Candidate Privacy Notice
Please read this notice before submitting your CV, applying for a vacancy, registering with Excel Recruitment or using our recruitment services.
1. Purpose and scope
This Candidate Privacy Notice explains how Barry M. Whelan T/A Excel Recruitment collects, uses, shares and protects candidate personal data. It is published on our website so candidates can review how their data will be used before submitting a CV, applying for a role, registering with us or using our recruitment services.
This notice applies to all candidates, applicants, temporary workers, agency workers and individuals who engage with Excel Recruitment about current or future work opportunities, whether through our website, job boards, email, telephone, candidate portal, consultants, clients or other recruitment channels.
We use candidate personal data to provide recruitment services, assess suitability for roles, manage placements, meet legal and compliance obligations, and share relevant opportunities. Further detail is set out below.
2. Who is responsible for your personal data
Barry M. Whelan T/A Excel Recruitment provides recruitment services to you, advertises the vacancy or engages you and is the company responsible for your personal data. In some placements, Excel Recruitment and the client organisation may each be separate controllers for their own processing activities.
3. Personal data we collect
Depending on the role, sector and stage of the recruitment process, we may collect and process the following categories of personal data:
• identity and contact details, including your name, address, email address, telephone number, date of birth and identification details;
• CV, application, work history, qualifications, professional memberships, skills, language capability, availability, salary or rate expectations and career preferences;
• right-to-work and immigration information, including passports, visas, work permits and related verification records;
• recruitment records, including interview notes, assessments, screening results, communications, offer information and consultant observations relevant to role suitability;
• employment and assignment information, including contracts, timesheets, attendance, working time, leave, performance, conduct, client feedback, incidents and assignment history;
• payroll and financial information where required for temporary or agency work, including bank, tax, social insurance and pension-related information;
• references, education and qualification verification, licence checks, professional registration and employment verification;
• compliance and safeguarding information required for a particular role, which may include vetting, criminal record checks, driving records, occupational health or fitness-to-work information and mandatory training records;
• equal opportunities or diversity monitoring information where collected lawfully and, where appropriate, on a voluntary basis;
• digital and technical information, including portal activity, device or browser information, IP address, cookies and communications metadata; and
• any other information you choose to provide or that is reasonably required to provide recruitment or employment services.
4. Special category and criminal offence data
Some roles may require us to process sensitive information, such as health information, disability or accommodation requirements, equality monitoring data, trade union membership, or criminal offence and vetting information. We process this data only where permitted by law and where necessary for employment, social protection, equality, safeguarding, occupational health, legal claims or another lawful purpose.
We will collect only the information reasonably required for the relevant purpose. Access is restricted to authorised persons, and additional safeguards are applied.
5. How we collect personal data
We collect personal data from several sources, including:
• directly from you through applications, registrations, interviews, telephone calls, email, forms, our website, candidate portals and supporting documentation;
• from job boards, professional networking sites, publicly available professional sources and recruitment platforms where you have made information available for employment-related purposes;
• from referees, former employers, education providers, professional bodies, screening or vetting providers and occupational health providers;
• from our clients, including vacancy requirements, interview feedback, assignment records, performance feedback, timesheets and workplace incident information;
• from other Excel Recruitment group companies, where lawful and relevant to opportunities or services; and
• from government, regulatory, tax, immigration, law-enforcement or statutory bodies where permitted or required by law.
Where we receive your personal data from another source, we will provide any information required by data protection law within the applicable timeframe, unless an exemption applies.
6. Why we use your personal data
We may use your personal data to:
• create and manage your candidate record and communicate with you;
• assess your suitability, eligibility, experience and availability for current and future roles;
• match and introduce you to prospective employers or clients and arrange interviews, assessments and placements;
• verify identity, right to work, qualifications, licences, references, professional standing and role-specific compliance requirements;
• negotiate and administer offers, contracts, assignments, payroll, benefits, expenses, working time and related employment obligations;
• manage candidate and client relationships, service quality, performance, complaints, grievances, investigations and workplace matters;
• provide alerts about relevant opportunities, career information, training or related recruitment services, subject to your communication preferences;
• comply with legal, regulatory, contractual, safeguarding, audit, tax, social security, health and safety and record-keeping obligations;
• keep our systems secure, prevent fraud, establish or defend legal claims and protect the rights, property and safety of candidates, workers, clients and Excel Recruitment; and
• improve our services, systems, candidate experience, reporting and business operations using data that is aggregated or minimised where practicable.
7. Legal bases for processing
We rely on one or more of the following legal bases, depending on the processing activity and applicable jurisdiction:
Legal basis
Pre-contractual steps or contract
When it may apply
To consider your application, match you to roles, arrange placements, enter into or administer a contract or assignment, and provide services you request.
Legal basis
Legal obligation
When it may apply
To meet employment, equality, immigration, tax, social security, working time, health and safety, safeguarding, regulatory and record keeping duties.
Legal basis
Legitimate interests
When it may apply
To operate an effective recruitment business, source and assess candidates, maintain talent pools, manage client and candidate relationships, secure systems, prevent fraud and defend legal claims, where those interests are not overridden by your rights.
Legal basis
Consent
When it may apply
For specific optional processing where consent is appropriate, such as certain marketing, talent pool retention, or particular sensitive data uses. You may withdraw consent at any time.
Legal basis
Vital interests
When it may apply
In exceptional circumstances, to protect someone’s life or physical safety.
Legal basis
Public interest or employment law condition
When it may apply
For permitted processing of special category or criminal offence data, including employment, equality, occupational health, safeguarding or substantial public interest purposes.
8. When we share your personal data
We share personal data only where necessary, lawful and proportionate. Recipients may include:
• prospective and current clients or hiring organisations, normally after discussing the relevant opportunity with you;
• Excel Recruitment authorised employees who require access for recruitment, compliance, payroll, finance, IT, legal, HR or management purposes;
• service providers supporting recruitment technology, hosting, communications, payroll, screening, background checks, testing, training, occupational health, auditing, professional advice and document management;
• referees, education providers, professional or regulatory bodies and public authorities for verification or compliance purposes;
• revenue, tax, social security, immigration, law-enforcement, courts, tribunals, regulators and other public bodies where required or permitted by law;
• insurers, legal advisers, auditors and other professional advisers; and
• a buyer, investor or successor organisation in connection with a genuine corporate transaction, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data protection safeguards.
We do not sell candidate personal data. A client that receives your personal data may have its own privacy notice and responsibilities as a controller.
9. International transfers
Your personal data may be accessed or processed outside the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, including through service providers or group operations. Where this occurs, we use an approved transfer mechanism and appropriate safeguards, such as an adequacy decision, standard contractual clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, together with supplementary technical and organisational measures where required.
You may contact us for further information about the safeguards relevant to your personal data, subject to confidentiality and security restrictions.
10. Data retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this notice, including recruitment services, legal and contractual obligations, queries, disputes and legal claims. Retention periods depend on the type of record, our relationship with you, the role or sector, statutory requirements, limitation periods and any ongoing matter.
Candidate records may be retained so that we can consider you for suitable future opportunities where we have a lawful basis to do so. We will periodically review records and delete, anonymise or securely archive information that is no longer required. If you are engaged as an employee, agency worker or contractor, relevant recruitment information may become part of your employment or assignment record and will be retained under the applicable employee or worker retention schedule.
11. Automated decision-making and profiling
We may use recruitment systems to search, filter, rank or match candidate information against vacancy criteria. These tools support our consultants and do not normally make final recruitment or placement decisions without meaningful human involvement. If we use solely automated decision-making with legal or similarly significant effects, we will provide the information and safeguards required by law.
12. Keeping your personal data secure
We use proportionate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss or destruction. These may include access controls, authentication, encryption, secure transfer methods, monitoring, staff training, confidentiality obligations, supplier due diligence, retention controls and incident-response procedures. Access is limited to those who need the information for an authorised business purpose.
13. Your data protection rights
Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have the following data protection rights:
• request access to your personal data and information about how it is processed;
• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
• ask us to erase personal data where there is no continuing lawful reason to retain it;
• ask us to restrict processing in specified circumstances;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests and object at any time to direct marketing;
• receive personal data you provided in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and transmit it to another controller where the right to portability applies;
• withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent, without affecting earlier lawful processing;
• not be subject to a solely automated decision with legal or similarly significant effects, except where legally permitted and subject to safeguards; and
• make a complaint to the relevant supervisory authority.
These rights are not absolute. We may need to verify your identity and may ask for information to help us locate the relevant records. We will respond within the period required by law and will explain any lawful limitation or refusal.
14. Your responsibilities
Please provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information and tell us promptly if your details change. If you provide personal data about another person, such as a referee or emergency contact, you should ensure that you are entitled to provide it and that the person is aware that we may process their information for the relevant purpose.
You are not required to provide every item of personal data. However, if information is necessary to consider you for a role, verify compliance, enter into a contract or meet a legal obligation, we may be unable to progress your application or placement without it.
15. Communications and job alerts
We may contact you about vacancies and recruitment services that are relevant to your experience and stated preferences where permitted by law. You can update your preferences or ask us to stop optional communications at any time by contacting your consultant or using an unsubscribe facility where provided. Service, compliance and assignment-related communications are not marketing and may continue where necessary.
16. Cookies and online services
When you use our website, job application forms, candidate portal or other online services, cookies and similar technologies may collect technical and usage information. Our website cookie notice and general website privacy information provide further detail on the technologies used, their purposes and the choices available to you.
17. Complaints and supervisory authorities
We encourage you to contact us first so that we can address any concern. You also have the right to complain to the supervisory authority in the jurisdiction in which you live or work, or where you believe an infringement occurred. In the Republic of Ireland, the supervisory authority is the Data Protection Commission. In Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, it is the Information Commissioner’s Office.
18. Contact us
For questions about this notice, to exercise a data protection right or to raise a concern, contact your Excel Recruitment consultant or use the following details:
Email [email protected]
Telephone 01 871 7676
ROI address The Capel Building, Mary’s Abbey, Dublin 7, D07 DH99
NI address Suite 301, Arthur House, 41 Arthur Street, Belfast, BT1 4GB
19. Changes to this notice
We may update this notice to reflect changes in law, regulatory guidance, technology or our recruitment practices. The current version will be published on our website and may also be provided to candidates through our consultants, candidate portal, application forms or other appropriate channels. Where a change is material, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to your attention.
