PRIVACY POLICY
Network Scientific Recruitment
How we collect, use, share and protect personal information
Data controller: Network Scientific Ltd (“Network Scientific”, “we”, “us” or “our”)
Company number: 07478514
Updated August 2026
Network Scientific Ltd is a recruitment business providing work-finding and employment-business services to work-seekers and clients. We act as a data controller when deciding why and how personal information is processed for these purposes. In some assignments we may also process information on a client’s documented instructions.
This notice applies to candidates, temporary workers, contractors, applicants, clients and prospective clients, referees, emergency contacts, suppliers, website users and other people whose information we process in connection with our recruitment services.
1. Personal information we collect
The information we collect depends on your relationship with us and may include:
• identity and contact details, including name, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth and photograph;
• employment information, including CV, work history, job preferences, availability, salary or rate expectations, qualifications, professional registrations and training;
• right-to-work and compliance information, including nationality, immigration status, identity documents and National Insurance number;
• assignment and payroll information, including timesheets, bank details, tax information, pension information, holiday, sickness and absence records;
• communications, interview notes, assessments, feedback, references and information about applications or placements;
• client and business-contact information, including job title, employer, department and purchasing or vacancy requirements;
• technical information, including IP address, device information, website usage and cookie data; and
• any other information you choose to provide or that is reasonably required to provide our services.
Special-category and criminal-offence information
Where relevant and lawful, we may process special-category information such as health, disability, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, trade-union membership or sexual orientation. We may also process criminal-conviction and offence information. Criminal-offence information is legally distinct from special-category information.
We process this information only where permitted by law, for example to meet employment, social-protection, equality, safeguarding or health-and-safety obligations; assess working capacity or reasonable adjustments; establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or where explicit consent is appropriate. Criminal-offence information is processed only where authorised by law and subject to appropriate safeguards.
2. How we obtain personal information
You may provide information directly when you register, apply for a role, send us a CV, complete a form, use our website, speak with a consultant, enter into a contract or work on an assignment.
We may also obtain information from:
• job boards, professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, and publicly available websites;
• clients, recruitment partners and other organisations in a recruitment supply chain;
• former employers, referees, professional bodies, qualification providers and background-check providers;
• government bodies and official sources used for right-to-work, tax or compliance checks;
• software, payroll, website and other service providers supporting our operations; and
• another Network Scientific associated company, trading name, brand or business division where lawful and relevant.
Where we obtain your information from another source, we will provide the information required by data protection law within the applicable period unless an exemption applies.
3. Why we use personal information
We may process personal information to:
• register work-seekers and provide recruitment, work-finding and employment-business services;
• contact you about suitable roles, assess suitability, submit applications and arrange interviews;
• verify identity, qualifications, experience, references, right to work and other compliance requirements;
• enter into and manage contracts, placements and assignments, including timesheets, payroll, holiday, pension and expenses;
• provide services to clients, manage vacancies and relationships, and respond to enquiries;
• maintain accurate records, operate our systems, monitor service quality and improve our services;
• protect our systems and users, prevent fraud, investigate complaints or incidents, and establish or defend legal claims;
• comply with legal, regulatory, tax, audit and safeguarding requirements; and
• send relevant service updates, industry news or marketing where permitted by law.
4. Our lawful bases
Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:
• contract – processing is necessary to take steps at your request before a contract or to perform a contract with you;
• legal obligation – processing is necessary to comply with employment-agency, immigration, tax, employment, safeguarding or other law;
• legitimate interests – processing is necessary for our or another party’s legitimate business interests, provided your rights do not override those interests;
• consent – where we ask for and receive your freely given, specific and informed consent; and
• vital interests or other lawful bases where relevant in exceptional circumstances.
Legitimate interests
Our legitimate interests may include providing effective recruitment services; matching work-seekers with opportunities; maintaining candidate and client databases; developing client relationships; keeping records accurate; protecting our business and systems; preventing fraud; and informing relevant business contacts about related services. We balance these interests against your rights and expectations before relying on this basis.
Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing already carried out lawfully and does not prevent processing under another lawful basis.
5. Who we share personal information with
Where necessary, proportionate and lawful, we may share information with:
• clients and prospective clients to whom we introduce or supply work-seekers;
• recruitment agencies, managed service providers, umbrella companies, payroll providers and other organisations in a recruitment supply chain;
• former employers, referees, professional bodies, qualification providers and screening providers;
• IT, CRM, website, communications, document-management and other service providers;
• banks, payment intermediaries, pension providers, insurers and professional advisers;
• auditors, regulators, government departments, law-enforcement bodies, courts and other authorities; and
• prospective purchasers, investors or advisers involved in a genuine sale, merger or reorganisation.
Associated companies and business divisions
We may share personal information with other companies, trading names, brands or business divisions associated with Network Scientific, including businesses providing scientific recruitment, sales, marketing and related commercial services. This may include Network Scientific Marketing.
Information may be shared for providing and administering services; managing candidate, worker, client and supplier relationships; maintaining accurate records; responding to enquiries; identifying relevant services or opportunities; internal administration, compliance, reporting and IT support; and marketing where we have an appropriate lawful basis and respect your right to object or unsubscribe.
We share only information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose and do not share it merely because a business is associated with us. Depending on the arrangement, the recipient may act as our processor, a separate controller or a joint controller. Appropriate contracts or controller arrangements will be used where required. We do not sell personal information.
6. International transfers
Recruitment assignments, clients or service providers may require personal information to be transferred outside the United Kingdom. Where this happens, we will comply with UK data protection law and use an approved transfer mechanism or rely on another lawful safeguard, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses. We will also apply appropriate security measures. You may contact us for more information about relevant safeguards.
7. Data retention
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this notice and to meet legal, regulatory, accounting and reporting requirements. Retention periods vary according to the type of record and our relationship with you.
• Work-seeker and introduction records are retained for at least the period required by the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, generally at least one year from their creation or from the date we last provided work-finding services, as applicable.
• Right-to-work evidence is generally retained for the duration of employment or engagement and for two years afterwards.
• Working-time, opt-out and annual-leave records are retained for the legally required period.
• Payroll, tax, holiday pay, sick pay, pension and National Minimum Wage records are retained for the periods required by HMRC and applicable legislation, commonly between three and six years depending on the record.
• Other recruitment, client, complaint and correspondence records are retained in accordance with our retention schedule, taking account of limitation periods, legal obligations and the continuing relevance of our relationship.
At the end of the applicable period, information will be securely deleted or anonymised unless we have a lawful reason to retain it for longer.
8. Your data protection rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:
• be informed about how we use your personal information;
• request access to your personal information;
• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• ask us to erase information in certain circumstances;
• ask us to restrict processing in certain circumstances;
• receive or transfer certain information in a portable format;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests and object at any time to direct marketing;
• withdraw consent at any time where processing relies on consent; and
• ask for human intervention and challenge a decision where applicable automated decision-making rules apply.
These rights are not absolute and exemptions may apply. To exercise a right, contact Jasmin Walsh using the details at the beginning of this notice. We may request information reasonably necessary to confirm your identity or authority. We will respond within the time required by law.
9. Automated decision-making and profiling
We may use technology to search, filter or rank information against role requirements and to support our consultants. We do not intend to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you solely by automated means unless this is lawful and appropriate safeguards apply. A consultant normally reviews suitability and makes or oversees recruitment decisions. If solely automated decision-making is introduced, we will provide the information and rights required by law, including access to human intervention where applicable.
10. Marketing communications
We may contact candidates, clients and business contacts about relevant roles, services, events or industry information where permitted by data protection and electronic-marketing law. You may object to direct marketing or unsubscribe at any time by using the link in an email or contacting us. We may keep a minimal suppression record to ensure we respect your preference.
11. Cookies, website information and external links
Cookies
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to operate, remember preferences, understand website use and, where you consent, support analytics or personalised content. Please see our Cookie Policy for details and available controls. Disabling some cookies may affect website functionality.
Technical logs
We may record IP address, browser, device and usage information to administer and secure the website, diagnose issues and analyse aggregate trends. Some technical identifiers may constitute personal information even where they do not directly identify you by name.
External links
Our website may link to websites operated by other organisations. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Please review the privacy notice of any external website you visit.
12. Data security
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against accidental or unlawful loss, alteration, disclosure or access. Measures may include role-based and least-privilege access, passwords and multi-factor authentication, encryption, firewalls, anti-malware protection, backups, secure transfer methods, monitoring and staff training.
Access is limited to employees, contractors and providers who need information for their duties and are subject to confidentiality or contractual controls. No internet or email transmission is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect information in transit and at rest.
13. Sale or reorganisation of the business
If all or part of our business is sold, merged, reorganised or integrated with another organisation, relevant personal information may be disclosed to professional advisers and genuine prospective purchasers and transferred to the new owner where lawful. We will provide notice where required, including where the transaction results in a change of controller.
14. Data protection complaints
You have the right to complain directly to us if you believe we have infringed data protection law or have not handled your personal information appropriately. This may include concerns about how information was collected, used, disclosed, stored, secured, retained or deleted; direct marketing; or how we responded to a request to exercise your rights.
Please contact:
Zara Jackson
Email: zara.jackson@networkscientific.co.uk
Telephone: 01423 813520
Please explain your concern and provide any relevant evidence or correspondence. We may request reasonable proof of identity or authority where necessary, including where someone complains on another person’s behalf.
We will:
• acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 30 days;
• take appropriate steps to investigate it without undue delay, including making necessary enquiries;
• keep you informed about progress where appropriate; and
• tell you the outcome without undue delay, including any action taken or proposed.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We welcome the opportunity to investigate your concern first, but you are not prevented from contacting the ICO directly.
Information Commissioner’s Office
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
If your personal information is processed outside the UK, you may also have the right to complain to the relevant data protection authority in that country.
15. Changes to this notice
We may update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect changes in our services, practices or legal obligations. The latest version will be published with its revision date. Where a change materially affects how we use personal information, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected people.
16. Contact details
Network Scientific Ltd
Registered in England and Wales, company number 07478514
Telephone: 01423 813520
International: +44 1423 813520
Website: www.networkscientific.co.uk
General email: admin@networkscientific.co.uk