Privacy Policy

1. Information We May Collect

We may collect personal information from candidates, prospective candidates, clients and website visitors. The information we collect depends on how you interact with us and may include:

For candidates and prospective candidates: full name; email address; telephone number; current and previous employment information; CV and career history; LinkedIn profile; salary expectations and preferences; notice period; location preferences and willingness to relocate; preferred sectors and role types; and any other information you voluntarily provide in connection with a career enquiry or registration.

For clients and business contacts: full name; job title; company name; business email address; telephone number; and information relating to recruitment requirements you share with us.

For website visitors: information submitted through contact or enquiry forms on this website, including name, email address, telephone number and the content of your message.

2. How We Collect Your Information

We collect personal information directly from you when you: complete a contact or enquiry form on our website; register as a candidate or submit your details for consideration; send us an email or contact us by telephone; or engage with us in connection with a recruitment assignment.

We may also receive information about candidates from publicly available sources such as LinkedIn, where this is relevant to our recruitment activities and where we have a legitimate interest in doing so.

3. Why We Collect Your Information and Our Lawful Bases

We collect and use your personal information for the following purposes:

Recruitment services: to introduce suitable candidates to prospective employers and to assist candidates in finding appropriate employment opportunities. Our lawful basis for this processing is legitimate interests — specifically, the legitimate interests of candidates in finding employment and of clients in identifying suitable candidates, balanced against your rights and interests.

Responding to enquiries: to respond to contact form submissions, emails and other direct enquiries. Our lawful basis is legitimate interests in communicating with individuals who have contacted us.

Candidate registration: where you register with us as a candidate, we process your information to provide our recruitment services to you. Our lawful basis is the performance of a contract or steps taken at your request prior to entering into a contract.

Compliance with legal obligations: we may process your information where necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

Where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis, you have the right to object to that processing. Please see Section 9 for further information about your rights.

4. How We Use Candidate Information

Where you register with us or submit your details as a candidate, we will use your information to identify and present suitable employment opportunities to you, and — where we consider there to be a genuine match — to introduce your details to prospective employers.

We will not submit your details to a prospective employer without first discussing the opportunity with you and obtaining your agreement to proceed.

We may retain your information on our records so that we can contact you about future opportunities that may be relevant to you. You may ask us to remove your information from our records at any time — please see Section 9.

5. How We Use Client and Business Contact Information

Where you contact us as a client or prospective client, we will use your information to respond to your recruitment requirements, to provide our services and to communicate with you in connection with ongoing assignments.

We may retain your business contact information in order to maintain our relationship with you and to contact you about relevant services in the future. You may ask us to stop contacting you at any time.

6. Sharing Your Information

We will not sell your personal information to third parties.

We may share your information in the following circumstances:

With prospective employers: where you are a candidate and have agreed to be introduced to a specific employer in connection with a specific opportunity.

With service providers: we may use third-party service providers to assist us in operating our business, such as IT and software providers. These providers are required to handle your information securely and only in accordance with our instructions.

Where required by law: we may disclose your information where we are required to do so by law or in response to a legitimate request from a regulatory or law enforcement authority.

7. International Data Transfers

Novale Partners operates across the UK and selected international markets. Where we transfer personal information outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with UK data protection law, such as the use of the UK's International Data Transfer Agreement or equivalent mechanisms.

If you would like further information about the safeguards we apply to international transfers, please contact us at hello@novalepartners.com.

8. How We Store and Protect Your Information

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, loss, destruction or alteration.

We retain personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. For candidate information, we will typically retain your details for a period of up to two years from the date of last contact, unless you ask us to remove your information sooner or we have an ongoing relationship with you that justifies a longer retention period.

For client and business contact information, we will retain your details for as long as is necessary to maintain our business relationship and for a reasonable period thereafter.

9. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights in relation to your personal information:

Right of access: you have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

Right to rectification: you have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.

Right to erasure: you have the right to ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances.

Right to restriction: you have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.

Right to object: you have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we will cease processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms.

Right to data portability: where processing is based on your consent or a contract, and is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@novalepartners.com. We will respond to your request within one month. We will not charge a fee for handling your request unless it is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

10. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to support the operation of the site and, where applicable, to analyse how visitors use it. Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website.

Where we use analytics tools, these may collect information about your visit, such as the pages you view, the time you spend on the site and how you arrived. This information is used in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is used and to improve it.

You can control the use of cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website.

11. Marketing Communications

We may contact you about relevant opportunities, services or market information where we have a legitimate interest in doing so or where you have given your consent.

You have the right to opt out of marketing communications at any time. To do so, please contact us at hello@novalepartners.com or use the unsubscribe link in any marketing email we send you. We will action your request promptly.

12. How to Make a Privacy Enquiry or Complaint

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or about how we handle your personal information, please contact us at hello@novalepartners.com.

If you are not satisfied with our response, or if you believe we are processing your personal information in a way that does not comply with UK data protection law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

The ICO can be contacted at: ICO Head Office, 4th Floor, No.3 Circle Square, 5 Hawkshaw Street, Manchester, M1 7BL. Website: ico.org.uk. Helpline: 0303 123 1113.

We would, however, welcome the opportunity to address your concerns before you approach the ICO, and ask that you contact us in the first instance.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the date at the top of this policy.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our website or services following any changes constitutes your acknowledgement of the updated policy.