PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated: 6 March 2026

PIE Talent Limited (“PIE Talent”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting your personal data and handling it lawfully, fairly and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”), the Data Protection Act 2018 and other applicable data protection laws.

This Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, store and share personal data relating to candidates, prospective candidates, clients, prospective clients, website users and other individuals we engage with in the course of our business.

1. Who we are

PIE Talent is a recruitment business. For the purposes of data protection law, PIE Talent is the data controller of the personal data described in this notice, except where we process personal data solely on behalf of a client or supplier acting as their processor.

Contact details
PIE Talent
4 Lacemaker Court
London Road
Amersham
Buckinghamshire
HP7 0HS

Email: info@pie-recruitment.com
Telephone: 01494 360360

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or how we handle your personal data, please contact us using the details above.

2. The personal data we collect

We may collect, use, store and transfer the following categories of personal data about you:

  • identity data, such as your name, title and date of birth;

  • contact data, such as your email address, telephone number and postal address;

  • candidate data, such as your CV, employment history, qualifications, skills, experience, salary information, notice period, right to work status, role preferences, location preferences and mobility;

  • assessment and recruitment data, such as interview notes, feedback, suitability assessments, shortlist information and communications relating to potential roles;

  • publicly available professional information, such as information on LinkedIn or similar professional networking platforms;

  • technical data, such as IP address, browser type, device information and website usage data;

  • marketing and communications data, such as your preferences in receiving job alerts, relevant updates and marketing communications from us.

In some circumstances, we may also process special category personal data or other more sensitive information where this is relevant to recruitment or legal obligations, for example health information, diversity information or information required for right to work or equality monitoring purposes. Where we do so, we will only process that information where we have an appropriate lawful basis and, where required, an additional condition for processing under data protection law.

3. How we collect your personal data

We may collect personal data:

  • directly from you when you apply for a role through our website, upload your CV, contact us, register as a candidate, subscribe to updates or otherwise correspond with us;

  • from third parties, including job boards, referrals, client introductions, advertising responses, publicly available professional profiles and background information you choose to make public;

  • during telephone calls, meetings, interviews and email exchanges with you;

  • automatically when you use our website, through cookies and similar technologies where applicable.

Where we receive your personal data indirectly, we will provide you with the privacy information required by law.

4. How we use your personal data and our lawful bases

We process personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

  • legitimate interests – for example, to assess suitability for roles, maintain candidate records, match candidates with relevant opportunities, communicate with candidates and clients, and operate and improve our recruitment services;

  • steps at your request prior to entering into a contract – for example, where you ask us to help you secure a role or progress an application;

  • compliance with a legal obligation – for example, where we need to retain records, respond to lawful requests or comply with employment, tax, anti-discrimination or other legal requirements;

  • consent – where consent is required or appropriate, for example for certain marketing communications or where we ask for your explicit consent to process particular categories of information.

We may use your personal data to:

  • register you as a candidate;

  • assess your experience, skills and suitability for current and future roles;

  • contact you about vacancies and career opportunities;

  • share your details with clients, but only where it is lawful to do so and, where appropriate, after discussing the opportunity with you;

  • arrange interviews and obtain and provide feedback;

  • maintain our records and candidate relationship history;

  • send relevant job alerts, newsletters or updates where permitted;

  • carry out surveys and service improvement activity;

  • administer and protect our business, website, systems and users.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider and balance any potential impact on your rights and freedoms. The ICO requires organisations relying on legitimate interests to be able to demonstrate and document that assessment.

5. AI-assisted tools and human oversight

We may use carefully selected technology tools, including AI-assisted software, to support limited administrative, organisational and content-processing tasks within our recruitment operations. This may include, for example, helping our team organise notes, summarise information, improve internal workflows or draft communications for human review.

However:

  • all recruitment, suitability, shortlisting and hiring decisions are made by human beings;

  • we do not use AI to make solely automated decisions about you that produce legal or similarly significant effects;

  • AI tools are used only with human oversight and review;

  • AI outputs are checked by our team and are not treated as final or determinative.

This means that no candidate is accepted, rejected, shortlisted, prioritised or otherwise subject to a recruitment decision based solely on automated processing.

Where we use AI-assisted systems that process personal data, we do so under appropriate contractual, technical and organisational controls. We do not use candidate personal data submitted to us for the purpose of training public or shared AI models. Where AI-enabled service providers are used, we expect them to process data only on documented instructions and under appropriate confidentiality, security and data protection obligations.

The ICO states that where organisations use AI or profiling, they must identify a lawful basis, be transparent about that use, and explain whether solely automated decision-making takes place. The UK GDPR also gives individuals specific protections in relation to solely automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.

6. Marketing communications and job alerts

We may send you information about relevant job opportunities, market updates, insights or other communications where this is permitted by law.

Where you subscribe to job alerts or similar updates through our website, we will use your details to provide those communications. Where we send direct marketing, you have the right to object at any time and we must stop using your personal data for direct marketing purposes if you object. Each marketing email will include an unsubscribe option, or you can contact us at info@pie-recruitment.com.

We may use third-party service providers to send communications on our behalf, including ROI-AI or similar email marketing software. Those providers process personal data only for the purposes of providing services to us and under appropriate contractual controls.

Following a recruitment process, we may contact you for feedback or ask a survey provider to do so on our behalf. We will only share the minimum data necessary for that purpose.

7. When we share your personal data

We may share your personal data with:

  • our clients, where relevant to a vacancy or recruitment assignment;

  • service providers and technology suppliers who support our systems, communications, CRM, website or business operations;

  • professional advisers such as legal, compliance or insurance advisers;

  • regulators, law enforcement agencies, courts or other authorities where required by law or to protect our legal rights.

We do not sell your personal data.

We will only share candidate information with clients or other third parties where there is a lawful basis to do so and, in the normal course of recruitment, after discussing the relevant opportunity with you.

8. International transfers

Some of our service providers may process personal data outside the UK. Where we transfer personal data internationally, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place as required by data protection law. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

Further information on international transfers and safeguards is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

9. Data security

We take the security of personal data seriously and use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect it against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.

These measures may include:

  • access controls and role-based permissions;

  • confidentiality obligations for staff and contractors;

  • multi-factor authentication;

  • encryption and device security;

  • secure hosting and reputable software providers;

  • breach detection, response and reporting procedures.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take reasonable and appropriate steps to safeguard personal data and to work only with providers that offer suitable security measures.

If a personal data breach occurs and we are legally required to notify you or the ICO, we will do so in accordance with applicable law. The ICO requires organisations to have procedures in place for managing personal data breaches and notifying affected individuals or the regulator where required.

10. How long we keep personal data

We keep personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, contractual, accounting or reporting requirements.

As a general approach:

  • where you engage with us as a candidate, we may retain your personal data for up to 7 years where this is necessary for our legitimate business purposes, record keeping or legal obligations;

  • where there has been no meaningful recruitment activity or engagement for 36 months, we may delete or anonymise your data in accordance with our retention policy, unless we are required to keep it for another lawful reason;

  • where we have placed you in a role or introduced you to a client, we may retain limited records necessary to evidence the introduction, manage contractual obligations, handle disputes or comply with legal obligations.

Retention periods should be proportionate and organisations should explain them clearly in their privacy information.

11. Your rights

Under data protection law, you may have the right to:

  • request access to your personal data;

  • request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data;

  • request erasure of your personal data in certain circumstances;

  • request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;

  • object to processing based on legitimate interests;

  • object at any time to direct marketing;

  • request data portability where applicable;

  • withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not absolute and may apply only in certain circumstances. We will respond to valid requests in accordance with applicable law and may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. The ICO sets out these rights, including access, erasure, restriction, objection and portability, as part of the minimum information individuals should be told about in a privacy notice.

To exercise any of your rights, please contact: info@pie-recruitment.com

12. Your right to erasure

If you ask us to erase your personal data, we will consider your request in accordance with applicable law. This right is not absolute and there may be circumstances where we need to retain limited information, for example to comply with legal obligations, establish or defend legal claims, or maintain records relating to placements or client reporting requirements.

If you would like us to erase your personal data, please contact info@pie-recruitment.com and make clear that you are requesting erasure rather than simply updating your marketing or job-seeking preferences. The ICO states that the right to erasure applies only in certain circumstances and is not absolute.

13. Subject access requests

You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. Before responding, we may ask for information to verify your identity. We may provide the information in a commonly used electronic format where appropriate.

Please send subject access requests to: info@pie-recruitment.com

14. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first at info@pie-recruitment.com and we will try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

15. Changes to this Privacy Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, technology, or the way we process personal data. The latest version will always be published on our website with the revision date shown at the top.

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