Link Education Ltd is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information lawfully, fairly and securely.
This Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, share, retain and protect personal information when providing education and early-years recruitment services and when you use our website.
Last updated: August 2026
WHO WE ARE
Link Education Ltd is the controller of the personal information described in this notice.
- Address: 3a Victoria Works, 6 Fairway, Petts Wood, Kent BR5 1EG
- Telephone: 01689 878565
- Email: enquiries@link-education.co.uk
- ICO registration number: Z7313888
This notice covers applicants, registered candidates, agency workers, employees, client contacts, referees, suppliers, website users and other people who interact with us.
INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT
Depending on our relationship with you, we may collect and process:
- Identity and contact information: name, previous names, address, email address, telephone number, date of birth, photograph, National Insurance number and emergency-contact details.
- Recruitment and work information: CV, application, employment history and gaps, references, qualifications, professional registrations, training, interview records, availability, work preferences, assignments, attendance, performance and communications.
- Compliance information: identity and right-to-work evidence, qualification checks, Teaching Regulation Agency or Education Workforce Council status, employment verification and relevant online-search outcomes.
- Safeguarding and criminal-record information: DBS and Update Service details, barred-list results, overseas criminal-record checks, safeguarding declarations, concerns, allegations, referrals, outcomes and suitability or risk decisions where processing is lawful and necessary.
- Health and equality information: medical-fitness information, disability and reasonable-adjustment requirements, statutory leave information and optional equality-monitoring information.
- Payroll and pension information: bank details, tax and National Insurance information, pay, timesheets, holiday pay, statutory deductions, pension information and attachment orders.
- Client and supplier information: business contact details, role, organisation, bookings, contracts, invoices, service records and complaints.
- Website and technical information: information submitted through website forms, account details, IP address, browser and device information, security logs, pages visited and cookie preferences.
We collect only information that is relevant and reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it is processed.
HOW WE COLLECT INFORMATION
We may obtain information:
- directly from you through applications, registration, interviews, forms, telephone calls, emails, website use and other communications;
- from clients, former employers, referees and authorised representatives;
- from job boards, CV databases, recruitment platforms and professional networking services;
- from the Disclosure and Barring Service, Home Office services, Teaching Regulation Agency, Education Workforce Council and other official or professional bodies;
- from proportionate publicly available online sources where checks are lawful and relevant to safer recruitment or due diligence;
- from payroll, pension, IT, website and other approved service providers; and
- from the police, local authorities, LADO, courts, regulators or safeguarding bodies where receiving the information is lawful.
Where information is obtained from another source, we will provide the required privacy information within the applicable legal period unless an exemption applies.
HOW AND WHY WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION
We may use personal information to:
- provide recruitment, work-finding and placement services;
- assess suitability and match candidates with appropriate opportunities;
- introduce candidates to schools, nurseries, multi-academy trusts and other hirers;
- complete identity, right-to-work, qualification, reference, DBS, safeguarding and other compliance checks;
- arrange and manage assignments, interviews and permanent placements;
- employ, engage, pay and administer workers and employees;
- process payroll, holiday pay, statutory payments, deductions and workplace pensions;
- provide services to clients and manage bookings, contracts and invoices;
- respond to enquiries, complaints, safeguarding concerns and legal claims;
- meet audit, regulatory, fraud-prevention and legal requirements;
- protect our systems, website, personnel and service users; and
- send permitted vacancy alerts, recruitment updates or business communications.
OUR LAWFUL BASES
Depending on the activity, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:
- taking steps at your request before entering into a contract;
- performing a contract with you;
- complying with a legal obligation;
- pursuing our legitimate interests in providing and managing recruitment services, safeguarding, preventing fraud, protecting our business and establishing or defending legal claims; and
- consent where it is genuinely required, including for non-essential cookies and certain marketing activities.
Where we process special-category or criminal-offence information, we also identify an appropriate additional condition under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.
SAFEGUARDING, DBS AND SENSITIVE INFORMATION
Because we recruit for education and early-years settings, we may need to process health, disability, equality, criminal-record, DBS and safeguarding information.
We will:
- restrict access to authorised personnel;
- collect and retain only what is necessary;
- distinguish allegations from findings and record outcomes accurately;
- apply additional safeguards required by data-protection legislation; and
- share the information only where lawful and necessary for safeguarding, suitability, legal or regulatory purposes.
We do not retain original DBS certificates. Copies or detailed certificate information are retained only where necessary and normally for no longer than permitted by the DBS Code of Practice and our retention controls.
WHO WE MAY SHARE INFORMATION WITH
Where lawful and necessary, we may share relevant information with:
- schools, nurseries, academies, multi-academy trusts, local authorities and other hirers;
- payroll, pension, banking, IT, hosting, communications and other approved service providers;
- the Disclosure and Barring Service, HM Revenue & Customs, Home Office services, Teaching Regulation Agency, Education Workforce Council and The Pensions Regulator;
- local authorities, LADO, police, courts, tribunals, safeguarding bodies and other regulators;
- insurers, auditors, accountants, legal advisers and HR advisers; and
- a prospective purchaser or successor if our business or relevant assets are reorganised, sold or transferred, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data-protection safeguards.
We do not sell personal information. Service providers processing information on our behalf are subject to contractual confidentiality, privacy and security requirements.
INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
Some approved suppliers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where a restricted transfer takes place, we use a lawful safeguard such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. We assess the transfer and apply additional protections where required.
HOW LONG WE KEEP INFORMATION
We retain personal information only for as long as it is needed for recruitment, safeguarding, employment, payroll, contractual, legal, regulatory, audit or claims purposes.
Retention periods vary according to the type of record and the reason it is held. A record may be retained for longer where a complaint, safeguarding matter, investigation, legal claim, regulatory enquiry or legal hold applies.
When information is no longer required, we securely delete, destroy or irreversibly anonymise it.
HOW WE PROTECT INFORMATION
We use proportionate organisational and technical measures, including:
- approved business systems and service providers;
- role-based access controls and authentication;
- secure transmission and storage arrangements;
- backups and recovery controls;
- confidentiality requirements and staff training;
- monitoring and incident-management procedures; and
- enhanced controls for safeguarding, health, criminal-record, identity, payroll and financial information.
No internet transmission is completely risk free. Please avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information through unsecured channels.
YOUR DATA-PROTECTION RIGHTS
Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:
- be informed about how we process your information;
- request access to the personal information we hold about you;
- have inaccurate or incomplete information corrected;
- request deletion of information where the legal conditions apply;
- request restriction of processing in applicable circumstances;
- receive qualifying information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests;
- object to direct marketing at any time;
- withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
- obtain safeguards relating to decisions made solely by automated means that have legal or similarly significant effects.
These rights are not absolute and exemptions may apply. We normally respond to a valid request within one month. We do not normally charge a fee, although the law permits a reasonable fee or refusal in limited circumstances involving manifestly unfounded or excessive requests.
To exercise your rights, contact enquiries@link-education.co.uk. We may request proportionate evidence of identity before releasing personal information.
AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING
We do not make recruitment or employment decisions based solely on automated processing where the decision would have legal or similarly significant effects.
Technology or artificial intelligence may assist with matching, searching or administration, but meaningful human review is maintained and personnel remain responsible for decisions.
COOKIES
Necessary cookies support the operation and security of our website. Non-essential analytics or marketing cookies are used only where the required consent has been obtained.
You can accept, reject or change non-essential cookie choices through our website cookie controls. For further details, please see our Cookie Policy.
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Where permitted, we may send vacancy alerts, recruitment updates or information about our services. We comply with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations when using email, SMS or similar channels.
You may object to direct marketing or unsubscribe at any time by using the link provided in the communication or by contacting enquiries@link-education.co.uk. We may retain minimum suppression information so that we can continue to respect your preference.
LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES
Our website may contain links to third-party websites. Those organisations are responsible for their own privacy practices. Please review their privacy information before providing personal information to them.
COMPLAINTS
If you have concerns about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we can investigate:
- Email: enquiries@link-education.co.uk
- Telephone: 01689 878565
- Post: Link Education Ltd, 3a Victoria Works, 6 Fairway, Petts Wood, Kent BR5 1EG
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:
- Website: www.ico.org.uk
- Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Making a complaint to the ICO does not affect your other legal rights.
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE
We may update this notice when our services, systems, suppliers or legal requirements change. The latest version will be published on this page and will show the date on which it was last updated.
