UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI 

Staff Privacy Statement 

The University of Nairobi is aware of its obligations under the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019) and is committed to processing your data securely and transparently. This privacy notice sets out, in line with the Data Protection Act 2019, the types of data that we hold on you as an employee of the University.  It also sets out how the University will use that information, how long the information will be kept and other relevant information about your data. 

This notice applies to current and former employees, workers and contractors. 

Data controller details

The University is a data controller, meaning that it determines the processes to be used when using your personal data. Our contact details are as follows: [University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, GPO, Nairobi, Kenya; Tel: (+254-20) 491 0000] 

Data protection principles

In relation to your personal data, the University will: 

Types of data the University will  process

The University shall  hold the following data about you; 

How data will be collected

The University shall collect data about you in a variety of ways.  The initial collection of your personal data  will be during a recruitment exercise where you directly provide the data.  This includes the information you would normally include in a CV or a recruitment cover letter, or notes made by our recruiting officers during a recruitment interview. Further information will be collected directly from you again, when you complete forms at the start of your employment, for example, your bank and next of kin details. Other details may be collected directly from you in the form of official documentation such as your passport or other right-to-work evidence.  

In some instances, the University will collect data about you from third parties, such as former employers when gathering references or credit reference bureaus. 

Personal data shall be stored manually in physical personnel files or electronically within the University’s human resource information systems.

 

Using cookies

Cookies are pieces of information stored directly on the computer that you are using. Cookies allow the collection of information such as browser type, time spent on the Services, pages visited, language preferences, and other traffic data. The University may use the information for security purposes, to facilitate navigation, to display information more effectively, and to personalize your experience.

Why process your data?

The Data Protection Act, 2019  allows the processing of your data for the following reasons only: 

All of the personal data processing carried will fall under any one of the permitted reasons. For example, the University shall need to process your personal data in order to: 

Your data shall also be processed in order to ensure compliance with legal requirements such as:

Other legitimate reasons for the University to process your data are:  

Special categories of data

 

Special categories of data are data relating to your:  

The University shall process special categories of data in accordance with more stringent guidelines. These special categories of data shall be processed when the following applies: 

The University shall also process your special category data: 

Although consent may not be needed in order to process the special categories of personal data in order to carry out legal obligations or exercise specific rights under employment law, consent will be sought when the University is called upon to process particularly sensitive data. If this occurs, you will be made fully aware of the reasons for the processing. As with all cases of seeking consent from you, you will have full control over your decision to give or withhold consent and there will be no consequences where consent is withheld.

Consent, once given, can be withdrawn at any time with no consequences.  

If you do not provide your data to us

Should you not provide us with the personal data that is needed for the University to carry out its legal obligation expected under your contract of employment, the University will subsequently be unable to perform the said duties for example. ensuring you are paid correctly. The University may also be prevented from confirming, or continuing with, your employment in relation to the legal obligations if you do not provide this information e.g. confirming your right to work in Kenya or, where appropriate, confirming your legal status for carrying out your work via a criminal records check.  

Sharing your data

Your data will be shared with colleagues within the University where it is necessary for them to undertake their duties. This includes, for example, your immediate supervisor for their management of you, the personnel department for maintaining personnel records and the finance department for administering payment under your contract of employment.  

 

The University will share your data with third parties in order to meet regulatory obligations such as statutory remittances to KRA, obligations to Disclose, Deduct and Discharge payments to HELB or for other reasons to comply with a legal obligation upon us. 

The University does not share your data with bodies outside Kenya. 

Protecting your data

The University fully protects your data against accidental loss or disclosure, destruction and abuse by implementing both organizational and technical security measures.  

Data shared with third parties is in line with requirements in the Data Protection Act, 2019 and the third parties must also implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure the security of your data.

 

How long the University keeps your data 

Your personal data will be retained only for as long as may  be reasonably necessary to satisfy the purpose for which it is processed and following the data retention guidelines in the University’s Records Management Policy.

Automated decision making

No decision will be made about you solely on the basis of automated decision making (where a decision is taken about you using an electronic system without human involvement) which has a significant impact on you. 

Your rights in relation to your data

The Data Protection Act, 2019 has prescribed the following rights to you as the data owner:  

Where you have provided consent to the use of your data, you also have the unrestricted right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent means that the University will stop processing the data that you had previously consent to use. There will be no consequences for withdrawing your consent. 

If you wish to exercise any of the rights explained above, please contact the VC’s office.

 

Making a complaint

The supervisory authority in Kenya for data protection matters is the Data Commissioner (DC).  If you think your data protection rights have been breached in any way by us, you are able to make a complaint to the Data Commissioner’s office.

 

Last Updated on January 18, 2024