seeks to preserve the privacy rights of those who share information with us. This includes protecting the data we collect and store, and your right to access that data. This policy is informed by the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended. It applies to all staff (current and former), employees, workers and contractors within The Institute.

The Institute is a “controller”. This means we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use your personal information. We are required under data protection legislation to notify you of the information contained in this privacy notice.

This notice applies to all current and former employees, workers and contractors. It does not form part of any contract of employment or other contract to provide services. We may update this notice at any time; if we do, we will provide you with an updated copy as soon as reasonably practicable.

Please read and retain this notice, along with any other privacy notice we may give you when collecting or processing your personal information, so you understand how and why we use it and what your rights are.

The information we hold about you

When you are an employee with The Institute, we collect and use your personal data. This may include, but is not limited to:

How is your information collected?

As a staff member or former staff member, some of your personal data is processed during recruitment, throughout your employment, and after your employment ends. This data comes mainly from you, but may also come from other sources, such as a former employer or manager. Additional information may be added to your record during your employment. The Institute may share information between internal departments where necessary and proportionate for the intended purpose.

Processing Principles

For the use of personal data to be lawful, it must be processed on a legal basis as set out under Articles 6 and 9 GDPR.

The Institute will ensure your data is processed fairly and lawfully, in keeping with data protection principles, and will rely on different legal bases depending on the purpose of collection, including to:

We only use your personal information for the purposes below, except as restricted or required by law. We rely on several separate and overlapping legal bases:

We also process your data to pursue the following legitimate interests:

If you fail to provide certain information when requested, we may be unable to perform our contract with you (such as paying you or providing a benefit), or we may be unable to comply with our legal obligations (such as ensuring worker health and safety).

We will only use your personal information for the purpose it was collected, unless we reasonably need it for another compatible reason. If we need to use it for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and explain the legal basis.

We may process your personal information without your knowledge or consent where this is required or permitted by law.

For more detail on what data we collect, why, how we use it and the legal basis, see our Data Protection Policy at www.instituteofeducation.ie.

Who we share your information with

We share your personal data with third parties, including other government bodies, such as the Department of Social Protection and the Revenue Commissioners. The extent and nature of sharing depends on various factors. Public authorities we transfer data to will use it for their own purposes (for example, to verify information they already hold) and may combine it with other data they hold about you.

We may also share your data with other third parties, including our insurance company and service providers such as IT providers, payroll providers and legal advisors.

For more detail on who we share your data with, when, and why, see our Data Protection Policy.

Use of photographs for yearbooks, social media, website, etc.

The Institute regularly features photographs and videos of life at The Institute in its marketing and promotions. New staff members receive a consent form to sign and return to HR. By signing and returning this form, staff consent to their image and likeness being featured in Institute promotions.

The Marketing Department periodically arranges photoshoots and video recordings with staff members. These are used to promote our full-time and part-time school.

Transferring your information outside the EU

It may be necessary to transfer some of your information to countries outside the European Union. This could happen, for example, if a data processor’s servers are located outside the EU. Such countries may not have data protection laws equivalent to those in the EU. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storage or processing. Where we do transfer information outside the EU, we take steps to ensure appropriate security measures are in place to protect your privacy rights as set out in this policy.

How long we hold your data

We retain data for the duration of your employment and up to seven years afterwards. If you apply for a position but are unsuccessful, we retain your data for up to one year. After this, your data is destroyed by confidential shredding or deletion from The Institute’s database.

Rights of access, correction, erasure and restriction

Under certain circumstances, you have the right to:

To review, verify, correct or request erasure of your personal information, object to processing, or request a transfer of your data, please contact the DPO in writing.

It’s important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed of any changes during your working relationship with us.

Contact details

If you have concerns about how your personal data is processed, please contact:

DPO Officer

The Institute of Education

79–85 Lower Leeson Street

Dublin 2

Email: gdpr@instituteofeducation.ie

Telephone: 01-6613511

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Data Protection Commission’s Office, or to seek a judicial remedy.

Data Protection Commission’s contact details:

Web: https://www.dataprotection.ie/

Post:

Data Protection Commission

21 Fitzwilliam Square South

Dublin 2

D02 RD28

Ireland

The Institute of Education reserves the right to update or amend this policy at any time.

Date of Policy: May 2026