Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

SLAINTE CARE RECRUITMENT AGENCY LIMITED is a healthcare staffing and recruitment agency operating in the Republic of Ireland.

We support candidates seeking work and client organisations seeking suitable staff, including nursing homes, hospitals, care facilities, residential care services, healthcare providers, catering services, domestic services, housekeeping services and other care-related organisations.

For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation, the Irish Data Protection Act 2018 and related data protection law, SLAINTE CARE RECRUITMENT AGENCY LIMITED is the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy, unless we state otherwise in a separate notice or agreement.

2. Summary of How We Use Personal Data

In simple terms, we use personal data to:

3. Scope of This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to personal data we process about:

This Privacy Policy covers personal data collected through online application forms, candidate registration forms or portals, CV upload features, client enquiry forms, job alert forms, communications, recruitment activity, onboarding, assignments, automatic web server logs, cookies, browser storage and security telemetry.

This Privacy Policy should be read together with any other privacy notice, consent wording, employment document, agency worker document, candidate notice, contract, onboarding form or data protection notice we may provide in specific circumstances.

4. Types of Personal Data We Collect

We collect different categories of personal data depending on your relationship with us.

5. How We Collect Personal Data

We may also receive information from third parties where lawful and relevant to recruitment, placement, compliance, safeguarding, client service or legal purposes.

6. How We Use Personal Data

7. GDPR Processing Matrix

A detailed GDPR processing matrix is included in Appendix 1. It summarises the main processing activities, purposes, personal data used, lawful bases, safeguards, recipients and retention criteria. The exact data used may vary depending on the role, client requirement, legal requirement and stage of the recruitment or employment process.

8. Lawful Bases for Processing

We process personal data under one or more lawful bases under GDPR.

9. Special Category Data and Healthcare Recruitment Data

Some data we process may be classed as special category data under GDPR. This includes health-related information, fitness-to-work information, occupational health information, immunisation information, disability-related information, medical certification or other health information where relevant to a role. We only process special category data where it is necessary, lawful and proportionate.

In healthcare recruitment, this may be necessary to:

• Assess whether a candidate is fit or suitable for a healthcare or care-related role
• Consider reasonable adjustments where applicable
• Meet health and safety requirements
• Meet safeguarding requirements
• Protect residents, patients, clients, staff and the public
• Comply with employment, occupational health, public health or legal obligations
• Support placement decisions in healthcare or care environments
• Establish, exercise or defend legal claims

Where special category data is processed, we rely on an appropriate Article 9 GDPR condition where applicable. These may include employment/social protection law, occupational medicine or assessment of working capacity, public health, substantial public interest, legal claims, or explicit consent where genuinely appropriate and freely given.

We do not request detailed medical history unless it is genuinely necessary, lawful and proportionate for a specific role, placement, health and safety requirement, safeguarding requirement, public health requirement, reasonable adjustment request or legal obligation. Where a fitness-to-work certificate, immunisation confirmation, occupational health clearance, role restriction note, medical certificate or summary confirmation is sufficient, we will generally avoid collecting unnecessary underlying medical details.

Access to special category data is restricted to authorised persons who need access for recruitment, compliance, safeguarding, HR, occupational health, legal or client placement purposes.

10. Garda Vetting and Criminal-Offence-Related Data

Some roles may require Garda Vetting or other lawful background checks because the work may involve contact with vulnerable adults, residents, patients, children or regulated care environments. We only process Garda Vetting or criminal-offence-related information where it is authorised by Irish law, necessary and relevant to the role, placement, safeguarding requirement or legal obligation.

We may process:

• Garda Vetting application status
• Vetting completion status
• Vetting outcome or confirmation where lawful
• Records showing whether a candidate is eligible, cleared or suitable for a relevant role
• Related compliance notes where necessary and proportionate

Where possible, we share only confirmation of vetting, safeguarding or compliance status rather than full underlying vetting information, unless further disclosure is lawful, necessary and proportionate. We do not collect, store, use or disclose Garda Vetting or criminal-offence-related information for general recruitment curiosity, convenience or unnecessary screening.

11. How Candidate Data is Shared with Healthcare Employers and Clients

As a healthcare recruitment and staffing agency, we may share candidate information with prospective healthcare employers and client organisations where necessary for recruitment, placement, compliance, safeguarding and assignment purposes.

The information shared may include:

• Candidate name and contact details where appropriate
• CV and employment history
• Relevant qualifications and training
• Professional registration details, such as NMBI registration where applicable
• Role suitability information, availability, location or travel suitability
• Right-to-work confirmation where relevant
• Compliance status, reference information, Garda Vetting or safeguarding confirmation where required and lawful
• Relevant placement or assignment information and client-site suitability information

We will only share the information that is necessary for the relevant recruitment, placement, compliance, safeguarding, assignment or client service purpose. Where consent is required before sharing a candidate profile directly with a prospective healthcare employer, we will seek that consent. We do not sell candidate personal data.

12. Third-Party Service Providers, Processors and Independent Controllers

We may use trusted third-party service providers to help operate our recruitment business and website. Some third parties act as processors; others may act as independent controllers for their own legal, regulatory or professional purposes.

• Applicant tracking systems, recruitment management tools and CV parsing
• Cloud hosting providers, secure document storage and website hosting
• Email hosting, communications tools, SMS and job alert systems
• IT support, cybersecurity providers and website monitoring
• Reference verification, Garda Vetting and background-check systems
• Training verification providers
• HR systems, rostering systems, payroll systems and accounting/invoicing tools
• Payment providers and professional advisers (legal, HR, insurance, tax, accounting and compliance)

Where a third party processes personal data on our behalf as a processor, we require appropriate data protection arrangements to be in place where required by GDPR. Where a third party acts as an independent controller, that third party is responsible for its own compliance with data protection law.

13. Cookies, Browser Storage and Telemetry

Our website may use essential cookies, browser storage and similar technologies to operate the website, support security, manage forms and maintain basic website functionality.

At present, we do not intentionally use non-essential analytics, marketing, advertising, retargeting or tracking cookies on our website. Strictly necessary cookies or browser storage may be used for website security, form operation, session management, spam prevention, saved preferences or similar essential functions.

If this changes in the future, we will update this Privacy Policy and request consent where required by law before placing non-essential technologies on your device. We do not use pre-ticked consent boxes for non-essential cookies.

14. International Data Transfers

Our recruitment operations are based in the Republic of Ireland and are governed by Irish and EU data protection law. Some service providers may process or store personal data outside Ireland or outside the European Economic Area.

Where personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area, we will ensure that an appropriate GDPR transfer mechanism is in place, such as European Commission adequacy decisions, EU Standard Contractual Clauses, transfer risk assessments, supplementary safeguards, encryption and access controls.

15. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. Retention depends on the purpose of processing, whether the relationship remains active, legal and compliance requirements, audit requirements, complaints, incidents, disputes or legal claims, and whether the data can be deleted, anonymised or minimised.

For the purpose of this policy, “meaningful engagement” may include submitting an application, updating a CV, responding to a recruitment message, attending an interview, accepting or declining work, completing onboarding steps, working a shift, updating availability, providing compliance documents, or otherwise actively engaging with SLAINTE CARE RECRUITMENT AGENCY LIMITED about work opportunities.

16. Secure Deletion and Minimisation Commitments

When deleting personal data, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is securely removed from active systems. Where data exists in backups, archives or disaster recovery systems, deletion may not be immediate but will be protected from routine use and deleted or overwritten in line with normal backup retention cycles.

Anonymised data that can no longer identify an individual may be retained for statistical, reporting, compliance or business analysis purposes. We aim to collect, use and retain only the personal data that is relevant and necessary for the recruitment, employment, staffing, compliance, client service or legal purpose involved.

17. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, disclosure or destruction, including:

• Access controls and password-protected systems
• Secure cloud storage and restricted access to candidate and client records
• Staff confidentiality obligations and use of reputable software and hosting providers
• Secure document handling procedures and encryption where appropriate
• Regular access reviews and need-to-know access principles
• Secure disposal or deletion of data no longer required
• Monitoring systems for security and fraud prevention
• Staff awareness of data protection responsibilities
• Restricting access when staff leave or change roles
• Additional care for Garda Vetting, health, immunisation, occupational-health, safeguarding and payroll information

No website, email or digital system is completely risk-free. However, we take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect the personal data we process.

18. Personal Data Breaches

A personal data breach may include accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or unauthorised access to, personal data. If SLAINTE CARE RECRUITMENT AGENCY LIMITED becomes aware of a personal data breach, we will assess the nature, scope and potential impact, take reasonable steps to contain and limit the breach, investigate what happened, keep an internal record, notify the Irish Data Protection Commission where legally required, and notify affected individuals where legally required.

19. Automated Decision-Making, Profiling and AI-Assisted Recruitment Tools

SLAINTE CARE RECRUITMENT AGENCY LIMITED may use recruitment systems, applicant tracking systems, CV parsing, keyword searching, filtering, matching or similar tools to help organise applications and manage candidate pipelines. Such tools are intended to assist recruitment administration and human review.

We do not make final recruitment, registration, suitability or placement decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, where that decision would have legal or similarly significant effects, unless this is legally permitted and appropriate safeguards are in place. Candidates may contact us to ask about automated processing or to request human involvement where applicable.

20. Your Data Protection Rights

Subject to legal limits and exemptions, you have the following rights under GDPR:

Data protection rights are not absolute. We may refuse, limit or delay a request where permitted by law, for example where we must retain records for legal, safeguarding, tax, audit, employment, regulatory, dispute or legal claims purposes.

21. How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise your data protection rights, contact us at: slaintecare@slaintecare.com

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request. We will respond within the timeframe required by law.

22. Right to Lodge a Complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission.

dataprotection.ie

23. Marketing, Newsletters and Job Alerts

If you sign up for newsletters, job alerts or marketing communications, we may use your contact details to send you relevant updates. You can unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe option in the message or by contacting us at slaintecare@slaintecare.com.

We may still send essential non-marketing communications where necessary, such as application updates, onboarding requests, compliance queries, client placement matters, shift communications, legal notices or service-related messages.

24. Accuracy of Information

You are responsible for ensuring that the information you provide to us is accurate and up to date. You should inform us promptly if your contact details, right-to-work status, professional registration, training status, availability, work preferences or other relevant information changes.

Providing false, misleading or incomplete information may affect your application, registration, onboarding, placement, assignment eligibility or working relationship with us.

25. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, platforms or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites. You should read the privacy policy of any third-party website you visit.

26. Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business, website, recruitment processes, legal obligations, technology, service providers or data protection practices. The latest version will be published on this page. Where changes are significant, we may take additional steps to bring them to your attention.

27. Contact Information

For questions about this Privacy Policy, how we process personal data, or to exercise your data protection rights, please contact:

Appendix 1: GDPR Processing Matrix

This appendix summarises the main processing activities. The exact data used may vary depending on the role, client requirement, legal requirement and stage of the recruitment or employment process.