Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Simply Social Care Ltd (company number 15162030) is a specialist recruitment agency operating across children's and adult social care. This policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal data belonging to candidates, employer contacts and visitors to our website, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Registered office: 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ
Contact: info@simplysocialcare.co.uk

For the purposes of data protection law, Simply Social Care Ltd is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.

2. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to candidates who register with us or whose details we hold for recruitment purposes, employer contacts we correspond with (hiring managers, directors, HR representatives), and visitors to our website.

This policy does not apply to children or young people in receipt of care from the settings we recruit into. We do not collect or process personal data belonging to children as part of our recruitment activity.

3. Personal data we collect

From candidates: name, contact details and location, CV, employment history, qualifications and professional registrations, right to work documentation, Enhanced DBS certificate details and disclosure status, references and referee contact details, salary expectations, availability and notice period, and correspondence between you and us, including messages sent via LinkedIn, WhatsApp or email.

From employer contacts: name, job title, organisation and contact details, recruitment requirements and correspondence relating to vacancies, and Terms of Business or related contractual information.

From website visitors: technical data such as IP address, browser type and pages visited, collected via cookies or similar technologies.

Some of the data we collect from candidates, particularly Enhanced DBS certificate information, is special category or criminal offence data under UK GDPR. We only collect and use this data where it is necessary for recruitment vetting and safeguarding purposes within social care, and we handle it with additional care throughout this policy.

4. How we use your data

We use personal data to:

• Assess and qualify candidates for relevant children's and adult social care roles.
• Match candidates to relevant employer vacancies.
• Verify eligibility to work, professional qualifications and suitability for care and support roles, including role-appropriate DBS and reference checks.
• Introduce candidates to prospective employers once appropriate consent and agreements are in place.
• Manage our relationship with employers, including agreeing and administering Terms of Business.
• Communicate with you about opportunities or matters relevant to our service.
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
• Maintain the security and proper functioning of our website.

We do not use automated decision-making, including profiling, that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.

5. Legal basis for processing

We rely on contract, to take steps at your request before an agreement and to perform one, such as fulfilling Terms of Business with an employer; legitimate interests, to assess candidate suitability and operate our recruitment business, provided this does not override your own rights; legal obligation, where we must verify right to work or retain certain records by law; and consent, where we ask for your explicit agreement, such as before sharing your full details and identity with a specific employer.

Where we process special category or criminal offence data, such as DBS information, we do so on the basis that it is necessary for employment vetting and safeguarding purposes within a regulated sector, in accordance with the conditions set out in Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

6. Consent before sharing candidate details

We do not share a candidate's full CV or identifying details with any employer until Terms of Business have been signed with that employer, and the candidate has given explicit consent to be represented for that specific opportunity. Before that point, candidates may be represented to employers only through an anonymised profile that does not identify them.

7. Who we share data with

We may share personal data with prospective employers, once the conditions in section 6 are met, our back-office, invoicing and funding partner for administering placements and payments, IT, software and communication service providers who support our operations, professional advisers such as accountants or solicitors where necessary, and regulators, law enforcement or other authorities where we are legally required to do so. We do not sell personal data to third parties.

Where we correspond via third-party platforms such as LinkedIn or WhatsApp, those platforms process data under their own privacy policies, and some of this processing may take place outside the UK. We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of any platform you use to communicate with us.

8. International transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, for example through the third-party platforms referenced in section 7, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is protected to a standard consistent with UK data protection law, including reliance on any appropriate safeguards those providers have in place.

9. How long we keep data

We retain personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy and to meet our legal, accounting or regulatory requirements. Candidate data is retained for a defined period following our last meaningful contact with you, after which it is deleted or anonymised unless you ask us to keep it for longer or the law requires otherwise. You can ask us at any time how long we hold your specific data, or to have it deleted.

10. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure. Access to candidate and employer data is limited to those who need it to carry out their role.

11. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to be informed about how we use your data, access the personal data we hold about you, have inaccurate data corrected, have your data deleted in certain circumstances, restrict or object to certain processing, request your data in a portable format, and withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent. To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in section 14. We will respond within the timescales required by law.

12. Cookies

Our website may use cookies or similar technologies to help it function and to understand how visitors use it. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in the law. The most recent version will always be available on our website, with the date it was last updated shown below.

14. Contact us and complaints

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your personal data, contact us at info@simplysocialcare.co.uk.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. Website: ico.org.uk. Telephone: 0303 123 1113.

Last updated: 19/08/2026