Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Policy

Hutcheon Mearns are registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration number ZA152493.

As a finance resourcing, advisory and consulting business, Hutcheon Mearns (HM) provides work-finding services to our clients and work-seekers.  In order to provide these services we must process personal data (including sensitive personal data) and under EU General Data Protection Regulations we are classified as Data Controllers.

We collect your personal details by you providing them to us directly, such as on a paper registration form or via our website or by applying for a role we are advertising, or we may collect them from another source such as a job board. We must have a legal basis for processing your personal data. For the purposes of providing you with work-finding services and/or information relating to roles relevant to you we will only use your personal data in accordance this policy.  Any information you submit to us via our website or through our office is only used for the purposes set out in this policy.

We have split our policy into the questions we believe you would ask us and we believe we need to give you the answers to as follows:

• Why do we hold your personal data?
• Who do we provide your data to?
• How long do you hold my data for?
• What rights do I have as an individual for my personal data?
• How is my personal data protected?
• How do I complain if I believe my rights have been breached?

Why do we hold your personal data?

We collect your personal data for the purposes of providing you with work-finding services or providing you with information regarding Hutcheon Mearns.

We undertake to use all information responsibly. Any personal information collected will be stored securely and will be used for the following purposes only:

• Information provided for the use of registering as a work-seeker
• Information provided for contacting you directly
• Information provided for HM marketing activities and keeping you informed about HM services
• In connection with any legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings
• In order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights

We only hold personal data when we believe we have a legitimate reason to do so and in the nature of providing you with work finding services.  As part of our services we need to check the identity of candidates, their right to work in the UK and qualifications as well as process pay, in the case of agency workers, and manage entitlement to certain statutory rights.

Who do we provide your data to?

We only provide personal data to our customers where there is a legitimate interest in in a role.  We will not provide any personal information to a client or third party without your consent and we will only supply information outside the European Economic Area (‘EEA’) for the purposes of providing you with work-finding services if you have given permission to do so.  We always take steps to ensure adequate protections are in place to ensure the security of your information.

How long do you hold my data for?

We will keep your personal data for as long as you maintain a record with us or as otherwise necessary to provide you services. We will also retain your personal data as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, require us to keep work-seeker records for at least one year from (a) the date of their creation or (b) after the date on which we last provide you with work-finding services.

We must also keep your payroll records, holiday pay, sick pay and pensions auto-enrolment records for as long as is legally required by HMRC and associated national minimum wage, social security and tax legislation.

Where we no longer need to process your personal data for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, or we have had no meaningful contact with you over the past 5 years we will delete your personal data from our systems.

Where permissible, we will also delete your personal data upon your request. Information on how to make a deletion request can be found below.

What rights do I have as an individual for my personal data?

GDPR provides the following rights for individuals:

1. The right to be informed
2. The right of access
3. The right to rectification
4. The right to erasure
5. The right to restrict processing
6. The right to data portability
7. The right to object
8. Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.

You can withdraw your consent by simply contacting us in writing at: Hutcheon Mearns Limited, 199 Westburn Road, Aberdeen AB10 6RP and information is publicly available on GDPR regulations at https://ico.org.uk.

Cookies Policy

We may set and access Cookies on your computer.  Cookies may be placed on your computer when you visit certain parts of the Website. We use these to identify and track visitors, their usage of the Website, their access preferences and for advertising.  Currently we do not have the technical ability to get your express permission to opt out of our cookies, so we encourage you to use your browser settings if you want to control these.

If you want to learn more about the general use of cookies, please visit Cookiepedia.

Strictly Necessary cookies

These are cookies that allow you to use different parts of our site. Without them different features that you have requested cannot be provided. These are usually set in response to an action performed by the user like clicking on a job advert or failing to enter the correct password to their account.

Functional cookies

These help us to make your experience within our site more personal. For instance, knowing if you have been on the site before so that messages for new visitors are not displayed to you.

First party cookies

These are cookies that are set by our website. And only we can read them.

Session cookies

These are stored while you browse our site and then deleted once you leave.

Persistent cookies

These are saved on your computer and won’t be deleted when you close the web page. We use these to provide functionality like keeping you logged in when you come back to the site.

Performance cookies (optional if tracking codes are used)

These help us to track how people are using our site. They help us to know what pages people are using most and how users navigate around the site, we use this information to make informed decision about how we can improve the user experience of our site.

The information we get using these cookies is completely anonymous and we will make no attempt to identify you or influence your experience of our site while you are on it.

If you use the “Do Not Track” browser setting, we currently don’t respond to DNT requests.

Third party cookies (optional if tracking codes are used)

These are set by someone other than us, these can be things like Analytics and other embedded content.

Cookies We Use (Non-Optional Cookies)