Candidate Privacy Notice
Overview – the key information you should be aware of:
(A) Who we are:
We are Highland Europe (UK) LLP and Highland (Geneva) Sarl. In this policy, we refer to ourselves as “Highland”, “our”, “us” or “we”. We are the controllers of your personal information where you apply for a role with us. If you need them, our company numbers and registered offices are as follows:
Highland Europe (UK) LLP
OC375755
30 Golden Square, London, W1F 9LD
Highland (Geneva) Sarl
CH-660.2.328.011-0
Rue du Marché 18, 1204 Geneva,
Switzerland.
Your personal information may also be passed to Highland Europe (UK) Management Limited (company number 07378379), whose registered office is 30 Golden Square, London, England, W1F 9LD if you are successful in obtaining a position with us.
You have been provided with this privacy notice because you are applying to work with us (whether as an employee, worker or contractor). It makes you aware of how and why your personal information will be used, namely for the purposes of the recruitment exercise, and how long it will usually be retained for. It provides you with certain information that must be provided under UK and EU data protection laws.
(B) Our values and what this policy is for: We value your privacy and want to be accountable and fair to you as well as transparent with you in the way that we collect and use your personal information. We also want you to know your rights in relation to your information which you can find here at section 13.;
In line with these values, this privacy policy tells you what to expect when we collect and use personal information about you in the process of you applying for a role with us. We have tried to make it easy for you to navigate so you can find the information that is most relevant to you and our relationship with you.
(C) What this policy contains: This privacy policy describes the following important topics relating to your personal information.
1. How we obtain your personal information;
2. The information we hold about you;
3. How we will use information about you ;
4. Sensitive personal information;
5. Legal basis for use of your personal information;
6. If you do not provide personal information;
7. Information about background checks;
9. Sharing personal data with third parties;
11. Data security;
12. How long we hold information about you;
13. Your rights in connections with your personal information;
14. Changes to our privacy policy;
(D) Your rights to object: You have various rights in respect of our use of your personal information as set out in section 13;
(E) What you need to do and your confirmation to us: Please read this privacy policy carefully to understand how we handle your personal information when you apply for a role with us. By engaging with us in the ways set out in this privacy policy, you confirm that you have read and understood the entirety of this privacy policy, as it applies to you.
1. How we obtain your personal information
1.1 You may provide us with your personal information voluntarily where you contact us about role directly; for example, via our website or by email.
1.2 We may also receive information about you from third parties; for example:
(a) where we receive your personal information from a recruiter;
(b) if we need to obtain references, we may obtain personal information from your referees; and
(c) if we need to perform background checks for your role, we may also receive information about you from our background check provider.
2. The information we hold about you
2.1 When you apply for a position with us, you, or a recruiter acting on your behalf, will provide us with personal information about you. The personal information we hold is as follows:
(a) Identity Data includes first name, last name, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.
(b) Contact Data includes address, email address and other contact details.
(c) Identity Documents includes copies of passports, visas and other identity documents relating to your entitlement to work.
(d) CV Data includes information about your career history, skills, experience, education and qualifications, as well as notes of interviews and other information collected during the recruitment process.
(e) Health Data includes information about your health, medical conditions, for which we may have to make reasonable adjustments both during recruitment process and potential employment.
(f) Background Check Data includes information obtained through criminal background checks and/or other pre-employment screening.
(g) Employment eligibility information includes right-to-work, alien registration status, refugee status, work permits, and residence status.
(h) References includes information obtained from references from previous employers or other referees.
3. How we will use information about you
3.1 We will collect, use and store the personal information listed above for the following reasons in connection with your job application:
(a) To manage and administer your application, and to contact you in relation to your application;
(b) To assess your suitability for employment (including eligibility to work);
(c) To comply with our legal obligations (for example, relating to equal opportunities monitoring); and
(d) To carry out background checks.
3.2 We may also collect, use and store your personal information for the following additional reasons:
(a) To deal with any enquiries or issues you have about how we collect, store and use your personal information, or any requests made by you for a copy of the information we hold about you;
(b) For internal corporate reporting, business administration, ensuring adequate insurance coverage for our business, ensuring the security of company facilities, research and development, and to identify and implement business efficiencies;
(c) To comply with any procedures, laws and regulations which apply to us; and
(d) To establish, exercise or defend our legal rights.
4. Sensitive personal information
4.1 Where we collect and process special categories of data (which includes Health Data and Sensitive Personal Data listed above), then we will only process such information:
(a) where we reasonably need to do so in order to comply with our legal obligations as a prospective employer;
(b) where we need to do so in order to assess your working capacity and whether we need to provide appropriate adjustments to the recruitment process (for example, whether adjustments need to be made during a test or interview);
(c) where it is needed in the public interest, such as, in some circumstances, for meaningful equal opportunities monitoring and reporting;
(d) where we need to do so to protect your or another person’s vital interests (and we are unable to obtain your consent); or
(e) where you have given us your consent.
5. Legal basis for use of your personal information
5.1 We consider that the legal bases for using your personal information as set out in this privacy policy are as follows:
(a) our use of your personal information is necessary to consider whether to enter into a contract of employment with you; for example, to manage and administer your application, assess your suitability for employment, and carry our background checks where necessary and we are permitted to do so by the laws that apply to us;
(b) our use of your personal information is necessary for complying with our legal or regulatory obligations; for example, to comply with equal opportunities monitoring obligations or to deal with any requests you make where we are legally required to act (for example, where you exercise your data rights under this policy);
(c) where neither (a) nor (b) apply, use of your personal information is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others; for example, for internal corporate reporting or business administration purposes; or
(d) to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights.
5.2 If we rely on your consent to use your personal information in a particular way (for example, if you choose to disclose Sensitive Personal Data or Health Data as part of optional diversity monitoring), but you later change your mind, you may withdraw your consent by contacting us at [email protected] and we will stop doing so.
6. If you do not provide personal information
6.1 If you fail to provide information when requested, which is necessary for us to consider your application (such as evidence of qualifications or work history), we will not be able to process your application successfully. For example, if we require a background check or references for this role and you fail to provide us with relevant details, we will not be able to take your application further.
7.1 If you are successful in obtaining an offer for a position with us through our recruitment process, we may engage a third party provider, currently ‘Secure Screening’, to carry out background checks on our behalf relating to criminal convictions (in the UK, these are referred to as ‘DBS checks’); education history; prior employment history and global sanctions and enforcement. We and our third party provider typically rely upon your explicit consent as the appropriate ground and condition for processing such data.
7.2 We only use information relating to criminal convictions in accordance with applicable law.
8.1 Automated decision-making takes place when an electronic system uses personal information to make a decision without human intervention, and that decision produces a legal or similarly significant effect on you (for example, this would be the case if we decided whether to offer you a job solely based on automated processing of your personal information). We do not engage in that type of automated decision-making and we will update this privacy notice if this position changes.
9. Sharing personal information with third parties
9.1 We will only share your personal information with the following third parties for the purposes of processing your application:
(a) Internally: to employees within Highland and other Highland entities that participate in the recruitment process, such as HR managers and interviewers and may need candidate information for the purposes of management and analysis, decision making, and other human resources and employment-related business purposes.
(b) Recruiters: when you are working with a recruiter and your recruiter is authorized by you to obtain feedback from us regarding your application and the interview process. Note that recruiters are typically “controllers” of your personal information, so they will have their own privacy policy or notice governing their processing of personal information about you.
(c) Suppliers: such as background check companies, security providers, information technology providers, travel management companies, and our legal advisers where required.
10.1 Your personal information may be used, stored and/or accessed by staff operating outside the UK or the EEA working for us, other members of our group or suppliers. Further details on to whom your personal information may be disclosed are set out in section 9.
10.2 If we provide any personal information about you to any such non-UK and non-EEA members of our group or suppliers, we will take appropriate measures to ensure that the recipient protects your personal information adequately in accordance with this privacy policy. These measures may include the following:
(a) ensuring that there is an adequacy decision by the UK Government in the case of transfers out of the UK, or by the European Commission in the case of transfers out of the EEA, which means that the recipient country is deemed to provide adequate protection for such personal information; or
(b) where we have in place standard model contractual arrangements with the recipient which have been approved by the UK Government or the European Commission. These model contractual clauses include certain safeguards to protect the personal information;
10.3 Further details on the steps we take to protect your personal information, in these cases is available from us on request by contacting us by email at [email protected] at any time.
11. Data security
11.1 We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, where we share your personal information, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need-to-know. In these circumstances, they will only process your personal information on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
12. How long we hold information about you
12.1 We store personal information as needed to accomplish the purposes identified in this Privacy Statement and to meet legal requirements, including record retention, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements. Our retention of your personal information is governed by applicable law. This storage period may extend beyond the term of your relationship with us.
12.2 As a general rule, we keep your data for only as long as it is needed to complete the purpose for which it was collected or as required by law. If you are successful as a candidate with us for one of our partner positions, we will keep your applicant data, along with your employment records with us for as long as required in your role. If you are unsuccessful as a candidate for one of our positions, we may store your information for as long as required to be able to protect or defend ourselves in any legal claims from you or in order to satisfy any other legal or regulatory obligations. In this instance, we typically keep your information for 6 months.
12.3 We may need to keep your data for longer than our specified retention periods to honour your requests, or to comply with legal, regulatory, accounting or other obligations. When personal information is no longer needed, or in any event, after legal authority to retain it has expired, personal information will be destroyed, in accordance with local law and pursuant to procedures established in relation to the relevant system or process.
12.4 If you would like more information about our information retention periods, please contact us on the details provided below at section 15;.
13.Your rights in connections with your personal information
13.1 Under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:
(a) Request access to your personal information (commonly known as making a “data subject access request”). You can ask us for a copy of your personal information; confirmation as to whether your personal information is being used by us; details about how and why it is being used; and details of the safeguards which are in place if we transfer your information outside of the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area (“EEA”).
(b) Right to update your information. You have a right to request an update to any of your personal information which is out of date or incorrect.
(c) Right to delete your information. You have a right to ask us to delete any personal information which we are holding about you in certain specific circumstances. You can ask us for further information on these specific circumstances by contacting us using the details in section 15.
We will pass your request onto other recipients of your personal information unless that is impossible or involves disproportionate effort. You can ask us who the recipients are, using the contact details in section 15.
(d) Right to restrict use of your information: You have a right to ask us to restrict the way that we process your personal information in certain specific circumstances. You can ask us for further information on these specific circumstances by contacting us using the details in section 15.
We will pass your request onto other recipients of your personal information unless that is impossible or involves disproportionate effort. You can ask us who the recipients are using the contact details in section 15.
(e) Right to data portability: You have a right to ask us to provide your personal information to a third party provider of services.
This right only applies where we use your personal information on the basis of your consent or performance of a contract; and where our use of your information is carried out by automated means.
(f) Right to object. You have a right to ask us to consider any valid objections which you have to our use of your personal information where we process your personal information on the basis of our or another person’s legitimate interest.
14. Changes to our privacy policy
We may update our privacy policy from time to time. Any changes we make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by post or email. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.
15.1 If you have any queries or complaints about our collection, use or storage of your personal information, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal information, please contact [email protected] We will investigate and attempt to resolve any such complaint or dispute regarding the use or disclosure of your personal information.
15.2 You may also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office, or the data protection regulator in the country where you usually live or work, or where an alleged infringement of applicable data protection laws has taken place. Alternatively, you may seek a remedy through the courts if you believe your rights have been breached.
The practices described in this candidate privacy policy statement are current as of 4th August 2025.