Data Protection Declaration of Gadient IT GmbH

1 Information about the collection of personal data and purpose of processing

(1) We, Gradient IT GmbH, Lehmannstr. 25A, 15806 Zossen, Germany, Tel.: +49 3377 32794 60, e-mail: contact@gradient-it.com, are responsible for the processing of personal data of you as a user of the websites, accessible at https://gradient-it.com/ (hereinafter also referred to as "website"), as our candidates, customers, suppliers as well as any other person with whom we communicate ("you") pursuant to Art. 4 No. 7 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). 

(2) In the following, we would like to inform you in detail about the processing of your personal data within the scope of our duty to inform (#2)

·          as a visitor to our website or as a client or other person with whom we communicate within the scope of our personnel consulting and placement services (#3);

·          as our candidate with whom we communicate within the scope of our personnel consulting and placement services and via our applicant portal (# 7). 

We inform you about your rights with regard to the processing of personal data relating to you in section 6.

(4) We reserve the right to amend these data protection provisions at any time with effect for the future. A current version is available on our website. 

2 Processing of your personal data

(1) Personal data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual. A data subject is a person about whom personal data is processed. Processing includes any handling of personal data; this includes in particular obtaining, storing, using, disclosing and destroying. In particular, we process the personal data that we receive from our customers and business partners in the course of our business relations with them and other persons involved or that we collect from their users in the course of operating our website. In addition, we also obtain certain personal data from publicly accessible sources (e.g. the commercial register, the media, the Internet) or from third parties (e.g. address dealers).

(2) Personal data will only be processed by us if and insofar as

you have given us your consent to the processing of data for one or more specific purposes (Art. 6 (1), subparagraph 1, point (a) of the GDPR);

the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or for the performance of pre-contractual measures taken at your request (Art. 6 (1), subparagraph 1, point (b) of the GDPR);

the data processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject (Art. 6 (1), subparagraph 1, point (c) of the GDPR); or

the data processing is necessary for the protection of our legitimate interests or those of a third party, unless your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms requiring the protection of personal data are overridden (Art. 6 (1), subparagraph 1, point (f) of the GDPR).

(3) In the following provisions of this data protection declaration, we will explain which of the legal bases listed in paragraph 2 we base the processing of your personal data on in individual cases.

(4) When you contact us by e-mail or via a contact form on our website, the data you provide (your e-mail address, name and telephone number) will be stored by us in order to answer your questions. We delete the data accruing in this context after the storage is no longer necessary or restrict the processing if there are statutory retention obligations.

(5) If we use commissioned service providers for individual functions of our offer or would like to use your data for advertising purposes, we will inform you in detail about the respective processes below. In doing so, we will also state the defined criteria for the storage period.

(6) There is no contractual or legal obligation for you to provide personal data. However, without processing your personal data, we are generally not in a position to perform our service in relation to you or your employer/client.

(7) Automated individual case decisions or profiling measures do not take place.

3 Collection of personal data when visiting our website

(1) When using the website for information purposes only, i.e. if you do not send us information via the contact form, we only collect the personal data that your browser transmits to our server. The data we collect is technically necessary for us to display our website to you and to ensure stability and security (Art. 6 (1) subparagraph 1, point (f) of the GDPR):

·          IP address

·          Date and time of the request

·          Time zone difference to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

·          Content of the request (specific page)

·          Access status/HTTP status code

·          Amount of data transferred in each case

·          Website from which the request came

·          Browser

·          Operating system and its interface

·          Language and version of the browser software.

(2) In addition to the aforementioned data, cookies are stored on your computer when you use our website. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your hard drive-in relation to the browser you are using and which provide the party setting the cookie (in this case us) with certain information. Cookies cannot execute programs or transfer viruses to your computer. They serve to make the internet offer as a whole more user-friendly and effective.

(3) Use of cookies

a) This website uses the following types of cookies, the scope and functionality of which are explained below:

·          Transient cookies (see b).

·          Persistent cookies (see c).

b) Transient cookies are automatically deleted when you close the browser. These include, in particular, session cookies. These store a so-called session ID, with which various requests from your browser can be assigned to the joint session. This enables your computer to be recognised when you return to our website. The session cookies are deleted when you log out or close the browser.

c) Persistent cookies are automatically deleted after a specified period of time, which may differ depending on the cookie. You can delete the cookies in the security settings of your browser at any time.

d) Our website uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third parties that appear on our website. These cookies are classified as (point e) "Necessary", "Statistics" (point f) and "Marketing" (g).

e) Necessary cookies help us to make our website usable by enabling basic functions such as page navigation and access to secure areas of our website. Our website cannot function properly without these cookies.

f) Statistics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously. For example, by using statistical tools such as Google Analytics (see Art. 4 below), we can analyse hits to our website and measure the number of page views you have.

g) Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors on websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user and therefore more valuable to publishers and advertising third parties.

When using statistical and marketing cookies, we may share information about your use of our website with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Our partners may combine this information with other data that you have provided to them or that you have collected as part of your use of the Services.

We only use statistical and marketing cookies if you have given us your consent to do so via our cookie banner. You can give us your consent by confirming the green "Accept cookies" button. You can configure the setting of statistics and marketing cookies yourself via the settings in the cookie banner of our website. You can revoke your consent to statistical and marketing cookies at any time with effect for the future by changing your browser settings. 

h) If personal data is processed by individual cookies, the processing is carried out in accordance with Article 6 (1) subparagraph 1, point (b) of the GDPR either for the performance of the contract or in accordance with Article 6 (1) subparagraph 1, point (f) of the GDPR to protect our legitimate interests in the best possible functionality of our website as well as a customer-friendly and effective design of the page visit. In the case of statistics and marketing cookies, processing is based on your consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) subparagraph 1, point (a) of the GDPR.

i) You can configure your browser settings according to your preferences and, for example, refuse to accept third-party cookies or all cookies. Please note that you may not be able to use all functions of our website afterwards.

(4) Google Analytics

a) Our website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Google"). Google uses "cookies", which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyse how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about the use of this website is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

b) In the event that IP anonymisation is activated on this website, however, Google will truncate the user's IP address beforehand within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. IP anonymisation is active on this website. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating the use of the website by users, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage to the website operator.

The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics will not be merged with other Google data. 

c) Users can prevent the storage of cookies by setting their browser software accordingly. However, the provider points out to the users that in this case they may not be able to use all functions of this website to their full extent. Users may also prevent the collection of data generated by the cookie and relating to their use of the website (including their IP address) by Google and the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de.

d) For further information, please read here:

https://www.google.com/analytics

Google Ireland Limited,

Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, VAT Identification Number: IE6388047V

(5) Social media plug-ins

Our website sometimes uses so-called plug-ins from social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter, Xing and YouTube. The plug-ins are marked with the provider's logo. We have configured these plug-ins so that they are deactivated by default. If you activate them (by clicking on them), the operator of the respective social network can recognise that you are on our website and use this information for their own purposes. The operator is then responsible for processing your personal data in accordance with its data protection regulations. We do not receive any information about you from him.

(6) Google Adwords

Our website uses Google conversion tracking. If you access https://gradient-it.com/ via an ad placed by Google, Google Adwords will set a cookie on your computer. These cookies lose their validity after a predefined period of time and are not used for personal identification. If you visit certain pages of our website again and the cookie has not yet expired, we and Google can recognise that you have clicked on an ad and were redirected by it. Cookies vary by client, each receiving their own. The conversion cookie tells us the total number of users who clicked on an ad and were redirected to a relevant page. However, we do not receive any personal information so that you could be identified as a user. If you do not wish to be tracked, you can set a Do Not Track cookie or set your browser to block cookies from the domain "googleleadservices.com".

(7) Facebook Remarketing

a) Remarketing tags of the social network Facebook, 1601 South California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA are integrated on our website. When you visit our pages, the remarketing tags establish a direct connection between your browser and the Facebook server. Facebook thereby receives the information that you have visited our site with your IP address. This enables Facebook to assign the visit to our pages to your user account. We can use the information obtained in this way to display Facebook Ads. We would like to point out that we, as the provider of the pages, have no knowledge of the content of the transmitted data or its use by Facebook.

b) Further information on this can be found in Facebook's privacy policy at https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/. If you do not wish any data to be collected via Custom Audience, you can deactivate Custom Audiences here. 

(8) Google Maps

a) On our website, we use the Google Maps service of the provider Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; "Google"). This enables us to show you interactive maps directly on the website and allows you to use the map function conveniently.

b) By visiting our website, Google receives the information that you have accessed the corresponding sub-page of our website. If you are logged in to Google, your data will be directly assigned to your account. If you do not wish to have your data associated with your Google profile, you must log out before activating the button. Google stores your data as usage profiles and uses them for the purposes of advertising, market research and/or the needs-based design of its website. Such an evaluation is carried out in particular (even for users who are not logged in) to provide needs-based advertising and to inform other users of the social network about your activities on our website. You have the right to object to the creation of these user profiles, and you must contact Google to exercise this right.

c) The legal basis for the use of Google Maps is your consent pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 UAbs. 1 letter a DSGVO. The processing of your personal data for the purpose of providing the map content is carried out in joint cooperation between us and Google. For this purpose, we have concluded a joint responsibility agreement with Google pursuant to Art. 26 DSGVO, which you can view at the following link: https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms/maps-controller-terms/.

d) For further information on the purpose and scope of data collection and its processing by Google, please refer to Google's privacy policy. There you will also receive further information on your rights in this regard and setting options for protecting your privacy:

http://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy.

e) In the context of the use of Google Maps, it cannot be ruled out that personal data may be transmitted to the servers of Google LLC in the USA. For these cases, Google LLC has submitted to the EU-US Privacy Shield, https://www.privacyshield.gov/EU-US-Framework.

(9) Google Remarketing

Our website contains remarketing tags from Google Inc. ("Google") are integrated on our website. With a remarketing tag, a direct connection is established between your browser and Google when you visit our website. We receive the information that your IP address has visited our website via Google. This information can be used by us for specific advertising.

(10) Mail Sending

When you register with EvalHR, you provide your e-mail address and name. Furthermore, when you register, your IP address and the date of registration are also stored, the latter only for evidentiary purposes in the event of improper registration. We need this data to send e-mails for the efficient use of the EvalHR tool. The sending of advertising e-mails is excluded. Our own e-mail sender is used to send e-mails for the purpose of using the tool. The e-mail sender is software developed by the Gradient IT GmbH team of developers. The data stored during registration is encrypted and, encrypted, transmitted to gradient-it.com and stored by gradient-it.com. After registration, EvalHR will send you an e-mail to confirm your registration. Furthermore, EvalHR offers various analytics on how the emails sent to use the tool are opened, e.g. to how many users an email was sent, whether emails were rejected and whether users unsubscribed from the tool after receiving an email. However, these analyses are only group-related and are not used by us for individual evaluation.

4 Use of collected data

We only use the data collected as part of our services to send and process relevant job offers or recruitment consultancy processes for our clients. We also use this data to provide you with tailored content - for example, to provide you with more relevant search results.

a) We may use your choice of name for your profile for any services we offer that require an account. In addition, we may replace names that have been associated with your account in the past so that you are managed consistently across all our services.

b) Before we use information for purposes other than those listed in this privacy policy, we will notify you and ask for your consent.

c) Gradient IT GmbH processes personal data exclusively on servers located in Germany.

5 Data security

We take appropriate and suitable organisational and technical measures to ensure data security and data protection. Despite appropriate and suitable organisational and technical measures, the processing of personal data on the Internet can always have security gaps. We can therefore not guarantee absolute data security.

6 Your rights

(1) With regard to the processing of personal data relating to you, you are entitled to the rights listed below under letters a - h in accordance with the legal requirements. For this purpose, please contact us or, if applicable, our data protection officer. You will find the contact details under # 1.

a) Right to information

Pursuant to Art. 15 of the GDPR, you may request confirmation from us as to whether personal data concerning you is being processed by us. In this case, pursuant to Art. 15 (1) of the GDPR, you have the right to information about the processing purposes, the categories of personal data processed, the recipients or categories of recipients to whom we have disclosed or will disclose the personal data, the planned storage period or the criteria for determining the storage period. the criteria for determining the storage period, the existence of a right to rectification or erasure of your personal data as well as to restriction of processing or objection to processing, the existence of a right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, the origin of the data if we have not collected your data from you, the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, as well as, pursuant to Art. 15 (2) of the GDPR, the right to be informed of the appropriate safeguards pursuant to Art. 46 of the GDPR in the context of the transfer of personal data to third countries.

b) Right to rectification

Pursuant to Art. 16 of the GDPR, you may request us to correct and/or complete your personal data without delay, taking into account the purposes of the processing, if your data is incorrect or incomplete.

c) Right to deletion

Pursuant to Art. 17 of the GDPR, you may request us to delete your personal data without delay, provided that there is a reason pursuant to Art. 17 (1) points a-f of the GDPR. However, the right to erasure of your personal data does not exist, in particular, insofar as its processing is necessary for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest or for the assertion, exercise or defence of legal claims Art. 17 (3) of the GDPR.

d) Right to restriction of processing

You may request us to restrict the processing of your personal data pursuant to Art. 18 of the GDPR for as long as we verify the accuracy of your data that you dispute, if you object to the erasure of your data due to unlawful processing and instead request the restriction of the use of your data, if you need your data to assert, exercise or defend legal claims, or if you have objected to the processing as long as it has not yet been determined whether our legitimate grounds prevail.

e) Right to information

Pursuant to Article 19 of the GDPR, we shall inform all recipients to whom your personal data have been disclosed of any rectification or erasure of your personal data or any restriction of their processing pursuant to Articles 16, 17 (1) and 18 of the GDPR, unless this proves impossible or involves a disproportionate effort. Pursuant to Art. 19 p. 2 of the GDPR, you have the right to be informed about these recipients upon request.

f) Right to data portability

Pursuant to Art. 20 of the GDPR, you have the right to receive your personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, common and machine-readable format and to transfer this data to another controller, provided that the further requirements of Art. 20 of the GDPR are met, in particular that this is technically feasible.

g) Right to object

Insofar as we base the processing of your personal data on the legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 (1) subparagraph 1, point f of the GDPR, you may object to the processing pursuant to Art. 21 of the GDPR. This is the case if the processing is not necessary, in particular, for the performance of a contract with you, which is described by us in each case in the above description of the offers. When exercising such an objection, we ask you to explain the reasons why we should not process your personal data as we have done. In the event of your justified objection, we will examine the merits of the case and, in accordance with Art. 21 (1) sentence 2 of the GDPR, either no longer process the personal data or demonstrate to you our compelling legitimate grounds for processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms. Further processing is also reserved if the processing serves the assertion, exercise or defence of legal claims. 

Of course, you can object at any time to the processing of your personal data for the purposes of advertising and profiling, insofar as it is related to direct advertising, in accordance with Art. 21 (2) of the GDPR.

You can inform us or our data protection officer of your objection using the contact details given in # 1.

h) Right to revoke consent

Pursuant to Art. 7 (3) of the GDPR, you have the right to revoke any data protection consent you may have given us at any time with effect for the future. However, this does not affect the lawfulness of the processing which took place on the basis of your consent up to the time of the revocation.

7 Candidate data, applicant portal (consent, storage period and right of revocation)

(1) With express reference to the above data protection regulations, to which we commit ourselves, the following data protection regulations additionally apply to our applicant portal (upload function of application documents both in the context of unsolicited applications and applications for advertised positions) on and via this website:

a) The purpose of the processing of personal data within the scope of our applicant portal is the transmission of application documents (applicant information) for the placement of applicants within the scope of the personnel services offered by us.

b) The legal basis for the processing of personal data carried out by us within the framework of the applicant portal is your consent, which you give us by clicking on the checkbox "I acknowledge the data protection declaration of Gradient IT GmbH and hereby agree to this data protection declaration" in relation to this data protection declaration.

By agreeing to this data protection declaration by clicking on the checkbox "I take note of the data protection declaration of Gradient IT GmbH and hereby agree to this data protection declaration" in the context of transmitting your personal applicant data (applicant information) to us via our website, you consent to us passing on the personal data (applicant information) transmitted by you to (potential) clients / employers to the extent that this is necessary for a possible cooperation and for the provision of our personnel services.

c) We will not disclose all of your applicant information or otherwise introduce you in detail to a potential client/employer without first obtaining separate and specific consent from you in this regard.

d) If and to the extent that you submit applicant information to us via our website, we may contact you using the contact details you have provided in order to clarify any questions that may have arisen or to obtain additional information from you. In addition, we may conduct assessments of your professional profile and/or research information about your personal and professional life that is publicly available through social media services (e.g. Facebook, Google, or XING or similar portals).

e) By agreeing to this data protection declaration by clicking on the checkbox "I acknowledge the data protection declaration of Gradient IT GmbH and hereby agree to this data protection declaration" in the context of the transmission of your personal applicant data (applicant information) to us via our website, you consent to us contacting you via the contact data you have provided in the event of any queries and to us carrying out assessments of your profile and/or researching information on your private and professional life that is publicly viewable via social media services (e.g. Facebook, Google, or XING or similar portals).

f) By agreeing to this data protection declaration by clicking on the checkbox "I acknowledge the data protection declaration of Gradient IT GmbH and hereby agree to this data protection declaration" in the context of the transmission of your personal applicant data (applicant information) to us via our website, you consent, both in the case of an application for an advertised position and in the case of an unsolicited application, that we process and store the applicant information received from you for the aforementioned purposes in our databases for a period of 12 months after the transmission of your applicant information by you.

(2) The provision of your applicant information and the recording of the video for self-presentation is purely voluntary on your part. You can revoke the consent you have given above at any time without formalities by sending an e-mail to the contact details stated in # 1 of this data protection declaration (see also section 6 of this data protection declaration "Your rights"). Upon revocation of your consent to the processing of your personal data, we will delete the applicant information received from you from all databases. In the event of statutory retention obligations, we will restrict processing accordingly until the data to be retained is deleted.

8 Handling of personal data in Functional Assessment and Video Evaluation

8.1 Collection and use

(1) We collect and process data from the categories listed below on behalf of the employer. The categories of data collected about you depend on the type of assessment (functional assessment and/or video evaluation) and the employer's requirements. The data collected about you does not have to be from all of the categories listed below. More information about the scope of the data collected about you can be provided by the employer after the direct request.

Information that you and/or the employer provide to us when you take an assessment, such as:

·          "Candidate Data" including your name and email address;

·          "Assessment Data"

a)    the recorded video interview with your answers to the job-related questions and/or 

b)    your answers to the job-related questions during a video interview with one of our counsellors.

From the candidate data and the assessment data, we generate the "results data", which contains the results of your assessment.

In addition, we collect data provided to us by your prospective employer ("employer-provided data"). This includes the following if provided by the employer:

·          CV information (including details of current and previous employment, education, knowledge and skills, language skills and hobbies),

·          details and requirements of the role for which you are applying.

We use your Candidate Data, Assessment Data, Outcomes Data and Employer Provided Data (if any) on behalf of the employer,

·          to produce, in the case of Outcomes Data, a report which will be forwarded to the Employer's agents ("Assessment Report");

·          to provide you with an Assessment Report as instructed by the Employer;

·          to provide our services to the Employer;

·          to compare your Candidate Data, Assessment Data, Outcomes Data and Employer Provided Data (if any) with anonymised benchmark data to meet the Employer's requirements, in order to provide talent analytics services to the Employer to help them understand how you as an individual compare to the market in the role for which you are applying and

·          to provide and manage our services.

(2) With regard to the retention and processing of your Candidate Data, Assessment Data, Results Data and Employer Provided Data, we will follow the employer's instructions. The reasons why the employer collects your personal data may vary, but generally the requirement to process your personal data is based on one or more of the following legitimate interests of the employer in the context of a general recruitment process:

·          to assess your suitability for the role for which you have applied;

·          to carry out analysis on the characteristic profile required for the role;

·          to assess your development needs

as part of a general recruitment process. The employer may also direct us to process your personal data because it is required as a result of a comprehensible request by a law enforcement or regulatory authority or as part of the defence of legal claims on behalf of the employer.

We retain your personal data on behalf of the employer in accordance with the employer's requirements. The employer's requirements for how long we retain your personal data vary from employer to employer. Your personal data will not be deleted if it is relevant to an investigation or dispute resolution. It will be kept until these cases have been fully resolved.

8.2 Disclosure of data

We will only share your personal data that we process on behalf of the employer with the employer and in accordance with the employer's instructions. The Employer as data controller or Gradient IT as data processor will grant access to your data to the following external companies in the following circumstances:

If the Employer as data controller or Gradient IT as data processor is reorganised or sold, personal data will be transferred to a purchaser who may continue to provide the services to you.

If required by law or regulatory requirements or practices we engage in, or we are required to do so by a public or regulatory authority, such as the police, we will transfer personal data.

If we are defending ourselves against legal claims, your personal data will be transferred as necessary to defend against those claims.

9 Conclusion

If you have any further questions or suggestions on the subject of data protection in connection with our services, please do not hesitate to contact us using the above contact details (see # 1).

12. 07. 2021