Privacy Policy

This Job Applicant Privacy Policy sets out what personal data we, HydraForce, Inc and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as ‘HydraForce’ unless reference is made to policy statements in specific country locations), holds about you and how we collect and use it during and after the recruitment process. It applies to anyone who responds to an advertisement or job posting applying to work for us, whether as an employee, worker, contractor, consultant, intern, volunteer, partner or director (together referred to as ‘Job Applicant’ or ‘you’).

Please note that we will not necessarily hold, use or share all of the types of personal data described in this Privacy Notice in relation to you. The specific types of data about you that we will hold, use and share will depend on the role for which you are applying, the nature of the recruitment process, how far you progress in the recruitment process and your individual circumstances.

Also note that HydraForce never sells personal information acquired in the course of the recruitment process.

We are required by data protection law to give you the information in this Privacy Notice. It is important that you read the Privacy Notice carefully, together with any other similar or additional information that we might give you from time to time about how we collect and use your personal data. Should your application be successful, when you start work for us, we will, upon request, provide you with another privacy notice that explains how we deal with your personal data whilst you are working for us and after you have left.

This Privacy Notice applies from 1st May 2019 and supersedes any previous versions. It does not confer any contractual rights. We may update this Privacy Notice at any time, and will review it at least annually, to ensure compliance with relevant legislation.

Who is the controller?

In accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom, HydraForce Hydraulics Ltd., is required to appoint a “controller” for the purposes of data protection law. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal data about you.

Our Data Protection Officer in the UK is the Head of Human Resources, Christine Tolley. As Data Protection Officer, Christine Tolley is responsible for informing and advising about our data protection law obligations and monitoring our compliance with these obligations. She also acts as your first point of contact if you have any questions or concerns about data protection (email: ctolley@hydraforce.com).

What is personal data?

Personal data means any information relating to a living individual who can be identified (directly or indirectly), in particular by reference to an identifier (e.g. name, NI number, employee number, email address, physical features). It can be factual (e.g. contact details or date of birth), an opinion about an individual’s actions or behaviour, or information that may otherwise impact that individual in a personal or business capacity.

Data protection law divides personal data into two main categories: ordinary personal data and special category data. Any personal data about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, sex life or sexual orientation, criminal convictions or offences, biometrics (if used for identification purposes), or genetics, we refer to in this Privacy Notice as special category data. (The rest is ordinary personal data.)

What type of ordinary personal data do we hold about you and why?

At the initial stages of recruitment, we collect, hold and use the following types of ordinary personal data about you:

Information contained in your application form, CV, resume or covering letter, including your name, title, contact details, employment history, experience, skills, qualifications/training (including educational, vocational, driving licences where appropriate), referees’ or referrals’ names and contact details, etc.
Publicly available information about you, such as your business social media presence
Selection information, including correspondence, interview notes, internal notes, the results of any written or online selection tests.

If you are shortlisted for a position, or you receive a conditional offer of employment, we may collect, hold and use the following additional types of ordinary personal data about you:

Pre-employment checking information, including references and verification of qualifications
Right to work checks and related documents for individuals who are recruited by HydraForce Hydraulics Ltd.

You will be notified separately of any other application documents requested and accompanying privacy disclosure documents.

We hold and use this personal data so that we can:

process your application and correspond with you about it;
assess whether you have the required skills, experience, qualifications and training for a role within the company;
make informed recruitment decisions;
verify information provided by you;
check and demonstrate that you have the legal right to work in the applicable country location;
keep appropriate records of our recruitment process and decisions;
share with our parent company, if applicable.

What are our legal grounds for using your personal data?

Data protection law specifies the legal grounds on which we can hold and use personal data. We rely on one or more of the legal grounds set out below when we process your personal data.

We need it to take steps at your request in order to enter into a contract with you (entry into a contract), because by applying for a job with us you are effectively asking us to enter into a contract with you, whether this is an employment contract, a contract for services or another type of contract.
We need it to comply with a legal obligation (legal obligation), e.g. the obligation not to discriminate during our recruitment process, or the obligation not to employ someone who does not have the legal right to work in the UK.country of employment.
It is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests (legitimate interest). For example, it is in our legitimate interests to review and consider your personal data (as listed above) so that we can select the most appropriate candidate for the job.

Note that, where we are processing special category data, we will have an additional legal ground as well; please refer to the section entitled What type of special category personal data do we hold about you, why, and on what legal grounds?

What type of special category personal data do we hold about you, why, and on what legal grounds?

We will only collect, hold and use limited types of special category data about you during the recruitment process, specifically Adjustments for disability/medical conditions as set out below.

Since special category data is usually more sensitive than ordinary personal data, we need to have an additional legal ground (as well as the legal grounds set out above, please refer to the section entitled What are our legal grounds for using your personal data?) to collect, hold and use it. The additional legal grounds that we rely on to collect, hold and use your special category data are explained below for special category data.

At the initial stages of recruitment, we collect, hold and use data relating to any disability or medical conditions to enable us to accommodate any request by you for adjustments to be made for you during the recruitment process as a result of an underlying medical condition or disability. We use this information to enable us to carry out a fair, non-discriminatory recruitment process by considering or making reasonable adjustments to our process as appropriate. Our additional legal ground for using this information is that we need it to comply with a legal obligation and/or exercise a legal right in relation to employment – namely, the obligations not to discriminate, and to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate a disability – and such use is in line with our Data Protection Policy.

How do we collect your personal data?

You provide us with most of the personal data about you that we hold and use, for example in your written application, by completing any assessments and during any interviews.

Some of the personal data we hold and use about you is generated from internal sources during the recruitment process. For example, the person interviewing you may score your suitability for the role and we record the reasons for decisions made about whether or not your application is successful.

Some of the personal data about you that we hold, and use may come from external sources. For example, recruitment agencies may provide us with shortlists of candidates. If we offer you a role, we will carry out pre-employment checks, such as taking up references from past employers or education providers and we may check your qualifications by contacting the awarding body. In the United Kingdom, in some circumstances, we may ask the Home Office (if applicable) for information about your immigration status to verify your right to work in the UK. For some roles, we may also obtain information about you from publicly available sources, such as your LinkedIn profile or other media sources.

Who do we share your personal data with and on what legal grounds?

HydraForce Hydraulics Ltd., is wholly owned by HydraForce, Inc., which is located in the United States of America. We share relevant personal data, where appropriate, with HydraForce, Inc., so it can provide input into the recruitment process and approve final recruitment decisions if deemed necessary, dependant on the type, status and requirements of the role. Our legal grounds for doing so are that it is in our legitimate interest to obtain our parent company’s approval of our recruitment decisions and comply with the procedures applicable within our corporate group. Please refer to the section entitled 'Transferring personal data outside the EEA’ below.

This Privacy Notice also covers how HydraForce, Inc. uses any personal data about you that we share with them. HydraForce, Inc. is the controller of any personal data it holds and uses about you and its contact details are HydraForce, Inc., 500 Barclay Blvd., Lincolnshire, IL 60069 USA

Recruitment agencies

For some roles, we engage recruitment agencies to provide us with the details of suitable candidates for our available vacancies, to communicate with those candidates, to handle administration in connection with the recruitment process and manage the recruitment process on our behalf. If we have received your initial application details from a recruitment agency, we will share with them any of your personal data that is necessary to enable them to fulfil their functions for us. Our legal grounds for doing so are that: it is necessary for entry into a contract; and/or it is in our legitimate interest to engage service providers to assist us with the recruitment process.

Medical/occupational health professionals

We may share information relevant to any request by you for adjustments to the recruitment process as a result of an underlying medical condition or disability with medical/occupational health professionals to enable us to identify what, if any, adjustments are needed in the recruitment process and, if you are successful, once you start work. We may also share details of disclosed medical conditions with medical/occupational health professionals to seek a medical report about you to enable us to assess your fitness for the job and whether any adjustments are needed once you start work. This information may also be used by the medical/occupational health professionals to carry out assessments required by health and safety legislation. Our ordinary legal grounds for sharing this personal data are that: it is necessary for entry into a contract; and it is in our legitimate interests to consider adjustments to enable Job Applicants to participate fully in the recruitment process. Our additional special category legal ground for sharing this personal data is that it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations/exercise legal rights in the field of employment (obligations not to discriminate, to make reasonable adjustments, to comply with health and safety requirements).

Legal/professional advisers/insurers

We share any of your personal data that is relevant, where appropriate, with our legal and other professional advisers and our insurers, in order to obtain legal or other professional advice about matters related to you or in the course of dealing with legal disputes with you or other Job Applicants. Our ordinary legal ground for sharing this personal data is that it is in our legitimate interests to seek advice to clarify our rights/obligations and appropriately defend ourselves from potential claims. Where we share special category personal data, our additional legal grounds for doing so are that: it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations/exercise legal rights in the field of employment; and/or it is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Home Office

We may share your right to work documentation with the Home Office, where necessary, to enable us to verify your right to work in the UK. Our legal ground for sharing this personal data is to comply with our legal obligation not to employ someone who does not have the right to work in the UK.

Your referees/referrals

If you provide us with contact details for professional and/or character referees/references, we may contact them to request information about your previous employment and their view as to your suitability for the role you have applied for with us. We will only share with them the details of the job you have applied for and such personal data as necessary to enable them to identify you. We will only contact your referees/referrals once we have made you a conditional offer of employment and you have indicated your acceptance. Our legal ground for sharing this personal data is that it is in our legitimate interests to verify your suitability for the role and ensure we engage the most suitable candidate.

Transferring personal data outside the EEA

An overseas transfer of personal data takes place when the data is transmitted or sent to, viewed by, accessed by or otherwise used, by a third party in a different country. Data protection law restricts transfers of personal data to countries outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) because the law in those countries might not provide the same level of protection to personal data as the law in the EEA. To ensure that the level of protection afforded to personal data is not compromised, therefore, we are only able to transfer your personal data outside the EEA if certain conditions are met, as explained below.

As explained above, your personal data may be shared with HydraForce, Inc., our parent company which is based outside the EEA, in the USA. We have put in place appropriate measures to ensure that any personal data transferred to the USA is treated in a way that is consistent with and which respects the EEA and UK laws on data protection and receives an adequate level of protection: the business complies with requirements of Safe Harbor Certification, which ensures that US companies comply with the EU Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of personal data, and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). If you require further information about this protective measure[s], you can request it Dave Nolan, Chief Financial Officer, HydraForce, Inc., email: daven@hydraforce.com.

Consequences of not providing personal data

We only ask you to provide personal data that we need to enable us to make a decision about whether or not to offer you a role. If you do not provide particular information to us, then we will have to make a decision on whether or not to offer you a role without that information, which in some cases could result in us deciding not to recruit you. For example, if we ask you to provide a certificate verifying a qualification and you do not, we will have to decide whether to recruit you without that information and if you do not provide us with names of referees or a reference when asked, we will not usually be able to offer you the role. In addition, some of the personal data you provide to us is required by law. For example, if you do not provide us with the documentation we need to check your right to work in the UK, then we cannot by law employ you.

If you choose not to provide us with personal data requested, we will tell/remind you about the implications of any such decision at the relevant time.

How long will we keep your personal data?

We will keep your personal data throughout the recruitment process.

If you apply to work in the UK or the EEA and your application is successful, when you start work for us you will be issued with an Employee Privacy Notice which will include information about what personal data we keep from the recruitment process.

If your application is unsuccessful, we will keep your personal data for up to 6 months from the date we notify you of our decision. If your application is successful, but you decide not to accept our offer, we will keep your personal data for up to 6 months from the date you inform us of your decision. There may, however, be circumstances in which it is appropriate for us to keep particular items of your personal data for longer. We will base these decisions on relevant circumstances, taking into account the following criteria:

the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data
the risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure
the purposes for which we process your personal data and how long we need the particular data to achieve these purposes
how long the personal data is likely to remain accurate and up to date
for how long the personal data might be relevant to possible future legal claims
any applicable legal, accounting, reporting or regulatory requirements that specify how long certain records must be kept

Personal data that is held on IT back-up data sets for disaster recovery purposes may also be retained for a longer period. In all cases, we will not keep your personal data for longer than we need it for our legitimate purposes.

Will we keep your application on file?

If you are unsuccessful for the role for which you have applied, decline a job offer, or sent us a speculative application, then, if you have consented to us doing so, we will keep your personal data on file to identify if you might be suitable for any other vacancies that may arise in the next 12 months. We will contact you if we believe this is the case. We will not keep your personal data for this purpose for longer than 12 months.

If during the period that we have your personal data on file, you wish to apply for any particular vacancy that we have open, please do contact us to make us aware of this – particularly if it is not a close match with your previous experience or is in a different area of our business from a vacancy you applied for previously, as we may not otherwise realise that the vacancy would be of interest to you.

When applying for a particular role, there is no obligation for you to consent to us keeping your personal data on file for consideration for other roles if you do not want to. Your application for the particular role you are putting yourself forward for will not be affected.

If you change your mind about us keeping your personal data on file, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time; please refer to the section ‘Your rights’, below.

References

If you give us details of referees/referrals, we require you to inform them what personal data of theirs you are giving to us. You must also give them our contact details and let them know that they should contact us if they have any queries about how we will use their personal data, although we may also provide them with a specific privacy notice to give them this information.

Your rights

You have a number of legal rights relating to your personal data, which are outlined here:

The right to make a subject access request. This enables you to receive certain information about how we use your data, as well as to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you free of charge. We will make a reasonable attempt to verify the identity of the applicant requesting information about themselves by associating information provided by the applicant to any personal information previously collected by HydraForce in the previous 12 months.

The right to request that we correct incomplete or inaccurate personal data that we hold about you.
The right to request that we delete or remove personal data that we hold about you where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have exercised your right to object to processing (see below).

The right to object to our processing your personal data where we are relying on our legitimate interest (or those of a third party), where we cannot show a compelling reason to continue the processing
The right to request that we restrict our processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal data about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.

The right to withdraw your consent to us using your personal data. As described above, we do not normally rely on your consent as the legal ground for using your personal data. However, if we are relying on your consent as the legal ground for using any of your personal data and you withdraw your consent, you also have the right to request that we delete or remove that data, if we do not have another good reason to continue using it.
The right to request that we transfer your personal data to another party, in respect of data that you have provided where our legal ground for using the data is that it is necessary for the performance of a contract or that you have consented to us using it (this is known as the right to ‘data portability’).
In the United States only; in accordance with CCPA, the right to request that we disclose any of the following to you:
The categories of personal information we collected about you
The categories of sources from which the personal information was collected
The business purpose for collecting personal information
The categories of third parties with whom your personal information was shared, and the categories of personal information that were disclosed
The specific pieces of information we have collected about you

If you would like to exercise any of the above rights, please contact the entity to which you made your application, details of which are below:

For information relating to the UK, EEA and India, requests should be made in writing to Christine Tolley, Head of Human Resources, Advanced Manufacturing Hub, 250 Aston Hall Road, Birmingham, B6 7FE, UK
For information relating to the USA (all locations), requests should be made to HydraForce, Inc. by e mail at employment@hydraforce.com or by calling 1-800-682-6875.

You should be aware that these rights are not absolute and, in some circumstances, HydraForce may be entitled to refuse some or all of your request. However, the business will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your rights under this policy

Note too, that if you applied for a vacancy to HydraForce Hydraulics Ltd., in the United Kingdom, you have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues. Details of how to contact the ICO can be found on their website: https://ico.org.uk