Privacy Policy

CLIENT PRIVACY NOTICE

Education recruitment and supply staffing

Effective date: 4 September 2026

Last reviewed: 4 September 2026

1. ABOUT THIS NOTICE

This notice explains how Hiregrade Group Ltd collects and uses personal information about people who work for, represent or contact our current and prospective clients. This includes contacts at schools, academies, multi-academy trusts, colleges, nurseries and other education organisations.

It applies to decision-makers, hiring managers, headteachers, HR and safeguarding contacts, finance and payroll contacts, administrators and other client representatives.

Hiregrade Group Ltd is the controller of the personal information described in this notice. We operate as an employment agency for permanent introductions and an employment business for temporary assignments.

Information about candidates, applicants, temporary workers and contractors is covered by our separate Candidate Privacy Notice at https://hiregrade.co.uk/candidate-privacy-notice.

2. WHO WE ARE AND HOW TO CONTACT US

Legal name: Hiregrade Group Ltd

Company number: 17107297

Registered office: 4 Chapman Gain, Tregarne Terrace, St Austell, England, PL25 4BE

Privacy contact: James Patrick Stevens, Director

Email: hello@hiregrade.co.uk

Telephone: 07857 007850

Website: https://hiregrade.co.uk

ICO registration number: ZC200458

3. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We may collect your name, job title, employer or organisation, work address, work telephone number, work email address and other professional contact details.

We may collect information about your organisation's recruitment requirements, vacancies, job descriptions, candidate specifications, interview arrangements, safeguarding and vetting requirements, assignments, timesheet and approval processes, rates, fees and contractual arrangements.

We may keep records of communications, meetings, enquiries, feedback, complaints, candidate interviews, placement decisions and the reasons relevant to those decisions.

Where relevant, we may collect information identifying your organisation's authorised contacts, safeguarding lead, HR or vetting contact, timesheet approver, finance contact and invoice recipient.

We may collect invoicing, payment and account information relating to your organisation. This may include information connected with an individual where they trade personally or act as a named account contact.

We may also process information connected with safeguarding concerns, complaints, accidents, conduct matters, disputes, legal claims, fraud prevention or regulatory enquiries where you are involved or named in the matter.

When you use our website or send an online enquiry, we may collect your name, contact details, the contents of your message, IP address, browser or device information, pages viewed and website-interaction data. Analytics information is subject to our cookie information and your choices.

4. WHERE WE OBTAIN YOUR INFORMATION

We may obtain information directly from you when you contact us, request recruitment services, discuss a vacancy, interview a candidate, approve an assignment, provide feedback, enter into a contract or otherwise communicate with us.

We may also obtain professional contact information from your employer or organisation, colleagues, candidates, publicly available school and organisation websites, professional networking services, Companies House, government or education-sector directories, procurement platforms, referrals and other lawful business sources.

5. WHY WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use client-contact information to identify and communicate with organisations that may require education recruitment services; respond to enquiries; understand vacancies and staffing requirements; identify and introduce suitable candidates; arrange interviews and placements; agree and administer contracts, assignments, rates and fees; provide vetting and safeguarding assurance; manage timesheets, invoices and payments; obtain feedback; manage relationships and service quality; handle complaints, conduct matters and safeguarding concerns; prevent fraud and protect our systems; comply with legal and regulatory duties; maintain business and audit records; establish or defend legal claims; and send relevant business communications where lawful.

We do not sell your personal information.

6. OUR LAWFUL BASES

Legitimate interests. We may use information where necessary to operate and develop our education recruitment business, identify and communicate with relevant client contacts, respond to hiring needs, make candidate introductions, manage professional relationships, prevent fraud, protect our business and establish or defend legal claims. We consider whether those interests are balanced against your rights and reasonable expectations.

Contract. We may use information where necessary to take steps before entering into a contract or to perform a contract with you or your organisation.

Legal obligation. We may use information where necessary to comply with duties relating to employment businesses, safeguarding, safer recruitment, tax, accounting, health and safety, equality, regulatory requirements and record keeping.

Consent. We use consent where it is appropriate and genuinely optional, including certain electronic marketing and non-essential analytics cookies. You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting processing that took place before withdrawal.

Legal claims and substantial public interest. These bases may apply where information is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, protect children or adults at risk, manage safeguarding concerns or carry out another purpose recognised by data-protection law.

7. BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

We may contact people at schools and other education organisations about recruitment services where the communication is relevant to their professional role and the law permits it. We may also send requested updates or communications for which valid consent has been provided.

Every electronic marketing message will identify Hiregrade Group Ltd and provide a simple way to opt out. You can object to direct marketing at any time by using the unsubscribe option in the message or emailing hello@hiregrade.co.uk.

We may retain minimal suppression information after you opt out so that we can respect your request. Opting out of marketing will not prevent necessary communications about an existing enquiry, vacancy, candidate introduction, interview, assignment, contract, invoice, safeguarding matter or other active business issue.

8. CANDIDATE INFORMATION SHARED WITH CLIENTS

As part of our recruitment services, we may provide your organisation with information about candidates who may be suitable for a role. We normally remove direct personal contact details such as a candidate's private mobile number and email address from the formatted CV provided at the initial introduction stage.

We may provide further identity, contact, qualification, professional-status, Right to Work, DBS, reference, employment-history, safeguarding or vetting information when necessary and lawful to progress an application, arrange an interview, meet safer-recruitment requirements or administer a placement.

Your organisation must handle candidate information securely, use it only for legitimate recruitment, safeguarding and placement purposes, restrict access to people who need it and comply with its own data-protection obligations. Candidate information should not be retained for longer than your organisation needs it.

The respective data-protection responsibilities of Hiregrade Group Ltd and the client may be addressed further in our client terms or data-sharing arrangements.

9. WHO WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH

Where necessary and lawful, we may share relevant client-contact information with candidates and workers; Clipper Contracting Group Limited and other approved umbrella or payroll providers; Giig Hire as our recruitment CRM and candidate-email provider; Microsoft 365 for communications and business files; GoDaddy for website hosting; IT, cloud, e-signature, security, banking, accounting, insurance, legal and auditing providers; referees and other organisations involved in recruitment checks where appropriate; the Department for Education, Teaching Regulation Agency, Disclosure and Barring Service, Home Office, HMRC, local authorities, police, courts and regulators where required; and a purchaser, investor or successor in connection with a proposed or completed business transaction, subject to appropriate safeguards.

We share only information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose. Suppliers that process information for us are expected to protect it and comply with applicable data-protection requirements and their agreements with us.

10. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS

Some suppliers, including providers of recruitment software, Microsoft 365 and website or cloud services, may store or permit access to personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where a restricted transfer is made, we use an applicable legal mechanism, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses or another lawful safeguard. You may contact us for information about safeguards relevant to your information.

11. HOW LONG WE KEEP INFORMATION

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for recruitment services, relationship management, safeguarding, legal, tax, accounting, insurance, audit and dispute-resolution purposes.

Prospective client and general business-contact records are normally reviewed after two years without meaningful contact or activity and deleted or anonymised when no longer needed.

Client, contractual, vacancy, candidate-introduction and assignment-related records may normally be kept for up to seven years after the relevant relationship or assignment ends where needed for contracts, insurance, safeguarding, disputes or legal claims.

Financial, tax and accounting records are normally kept for six years after the relevant financial or tax period, subject to applicable requirements.

Safeguarding, complaint, incident and allegation records may be retained for a different period according to applicable guidance, referral duties, limitation periods and the circumstances of the matter.

We may retain minimal suppression information where necessary to respect an objection to direct marketing. We securely delete or anonymise information when it is no longer required.

12. SECURITY

We use proportionate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information. These include access controls, confidentiality requirements, secure systems, supplier due diligence, staff training and procedures for managing security incidents.

Access to sensitive safeguarding, contractual and financial information is restricted to people who need it for their role.

13. YOUR DATA-PROTECTION RIGHTS

Depending on the circumstances and lawful basis, you may have the right to be informed about how we use your information; request access to it; ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information; request erasure or restriction; object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing; receive certain information in a portable format; withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and challenge certain decisions made solely by automated means.

These rights are not absolute and exemptions may apply. We may ask for information needed to verify your identity. We do not normally charge a fee, although the law permits a reasonable fee or refusal in limited circumstances, such as where a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

To exercise a right, email hello@hiregrade.co.uk.

14. AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING

We do not currently make decisions about client contacts based solely on automated processing that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

15. COMPLAINTS

Please contact us first at hello@hiregrade.co.uk so that we can try to resolve your concern.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or by calling 0303 123 1113.

16. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

We may update this notice to reflect changes in our services, suppliers or legal obligations. The current version will be published on our website with its effective and review dates. Where a change materially affects how we use existing information, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected individuals.