Candidates:

As part of any recruitment process, Affina Search Ltd (Affina) collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. Affina are committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations. 

What information does Affina collect?

Affina collects a range of information about you. This includes:

• your name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number;
• details of your qualifications, skills, experience and employment history;
• information about your current level of remuneration, including benefit entitlements;
• whether or not you have a disability for which Affina needs to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process;
• information about your entitlement to work in the UK; and
• equal opportunities monitoring information, including information about your ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health and religion or belief.

Affina may collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, data might be contained in application forms, CVs or resumes, obtained from your passport or other identity documents, or collected through interviews or other forms of assessment, including online tests. 

Affina may also collect personal data about you from third parties, such as references supplied by former employers, information from employment background check providers and information from criminal records checks. Affina will seek information from third parties only once a job offer to you has been made and will inform you that it is doing so. 

Data will be stored in a range of different places, including on your application record, on our internal recruitment software management systems and on other IT systems (including email).

Why does Affina process personal data?

Affina needs to process data to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you. It may also need to process your data to enter into a contract with you.

In some cases, Affina needs to process data to ensure that it is complying with its legal obligations. For example, the requirement to check a successful applicant’s eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts. 

Affina has a legitimate interest in processing personal data during the recruitment process and for keeping records of the process. Processing data from job applicants allows Affina to manage the recruitment process, assess and confirm a candidate’s suitability for employment. Affina may also need to process data from job applicants to respond to and defend against legal claims. 

Affina may process information about whether or not applicants are disabled to make reasonable adjustments for candidates who have a disability. This is to carry out its obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment. 

Where Affina processes other special categories of data, such as information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health or religion or belief, this is for equal opportunities monitoring purposes. 

For some roles, Affina is obliged to seek information about criminal convictions and offences. Where Affina seeks this information, it does so because it is necessary for it to carry out its obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment. 

Affina will not use your data for any purpose other than the recruitment exercise for which you have applied. 

OR 

If your application is unsuccessful, Affina may keep your personal data on file in case there are future employment opportunities for which you may be suited. Affina will keep your personal data for up to 3 years for this purpose, you are free to withdraw your consent at any time. 

Who has access to data? 

Affina will not share your data with third parties, other than clients who have relevant vacancies and you have agreed to share your details with. 

Affina will not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area. 

How does Affina protect data? 

Affina takes the security of your data seriously. It has internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed. 

For how long does Affina keep data?

If your application for employment for a specific role is unsuccessful, Affina will hold your data on file for 3 years after the end of the relevant recruitment process, for consideration for future employment opportunities. At the end of that period [or once you withdraw your consent, your data is deleted or destroyed. 

Your rights 

As a data subject, you have a number of rights. You can: 

• access and obtain a copy of your data on request; 
• require Affina to change incorrect or incomplete data; 
• require Affina to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing; and 
• object to the processing of your data where Affina is relying on its legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing. 

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact a member of the Affina team (lee@affinasearch.co.uk). 

If you believe that Affina has not complied with your data protection rights, you can complain to the Information Commissioner. 

What if you do not provide personal data? 

You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide data to Affina during the recruitment process. However, if you do not provide the information, Affina may not be able to process your application properly or at all. 

Automated decision-making 

Recruitment processes are not based solely on automated decision-making.   

Data controller: Lee Chapman – lee@affinasearch.co.uk

Data protection officer: Lee Chapman – lee@affinasearch.co.uk