This statement explains how Velasquez and Van Wezel handles and uses personal data we collect about job applicants. Where in this statement we refer to ‘we’ or ‘our’ or ‘us’ we are referring to Velasquez and Van Wezel LTD, and where we refer to ‘you’ or ‘your’ we are referring to you as a job applicant. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) with registration number ZA374783. We are committed to protecting your personal information and to being transparent about what information we hold. 

Velasquez and Van Wezel understands its obligations to you to help you understand how and why we process your personal data. This notice tells you about these uses and should be read in conjunction with the Velasquez and Van Wezel data protection policy. 

Our data protection policy and procedures are governed by the Data Protection Act EU General Data Protection Regulation. 

As part of any recruitment process, we collect and process personal data relating to job applicants. We are committed to being transparent about how we collect and us that data and to meeting our data protection obligations. 

What information does Velasquez and Van Wezel collect? 

We may collect 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 we need 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.

We 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. 

We 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. We 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, in HR management systems and on other IT systems (including email). 

Why does Velasquez and Van Wezel process personal data? 

We need 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, we need to process data to ensure that it is complying with our legal obligations. For example, it is required to check a successful applicant’s eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts. 

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

We 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 our obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment. 

Where we process 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, we are obliged to seek information about criminal convictions and offences. Where we seek this information, we do so because it is necessary for us to carry out our obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment. 

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

Who has access to data? 

Your information may be shared internally for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes interviewers involved in the recruitment process, managers in the business area with a vacancy and co-owners, and only if access to the data is necessary for the performance of their roles. 

We will not share your data with third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and it makes you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you, employment background check providers to 

obtain necessary background checks and the Disclosure and Barring Service to obtain necessary criminal records checks. 

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

How does Velasquez and Van Wezel protect data? 

We take the security of your data seriously. We have internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by our employees in the proper performance of their duties. 

For how long does Velasquez and Van Wezel keep data? 

If your application for employment is unsuccessful, we will hold your data on file for 6 months after the end of the relevant recruitment process. 

If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your personnel file and retained during your employment. The periods for which your data will be held will be provided to you in an Employee Data Protection Statement and Privacy Notice. 

Your rights 

You have the following rights: 

• To be informed This Privacy Notice provides the information you are entitled to receive

• Access Please contact us if you would like confirmation that your data is being processed and access to your personal data. There is no charge for us providing you with this data and it will usually be provided within a month of the request (unless the request is unfounded or excessive).

• Rectification Please inform us of any data which you would like rectified and we will usually respond within a month of the request. We will pass on the changes to any third parties who need to change their records and let you know this has been done.

• Erasure You may exercise your right to have your personal data erased in a number of circumstances (eg if the data is no longer necessary in relation to the purpose for which it was created or you withdraw your consent). Where possible we will comply with all such requests.

• Restrict processing You can tell us that we can keep your data but must stop processing it, including preventing future mailings and communications. If possible we will inform any third parties to whom your data has been disclosed of your requirement.

• Data portability Your data is across manual records and a bespoke Excel files. We will do our best to provide information in a portable format but it is unlikely that we can create systems to do so.

• To object If we can, we will stop processing your data if you object to processing based on legitimate interests or the performance of a task in the public interest / exercise of official authority (including profiling). We will stop processing your data if you object to processing for purposes of research and statistics.

• Not to be subject to automated decision-making including profiling We do not use any automated decision-making during our recruitment process.

What if you do not provide personal data? 

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

The controller for your personal data and our Data Protection Officer is Martin van Wezel, Co-owner of Velasquez and Van Wezel who can be contacted via martin@velasquezandvanwezel.co.uk or Velasquez and Van Wezel, 52 West Walk, London, EN4 8NU. Our Data Protection Officer is responsible for monitoring compliance with relevant legislation in relation to the protection of personal data. Please contact us if you have any concerns or questions about the above information or you wish to ask us not to process your personal data for particular purposes or to erase your data. Where you have specific requests relating to how we manage your data, we will endeavour to resolve these, but please note that there may be circumstances where we cannot comply with specific requests. We will notify you in writing on any changes we make to this data protection statement and notify you by other communication channels where appropriate. 

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/concerns.