Who are we?
We are Apex Minds Limited [“AML”], a legal search business based in Hong Kong (Suite A4 Wayson Commercial Building 28 Connaught Road West Hong Kong). We provide executive search and market intelligence services to clients looking to recruit legal personnel for their businesses.
What does this Policy cover?
We at AML take your personal data seriously. This policy:
- sets out the types of personal data that we collect about you
- explains how and why we collect and use your personal data
- explains how long we keep your personal data for
- explains when, why and with who we will share your personal data;
- sets out the legal basis we have for using your personal data;
- explains the effect of refusing to provide the personal data requested;
- explains the different rights and choices you have when it comes to your personal data; and
- explains how we may contact you and how you can contact us.
What personal data do we collect about you?
We collect the information necessary to be able to find available legal opportunities and further information needed to assess your eligibility through the different stages of recruitment. This information includes CV’s, identification documents, educational records, work history, employment and references.
We never collect sensitive personal data from you, and further process this data, unless you have given your explicit consent for this.
Where do we collect personal data about you from?
The following are the different sources we may collect personal data about you from:
- Directly from you. This is information you provide during the different recruitment stages
- Through publicly available sources. We use the following public sources:
- All currently available information available on the internet/in the public domain
- By Reference or word of mouth. For example, you may be recommended by a friend, a former employer, a former colleague or even a present employer.
How do we use your personal data?
We use your personal data to match your skills, experience and education with a potential legal employer. We will initially collect basic information on you such as contact details, job role and experience and then pass this on to the client in search of personnel. If you are chosen by the client and go through to the next stage we will then be collecting more information from you at the interview (or equivalent) stage and onwards in that manner.
How long do we keep your personal data for?
We keep your information in accordance as follows:
Candidate data: Up to five years Client Contact details: Up to five years
We only retain your information for as long as is necessary for us to use your information as described above or to comply with our legal obligations. However, please be advised that we may retain some of your information after you cease to use our services, for instance if this is necessary to meet our legal obligations, such as retaining the information for tax and accounting purposes.
When determining the relevant retention periods, we take into account factors including:
(a) our contractual obligations and rights in relation to the information involved;
(b) legal obligation(s) under applicable law to retain data for a certain period of time;
(c) our legitimate interest where we have carried out a balancing test (see legal basis below);
(d) statute of limitations under applicable law(s);
(e) (potential) disputes;
(f) if you have made a request to have your information deleted; and
(g) guidelines issued by relevant data protection authorities.
Otherwise, we securely erase your information where we no longer require your information for the purposes collected.
Who do we share your personal data with?
We share your personal data with the client who has a legal position to fill, in order to determine with the client whether you are a good fit for the available position.
We may also conduct checks on you to verify the information you have provided.
What legal basis do we have for using your information?
For prospective candidates, referees and clients, our processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in that we need the information in order to be able to assess suitability for the potential legal role, to find potential candidates and to contact clients and referees.
For clients, we may also rely on our processing being necessary to perform a contract for you, for example in contacting you.
Do we make automated decisions concerning you?
We do not carry out automated decisions concerning you.
How do we use Cookies?
We do not use cookies to collect your personal data when you browse.
Do we transfer your data?
We will only transfer your personal data to clients and partners with your consent before undertaking such processing;
What rights do you have in relation to the data we hold on you?
By law, you have a number of rights when it comes to your personal data. Further information and advice about your rights can be obtained from the data protection regulator in your country.
Rights and what they mean?
- The right to be informed You have the right to be provided with clear, transparent and easily understandable information about how we use your information and your rights. This is why we’re providing you with the information in this Policy.
- The right of access You have the right to obtain access to your information (if we’re processing it), and certain other information (similar to that provided in this Privacy Policy).
This is so you’re aware and can check that we’re using your information in accordance with data protection law. - The right to rectification You are entitled to have your information corrected if it’s inaccurate or incomplete.
- The right to erasure This is also known as ‘the right to be forgotten’ and, in simple terms, enables you to request the deletion or removal of your information where there’s no compelling reason for us to keep using it. This is not a general right to erasure; there are exceptions.
- The right to restrict processing You have rights to ‘block’ or suppress further use of your information. When processing is restricted, we can still store your information, but may not use it further. We keep lists of people who have asked for further use of their information to be ‘blocked’ to make sure the restriction is respected in future.
- The right to data portability You have rights to obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services. For example, if you decide to switch to a new provider, this enables you to move, copy or transfer your information easily between our IT systems and theirs safely and securely, without affecting its usability.
- The right to object to processing You have the right to object to certain types of processing, including processing for direct marketing (i.e. if you no longer want to be contacted with potential opportunities).
- The right to lodge a complaint You have the right to lodge a complaint about the way we handle or process your personal data with your national data protection regulator.
- The right to withdraw consent If you have given your consent to anything we do with your personal data, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time (although if you do so, it does not mean that anything we have done with your personal data with your consent up to that point is unlawful). This includes your right to withdraw consent to us using your personal data for marketing purposes.
We usually act on requests and provide information free of charge, but may charge a reasonable fee to cover our administrative costs of providing the information for:
How will we contact you?
We may contact you by phone, email or social media. If you prefer a particular contact means over another please just let us know.
How can you contact us?
If you are unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, or have further questions on the processing of your personal data, contact us here: Data Protection Manager, Suite A4 Wayson Commercial Building 28 Connaught Road West Hong Kong or at dpm@apexminds.com