Privacy Policy for KO2

Who we are

KO2 Embedded Recruitment Solutions is a specialist recruitment agency for embedded systems and electronics engineering, based at Harrogate Business Centre, Harrogate, HG2 8ER. For the purposes of UK data protection law, KO2 is the data controller for the personal data described in this notice. You can contact us about anything in this notice at info@ko2.co.uk.

Who this notice covers

This notice applies to job seekers and candidates who register with us or whom we approach about opportunities, to client contacts at the companies we work with, and to visitors to www.ko2.co.uk.

The information we collect

For candidates, we collect the information needed to represent you for roles: your name and contact details, CV, employment history, technical skills, qualifications, current and expected salary, notice period, location and work preferences, right to work information where required, and notes from our conversations with you. For client contacts, we hold business contact details, job requirements and notes relevant to the roles we are working on. We collect this information directly from you, from your CV, from publicly available professional sources such as LinkedIn and job boards, and from referees where you have provided them.

Call recording

Telephone calls made to and from KO2 may be recorded. We record calls so that the information we hold about candidates and clients, such as salary expectations, notice periods, skills, availability and job requirements, is accurate and complete, and so that negotiations between job seekers and employers are based on accurate information. Recordings are stored securely and accessed only by KO2 staff who need them for their work. Because our relationships with candidates and clients often span many years, and accurate history is central to the service we provide, recordings are retained for as long as you remain an active candidate, contractor or client contact with KO2, and are deleted when your record is removed from our database. Recordings connected to a placement or contract engagement are kept for the duration of the engagement and six years afterwards, in line with legal limitation periods. You may request a copy of a recording of a call you took part in, or ask for it to be deleted, at any time by contacting info@ko2.co.uk.

Why we use your information and our lawful basis

We use candidate information to assess your suitability for roles, to present you to prospective employers with your knowledge, to negotiate on your behalf, and to keep in touch about relevant opportunities. We use client information to understand and fulfil job requirements and to manage our business relationship. Our lawful basis for this processing is legitimate interests: running a recruitment business that connects candidates with employers benefits both parties and is what candidates and clients expect when they engage with us. Where we process right to work documents or place you into a role, some processing is necessary for legal obligations or to take steps towards a contract. Where the law requires consent, for example for certain marketing, we will ask for it.

Who we share your information with

We share candidate details with prospective employers only for the purpose of considering you for a role, and wherever practicable with your prior agreement. We use trusted service providers to run our business, including our recruitment CRM, our telephone system, contract funding and payroll partners, and IT and email providers. These providers process data on our instructions and are bound by contract to protect it. We do not sell personal data. Where a role involves a client or partner outside the UK, we take steps to ensure any transfer of your data is protected by appropriate safeguards.

How long we keep your information

We keep candidate and client records for as long as we have an active relationship with you and for a reasonable period afterwards so we can contact you about future opportunities, unless you ask us not to. Call recordings follow the same principle: they are retained while you remain an active candidate, contractor or client contact with KO2 and are deleted when your record is removed, with recordings connected to a placement or contract kept for the engagement plus six years in line with legal limitation periods. Records relating to placements are kept for as long as required by law, including tax and employment legislation. When information is no longer needed, it is securely deleted, and you can ask us to delete your information at any time.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you, to have inaccurate data corrected, to request deletion, to restrict our processing, and to data portability where applicable. Because we rely on legitimate interests to process your information, you also have the right to object to that processing, including to the recording of your calls. If you object, we will stop unless we have compelling grounds to continue which override your interests. Our consultants will also tell you early in a call that it is being recorded, and if you would prefer the call not to be recorded, tell us and we will switch the recording off. To exercise any of these rights, contact info@ko2.co.uk and we will respond within one month. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113, although we would welcome the chance to resolve any concern with you first.

Website

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies for functionality and analytics. Where cookies are not strictly necessary, we will ask for your consent through the cookie banner. Our site may contain links to other websites, and this notice does not cover those sites.

Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. The latest version will always be available at www.ko2.co.uk and the date at the top shows when it was last revised.