Privacy Policy

Connective Careers Pathways is a recruitment agency and employment business operating in the UK, specialising in residential childcare and supported accommodation. For the purposes of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 we are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.

Registered office: The Wedgwood Big House, 1 Moorland Road, Stoke-on-Trent ST6 1DJ. Telephone 01223 944049. Data protection matters are handled by the directors; we are not required to appoint a Data Protection Officer. You can reach us at any time through our contact form.

This policy applies to candidates and work-seekers, people who register with us or subscribe to job alerts, contacts at client organisations, referees, and visitors to this website. It does not cover other websites we link to.

• Identity and contact details — name, email address, telephone number, current and preferred locations.
• Recruitment information — CV, employment history, qualifications and training, salary expectations, contract preferences, availability, right-to-work status and any supporting statement you write.
• Suitability information — references, interview notes and the outcome of background checks required for the role.
• Client information — contact name, organisation, vacancy details and our correspondence with you.
• Job alert information — your email address, first name and the keywords, locations and role types you asked to be alerted about.
• Technical information — essential cookies needed for the website and its forms to work, and optional analytics cookies only where you consent.

Most of the information we hold comes directly from you. We may also receive information from a referee you have nominated, from a client about the progress of your application, from a background-check provider where a check is required for a role, and from publicly available professional sources such as a public jobseeker profile.

• Consent — to store your CV in our talent pool, to send you job alerts, and to set optional analytics cookies. You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting processing already carried out.
• Legitimate interests — to operate a recruitment service, match candidates to suitable roles, respond to client enquiries, keep records of placements, and protect our website and records from misuse. We have considered your rights and expectations in each case.
• Contract — to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, and to administer an assignment or placement.
• Legal obligation — to meet safer recruitment, employment agency, right-to-work, and tax and accounting record-keeping requirements.

Where we process special category data — for example health information relevant to a reasonable adjustment, or equality monitoring information — we rely on your explicit consent, or on the employment and safeguarding conditions in Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Roles in residential childcare are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and require enhanced DBS checks. Criminal records information is processed under the safeguarding condition in Schedule 1, is kept separately from your main record, is seen only by those who need it for a recruitment decision, and is retained only as long as necessary before secure deletion.

We only share your CV and details with a prospective employer after discussing that specific role with you and receiving your agreement. We never sell personal data and we do not share it for third-party marketing.

We use trusted service providers acting on our instructions as processors: website and database hosting, secure file storage, and transactional email delivery. Each is bound by a written data-processing agreement. We may also share information with background-check providers where a check is required, with professional advisers, and with regulators or law enforcement where the law requires or safeguarding demands it.

We aim to keep personal data within the UK or the European Economic Area. Where a provider processes data outside those areas, we make sure an appropriate safeguard is in place — UK adequacy regulations, or the International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

• Candidate records — up to 24 months from your last contact with us, after which they are anonymised or deleted. This period is set by our administrators and reviewed periodically.
• Placement records — six years from the end of the placement, to meet statutory, tax and contractual obligations.
• Client enquiries and vacancy submissions — six years from the end of our business relationship.
• Job alert subscriptions — until you unsubscribe, or after a sustained period of inactivity.

We do not make decisions about you by automated means alone, and we do not profile you in a way that produces legal or similarly significant effects. Job alerts are matched automatically to the criteria you chose, but every shortlisting and referral decision is made by a person.

CVs and attachments are held in private, access-controlled storage and are never publicly accessible; administrators reach them only through short-lived signed links. Database records are protected by row-level security so that only authorised administrator accounts can read them. Access to the administration area requires an individually created account with a verified role, and access is logged. We review these controls and will notify you and the Information Commissioner's Office of a personal data breach where the law requires it.

You have the right to:

• be informed about how we use your data — this policy;
• access a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
• have inaccurate data corrected;
• have your data erased where there is no continuing reason to keep it;
• restrict or object to processing, including profiling;
• receive your data in a portable format;
• withdraw consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, use our contact form or call 01223 944049. We respond within one month and do not charge a fee for a reasonable request. We may ask you to confirm your identity first.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data you may complain to us through our complaints procedure and to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk, or by calling 0303 123 1113.

See our cookie policy for detail on the cookies this website uses and how to change your preferences.

We review this policy at least annually and whenever our processing changes. The version published here is the one that applies, and the review date is shown at the top of this page. Where a change is significant we will tell affected candidates and clients directly.