Candidate Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for recruitment, trade verification, and workforce placement purposes:

• Contact & Identification: Full name, South African ID number or passport number, contact details (phone, WhatsApp, email), and residential location.
• Trade & Professional Credentials: CV, employment history, Red Seal trade certificates, qualifications, professional licences, driver's licences (Code 8/10/14), and Professional Driving Permits (PrDP).
• Skills & Placement Details: Technical skills, trade test results, interview summaries, availability, and wage/salary expectations.
• References & Background Checks: Direct referee feedback, employment history confirmations, and assessment results.
• Special Personal Information (POPIA §§26–33): Where required for site safety or statutory compliance (e.g. medical fitness Red Tickets / Annexure 3 under OHSA, or AFIS criminal background checks), we obtain your specific, unbundled consent.

Providing your personal information is voluntary. However, failure to provide essential trade credentials, ID copies, or right-to-work documents will prevent Vettam Talent from submitting your profile to prospective client employers.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information strictly for legitimate recruitment and staffing functions:

• Profile Management & Matching: Creating and maintaining your candidate profile and matching your skills against verified client vacancies.
• Client Submissions: Submitting your candidate profile to prospective client employers for specific, agreed opportunities.
• Verification: Verifying your qualifications, Red Seal certificates, licences, and references with issuing bodies and accredited partners.
• Candidate Comms & Vacancy Alerts (POPIA §69): Contacting you about interviews, assessment scheduling, and verified trade vacancies via WhatsApp, SMS, or email. You can instantly pause or opt out of broadcast job alerts at any time by replying "STOP".
• Statutory Compliance: Meeting legal, tax, payroll, labour, and occupational health and safety obligations if you are placed in temporary employment.

3. Sharing Your Information

We respect your data privacy and will never sell your information. We only share information with:

• Prospective Employers / Clients: Only for specific, suitable vacancies and after obtaining your consent.
• Authorised Service Providers (Operators): Cloud infrastructure, database systems, secure messaging gateways, and accredited background check platforms (e.g. MIE / LexisNexis) bound by strict written data protection agreements.
• Cross-Border Transfers (POPIA §72): Where cloud hosting or automated parsing systems process data outside South Africa, we ensure enterprise Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) guarantee data protection equivalent to POPIA and GDPR standards.

4. How We Protect Your Information

We implement rigorous technical and organisational security controls to protect your data against unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. This includes role-based access limits, multi-factor authentication, encrypted storage, and immutable audit logging. Candidate CVs and identity documents are stored in secure environments and are never exposed via publicly accessible web links or personal employee devices.

5. Your Statutory Rights

Under POPIA, you have the legal right to:

• Access & Update: View your held records and request corrections directly through the candidate portal or by contacting our team.
• Withdraw Consent: Revoke consent for ongoing recruitment matching at any time.
• Request Deletion: Request full erasure of your profile where no statutory retention obligation applies by emailing info@vettamtalent.com.
• Lodge a Complaint: You have the statutory right to contact the Information Regulator of South Africa:
  Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
  Website: inforegulator.org.za
  Email: complaints.IR@inforegulator.org.za

6. Policy Updates & Telemetry Tracking

When this policy is updated, a new version number is assigned. Previous acceptance records remain immutably attached to the exact version you agreed to.

On electronic acceptance via our intake form or candidate portal, the system automatically records your Candidate ID, Full Name, Document Version (v1.0), Acceptance Timestamp, and IP address for compliance verification.