Privacy Policy

Hatch Digital Skills ltd

Privacy policy: 

HATCH DIGITAL SKILLS LTD

Privacy Policy

Last reviewed and updated: August 2026

Hatch Digital Skills Ltd (“Hatch”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of candidates, learners, customers and users of our services.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how and why we use it, when we may share it, how long we retain it, and the rights you have in relation to your personal information.

Hatch is a trading style of Hatch Digital Skills Ltd.

Hatch Digital Skills Ltd
Company No: 11973450
VAT No: 327 1831 11
Registered Address: 167-169 Great Portland Street, Fifth Floor, London, England, W1W 5PF
ICO Registration: ZA526911

This Privacy Policy applies when you use our website, apply for an opportunity, participate in a recruitment, assessment or training programme, communicate with Hatch, or otherwise use our products or services.

What we do

Hatch provides recruitment, assessment, skills development and training services to individuals and organisations.

Our services may include identifying and assessing candidates for employment opportunities, presenting suitable candidates to client organisations, supporting interview and selection processes, delivering training and skills programmes, supporting candidate progression and providing programme reporting and analysis to the organisations with which we work.

Candidates selected through a Hatch recruitment process may be employed or contracted directly by the relevant client organisation. Hatch may continue to provide training, programme support and reporting following that appointment.

When you apply for or participate in an opportunity or programme, we may contact you about your application, assessment, interview, training, programme participation or other matters connected with the service you have engaged with. Communications may take place by email, telephone, SMS or other appropriate communication channels.

Where we wish to contact you for marketing purposes, we will do so in accordance with applicable data protection and electronic marketing legislation and provide appropriate opportunities to manage your preferences.

Our role under data protection law

Hatch processes personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”) and Data Protection Act 2018. Depending on the service being provided and our relationship with another organisation, Hatch may act as a Data Controller or Data Processor.

Where Hatch determines why and how personal information is processed, Hatch acts as a Data Controller.

Where we process personal information solely on the documented instructions of another organisation, we may act as a Data Processor.

Client organisations may also act as independent Data Controllers for personal information they receive as part of their recruitment, employment or contractual relationship with you.

Our privacy principles

When processing personal information, we will:

  • process personal information lawfully, fairly and transparently;
  • only collect information that is relevant and necessary for the purposes for which it is required;
  • only use information for specified and legitimate purposes;
  • take reasonable steps to ensure information is accurate and kept up to date;
  • not retain personal information for longer than necessary;
  • protect personal information using appropriate technical and organisational measures;
  • restrict access to personal information to those who require it for legitimate purposes; and
  • only share personal information where there is an appropriate reason and lawful basis for doing so.

The information we collect

The information we collect will depend on your relationship with Hatch and the services or programmes in which you participate.

We may collect and process:

  • your name;
  • contact information, including email address and telephone number;
  • residential address where required;
  • date of birth and other identification information where required;
  • information you provide as part of an application;
  • education, qualifications and employment history;
  • skills, capabilities, experience and professional interests;
  • application and recruitment-stage information;
  • interview information and outcomes;
  • assessment results, responses and scores, including technical, aptitude, behavioural, psychometric or other assessments where applicable;
  • a Hatch candidate or learner identification number;
  • information used to create your candidate profile;
  • information about your participation in a Hatch training or development programme;
  • attendance and engagement information;
  • training and programme progress;
  • completion and programme outcome information;
  • skills and capability development information;
  • feedback provided by you or about your participation in a programme;
  • information required to support your progression through a recruitment, training or employment process;
  • communication and marketing preferences;
  • information that you voluntarily provide to us;
  • technical information about your use of our website, which may include your IP address, browser type, device information, referral source and website activity; and
  • other information reasonably required to deliver the opportunity, programme, product or service in which you are participating.

We may collect information throughout the candidate and learner journey, including through applications, data capture forms, assessments, interviews, communications, training activities and programme participation.

Equality, diversity and social impact information

We may invite you to voluntarily provide information that enables us to understand equality of opportunity, monitor the accessibility of our services and understand the social impact of our programmes.

Depending on the information requested, this may include information relating to age, gender, race or ethnicity, disability or other demographic characteristics. Some of this information may constitute special category personal data under UK data protection law and will receive additional protection.

Providing this information will normally be voluntary unless there is another lawful reason why the information is required. Where equality, diversity or social impact information is used for broader analysis, benchmarking, reporting or publication, we will use aggregated or anonymised information where appropriate so that individuals are not identified.

Special category personal information

Certain types of personal information receive additional protection under data protection law.

Where necessary and permitted by law, we may process special category information, which may include information concerning:

  • health or disability;
  • racial or ethnic origin; or
  • other special category information voluntarily provided by you.

For example, we may ask you to provide relevant health or disability information so that we can consider reasonable adjustments or provide appropriate support during an assessment, recruitment or training process.

Where we process special category personal information, we will identify both an appropriate lawful basis and an appropriate condition for processing special category information as required by applicable data protection legislation.

Where criminal offence information is required for a particular role, safeguarding requirement, security clearance or regulated activity, we will only process this information where permitted by law and subject to appropriate safeguards.

How we use your personal information

We may use your personal information to:

  • manage your application or enquiry;
  • communicate with you about an opportunity or programme;
  • assess your suitability for employment opportunities, programmes or training;
  • administer assessments and interviews;
  • create candidate profiles;
  • support candidate selection and interview processes;
  • provide recruitment, assessment, training and skills development services;
  • manage your participation in a programme;
  • record and monitor attendance, engagement, progress and outcomes;
  • understand and report on skills and capability development;
  • support your progression through recruitment, training and employment processes;
  • communicate relevant information to the client organisation associated with your application or programme;
  • provide programme reporting and dashboards;
  • analyse programme participation, progression and outcomes;
  • evaluate the effectiveness of our programmes and services;
  • improve our recruitment, assessment, training and candidate experience;
  • produce aggregated or anonymised statistical and social impact reporting;
  • maintain the security and integrity of our systems and services;
  • respond to enquiries, complaints and requests;
  • administer and improve our website and services;
  • meet contractual, regulatory and legal obligations; and
  • send relevant marketing communications where we have an appropriate lawful basis to do so.

Candidate profiles and client selection

Where Hatch supports a client organisation with identifying and selecting candidates, we may use the information we have collected about you to create a candidate profile.

At the initial client selection stage, we may provide the client with an anonymised profile containing information relevant to assessing your suitability for the opportunity, such as your skills, experience, assessment information or other relevant attributes.

The purpose of this approach is to enable the client to consider candidates without receiving identifying information that is not required at that stage.

If a client selects you to progress to interview or a later stage of its recruitment process, we may then provide that client with the personal information reasonably necessary to facilitate the interview and selection process.

We will make clear when your identifying information is being provided to a client and will obtain your consent where consent is the lawful basis relied upon for that disclosure.

The client organisation will then be responsible for personal information it processes for its own recruitment, contracting and employment purposes in accordance with its own data protection responsibilities.

Employment or engagement by a client

If you are successful through a Hatch supported onboarding process, you may be employed or contracted directly by the relevant client organisation.

Your employment or contractual relationship will be with that organisation rather than Hatch unless you are expressly informed otherwise.

The client organisation will process personal information required for its employment or contractual relationship with you in accordance with its own privacy information and data protection obligations. Hatch may continue to process relevant personal information where we remain responsible for delivering training, assessment, programme support, monitoring, reporting or other agreed services connected with your programme.

Programme reporting and dashboards

Where you participate in a Hatch programme associated with an organisation that employs or contracts you, Hatch may provide authorised representatives of that organisation with access to relevant information about your participation through secure programme reporting and dashboards.

Candidate-level dashboard information may include:

  • your first name;
  • your Hatch candidate or learner ID;
  • relevant assessment information;
  • skills or capability information;
  • attendance;
  • engagement;
  • training and programme progress;
  • relevant programme feedback;
  • completion information; and
  • programme outcomes.

Candidate-level information contained within these dashboards is personal information and is treated accordingly.

This information is used to support the delivery, management, monitoring and evaluation of the programme and to enable Hatch and the relevant client organisation to understand candidate progress and programme outcomes.

Access to candidate level dashboard information is restricted to authorised Hatch personnel and authorised representatives of the client organisation associated with the relevant programme. Client organisations are only provided with access to candidate level dashboard information relating to their own programme. Candidate-level information associated with one client’s programme will not be made available through the dashboard to another client.

We will seek to limit the candidate level information available through programme dashboards to information reasonably necessary for the delivery, management, monitoring and evaluation of the relevant programme.

Aggregated and anonymised information

We may use information collected through our recruitment, assessment and training services to produce aggregated statistics and analysis.

This may be used to:

  • understand recruitment and programme trends;
  • evaluate programme performance;
  • understand skills and capability development;
  • measure programme outcomes;
  • understand equality of opportunity and social impact;
  • improve our products and services;
  • support internal planning and decision-making; and
  • communicate overall programme or service outcomes.

Where information is used for wider analysis, benchmarking, social impact reporting, marketing statistics or reporting across multiple clients or programmes, we will use aggregated or anonymised information where appropriate so that individual candidates are not identified.

Where information has been genuinely anonymised so that an individual is no longer identifiable, it is no longer personal information for the purposes of UK data protection law. Candidate level information will not be described or treated as anonymous where an individual can reasonably be identified from the information.

Lawful basis for processing

We will only process personal information where we have an appropriate lawful basis.

The lawful basis will depend on the particular processing activity and may include:

Contract – where processing is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to perform a contract with you.

Legitimate interests – where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided those interests are not overridden by your interests, rights or freedoms. This may include delivering and managing recruitment and training services, managing programmes, communicating with candidates and clients, analysing and improving our services and maintaining the security of our systems.

Consent – where we ask you to consent to a particular use or disclosure of your personal information. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

Legal obligation – where processing is necessary for us to comply with a legal or regulatory requirement.

Different lawful bases may apply to different activities during your relationship with Hatch.

Where we process special category personal information, we will also identify an appropriate condition for processing that information under applicable data protection legislation.

Sharing your information

We may share personal information with other organisations where it is necessary to provide our services or where we are otherwise permitted or required to do so.

This may include:

  • the client organisation associated with the opportunity or programme in which you are participating;
  • an organisation interviewing, employing or contracting you following a Hatch-supported recruitment process;
  • assessment providers;
  • learning and training providers;
  • technology and cloud service providers;
  • data storage and database providers;
  • reporting and dashboard technology providers;
  • communications providers;
  • IT and information security providers;
  • professional advisers; and
  • government, regulatory or law-enforcement organisations where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

The information shared and the stage at which it is shared will depend upon the purpose for which the organisation requires it.

During initial client candidate selection, Hatch may use anonymised candidate profiles rather than providing identifying information.

Where a candidate progresses to interview or a later stage, relevant personal information may be provided to the client where necessary for that process.

Where a candidate subsequently participates in a programme while employed or contracted by the client, relevant candidate-level programme information may be provided to authorised representatives of that client through programme reporting and dashboards. We will only share personal information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

Technology providers

Technology forms an integral part of Hatch’s recruitment, assessment, training, data analysis and programme reporting services.

We may use third-party systems to collect, process, store, analyse, transfer or display information.

These systems may include services used for:

  • candidate and application management;
  • assessments;
  • learning and training delivery;
  • communications;
  • cloud storage;
  • databases;
  • data processing and analysis;
  • programme reporting and dashboards;
  • website hosting; and
  • website analytics.

Where another organisation processes personal information on our behalf, we take appropriate steps to assess the provider and establish appropriate contractual, data protection and security arrangements. Details of relevant technology providers involved in processing your information can be requested by contacting us.

International transfers

Some organisations or technology providers used by Hatch may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take appropriate steps to ensure the transfer complies with applicable data protection legislation. Where required, this may include relying on an adequacy decision or using appropriate contractual safeguards and carrying out any necessary assessments.

Further information about safeguards relating to international transfers of your personal information can be requested by contacting us.

Information retention

We will not keep personal information for longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

The appropriate retention period will depend upon factors including:

  • the nature of the information;
  • the recruitment process, programme or service involved;
  • our relationship with you;
  • our contractual relationship with a client;
  • legal or regulatory requirements;
  • reporting requirements; and
  • whether information may be required to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

As a standard maximum, we may retain candidate personal information for up to five years where there is a continuing legitimate, contractual or legal reason for doing so, unless a different retention period is required or justified. Where information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymised in accordance with our retention procedures.

Security of personal information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.

These measures may include, where appropriate:

  • access controls;
  • authentication controls;
  • encryption;
  • secure cloud services;
  • role-based restriction of access;
  • separation of client and programme information;
  • monitoring and security controls;
  • staff awareness and training; and
  • supplier security and data protection assessments.

Access to candidate-level programme information and dashboards is restricted to authorised users.

We regularly review the measures used to protect the personal information we process. Although we take reasonable precautions to protect personal information, no method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Automated decision making and profiling

We may analyse information to support recruitment, assessment, programme management and service improvement.

We may also use assessment information and other candidate data to support decisions made by Hatch personnel or client organisations. Where we undertake profiling or automated processing, we will do so in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.

If we use solely automated decision making that produces legal effects or similarly significantly affects you, we will provide the information and safeguards required by law.

Cookies and website analytics

Cookies are small files stored on your computer or device when you visit a website.

We may use cookies and similar technologies where necessary for the operation of our website and, subject to applicable consent requirements, to understand website usage and improve our services.

We may use analytics services to produce statistical information about website usage. Further information about the cookies and analytics technologies currently used by Hatch is provided through our website cookie notice or consent mechanism where applicable.

Third-party websites

Our website and communications may contain links to websites operated by other organisations.

Hatch is not responsible for the privacy practices of third party websites. You should review the privacy information provided by the relevant organisation when visiting those websites.

Your rights

Under UK data protection legislation, you may have a number of rights in relation to your personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:

  • request access to personal information we hold about you;
  • request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
  • request deletion of your personal information;
  • request restriction of processing;
  • object to certain processing;
  • request transfer of your information where the right to data portability applies;
  • withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
  • exercise rights relating to certain automated decision-making.

These rights are subject to conditions and exemptions under data protection legislation and may not apply in every circumstance.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.

Marketing

Where we send direct marketing communications, we will do so in accordance with applicable data protection and electronic marketing legislation.

Where marketing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time. You may opt out of marketing communications by using the unsubscribe mechanism provided within the relevant communication or by contacting us. Opting out of marketing will not prevent us from contacting you where communication is necessary in connection with an application, interview, programme, contract or service in which you are participating.

Updating your information

We have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure the personal information we hold about you is accurate and up to date. Please contact us if information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or requires updating.

Complaints

If you have concerns about how Hatch has collected or used your personal information, please contact us in the first instance so that we can investigate.

You also have the right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent data protection regulator.

Further information is available from the ICO at www.ico.org.uk.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, technology, processing activities or legal obligations.

The latest version will be published on our website together with the date on which it was last reviewed or updated. Where there is a material change to the way we process personal information, we will take appropriate steps to bring that change to the attention of affected individuals.

Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, how we process your personal information, or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact:

Hatch Digital Skills Ltd
167-169 Great Portland Street
Fifth Floor
London
W1W 5PF

Email: enquiries@hatch-digital.com

ICO Registration: ZA526911