1. Who we are
Essential Placements is a trading name of Essential Payments Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 16730700), registered office 128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX ("we", "us", "our"). We are the data controller for the personal data you give us through the Essential Placements Student Portal (portal.essential-placements.com) and our website (essential-placements.com).
Contact us about privacy at info@essential-placements.com.
2. What we collect
- Account details: name, email address, password (stored securely by our authentication provider, never visible to us), or your Google account name and email if you use "Continue with Google".
- Personal details: phone number, date of birth, city and postcode.
- Education details: university, course, degree type, year of study, expected graduation year, predicted or achieved grade, and A-level or equivalent summary.
- Placement preferences: sectors, start date, preferred locations, whether you are open to unpaid placements, and whether you have the right to work in the UK.
- Your CV and profile content: your uploaded CV, LinkedIn URL, your answer to "Why do you want a placement?", and any placement goals you enter.
- Application information: your application status and notes we add while supporting you.
- Technical data: log and security information such as IP address, browser type and sign-in times.
We do not ask for special category data (such as health, ethnicity or religion). Please do not include it in your CV or profile.
3. How we use your data and our lawful bases
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Creating and running your account | Contract |
| Matching you with suitable placements and recommending opportunities | Contract |
| Sharing your profile and CV with a prospective placement provider you are being put forward to | Consent (we will check with you first) |
| Generating your personalised AI preparation plan when you request one | Contract |
| Sending service emails (verification, password reset, application updates) | Contract |
| Sending news and opportunities by email | Consent (you can opt out at any time) |
| Keeping the portal secure, preventing misuse, and improving our service | Legitimate interests |
| Meeting legal, tax and accounting obligations | Legal obligation |
4. Who we share it with
We never sell your data. We share it only with:
- Placement providers and employers, when you agree to be put forward for a role.
- Our service providers, who process data on our instructions: website and database hosting (Lovable and Supabase), Google (only if you choose Google sign-in), email delivery providers, the AI service that generates preparation plans, and PayPal (if you buy coaching; PayPal handles your payment details and we never see your card details).
- Authorities, where the law requires it.
5. International transfers
Some of our service providers may process data outside the UK. Where they do, we rely on UK adequacy regulations or the International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum to keep your data protected to UK standards.
6. How long we keep it
We keep your account and profile while your account is active. If you have not used your account for 24 months, we will delete or anonymise it. When you ask us to delete your account, we delete your profile and CV within 30 days, except for any records we must keep by law.
7. Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- access your data
- correct it
- delete it
- restrict or object to how we use it
- receive it in a portable format
- withdraw consent at any time
You can update most details yourself in your dashboard. For anything else, email info@essential-placements.com and we will respond within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113). Please contact us first so we can try to help.
8. Security
Your data is stored with access controls so that only you and authorised Essential Placements staff can see your profile. CVs are kept in private storage. No system is completely secure, so please use a strong, unique password.
9. Cookies
The portal uses only essential cookies and local storage needed to keep you signed in and the site working. We do not use advertising cookies on the portal.
10. Age
The portal is for people aged 18 and over.
11. Changes
We may update this policy. We will show the new date at the top and, for significant changes, tell you by email.