Switch Recruitment Services Ltd respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it. Switch Recruitment Services Ltd provides this Privacy Policy to inform you of our policy and practices and to inform you of the way your information is collected and used.

This Privacy Policy applies to www.switch-recruitment.com and data we receive from you via this site or by any other means.  Switch Recruitment Services Ltd ensures that any data received will be processed and kept secure to ensure that Switch Recruitment Services Ltd complies with its obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 (the DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR) from May 2018.

By using our website you agree to the collection, use and transfer of the information you provide to us in line with the terms of this Privacy policy.

Switch Recruitment Services Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Our principles:

• We will only collect and use your information where we have lawful grounds and legitimate business reasons to do so
• We will be transparent in our dealings with you and tell you how we’ll collect and use your information
• We will not ask for more information than we need for the purposes for which we’re collecting it
• If we collect your information for a particular purpose we'll only use it for that purpose, unless you’ve been otherwise informed and given your permission where relevant
• We will update our records when you tell us that your details have changed
• We will periodically review your personal information to ensure we don’t keep it for longer than is necessary
• We will ensure that your information is securely disposed of at the end of the appropriate retention period
• We will observe your rights under applicable privacy and data protection laws and will ensure that queries relating to privacy issues are dealt with promptly and transparently
• We will train our staff on their privacy obligations
• We will ensure we have appropriate physical and technological security measures to protect your information regardless of where it’s held

Information we hold about you and how we will use it:

We will collect data about you, both personal data (such as your name and contact details) and also specific areas of data (such as information in your CV). The personal data and specific data will be stored, processed, used and disclosed by us in the following ways:

• Register to use, or visit our website
• To provide our recruitment services to you and to send your information (including CV) to our clients
• To assess data about you against vacancies where we believe you hold the relevant skills and experience
• To enable you to submit your CV, apply online for jobs or to contact us, or be kept informed, about jobs that may be of interest to you
• To keep you updated and to answer your questions and enquiries
• To enable us to develop and market other products and services and where you have consented to being contacted for such purposes
• To improve our customer service and to make our services more valuable to you
• To send you details of reports, promotions, offers, networking and client events and general information about the industry sectors which we think might be of interest to you where you have consented to being contacted for such purposes
• To third parties where we have retained them to provide services that we, you or our client have requested including references, qualifications and criminal reference checking services, verification of the details you have provided from third party source, psychometric evaluation or skill test
• To third parties, regulatory or law enforcement agencies if we believe in good faith that we are required by law to disclose it in connection with the detection of crime, the collection of taxes or duties, in order to comply with any applicable law or order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or in connection with legal proceedings
• To carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us

From time to time we may seek your consent to process, use or disclose your information for any other purpose not listed above.

Our Promise to candidates:

We will never share your personal details or Curriculum Vitae with a third party without your consent, and then we will only share the personal information with that one company or individual.

How long we hold information about you:

We are required by law to hold your information for as long as is necessary to comply with our statutory and contractual obligations and in accordance with our legitimate interests as a data controller.

Due to the nature of recruitment, a significant number of candidates reconnect with our organisation periodically.  It is not uncommon for this to occur years after we have placed them in a role.  For this reason, your consent includes explicit consent to retain your personal details until such time as you wish us to delete your records from our database or refrain from further engagement.

We will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that your Personal Data is maintained and up to date. However, you are under a duty to inform us of any and all changes to your Personal Data to ensure that it is up to date and we will update or delete your Personal Data accordingly.

How we use Cookies:

Many websites place cookies whenever a user visits their sites, in order to track traffic flows.  Cookies are text files, which identify your computer to the server.  Switch Recruitment Services Limited may use cookies from time to time only to make your web experience better.  Our cookie policy describes in detail all of the cookies we use and their purpose.

Information we receive from other sources:

We work closely with a number of third parties, including software providers or payroll providers, credit checking companies, sub-contractors, analytics providers, and regulatory authorities or government departments, and may receive information about you from them.

We may use this information on its own or combined with any of the information we receive or collect from you for any of the below purposes:

• To carry out our obligations under any contracts between you and us, and provide you with services and information that you request from us
• To provide you with information that you have consented to receive
• To monitor the traffic on the website in accordance with our cookie policy
• To monitor and improve our service offering to you, as well as to notify you of changes to our website or service.  Where we collect information by way of feedback or a survey, this will only ever be published anonymously as a combination of responses, rather than individually, unless otherwise agreed with you
• To provide you with information about other services we offer that are similar to those you’ve already enquired about or received
• As part of a recruitment process, when applicable

We will retain and process your personal information for as long as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

Passing on information to third parties:

To operate effectively as a business we may need to pass your information on to selected and trusted third parties. The third parties we may share information with are:

• Our clients for recruitment purposes where you have given permission
• Government bodies, departments or other third parties, and departments for research and statistical purposes
• Any third party to whom we may need to disclose personal information in order to comply with our legal, regulatory and statutory obligations. This may be as part of a legal process, (for example, in response to a court order or in response to a law enforcement agency’s request, or where they believe it’s necessary). This could be to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, or situations involving potential threats to the physical safety, property or rights of any person. It could also include non-compliance with our website rules, or as otherwise permitted
• Third-party processors
• Any third party where you have given your consent

Please be assured that when we outsource any of our processes we endeavour to ensure that any supplier or contractor has adequate security measures in place.

Third party websites:

From time to time, our website may contain links to and from other third-party websites.   If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies. We do not and cannot accept any responsibility or liability for these policies.  We advise you to check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

Security and safe storage of your personal information:

Once we have received your information, we will use appropriate procedures and security methods to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Information supplied by you to us, or that we collect about you, may be transferred and stored by us or contractors for the purpose of providing services to you outside the European Economic Area. Where this occurs we use the model clauses as issued by the European Commission or other appropriate safeguards where applicable. By submitting personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing.

We may monitor the use and content of emails, calls and secure messages sent from and received by us so that we can identify and take legal action against unlawful or improper use of our systems. The main examples of unlawful or improper use are attempting to impersonate Switch Recruitment Services Ltd, the transmission of computer viruses and attempts to prevent this website or its services from working.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure.  Although we endeavour to protect your personal data, we cannot always guarantee the security of data transmitted over the internet.  As such, any transmission of data is at your own risk.

Reviewing, correcting, updating or withdrawing consent about your information:

You are able to correct any information we hold about you as follows:

• By calling and speaking with any of our consultants on 01473 806069
• By emailing us at info@switch-recruitment.com

You are able to change your preferences relating to any marketing or communications from us and withdraw your consent at any time as follows:

• By calling and speaking with any of our consultants on 01473 806069
• By emailing us at info@switch-recruitment.com
• You may make a request to access your personal information that is held by us and maintained in our database.  To do this, email info@switch-recruitment.com
• From 25 May 2018, depending on circumstances, you also have the right to:
  • Request erasure of personal information we hold about you
  • Request restriction of processing of such information
  • Object to the processing of such information
  • Request a copy of such information in a portable format

Where Switch Recruitment Services Ltd have placed a candidate in a role, we are required to retain evidence of that placing so that contractual obligations can be met by the client.  Switch Recruitment Services Ltd will however take steps to ensure only minimal personal data is retained and we will not make further contact with the candidate.

If you have concerns about the way we handle your personal data, you can contact the ICO or raise a complaint.

Changes to the policy:

We may change our Privacy policy from time to time.  If or when changes are made we will include them here.

You can send any queries and comments about this Privacy policy by email to info@switch-recruitment.com or by post to Data Controller, Switch Recruitment Services Ltd, 7 Byford Court, Crockatt Road, Hadleigh, Suffolk, IP7 6RD.