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Recruitment Privacy Policy

Effective 2 August 2018

We care about your privacy

We, HMD Global Oy, including our affiliates, (herein after referred to as “HMD”) are committed to respect your privacy and to comply with applicable data protection and privacy laws. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) applies to personal data obtained in the context of a recruitment process within HMD. This Policy explains, inter alia, what kind of personal data we collect about you, how your personal data is processed during the recruitment activities, and what rights you have in relation to such processing of personal data.

This Policy will be supplemented by applicable local mandatory law where necessary. In case mandatory law is in conflict with this Policy, mandatory local law will prevail. We may also provide you with additional information concerning the processing of your personal data in connection with recruitment related systems or services.

“Personal data” refers to any information relating to an identified or identifiable person.

“Processing” refers to any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data.

“Controller” refers to the body which alone or jointly with others determinates the purposes and means of processing of personal data i.e. decides about the processing.

What information do we collect?

We collect personal data primarily directly from you. In addition, when it is necessary for assessing your suitability for the position you are applying for, personal data can be collected from third party sources to the extent permitted by applicable legislation, or based on your consent. When you apply for a position with HMD, we only collect personal data which is relevant for making the recruitment decision. We collect e.g. the following types of personal data in the course of recruitment activities:

  • Basic candidate information such as your name and contact details;
  • Information concerning your competences, skills, experience and education;
  • Information concerning your preferences, such as preferred country of employment and areas of interest;
  • Right to work documentation and other security screening information when needed;

The examples provided are not all-inclusive. We can also collect similar or related information.

Your personal data is received and combined, as applicable, in connection with

  • using LinkedIn recruitment services (if you apply via LinkedIn, we are provided with your LinkedIn profile and/or with your CV, based on what you have chosen)
  • utilizing recruitment agency services (we receive CVs with professional background and salary details of candidates)
  • interviews or other communications with you
  • contacting the references you have provided
  • receiving right to work documentation
  • personality and aptitude assessments
  • background checks (realibility and security screenings)

Why do we process personal data?

Your personal data is processed for assessing your suitability for the role for which you are applying for. We can also assess your suitability for the future roles that may become available. In addition, we process your personal data, inter alia, when communicating with you in relation to our recruitment activities, when managing our recruitment and resourcing activities, for developing our recruitment services and systems, and to comply with legal obligations.

Processing of your personal data is necessary for the preparation and execution of an employment or other contract and for compliance with legal obligations. Please notice that failure to provide necessary personal data may disqualify you from employment or other engagement.

We process personal data based on our legitimate interests where applicable. Our legitimate interests include interest to receive and process applications and corresponding data for our recruitment purposes and lawful activities related to running and developing our business, such as developing our recruitment and resources systems and processes. When our legitimate interest is the basis for the processing, we have conducted a balancing test to ensure that your interests are not interfered more than necessary. You have a right to object to the processing based on our legitimate interest. To request more information about the balancing test, please contact us by using the contact details below.

We collect personal data also based on your consent. For example, we may ask you to provide contact details of your references and your consent for contacting them. When we process your personal data on the basis of your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent any time. You can withdraw your consent by using the contact details below or, in case you have been directly contacted by us, by using the contact details of your recruitment contact. Withdrawal of the consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

Do we share personal data?

Your personal data is processed only by those members of the staff who are assessing your application and other related information for making the recruitment decision or who are performing support functions to recruiting. These include, for instance, recruiters, hiring managers and other interviewers and individuals performing administrative and IT support functions.

We do not transfer or disclose your personal data to other parties unless otherwise stated below.

- Service providers and partners

We obtain assistance or use service providers for conducting our recruitment activities. We utilize LinkedIn recruitment services in our recruitment activities. When a person is hired, we will form a new employee record to our HR system of which service provider is Sage People Limited. When we utilize service providers, they will be required to process personal data only in accordance with our instructions and to maintain appropriate organisational and technical measures to ensure data security of such personal data. In some countries we also use recruitment agencies as realible partners to help us find suitable candidates and job boards to advertise our open positions. You may request more information on the service provides we use and partners that we have by using the contact details below.

- International transfers of personal data

Our recruitment services are provided using resources and servers located in various countries around the world due to the international nature of our business. Primarily your personal data is only processed within the HMD entity which you are applying for, but when it is necessary for making the recruitment decision on the position you are applying for, your personal data can be transferred across international borders within the HMD entities. This can sometimes include countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) that do not have laws providing specific protection for personal data or that have different legal rules on data protection. This may come in question, for example, when the hiring manager of the position is located within HMD entity outside of EEA. In addition, when you are applying via LinkedIn, your personal data can be transferred to United States (U.S.). When personal data is transferred outside of EEA, the processing is organized by the data protection clauses approved by the European Commission or by other valid mechanisms guaranteeing equal level of protection as provided by the EU General Data Protection Regulation. You may request information on the details of transfers to third countries and safeguards by using the contact details below.

- Mandatory disclosures and legal proceedings

In some cases we can be obligated by mandatory law to disclose your personal data to certain authorities or other third parties, for example, to law enforcement agencies. Exceptionally we may also need to disclose and otherwise process your personal data in accordance with applicable law to defend our legitimate interests, for example, in civil or criminal legal proceedings.

- Mergers and acquisitions

If we decide to sell, buy, merge or otherwise reorganise our businesses in certain countries, this can involve us disclosing personal data to prospective or actual purchasers and their advisers, or receiving personal data from sellers and their advisers.

How long is the data retained?

Depending whether you are hired or rejected, the personal data you provided will either be used to create an employee record or it will be deleted.

If we choose to employ you, we retain the necessary personal data for the length of your employment and as required by applicable laws.

If we do not employ you, your personal data will be deleted 24 months after the recruitment process from our records. Background check as well as personality and aptitude assessment results will be deleted immediately after the process.

How do we address data quality?

We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal data we process is accurate and not excessive for the purposes for which it is processed. Please note that you have shared responsibility regarding the accuracy of your personal data. You should only submit information which is complete, accurate and up to date.

What steps are taken to safeguard personal data?

We are committed to ensure that your personal data is secure. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we implement technical, physical and organizational measures to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, accidental loss or alteration, and unauthorized disclosure or access.

We have assigned specific responsibilities to address privacy and security related matters. We enforce our internal policies and guidelines through an appropriate selection of activities, including proactive and reactive risk management, security and privacy engineering, training and assessments. We take appropriate steps to address online security, physical security, risk of data loss and other such risks taking into consideration the risk represented by the processing and the nature of the data being protected. Also, we limit access to our data bases containing personal data to authorised persons having a justified need to access such information.

What are your rights?

  • Right of access. You have a right to know what personal data we hold about you or to receive a confirmation that we do not process data concerning you.
  • Right to rectification. You have right to have incomplete or incorrect personal data rectified or completed.
  • Right to be forgotten. You have the right to have your personal data erased in certain situations, for instance, when the processing of your personal data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or if the processing is based on your consent and you want to withdraw your consent and there are no other bases for processing. Please notice that sometimes we may have a legal obligation or other basis to retain your personal data and, thus, it cannot be erased.
  • Right to object. When the processing of your personal data is based on legitimate interest, you have the right to object to such processing on grounds relating to your particular situation.
  • Right to restriction of processing. In specific situations you might have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data. When the processing has been restricted, your personal data will only be retained and not processed further. For example, if you contest the accuracy of your personal data, you have the right to have the data in question under a restriction of processing during the time when it is assured that it is accurate.
  • Right to data portability. When processing of your personal data is based on a contract or your consent and carried out by automated means, you have the right to obtain the data you have provided to us in a machine readable format so that you can transfer it to another controller.

You can exercise your rights by making a request by using the contact details below. Please notice that we need to be able to verify your identify in order to be able to carry out your request.

If you believe that HMD, regardless of the principles set out in the Privacy Policy, infringed upon your rights according to applicable data protection law, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the data protection authority.

Who is the controller of your personal data?

The controller of your personal data during the recruitment phase is the entity you are applying to have a role in, jointly with HMD Global Oy where applicable. The affiliate and HMD Global Oy are jointly responsible for providing you adequate information about the processing of your personal data. HMD Global Oy will carry on your data protection related rights with the assistance of its affiliates. Data Protection Officer of HMD is Jari Koljonen.

In case you want to use your data protection rights or you have any questions concerning the processing of your personal data, please contact:

[email protected] or

HMD Global Oy, c/o Privacy, Bertel Jungin aukio 9, 02600 Espoo, Finland

In case you have been directly contacted by us, you can also use the contact details of your recruitment contact.

Changes to this Policy

We may need to update and modify this Policy from time to time in case it becomes necessary to do so. Changes to this document can be seen behind the link in the heading: “Look what has been changed”. Where necessary, we will contact you for informing about the changes to this Policy. For data processing that is specific to a products or services of HMD and is not connected to the recruitment activities, see HMD Global Privacy Policy.

You can find previous versions of this document here: