This Privacy Notice describes how Desmet handles personal data you submit when applying for a job. Please read this document carefully to understand how Desmet uses and protects the information you provide.
Applying through the Desmet Website
The online recruitment is provided and hosted by Desmet. By submitting your application and your personal data through our website or our career email addresses, you are consenting to Desmet holding and using it in accordance with this Notice.
The Notice is subject to change and any changes to it in the future will be notified on this page. By continuing to use this recruitment channel you are agreeing to such changes. We recommend that you check the Privacy Notice each time you visit this site.
1. Responsibility as Controller
Desmet Belgium N.V. is the data controller for the information we collect and process about you for recruitment purposes. Personal data will only be collected and/or processed by Desmet in accordance with applicable privacy laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).
2. What information do we collect?
(A) The information about you we may collect, hold and process is set out below:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your telephone number
- CV/work history
- Motivation letter
Any other work-related information you provide, for example, education or training certificates
(B) During further contacts with you in the context of your application, we may also collect and process the following personal data:
- Your citizenship
- Your location
- Passport
- In some cases, permits and visas
- Date of birth
- National insurance number
- Full details of job offers and placements, and preferences
- Outcome of criminal record checks and security clearance for certain roles
- In certain cases, medical information
- References
- Financial information (including but not limited to payroll details and terms, tax data, pension scheme details, court orders and statutory payments)
- A log of our communications with you by email and telephone
This information will have been provided, or will be provided, by you directly or by a third party who we work with, such as employment business or agency. In the case of references, these will be from your previous employer. Please note that you are responsible for obtaining references consent before providing personal data such as name and contact information.
Medical information may be supplied by a third party such as your GP, Consultant or Occupational Health. The outcome of criminal record checks and security clearance checks, where relevant, will be supplied by external service provider applicable to the placement.
3. How we use the information
The personal data is collected to facilitate the recruitment process and used for anonymised reporting purposes.
The information under (A) above may be used as follows:
- To evaluate you as a potential candidate for vacant positions you applied to
- To match your skill sets with listed job vacancies to assist in finding you the positions that most suit you
- To keep you informed of available opportunities as they arise
The information under (B) above may be used as follows:
- To ascertain that you have the right to work in the relevant jurisdiction(s)
- To undertake relevant security and criminal record checks as required by and as permitted by law
- To deal with any medical and health and safety issues relating to certain positions and as permitted by law
- To put in place contractual arrangements and documentation once a role has been secured.
4. How we handle the data that is submitted by you
Personal data is entered as part of an application and is stored in our database, and any information is available to an applicant to ‘reuse’ as part of a future application.
In the event of your application resulting in an offer and your acceptance of a position at Desmet, your personal data will be stored and maintained by Desmet according to our “Data Privacy Global Policy and Guidelines for Human Resources”.
In the event of your application is unsuccessful, your personal data may be stored for future job opportunities with Desmet. By submitting an Application, we ask for your consent to store your information in our Talent Pool for future references. Your consent will be stored for a period of one (1) year, renewable once for a period of six (6) months.
5. What is the legal basis for processing the information?
We will rely on your consent to process the information listed above which is collected at the outset of the recruitment process.
Information and documentation to establish your right to work is processed by us as we are legally obligated to do so.
In respect of medical information, our legal basis for processing this category of personal data will depend on the circumstances, but will usually be for one of the following reasons: it is necessary to protect health and safety, or to prevent discrimination on the grounds of disability, or where applicable, you have provided your explicit consent, as directed by art. 9 of the GDPR.
Information in relation to criminal record checks, which are relevant for certain positions, will be processed on the basis that we comply with the applicable law. In certain instances, we may require your consent.
Once a position has been found for you, we will process your personal data, including financial information, for the purpose of you entering into a contract to fulfil your role and to enable us to pay you, depending on the specific contractual arrangements and circumstances.
For the purposes of paying you, where relevant, we are legally obliged to provide information to applicable Tax Authorities, Pension Scheme providers, insurance providers.
Once a placement has been secured, we may also process your data on the basis of our legitimate interests, i.e. for administrative purposes.
Additional information concerning Desmet's processing of personal data belonging to its employees will be forwarded to you separately.
6. Disclosure of your information
Access to your information is strictly limited to Desmet employees involved in the recruitment process subject to confidentiality restrictions. Depending on the circumstances of the case, authorized third parties such as agencies and IT administrators assisting Desmet in the recruitment process may also be provided access to your information.
7. Your privacy rights
You have rights as an individual which you can exercise under certain circumstances in relation to your personal data that we hold.
These rights are to:
- request confirmation if Desmet processes your personal data, and in the affirmative access your personal data (commonly known as a “data subject access request”), and request certain information in relation to its processing (and a copy);
- request rectification of your personal data (if inaccurate or incomplete);
- in certain cases, request the erasure of your personal data (commonly known as “right to be forgotten”);
- request the restriction of processing of your personal data under specific circumstances;
- object to the processing of your personal data if the processing takes place on the ground of our legitimate interest or on the ground of public interest.
- withdraw your consent: at any time without any cost nor justification, as described below in section 8.
Please note that those rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions or conditions of application. If you want to exercise one of these rights, please send your request to privacy@desmet.com.
8. Right to withdraw consent
You may at any time request to withdraw a consent where consent constitute the lawful basis of our collection and processing of your personal data. You may request to withdraw your consent via our e-mail account privacy@desmet.com or careers@desmet.com. Once we have received notification that you have withdrawn your application, we will no longer process your information for the purpose(s) to which you originally consented unless there are compelling legitimate grounds for further processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. Please note that the withdrawal of your consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
9. How we protect your data
We implement and maintain appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect your personal data against accidental, unlawful or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure or use. We aim to ensure that the level of security and the measures adopted to protect your personal data are appropriate for the risks presented by the nature and use of your personal data.
10. International Data transfers
Desmet is a group of companies that operates globally, where your data may be processed outside of the country in which your personal data was originally collected. Those countries may not have the same level of privacy and data protection laws as those required within Desmet which is based on EU/EEA data protection law.
Your data might therefore be used globally in connection with the recruitment process by Desmet. We will always ascertain that a legal basis exists, and an appropriate safeguard method for such data transfer is in place so that your personal data is treated in a manner that is consistent with, and respects the EU laws and other applicable laws and regulations on data protection. Regarding such data transfers, some countries have implemented transfer limitations for personal data transfer and in line with this, Desmet, has taken various measures regarding this, including:
- Where required, Desmet implements Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the EU Commission, or similar contractual clauses in other jurisdictions. This also includes transfers to suppliers and other third parties.
- We may transfer your data outside the European Economic Area (EEA) only if we have assured an adequate level of protection in the receiving country as required under the relevant data protection laws.
Please note that allowing global access will entail transfer, and/or allowing access to your personal data to parties and/or individuals residing outside of the EU/EEA. Desmet works towards achieving uniform codes of conduct throughout the organization.
11. Data Retention
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and processed, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, accounting or reporting requirements.
If you do not get the job, your application including your personal data will be kept for a period of one (1) year after completion of recruitment (renewable once for a period of 6 months), as per Desmet retention guidelines, unless you reside in one of countries listed below. You will find more information in below table with country specific needs according to local practice or legislation.
Country
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Sweden, Finland, France
United States of America
All other countries
Data retention period after completion recruitment
6 months
2 years
4 years
1 year
Data retention period in candidate tool
1 year
2 years
4 years
1 year
12. Concerns
If you have any concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, you should raise your concern with us in the first instance at privacy@desmet.com or careers@desmet.com
If you are a Desmet Recruit in Belgium: you can go directly to the lead supervisory authority, the Belgian Data Protection Authority at https://www.dataprotectionauthority.be
Belgian Data Protection Authority: Autorité de protection des données – Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit (APD-GBA)
Rue de la Presse 35 – Drukpersstraat 35 1000 Bruxelles – Brussel
Email: contact@apd-gba.be
Other EU Data Protection Authorities: https://www.edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/about-edpb/members_en
13. Changes to the Privacy Notice
This Privacy Notice may be changed by us at any time, to reflect changes in our processing practices and any relevant privacy legislations. We will post those changes on this page, and we will also provide a more prominent notice if the changes are significant. The date of the last modification is stated at the end of this document.
14. Contact
Please address any questions, comments and requests regarding our data processing practices to privacy@desmet.com
15. Data Protection Statement
The personal data you provide in your application and as part of the recruitment process will only be held and processed for the purpose of the current and any future selection processes of the Desmet and in connection with any subsequent employment or placement, unless otherwise indicated. Your data will be retained only for as long as is permitted by applicable law legislation and then destroyed (or anonymized).
By submitting your personal data and application, you:
(1) declare that you have read, understood and accepted the statements set out in this data protection clause;
(2) are declaring that the information given in the application is complete and true to the best of your knowledge, and understand that deliberate omissions and incorrect statements could lead to your application being rejected or to your dismissal;
(3) where applicable, are giving your consent to the processing of the information contained in this application and any other personal data you may provide separately in the manner and to the extent described; and
(4) are authorising the Desmet to verify or have verified on their behalf all statements contained in this application and to make any necessary reference checks.
(5) are authorising Desmet to keep your personal data in the event your application is not successful in our candidate pool in order for us to contact you in case of future job opportunities with Desmet. We will retain such personal data in accordance with applicable retention period as stated in section 11, afterwards your record will be deleted.
16. Version
This notice was published on February 2025.