Privacy / Cookies

Cookies Policy

Last updated: March 2023

This Cookie Policy explains how Empiric ("we", "us", or "our") uses cookies and similar technologies when you visit our website http://empiric.com (the "Site").

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the Site. Cookies can also be used to deliver targeted advertising, or to understand how visitors are using a webSite.

What types of cookies do we use?

We use the following types of cookies on our Site:

• Necessary cookies: These cookies are essential for the Site to function properly, and cannot be turned off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the Site may not work properly without them.
• Performance cookies: These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our Site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the Site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our Site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.

• Functional cookies: These cookies enable the Site to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
• Forms related cookies: When you submit data to through a form such as those found on contact pages, cookies may be set to remember your user details for future correspondence.
• Google Analytics: Google Analytics is one of the most widespread and trusted analytics solution on the web for helping us to understand how you use the Site and ways that we can improve your experience. These cookies may track things such as how long you spend on the Site and the pages that you visit so we can continue to produce engaging content. For more information on Google Analytics cookies, see the official Google Analytics page.
• From time to time we test new features and make subtle changes to the way that the Site is delivered. When we are still testing new features these cookies may be used to ensure that you receive a consistent experience whilst on the Site whilst ensuring we understand which optimisations our users appreciate the most.
• We also use social media buttons and/or plugins on this Site that allow you to connect with your social network in various ways. For these to work the following social media platforms including; LinkedIn, Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, will set cookies through our Site which may be used to enhance your profile on their Site or contribute to the data they hold for various purposes outlined in their respective privacy policies.

How can you control cookies?

You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish – for details, see aboutcookies.org. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed. If you do this, however, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a Site and some services and functionalities may not work.

Changes to this Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about our use of cookies.

Privacy Policy

This privacy policy governs the collection, storage and use of personal information collected by Empiric Solutions Limited ("Empiric", "we" or "us"):

• via our website at www.empiric.com (the "Site"), or
• as a result of you responding to an advertisement posted by us on a job board, online CV library or via social media; or
• as a result of us matching your CV, as uploaded by you onto a job board, online CV library or a social media Site, to a vacancy we are seeking to fill for one of our clients; or

• as a result of personal recommendations; or
• from company websites;
• from your business card;
• in the course of us providing permanent and/or temporary recruitment and resourcing services to you ("Services")

where "you" are a candidate, potential candidate, consultant, client contact or contact at any other organisation involved in the introduction and/or supply of a candidate's services, such as a contact at a recruitment process outsourcing company, personal service company or umbrella company.

References in this policy to:

• "hirer" and "client" mean any hiring organisation to which we offer and/or provide temporary and/or permanent recruitment services;
• "client contact" means a hiring manager at a client;
• "candidate" means a potential or actual candidate for a permanent or temporary role;
• "consultant" means a person whose services are supplied via Empiric to work on a temporary assignment with a hirer.

Specifically, this privacy policy provides you with details about the personal information we collect and hold about you, how we use your personal information, and your rights regarding your personal information.

It does not cover any use of your personal information by:

• an actual or potential employer or hirer;
• an umbrella company; or
• any other organisation involved in the supply of your services via us to a hirer,

to whom we may provide your personal information as part of the recruitment process. That use will be governed by the relevant employer's or hirer's privacy policy.

Please read this privacy policy carefully.

Overview
We respect your right to privacy. Our overall aim is to ensure that our collection and use of personal information is appropriate to the provision of services to you and our clients, and is in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
Further details of how we do so are set out in each section of our privacy policy as follows:

• Who we are
• The personal information we collect about you

• How we store and use your personal information
• How we share your personal information and who we share it with
• International transfers
• Cookies
• Security

• Data Retention
• Your rights
• Third party Sites
• Changes to this Privacy Policy
• Complaints, questions and suggestions

Who we are
Empiric Solutions Limited is the data controller of the personal information that we collect from you. It is a company registered in England and Wales (registration number 5533824), whose registered office is at 76 New Cavendish Street, London, W1G 9TB.

We are a recruitment and professional resourcing business. Our main services relate to helping clients fill permanent roles and temporary resource requirements and helping candidates and contractors find suitable roles and assignments with hirers. In some cases, this also involves sourcing and providing services on a statement of work basis. As part of our services we also provide industry updates and organise networking events.

You can contact us in relation to this privacy policy by telephone and email at GDPR Team GDPR@empiric.com or 0203 675 7777.

The personal information we collect about you
Candidates: the personal information we collect about you where "you" are a candidate or placed consultant.

When:

• you access and browse the Site (including when you submit personal information to us through data entry fields on the Site); or
• you respond to an advert posted by us whether via a job board, LinkedIn or other social networking Sites; or
• we download details uploaded by you onto a job board, LinkedIn or other social networking Sites in relation to a vacancy we are seeking to fill for one of our clients; or

• we download details uploaded by you onto a job board, LinkedIn or other social networking Sites in connection with our internal market research; or
• you contact us by phone, email or otherwise; or
• we provide Services to you or to an actual or a potential hirer of your services; or
• we contact you with a view to providing Services to you; or
• we provide on-boarding services to a hirer of your services,

will usually collect the following information from or about you :

• your name;
• your gender;
• your postal address;
• your phone and e-mail details;

• your bank details
• a copy of your passport details including your passport photograph;
• your current and previous employment/work details, including job title and employer;
• recruitment-specific details such as any professional certifications, education and qualifications, skills, career history, salary range, right to work status, citizenship, location/relocation preferences, referee details and any other information relevant or required by law to enable us to provide the Services;
• any other information which you include in your CV or a completed application form;

• any information which has been published or made available on a social media profile or job board (whether by you or a third party), or in any news media;
• details of your umbrella company or personal service company;
• the contract for services we hold with your umbrella company or personal service company relating to the work you do or will do for our client, including timesheet data and charge rates relating to the work you perform under that contract;
• references from third parties such as previous employers and nominated referees;
• the results of pre-employment screening or vetting checks which we are asked or required to undertake in relation to you (including the results of any Disclosure and Barring checks and any information you provide relating to current and/or spent criminal convictions carried out on behalf of the hirer during the onboarding process);

• any email communications, including attachments, which you send to us;
• the results of the right to work checks.

You can update your CV or personal data at any time by forwarding a copy to info@empiric.com

Client contacts: the personal information we collect about you where "you" are a contact at one of our clients or at an MSP, umbrella company or personal service company involved in the supply of a person's services to a hirer.

When:

• we contact you with a view to providing Services to you; or
• we provide Services to you as an actual or a potential hirer of your services; or
• we complete contractual documentation relevant to the Services,

we will usually collect the following information from or about you :

• your name;

• your postal address;
• your phone and e-mail details;
• details of your role, title and responsibilities within your organisation;

where "you" are a client:

• any opinion or feedback you share with us regarding a candidate or consultant;

• details of any queries you raise with us regarding the Services;
• details of any recruitment and/or resourcing requirements or plans you share with us.

In some cases, we regard you as both a candidate and client contact. Where this is the case please read the sections below relating to candidates and client contacts and how we will use your personal information.

How we use your personal information and our lawful bases for processing your personal data
Candidates and consultants

We collect, store and use information that we obtain in relation to you for our legitimate interests:

• We record all telephone conversations for training and quality control purposes
• so that we can contact you (via email, SMS, phone, WhatsApp or Skype) about opportunities and assignments that we believe you may be interested in;
• to help us to provide suitable candidates and consultants for our clients who engage us to assist them to fulfil their recruitment and resourcing requirements;
• to provide a channel through which you may submit your CV for general applications, to apply for specific jobs or to subscribe to our job alerts;
• to match your details with vacancies, to assist us in finding a position that is most suitable for you and to send your information to clients for potential jobs. Please note that we will always obtain verbal or written consent before presenting your personal details to a client.

• to enter into contracts which are necessary in order for your service to be supplied or made available to a hirer;
• to carry out market research for our internal use;
• to develop an industry-relevant database of candidates and clients to help meet our clients' resourcing requirements and connect candidates with work opportunities;
• for internal record keeping purposes;
• to carry out services that we, you or our client have requested including work-related references, qualifications and criminal references checking services, verification of the details you have provided from third party sources, psychometric evaluations or skills tests.

This storage and use of your personal information allow you to be contacted about roles which may be of interest to you, now or in the future, and we do not believe that this storage and use will unduly prejudice your rights or freedoms.

We will store and use your personal information in order to comply with relevant legal obligations to which Empiric is subject, including to carry out:

• verification of your identity to comply with The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003;
• right to work checks to comply with relevant immigration legislation;

In other, relatively limited circumstances, we will carry out further relevant background checks as may be requested by our client. In these circumstances, we will be acting on behalf of our client and the handling of your personal data will be governed by the client's privacy policy.

Where you are successful in securing temporary assignment work with one of our clients we will store and use your personal information for the purposes of completing and administering contracts with your chosen personal service company or Umbrella Company and for processing payment to such company in respect of services you have performed for our client. Such processing will be for our legitimate interests so that we can provide Services to you and our client. We do not believe that this storage and use of your personal information will unduly prejudice your rights or freedoms.

Such processing will also be necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party (i.e. your contract with the umbrella company or your personal service company relating to the supply of assignment services) and/or in order to take steps prior to you entering into such contract.

If our client requires us to collect, store and use your health data and/or any Disclosure and Baring Checks we will, on our client's behalf, seek your consent to processing such data. You can withdraw your consent at any stage but this may prevent us from being able to deliver our recruitment services to you.

Client contacts and other third parties involved in the supply of resourcing services (e.g. umbrella companies and personal service companies)

We collect, store and use your name and contact details for our legitimate interests so that we can:

• send you the details of candidates and consultants and contact you about our Services, and
• maintain our business relationship with you.

This allows you to be contacted to receive and administer any Services which you or your organisation have requested.

In the case of contacts at umbrella companies and personal service companies, this allows you to be contacted to receive, on behalf of your employer, details of current and future assignments, related timesheet data and payment details.

We do not believe that this storage and use of your personal information will unduly prejudice your rights or freedoms.

All users of the Site and our Services

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

• to make the Site available to you; and
• to provide any Services that you request.

Sometimes, our use of your personal information is for purposes which are ancillary to the provision of the Site and the Services, or which are desirable in order to make them operate more effectively. In those circumstances, we believe we have a legitimate interest in handling
your personal information and do not believe that this storage and use of your personal information will unduly prejudice your rights or freedoms.

The relevant circumstances are:

• detecting and preventing fraud;
• keeping our Site, apps, products and IT systems secure;
• ensuring that our own processes, procedures and systems are as efficient as possible;
• analysing and enhancing the information that we collect;

• determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and advertising; and
• contacting with products and services which we think may interest you.

In some, relatively limited, circumstances we need to handle your personal information in a certain way to be able to comply with our legal obligations. For example, if we:

• are requested to disclose your personal information to regulatory bodies;
• need to demonstrate our compliance with applicable law;

• are subject to an enquiry from the Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate or HMRC.

Anonymous data

We collect anonymised details about visitors to our website for the purposes of aggregate statistics or reporting purposes. However, no single individual will be identifiable from the anonymised details we collect for these purposes.

How we share your personal information and who we share it with

We will disclose information under the following circumstances:

• Service and Site usage information: When we share anonymous information generated by our Services with our clients.
• Third-party service providers: When we share information with third-party service companies for them to facilitate and support us in the provision of the Services. This includes:
  o IT support service providers;
  o providers of credit reference, vetting and screening services;
  o payment processors and software providers;

These organisations are appointed by Empiric as data processors and authorised to use your personal information only as necessary to provide the relevant services to us. These organisations are required to process such information based on our instructions and in accordance with this privacy policy. They do not have any independent right to share this information.

• Group companies: We provide your personal information to our subsidiaries or affiliated companies for the purpose of processing personal information on our behalf to provide the Site and the Services. These parties are required to process such information based on our instructions and in accordance with this privacy policy. They do not have any independent right to share this information.
• Compliance with laws and legal proceedings: When we respond to court orders, or legal process, or to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims. When we believe it is necessary to share information in order to investigate, prevent or take actions against illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of our terms of use, or as otherwise required by law.

• Merger or acquisition: When we need to transfer information about you if we are acquired by or merged with another company. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, you will be notified by email and/or a prominent notice on our Site of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information.
• Recruitment and resourcing services: When we are using your personal information in the context of our recruitment and resourcing services, then we may share your personal information with clients where we believe that you may be appropriate for a particular role or vacancy with that client.
• Umbrella companies and personal service companies: When you inform us that you are supplying or intend to supply your services via EMPIRIC to a client through an umbrella company or personal service company.
• Recruitment Process Outsourcing and Managed Service Providers: In certain cases, there may be an organisation such as a managed service provider acting as a gateway for the supply of Services made via EMPIRIC to the hirer. Where this is the case, we will share your information with such organisations to the extent that it is necessary for the purposes of the supply.

Where personal information is shared with clients, hirers, umbrella companies, personal services companies or managed service providers in the circumstances described above, then those organisations will handle your personal information in line with their own privacy policies.

International transfers

We may transfer personal information that we collect from you to clients located in countries that are outside of the UK or the European Economic Area (including to the following countries: Norway, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, South Africa, Japan and the US (New York) in connection with the above purposes.
Please be aware that countries which are outside the European Economic Area may not offer the same level of legal protection for your personal information as under UK law, although any collection, storage and use of your personal data by us (or on our behalf) will continue to be governed by this privacy policy.

Where we transfer personal information to such third parties, we will ensure that we have measures to ensure it is afforded appropriate protection.

How long do we keep your information for?

We will retain information (including personal information) about you for a period of up to 7 years from the date on which you last received Services from us.

We will delete it after that time except where we need to keep any personal information to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements.

How we use Cookies
Technologies such as cookies, beacons, tags and scripts are used by us and our affiliates, or analytics or service providers. These technologies are used in analysing trends, administering the Site, tracking users’ movements around the Site and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. We may receive reports based on the use of these technologies by these companies on an individual as well as aggregated basis.

We use cookies, for example, to remember users’ settings (e.g. language preference) and for authentication. Users can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level. If you reject cookies, you may still use our Site, but your ability to use some features or areas of our Site may be limited.

Please read more about how we use cookies and what information is collected using cookies in our cookie policy on our website.

Security
Your information is held on servers hosted by us or our Internet Services Provider. The transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our Site; any transmission is at your own risk.

Your rights to your information

You have certain rights in relation to your personal information. If you would like further information in relation to these or would like to exercise any of them, please contact us at GDPR@empiric.com at any time. You have the right to request that we:

• provide access to any personal information we hold about you;
• update any of your personal information which is out of date or incorrect;
• delete any personal information which we are holding about you;

• restrict the way that we process your personal information;
• prevent the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes;
• provide your personal information to a third party provider of services;
• provide you with a copy of any personal information which we hold about you; or
• consider any valid objections which you have to our use of your personal information.

We will consider all such requests and provide our response within a reasonable period (and in any event within any time period required by applicable law). Please note, however, that certain personal information may be exempt from such requests in certain circumstances.

If an exception applies, we will tell you this when responding to your request. We may request you to provide us with information necessary to confirm your identity before responding to any request you make.

You may request to unsubscribe from job alerts and marketing material at any time. If you wish to contact us with respect to the above matters please email us at GDPR@empiric.com.

Changes to our Privacy Policy
This privacy policy was last updated in February 2019.

Please check back regularly to keep informed of updates to this privacy policy. Where we make significant changes to this privacy policy, and we have your email address, we will send you notification of the changes.

Third party Sites
This website contains links to other websites operated by third parties. Please note that this privacy policy applies only to the personal information that we collect through the Site or the Services, and we cannot be responsible for personal information that third parties may collect, store and use through their website. You should always read the privacy policy of each website you visit carefully.

Complaints
Empiric tries to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. We take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate.

If you wish to complain about this policy or any of the procedures set out in it please contact us at:

GDPR Team. Empiric. 1 Old Jewry. London. EC2R 8DN. GDPR@empiric.com. 0203 675 7777.

In the EEA, you may also make a complaint to our supervisory body for data protection matters (the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK) or seek a remedy through local courts if you believe your rights have been breached.