Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

Depending on how you use The Lab, we may collect the following information:

Candidates

• Full name
• Email address
• Profile information
• CVs and portfolios
• Skills and creative disciplines
• Education and work experience (where provided)
• Job applications
• Messages sent through the platform

Employers

• Company name
• Business email address
• Company profile information
• Billing information
• Subscription details

Technical Information

• IP address
• Browser and device information
• Cookies and usage data
• Website analytics

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information to:

• Create and manage your account.
• Provide recruitment services through The Lab.
• Match candidates with relevant opportunities.
• Process employer subscriptions.
• Improve platform performance and user experience.
• Maintain platform security.
• Respond to enquiries and provide customer support.
• Send important service updates.

Where you have given your consent, we may also send marketing communications. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Performance of a contract.
• Legitimate interests, including platform security, fraud prevention and service improvements.
• Compliance with legal obligations.
• Consent, where required.

Talent Discovery

Talent Discovery is an optional feature.

• Candidates choose whether their profile is visible to verified employers searching for creative talent.
• You can enable or disable Talent Discovery at any time through your account settings.
• Only verified employers can view discoverable candidate profiles, and candidate information must only be used for legitimate recruitment purposes.

Lab Brief Submissions

Lab Briefs are optional creative tasks that candidates may complete to demonstrate their skills to employers.

• Lab Brief submissions are not publicly visible. Only authenticated employers with relevant subscription access can view completed submissions.
• Candidates must confirm ownership of their submitted work before it is shared with employers.
• By submitting a Lab Brief, candidates confirm that the work is their own and agree to follow our Community Guidelines.
• Candidates can delete their Lab Brief submissions at any time through their account.
• Employers may view Lab Brief submissions as part of candidate evaluation but must not share, reproduce or distribute submitted work without the candidate's consent.

Talent Shortlist

Talent Shortlist is an annual employer feature that allows employers to save, organise and revisit promising candidates.

• Employers can create shortlist groups, add private notes and organise candidates by role or vacancy.
• Shortlist notes are private to the employer account and are not visible to candidates or other employers.
• Shortlist data is retained while the employer's subscription is active and for a limited period after expiry to allow re-subscription continuity.

Employer Referrals

Employers and candidates may refer other companies to The Lab.

• Referral information, including referred company name and contact email, is used to send an invitation and track referral status.
• Referral data is visible to the referring user and to The Lab admin team.
• Referred companies receive an invitation email explaining The Lab. They can choose whether to register.
• Referral rewards are applied at The Lab's discretion and may change over time. Referral credit is only applied when a referred company becomes a paying employer.
• Candidates who refer employers do not receive preferential treatment in Talent Discovery or hiring decisions.

Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal data.

We may share your information with:

• Verified employers during the recruitment process.
• Trusted service providers that help us operate the platform, such as hosting, analytics and payment providers.
• Regulatory authorities where required by law.

All third-party providers process personal data under appropriate security and data protection agreements.

Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data.
• Correct inaccurate information.
• Request deletion of your personal data.
• Restrict or object to certain processing.
• Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.
• Request a copy of your personal data.

You can also permanently delete your account at any time through your account settings.

Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to provide our services and meet our legal obligations.

For more information, please see our Data Retention Policy.

When an account is deleted, personal data will be securely removed in accordance with our retention policy.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we process your personal data, please contact:

Email: help@thelabcreativeagency.co.uk