1. Who we are
First European Recruitment Limited (“FER”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is the controller of personal information covered by this policy unless we tell you otherwise. We are registered in England and Wales under company number 14894777.
Our registered office is 2nd Floor Suite-8, Cranbrook House, 61 Cranbrook Road, Ilford, England, IG1 4PG. You can contact us at support@europeanrecruitment.co.uk or 020 4511 9001.
2. Personal information we collect
Depending on your relationship with us, we may collect:
- identity and contact details, including name, email address, telephone number, location and account credentials;
- career information, including CVs, employment history, education, skills, qualifications, certifications, languages, availability and work preferences;
- recruitment information, including applications, interview notes, employer feedback, suitability assessments, messages, offers and placement history;
- employer and client information, including organisation details, job requirements, authorised contacts, billing information and service correspondence;
- compliance information where necessary, such as right-to-work evidence, identity documents, references and role-specific checks;
- technical and usage information, including IP address, device and browser information, login activity, security logs and essential cookies or local browser storage;
- communications and support records when you contact us or use platform messaging.
Where a role requires it and the law permits, we may process special category information, such as health information needed for workplace adjustments, and criminal offence information for lawful vetting. We apply additional safeguards to this information.
Where the information comes from
We collect information directly from you, from employers or referees, through your use of the website, and from lawful public or professional sources. If another person gives us your information, we will provide privacy information where required.
3. How and why we use personal information
| Purpose | Typical information | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Create and manage accounts, respond to enquiries and provide requested services | Identity, contact, account and communication data | Contract or steps requested before entering a contract; legitimate interests |
| Match candidates with roles, manage applications and support recruitment | Career, preference, assessment and application data | Contract; legitimate interests in providing recruitment services |
| Verify eligibility, conduct appropriate checks and meet legal duties | Identity, right-to-work and compliance information | Legal obligation; substantial public interest where applicable |
| Protect accounts, prevent misuse and maintain platform security | Login, device, IP, audit and security data | Legitimate interests; legal obligation where applicable |
| Send service messages and, where permitted, relevant opportunities or marketing | Contact details, preferences and communication history | Contract or legitimate interests; consent where PECR requires it |
| Handle disputes, maintain records and establish or defend legal claims | Account, transaction, communication and service records | Legal obligation; legitimate interests; legal claims |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the necessity of the processing and balance our interests against your rights. You may object to this processing in certain circumstances.
5. International transfers
Some employers or service providers may be located outside the United Kingdom. Where personal information is transferred internationally, we use a lawful transfer mechanism, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, together with appropriate security measures where required.
6. How long we keep information
We keep personal information only for as long as needed for the purpose collected and to meet legal, accounting or reporting requirements. Our standard retention approach is:
- candidate profiles and recruitment records: while the account or relationship is active and normally up to 24 months after the last meaningful contact, unless a longer period is required or agreed;
- unsuccessful application records: normally up to 6 months after the recruitment process ends, unless retained for future opportunities with a valid basis;
- client, contract, invoice and transaction records: generally 6 years after the relevant relationship or accounting period;
- security and system logs: normally up to 12 months, unless required for an investigation;
- marketing preferences: until you withdraw consent or object, with suppression records kept to respect your choice.
We securely delete or anonymise information when it is no longer required.
7. Security
We use proportionate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, loss or disclosure. Measures include access controls, password protection, secure transmission, logging, backups and restrictions on staff and service-provider access. No online service is completely risk-free, so you should also protect your login details and contact us promptly if you suspect misuse.
8. Your data protection rights
Subject to legal conditions and exemptions, you may have the right to:
- request access to your personal information and obtain a copy;
- ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
- ask us to erase information or restrict how it is used;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests and object at any time to direct marketing;
- receive certain information in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent;
- request safeguards in relation to solely automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.
To exercise a right, email us using the contact details below. We may need to verify your identity and will normally respond within one month.
9. AI, matching and automated tools
FER may use automated tools to organise information, generate summaries, suggest matches or support screening. These outputs are indicators and may be incomplete or inaccurate. We do not intend to make a decision producing legal or similarly significant effects about a candidate solely through automated processing without the safeguards required by law. Employers and FER staff remain responsible for appropriate human review.
10. Children, cookies and policy changes
Our recruitment and employer services are not intended for children under 16. If we learn that we have collected a child’s information without an appropriate lawful basis, we will take steps to delete it. Details of the website technologies we use are set out in our Cookie Policy.
We may update this policy when our services or legal obligations change. The effective date at the top identifies the current version, and material changes will be communicated where appropriate.
11. Contact and complaints
Please contact us first if you have a privacy question or concern so that we can investigate and respond.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator. Visit ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint for current contact and complaint information.