Privacy Policy

Personnel Network - PRIVACY POLICY

Prepared in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), No. 4 of 2013

1. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

Personnel Network operates as a recruitment agency in South Africa. This policy establishes how we use, protect and process personal information provided by you - in strict compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and other relevant South African data regulations.

As a recruitment entity, processing personal information is fundamental to fulfilling our core mandate of matching qualified candidates with prospective employment opportunities. We are fully committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring your personal information is treated with the highest degree of confidentiality and regulatory oversight.

2. SCOPE OF THIS POLICY

This policy governs all personal information gathered directly or indirectly from the following categories of data subjects:

Prospective, active, and successfully placed candidates.
Clients, potential client contacts, and corporate business representatives.
Internal employees, business consultants and job applicants applying directly to our organization.

3. DETAILS OF THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY

The legal entity responsible for managing your data (the 'Responsible Party') is:

Company Name: Personnel Network Registration Number: CK98/50366/23
Physical Address: Harbor View Building, Oakworth Rd. Humewood. Port Elizabeth

Information Officer Details

In compliance with Section 55 of POPIA, our registered Information Officer oversees data management and addresses statutory compliance requests: Information Officer Name: Gillian Newton, Contact Number: 041- 5810011.

Email Address: gillian@persnet.co.za

4. CATEGORIES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED

We process different types of personal information depending on your relationship with us. We will only collect personal data that is essential for its specified purposes.

Candidate Information

Identity data, including full names, national identity numbers, age, gender, race (where required for statutory employment equity reporting), and nationality.
Contact data, including physical address, email addresses and phone numbers plus links to professional profiles such as LinkedIn (optional).
Professional history, consisting of your curriculum vitae (CV), employment background, education, academic transcripts, professional certifications, professional membership details, and third-party reference details.
Remuneration preferences and recent /current compensation structures.
Background verification data, including lawful criminal checks, financial credit records, and qualification authenticity validations, where explicitly required by corporate client mandates /requests.

5. PURPOSE OF DATA PROCESSING AND LAWFUL BASIS

We will only collect, use, and process your personal information when a recognized legal foundation under POPIA applies. The key processing frameworks include:

To perform obligations arising out of a legitimate business interest.
To comply with mandatory legislative or regulatory provisions in South Africa.
Where you have given your explicit, voluntary consent.

5.1 Specific Recruitment and Core Business Mandates

Evaluating and screening candidates to assess compatibility with existing or upcoming vacancy portfolios.
Formally introducing qualified candidate portfolios to live or prospective client companies.
Coordinating, scheduling, and conducting interviews, technical assessments, and panel reviews.
Executing background screening protocols, including credit risk profiling and criminal records tracking, where legally valid or mandated by the client.
Maintaining an active database of prospective candidates to streamline strategic talent sourcing over time.

6. DATA RETENTION FRAMEWORK

We do not retain personal information longer than is necessary to achieve the initial purpose for which it was collected.

7. INFORMATION SECURITY SAFEGUARDS

We employ administrative and technological security controls designed to prevent accidental loss, unauthorized access, destruction, disclosure, or alteration of personal data.

Digital and Network Security: Advanced firewalls, secure cloud computing infrastructure and role-based access management profiles. Although we have systems in place, the internet is never 100% safe and personal data is submitted at your own risk. We do endeavor to protect your information as much as possible.
Staff Training: Ongoing compliance training for all organizational employees who interact with or handle sensitive data streams.

8. INFORMATION SHARING AND THIRD-PARTY DISCLOSURES

We strictly prohibit the sale, rental, or commercial lease of personal information to third parties. Your data will only be shared under clear legal grounds with the following categories of recipients:

Prospective client entities who have active vacancies aligned with your specific candidate profile or whereby you have given consent to share such information of yours.
Vetted compliance verification agencies authorized to run background checks, credit evaluations, and educational audits.
Regulatory bodies, judicial departments, or statutory organs when compelled by enforceable South African laws.

9. YOUR RIGHTS AS A DATA SUBJECT

Under Section 5 of POPIA, you possess clear statutory control options over your personal information. You can exercise these rights by submitting a formal request to our registered Information Officer:

Right to Access: You may request confirmation of whether we hold personal information regarding you, alongside a detailed descriptive record of that data.
Right to Correction: You have the right to request immediate correction or modification of any outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information we maintain.
Right to Deletion (Erasure): You may request that we destroy or permanently erase personal data when there is no longer a valid legal or commercial justification for us to store it.
Right to Object: You can object at any time to the processing of your personal information on compelling legitimate grounds, or object completely to data processing for direct marketing campaigns.

10. POLICY MAINTENANCE AND UPDATES

This policy is subject to review and updating to accommodate evolving regulatory guidelines, operational changes, and industry best practices. Any modified version will be uploaded to our web portal with an active effective date stamp.