1. INTRODUCTION
Comms Search & Selection Ltd trading as Comms Search & Selection (referred to as “We, “Our” or “Us”), is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. We take care to protect the privacy of our candidates, clients, and users of our products that communicate (online or offline) with us, at events, over the phone, through our websites and social media platforms.
We have therefore developed this Privacy Notice to inform you of the data we collect, what we do with your information, what we do to keep it secure, as well as the rights and choices you have over your personal information.
Throughout this document we refer to Data Protection Legislation which means the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA2018), United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, all the foregoing as amended from time to time, and any legislation implemented in connection with the aforementioned legislation. Where data is processed by a controller or processor established in the European Union or comprises the data of people of the European Union, it also includes the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR). This includes any replacement legislation coming into effect from time to time.
Comms Search & Selection is the controller for the personal information we process, unless otherwise stated.
We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (the ICO) with registration number ZB699451.
You can contact us either by phone, email or post.
Our main trading/postal address: Comms Search & Selection Ltd 128 City Road, London, United Kingdom, EC1V 2NX
Main phone number: +44 (0)20 3310 2114
Email address: hello@commssearch.com
Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted via the details above.
2. THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND WHEN
We only collect personal information that we know we will genuinely use and in accordance with the Data Protection Legislation. The types of personal information we collect depends on our relationship with you.
For Candidates When you register with us for work-finding services, we collect personal data including, but not limited to:
Your name, contact details, and information from your CV.
Your current benefits and expectations for future roles.
Where permitted by law, we may also collect information relating to your health (e.g., for reasonable work adjustment purposes), and diversity information such as race, ethnic origin, or religion for equal opportunity monitoring.
Details of any unspent criminal convictions where required by a client.
We also obtain personal data about you from third-party sources, including:
Referees when you are offered a job.
Former employers to confirm your dates of employment.
Educational institutions to verify your qualifications.
Publicly available sources such as LinkedIn and social media sites to enhance the information we hold about you to find more suitable roles.
Clients to whom we have provided your CV and who have provided feedback.
For Prospective Candidates We may collect your name, contact details, and professional biographical information from sources such as:
Publicly available sources like LinkedIn or other social media.
Professional data providers.
Referrals from other candidates or clients.
For Clients We collect your name, job title, and contact details. We also process data about our communications with you and any feedback you provide on our candidates. If you provide a reference for a candidate, we will keep a record of the personal data you provide.
For Users of our Website We collect personal data such as your IP address and device data to provide our online content to you. We also collect data about your engagement with our website, such as the pages you view. If you click on links in emails we send, open or forward them, we also collect personal data from those interactions.
You are under no statutory or contractual requirement or obligation to provide us with your personal information; however, we require this information to provide our services to you in an efficient and effective manner.
Our Legal Grounds for Processing The legal basis for processing your data is based on one of the following grounds:
Performing a Contract: Where we need to process your data to perform our obligations under a contract with you.
Compliance with a Legal Obligation: Where we need to process your personal data to comply with the law.
Our Legitimate Interests: This includes providing our recruitment services, responding to enquiries, optimising our website, and informing you about relevant services and job opportunities.
Consent: In certain situations, we will ask for your specific consent to process your data, for example, to send you marketing communications about similar job alerts.
3. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
We use the information we collect in the following ways:
For Candidates
To provide you with work-finding services.
To communicate with you regarding applications and opportunities.
To enable you to upload your CV and apply for jobs.
To personalise your experience by creating a candidate profile.
To provide you with interviewing and salary advice.
To send you direct marketing about relevant job opportunities, industry reports, and events, in accordance with your preferences.
For Clients
To provide recruitment services to you.
To maintain our business relationship and fulfil contractual obligations.
To get feedback from you on our services through satisfaction surveys.
For direct marketing purposes.
For Website Users
To improve and personalise your experience when you use our website.
To personalise advertising you receive from us.
To power our security measures so you can safely access our website.
4. WHO WE MIGHT SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH
We may share your personal data with other organisations in the following circumstances:
If the law or a public authority says we must share the personal data.
If we need to share personal data in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights.
With prospective employers, but only with your explicit consent.
From time to time, we employ the services of other parties for dealing with certain processes necessary for the operation of the Website.
We will not share your information with any third parties for the purposes of their direct marketing. We use data processors who are third parties to provide elements of services for us. We have Data Processing Agreements in place with our data processors. This means that they are only able to process your personal information under our strict instructions. They will hold your personal data securely and retain it for the period we instruct.
5. HOW WE KEEP YOU UPDATED ON OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
We may send you relevant offers and news about our products and services by email, but only if you have previously consented to receive these marketing communications. When you register with us, we will ask if you would like to receive marketing communications, and you can change your marketing choices online, over the phone or in writing at any time. If you wish to amend your marketing preferences, you can do so by following the directions on our website or in our emails.
6. YOUR RIGHTS OVER YOUR INFORMATION
The right to be informed: You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data, which we do through this Privacy Notice.
Right to Access Your Personal Information: You have the right to access the personal information that we hold about you. If we agree that we are obliged to provide personal information to you, we will provide it free of charge and within one calendar month.
Right to Rectification: If any of the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, you may ask us to correct it.
Right to Stop or Limit Our Processing: You have the right to object to us processing your personal information for particular purposes or to have its processing restricted.
Right to Erasure: You have the right to have personal data erased, also known as the ‘right to be forgotten’. The right is not absolute and only applies in certain circumstances.
Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) regulates data protection and privacy matters in the UK. You can access them here https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public. You can make a complaint to the ICO at any time about the way we use your information. However, we hope that you would consider raising any issue or complaint you have with us first.
7. HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION FOR
We retain a record of your personal information in order to provide you with a high quality and consistent service. We will always retain your personal information in accordance with the Data Protection Legislation and never retain your information for longer than is necessary. Unless otherwise required by law, your data will be stored for a period of 2 years after our last contact with you, at which point it will be deleted.
8. SECURITY
Data security is of great importance to Comms Search & Selection and to protect your data we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure your collected data. We use appropriate procedures and technical security measures (including encryption and anonymisation) to safeguard your information. We will never ask you for your passwords and advise you never to enter your password after following a link from an email.
9. WHAT HAPPENS IF OUR BUSINESS CHANGES HANDS?
We may, from time to time, expand or reduce our business and this may involve the sale and/or the transfer of control of all or part of our business. Any personal data that you have provided will be transferred along with that part and the new owner will be permitted to use that data only for the purposes for which it was originally collected by us.
10. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY NOTICE
We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time (for example, if the law changes). We recommend that you check this policy regularly to keep up-to-date.
11. HOW TO CONTACT US
If you would like to exercise one of your rights as set out above, or you have a question or a complaint about this policy, please contact us by post:
By Post: Comms Search & Selection Ltd 128 City Road, London, United Kingdom, EC1V 2NX
Thank you for taking the time to read our Privacy Notice.
Comms Search & Selection This Policy was last updated on 24/06/2025