Privacy Policy

Who is responsible for your information?

Essential Resourcing, operated by David Walsh, is the data controller for personal information handled through this website and the recruitment services described here.

For privacy questions, complaints or rights requests, email david@essentialresourcing.co.uk. Candidates can also use the candidate data request form.

What information may be collected?

The information depends on why you contact Essential Resourcing.

• Contact details such as your name, email address, phone number and preferred contact method.
• Professional information such as your employer, role, LinkedIn or portfolio URL, employment history, salary expectations and CV.
• Client information such as company details, hiring requirements, role briefs and messages you choose to send.
• Recruitment records such as conversations, applications, interview feedback, introductions and placement information.
• Technical information needed to keep the website secure and, where you consent, understand how the website is used.

Please do not send passwords, bank details or unnecessary sensitive information through a website form.

Where does the information come from?

Most information comes directly from you. It may also come from:

• Clients discussing a role or recruitment process.
• Public professional sources such as LinkedIn, company websites and published portfolios.
• Job boards, professional networks, referrals or people who recommend an introduction.
• Service providers used to operate the website, forms, email, bookings and analytics.

Where information is obtained from somewhere other than you, Essential Resourcing will provide appropriate privacy information when required.

Why is it used?

Personal information may be used to:

• Reply to enquiries and arrange conversations.
• Understand and manage client recruitment requirements.
• Discuss roles and provide recruitment services to candidates.
• Assess suitability and manage applications or introductions.
• Keep accurate recruitment, consent and compliance records.
• Operate, secure and improve the website.
• Deal with privacy requests, complaints and legal obligations.

The lawful bases used

Data protection law requires a lawful basis for each use. Depending on the circumstances, Essential Resourcing relies on:

• Legitimate interests to provide a relevant, properly run recruitment service, maintain professional records, protect the website and respond to business enquiries, where those interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Steps before a contract or performance of a contract where you ask Essential Resourcing to provide recruitment or hiring services.
• Legal obligations where records or action are required by recruitment, tax, data protection or other applicable law.
• Consent for genuinely optional activities, such as non-essential analytics, marketing or keeping a candidate in mind where consent is the basis being used. Consent can be withdrawn at any time.

Candidate information

Candidate applications, CVs, introductions and recruitment conversations are explained in more detail in the Candidate Privacy Notice.

Candidate information is not sent to a client simply because it is sitting in a database. David will discuss a relevant opportunity and obtain the appropriate permission before making an identifiable introduction.

Who may receive information?

Information may be shared with:

• Clients and prospective employers where there is a genuine recruitment purpose and the appropriate candidate permission.
• Hosting, private file storage, email, calendar, analytics and other technology providers used to run the service.
• Professional advisers, insurers, regulators, courts or public authorities where reasonably necessary or legally required.

Essential Resourcing does not sell personal information or hand it to unrelated businesses for their own marketing.

Current service providers

The website and recruitment workflow currently use providers that may include Railway for hosting and private CV storage, Resend for email delivery, Google Workspace and Google Calendar, Google Analytics where consent is given, Sanity for public website content, and WhatsApp where you choose to use it.

Sanity is used for public website content and must not be used to store private candidate CVs, application messages or recruitment notes.

International processing

Some technology providers may process information outside the UK. Where UK data protection law treats this as a restricted transfer, Essential Resourcing will rely on an applicable adequacy regulation or approved contractual and organisational safeguards.

How long is information kept?

Information is kept only while there is a genuine business, recruitment or legal reason for it.

• Candidate records are reviewed no later than 24 months after the last meaningful contact, unless the relationship remains active, you ask to stay in touch or a legal reason requires longer.
• Certain recruitment-agency records must be retained for at least 12 months under applicable conduct regulations.
• Client, contractual, financial and compliance records may be kept for longer where required for legal, tax or dispute purposes.
• Privacy request and complaint records are retained for as long as reasonably needed to show that the matter was handled properly.

Information that is no longer needed should be deleted or anonymised securely.

Security

Reasonable technical and organisational measures are used to protect information. CVs use approved private storage and delivery routes; they are not placed in the public website, analytics or Sanity.

No internet service is completely risk-free, but access is limited and the amount of information collected is kept proportionate to the job being done.

Analytics, cookies and external services

Google Analytics only loads after analytics consent. Advertising or retargeting tags are not currently active. More detail is available in the Cookie Policy.

If you use LinkedIn, WhatsApp or Google's booking interface, those services also process information under their own privacy terms.

Automated decisions

Essential Resourcing does not use solely automated decision-making to decide whether a candidate is introduced, interviewed or hired. Technology may help organise or search information. David's judgement remains involved in recruitment decisions made by Essential Resourcing.

Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• Ask for a copy of your personal information.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Ask for information to be deleted or restricted.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Receive eligible information in a portable format.
• Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.

Rights are not absolute, and a request may be limited where the law permits or requires information to be retained. Identity may need to be checked before private information is released or changed.

Complaints

Please contact David first so the issue can be understood and put right where possible. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Changes to this policy

This policy will be reviewed when the website, recruitment workflow or service providers change materially. The review date at the top will be updated when that happens.