Research on Work Rights: Privacy notice

This privacy notice explains the legal basis for processing data for this research; who will have access to your personal data; how your data will be used, stored and deleted; and who you can contact if you have a query or complaint.

Who is collecting my data?

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is carrying out this research on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to understand more about people’s experiences of their working arrangements, their understanding of the rights they can access, and decision-making about their work.
NatCen is Britain’s largest independent social research agency. Over the last 50 years we’ve asked the public what they think about many different issues, enabling us to collect evidence to help inform policy decisions and present insights into human behaviour and attitudes. NatCen is independent of all government departments and political parties.

What is the legal basis for processing data?

For the purpose of data protection legislation, DBT are the data controllers and NatCen are the data processers. This means DBT is responsible for deciding the purpose and legal basis for processing data from this study. For this study, the legal basis for processing data is ‘Public Task’.

Why have I been selected?

You are being invited to take part on the basis of answers you gave when you completed a NatCen Panel survey in April-May last year. You may remember taking part in the survey and answering some questions about your work at the time.

What data is being collected?

Personal data collected as part of this research will include contact details, geographical region, age, employment status and views on your working arrangements and work rights. Your personal details will not be held for any longer than is necessary and data will be securely deleted within 2 years of submission of the final report.

With your permission, interviews will be audio recorded and transcribed.

Who will have access to my personal data?

Your data will be held securely by NatCen in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Only the NatCen research team and McGowan Transcriptions, our trusted transcription service, will have access to personal data that you provide during the interview. McGowan Transcriptions is on NatCen’s approved supplier list and compliant with all of NatCen’s information security policies.

What will you do with the information I give?

The data collected will be used for research purposes only.

NatCen will write a report covering the main themes and issues that have been discussed in the interviews. The report will be published on the Research and Statistics - GOV.UK website.

NatCen will not name you in the report. The report may include brief verbatim quotations from your interview. No identifiable information will be included in these quotations, which will be reported anonymously.

All personal information, and any other data held on the project, will be securely deleted within 2 years of the end of the final output / report.

You can withdraw from the study at any time prior to analysis by 20 May 2026. If you wish to do so, please contact the NatCen research team on the study email address or freephone number provided below.

What are my rights?

You have rights with regards to your personal data. These include:

  • The right to request copies of your personal data.
  • The right to ask us to correct any personal data that we hold about you that’s inaccurate or incomplete.
  • The right to ask us to delete personal data that we hold about you.
  • The right to object or restrict how we’re processing your personal data.

Will I have access to my information?

Yes, but please note that once your interview data is anonymised and combined with others as part of our analysis, we would not be able to change the findings by removing individual information. However, you can always request that your personal data be deleted or updated, and we will let you know immediately if this is possible or not.

Who to contact if you have a query or complaint?

To contact the research team at NatCen, please use email workrights@natcen.ac.uk or call 0808 281 0307 free of charge.

If you have any questions about how your data will be used, you can contact NatCen’s Data Protection Officer at dpo@natcen.ac.uk.

DBT’s privacy policy has more information about your rights in relation to your personal data, how to complain and how to contact the Data Protection Officer. You can view it at Personal information charter - Department for Business and Trade - GOV.UK

If you are unhappy with the way your personal data is being processed, you can report it to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk/ or by calling the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113.