Privacy Policy

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Contact sales

We’d love to see how we can streamline your hiring together.

Request a demo
A black heart is floating in the air on a white background.
Contact sales

We’d love to see how we can streamline your hiring together.

Request a demo
A black heart is floating in the air on a white background.

Last updated: 23 October 2026


1. Introduction

Shard Associates Ltd (“we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information when you visit our website, contact us, register as a candidate, apply for a job or use our recruitment services.


We provide professional recruitment services, connecting candidates with employers across a range of industry sectors.


We process personal information in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.


2. Who we are

Shard Associates Ltd is a recruitment consultancy providing recruitment services to candidates and employers.


For the purposes of applicable data protection legislation, we act as the data controller when we determine how and why your personal information is processed, unless otherwise stated.


Contact details


If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us using the details above.


3. What personal information do we collect?

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us.


Candidates and job applicants

If you register with us, submit your CV, apply for a vacancy or engage with our recruitment consultants, we may collect:


  • Name and contact details, including email address, telephone number and location.
  • CV, employment history, qualifications, skills and professional experience.
  • Current role, career interests, preferred roles and availability.
  • Salary expectations, notice period and work preferences.
  • Information provided during interviews, assessments and recruitment discussions.
  • References and professional recommendations, where relevant.
  • Right-to-work information and other verification details where required for a recruitment process.
  • Any additional information you choose to provide to us.


We may also collect relevant professional information from publicly available sources, professional networking platforms, job boards, referrals and other recruitment partners.


We only seek information that is relevant and appropriate for our recruitment activities and applicable legal obligations.


Clients and business contacts

If you represent an organisation that uses, or is interested in using, our recruitment services, we may collect:


  • Your name, job title and business contact details.
  • Your employer's name and relevant business information.
  • Recruitment requirements, vacancy details and hiring preferences.
  • Communications, enquiries, meeting notes and service-related correspondence.
  • Information necessary to manage our commercial relationship with your organisation.


Website visitors

When you visit our website, we may collect technical and usage information, including:


  • IP address and approximate location derived from it.
  • Browser type, device information and operating system.
  • Pages visited, interactions and referring website.
  • Information collected through cookies and similar technologies, depending on your cookie preferences and the technologies in use.


Information collected through forms

If you complete a contact form, candidate registration form, job application or other online form, we collect the information you submit for the purpose explained at the point of collection.


Please avoid submitting unnecessary sensitive or confidential information through general website forms.


4. How do we use your personal information?

We may use your personal information for the following purposes.


Recruitment and candidate services

  • To assess your skills, qualifications, experience and suitability for employment opportunities.
  • To match your profile with suitable current and future vacancies.
  • To contact you about relevant job opportunities and career developments.
  • To prepare and submit your profile or application to prospective employers where appropriate.
  • To arrange interviews, assessments and other recruitment activities.
  • To communicate recruitment outcomes and provide updates on your application.
  • To maintain candidate records and manage our recruitment database.


Client and business services

  • To understand and respond to recruitment requirements.
  • To identify and introduce suitable candidates.
  • To provide recruitment advice and related services.
  • To manage client relationships, agreements and service delivery.
  • To respond to enquiries and maintain business communications.


Website administration and improvement

  • To respond to enquiries submitted through our website.
  • To maintain, monitor and improve website functionality and performance.
  • To understand how visitors use our website.
  • To protect our website, systems and services against misuse, fraud and security threats.


Legal and regulatory purposes

  • To comply with applicable laws and regulatory requirements.
  • To establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
  • To maintain appropriate business records and meet relevant compliance obligations.


We will not use your personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons for which it was collected, unless permitted by applicable law.


5. Our lawful bases for processing

Under applicable data protection legislation, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal information.


Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on the following lawful bases:


Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as identifying suitable candidates, managing client relationships, improving our services and maintaining recruitment records, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms.


Contractual necessity: Where processing is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to perform a contract with you.


Legal obligation: Where we must process information to comply with applicable legal or regulatory requirements.


Consent: Where you have given consent for a specific purpose and consent is the appropriate lawful basis, such as for certain cookies or marketing activities.


Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.


6. How do we share your personal information?

We may share your personal information with the following categories of recipients where necessary and lawful.


Prospective employers and clients

As part of our recruitment services, we may share relevant candidate information, including CVs and professional profiles, with prospective employers or clients when considering you for a suitable opportunity.


We aim to share information that is relevant to the recruitment process. Where appropriate, we will discuss opportunities with you before submitting your details to a prospective employer.


Service providers

We may use trusted third-party providers to support our business operations, including:


  • Recruitment and applicant-tracking systems.
  • Website hosting and maintenance providers.
  • Email and business communication services.
  • Cloud storage and document management providers.
  • Website analytics and cookie management providers.
  • IT security and technical support providers.


These providers may process personal information on our behalf in accordance with applicable contractual and legal requirements.


Professional advisers and authorities

We may disclose information to legal advisers, regulators, law enforcement agencies, courts or other authorities where required by law or where necessary to protect our legal rights.


Business transfers

If our business is involved in a merger, acquisition, restructuring or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate safeguards and applicable law.


We do not sell personal information to third parties.


7. How long do we retain your personal information?

We retain personal information for a maximum period of 24 months (2 years) from the date it is collected or last meaningfully updated, depending on the type of information and the purpose for which it is processed.


This retention period applies to candidate records, CVs, recruitment enquiries and other personal information held for our recruitment and business activities, unless a different period is required or permitted by applicable law.


During this period, we may use your information to assess your suitability for relevant opportunities, contact you about vacancies, manage recruitment processes and maintain appropriate business records.


At the end of the applicable retention period, we will securely delete or anonymise your personal information unless we are legally required or permitted to retain it for longer, or continued retention is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.


You may contact us to ask about the retention of your personal information or request its deletion where applicable.


8. How do we protect your personal information?

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.


These measures may include access controls, appropriate staff access restrictions, secure systems and arrangements with third-party service providers.


However, no method of transmitting information over the internet or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure.


You should avoid sending sensitive information through unsecured channels unless it is necessary and appropriate to do so.


9. International transfers of personal information

Some of our service providers, systems or business partners may operate outside the United Kingdom.


Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that the transfer complies with applicable data protection legislation.

Depending on the circumstances, these steps may include relying on an adequacy regulation or decision, implementing appropriate contractual safeguards or using another lawful transfer mechanism.


You may contact us for further information about relevant international transfers and the safeguards used.


10. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have the right to:


  • Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Rectification: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Erasure: Request the deletion of your personal information where the relevant legal conditions are met.
  • Restriction: Ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Data portability: Request certain information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, where applicable.
  • Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing.
  • Withdraw consent: Withdraw consent where processing is based on your consent.
  • Complain: Raise a concern with the relevant data protection supervisory authority.


These rights are subject to applicable legal conditions and exemptions. We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.


To exercise your data protection rights, please contact us at hello@shardrassociates.com.


You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your personal information has been handled unlawfully. Further information is available at https://ico.org.uk/.


11. Cookies and website analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, understand website usage and improve the visitor experience.


Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website.


Depending on the technologies in use, cookies may include:


  • Strictly necessary cookies: Required for essential website functions.
  • Analytics cookies: Used to understand how visitors interact with our website.
  • Functional cookies: Used to remember preferences and improve functionality.
  • Marketing cookies: Used to support advertising, campaign measurement or relevant marketing activities.


Where required by law, we will obtain your consent before placing non-essential cookies or using similar technologies. You can manage your preferences through our cookie consent tool, where available, and through your browser settings.


Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.


If we use third-party analytics, advertising or embedded content services, those providers may process information in accordance with their own privacy policies.


12. Marketing communications

We may send recruitment-related communications about relevant job opportunities and services where permitted by applicable law.


We may also send business or marketing communications to clients and business contacts where we have an appropriate lawful basis to do so.


You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the relevant email, where available, or by contacting us directly.


Opting out of marketing communications will not prevent us from sending essential service-related messages or communications that we are legally required to provide.


13. Links to third-party websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, professional networking platforms, job boards or other external services.


We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content or security of websites that we do not operate.


If you follow an external link, we recommend reviewing the relevant website's privacy policy before providing personal information.


14. Children's privacy

Our recruitment services and website are intended primarily for adults seeking employment opportunities and organisations seeking recruitment services.


We do not knowingly collect personal information from children where such collection is not appropriate or lawful. If you believe that a child has provided personal information to us inappropriately, please contact us so that we can review the circumstances and take appropriate action.


15. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, business practices, technology or legal obligations.


Any updated version will be published on our website with a revised “Last updated” date.


We encourage you to review this page periodically to remain informed about how we handle personal information.


16. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, how we process personal information or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us:


Shard Associates Ltd

Email: hello@shardrassociates.com

Telephone: +44 (0) 115 727 7170

Website: https://shardrassociates.com/