Data Retention & Deletion Policy

This policy sets out how Recruitment Direct UK Ltd (“RD1”, “we”, “us”) retains and disposes of personal data collected from candidates, clients, and workers in the course of providing recruitment services, in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Applies to all personal data held by RD1 in any format — our applicant tracking system, CallPilot AI screening records, email, and paper files — covering candidates, placed workers, client contacts, and website users.

We keep personal data only for as long as it is needed for the purpose it was collected for, or as required by law. As a standard position:

• Candidate records (CVs, application data, interview notes): retained for up to 24 months from last contact, in line with REC guidance, to allow us to consider candidates for future roles — candidates can ask us to delete their data sooner at any time.
• Placed worker/payroll-relevant records: retained for 6 years after the end of the assignment, to meet HMRC, pension auto-enrolment, and employment law limitation periods.
• Client contract and commercial records: retained for 6 years after the end of the business relationship, in line with the Limitation Act 1980.
• Right to Work documentation: retained for the duration of employment plus 2 years, per Home Office guidance.
• Call recordings and screening data processed via CallPilot: retained for 12 months unless a longer period is needed for a live recruitment process or a legal claim.
• Marketing consents and website enquiry data: retained until consent is withdrawn or 24 months of inactivity, whichever is sooner.

On expiry of the relevant retention period, personal data is securely deleted from active systems and backups within a reasonable operational cycle, and paper records are cross-shredded. Anonymised or aggregated data (e.g. for management reporting) may be retained indefinitely as it no longer identifies an individual.

Candidates, clients, and workers can request earlier deletion, a copy of their data, or a correction at any time — see our Candidate Privacy Notice and Client Privacy Notice for how to exercise these rights.

The Directors are responsible for this policy and for ensuring retention schedules are applied consistently across all systems, including third-party platforms used to deliver our services.