Privacy Policy

Last updated: 13 September 2026

1. Who we are

Homeless Hostel Jobs ("HHJ", "we", "us") is a UK job board dedicated to roles in the homelessness, supported housing and social care sector. The website at homelesshosteljobs.co.uk is operated by HHS Group (the "data controller"). If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your personal data, contact us at marlon@homelesshostelstaff.co.uk.

This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who we share it with and the rights you have under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Who this policy applies to

• Job seekers – people who browse jobs, create an account or professional profile, set up job alerts or apply for a role through the site.
• Employers – people who register on behalf of an organisation to post jobs, purchase packages or review applications and profiles.
• Visitors – anyone who uses the website without creating an account.

3. Personal data we collect

Job seekers

• Account details: name, email address, password (stored encrypted), and if you sign in with Google, Apple, Microsoft or LinkedIn, the identifier, name, email address and profile photo those services share with us.
• Profile and application details: phone number, postal address, current job title, headline, summary, skills, work history, education, LinkedIn URL, CV and any cover letter you upload.
• Eligibility answers that employers in this sector are required to ask: whether you have a UK driving licence and vehicle, whether you hold a Standard or Enhanced DBS check, whether you have the right to work in the UK, and any documents you choose to upload as evidence. Information about criminal record checks is treated as sensitive and is handled as described in section 5.
• Preferences: saved jobs, job alert criteria, email preferences and availability for work.
• Application activity: which jobs you have applied for, when, and the status of each application.

Employers

• Contact name, work email, phone number, job title, organisation name, website, logo and description.
• Job postings you create and applications you receive.
• Billing details for packages you purchase. Card payments are processed by our payment provider and we do not store full card numbers.

All visitors

• Technical data such as IP address, browser type, device, pages visited, referring site and approximate location, collected through server logs and cookies (see section 10).
• Anything you send us through the contact form or by email.

4. How we use your data and our lawful basis

Purpose	Lawful basis
Creating and managing your account, profile or employer listing	Performance of a contract (our Terms of Service)
Sending your application, CV and answers to the employer whose job you applied for	Performance of a contract; your explicit action in applying
Making your professional profile searchable by employers (only if you set your profile to visible)	Consent, which you can withdraw at any time in your account settings
Sending job alert emails you have subscribed to	Consent
Sending service emails such as application confirmations, password resets and account notices	Performance of a contract; legitimate interests
Processing employer payments and issuing invoices	Performance of a contract; legal obligation
Improving the website, understanding how it is used and keeping it secure	Legitimate interests
Responding to enquiries and complaints	Legitimate interests
Complying with legal obligations, including responding to lawful requests from authorities	Legal obligation

We do not use your personal data for automated decision-making that has a legal or similarly significant effect on you.

5. Sensitive information (DBS and right to work)

Roles in supported housing and social care usually require a DBS check and proof of the right to work in the UK. We ask you to self-declare your DBS status and right-to-work status so employers can shortlist appropriately. Information about criminal record checks is "criminal offence data" under UK GDPR. We only collect it with your explicit consent when you complete a profile or application, we only share it with the employer(s) you apply to or make your profile visible to, and we do not carry out checks ourselves. You can remove these answers from your profile at any time.

6. Who we share your data with

• Employers: when you apply for a job, your application, CV, answers and contact details are sent to that employer. Employers become independent controllers of that data and will handle it under their own privacy policies. If you make your profile visible, employers with database access can view it.
• Service providers who process data on our behalf under contract: cloud hosting (Laravel Cloud), transactional email delivery, payment processing (Stripe), and analytics.
• Sign-in providers: if you choose to sign in with Google, Apple, Microsoft or LinkedIn, those providers receive confirmation that you are signing in to our site.
• Search engines: public job listings (not personal data) are made available to Google for Jobs and other search engines.
• Authorities and advisers where required by law or to protect our rights.

We do not sell your personal data.

7. International transfers

Our servers are located in the UK/EU. Some of our service providers (for example email delivery, sign-in providers and payment processing) may process data in the United States or other countries. Where this happens we rely on the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or an adequacy decision, so that your data is protected to UK standards.

8. How long we keep your data

• Job seeker accounts and profiles: for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account we remove your profile, CV and documents within 30 days. Profiles that have been inactive for a prolonged period may be deleted after we have emailed you a warning.
• Applications: kept in your account and the employer's account for 12 months after the application date, then anonymised.
• Job alerts: until you unsubscribe using the link in any alert email.
• Employer accounts and billing records: for the life of the account, and financial records for 6 years as required by UK tax law.
• Server logs and analytics: up to 12 months.

9. Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you;
• have inaccurate data corrected;
• have your data erased ("right to be forgotten");
• restrict or object to our processing, including objecting to processing based on legitimate interests;
• receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format;
• withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing (this does not affect processing carried out before you withdrew it).

Most of these can be done directly from your account settings, including downloading your data and deleting your account. Otherwise, email marlon@homelesshostelstaff.co.uk and we will respond within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

10. Cookies

We use strictly necessary cookies to keep you signed in and to protect forms against misuse, and, with your consent, analytics cookies to understand how the site is used. Details of each cookie and how to manage them are in our Cookie Policy.

11. Security

All traffic to the site is encrypted with HTTPS. Passwords are stored using one-way hashing. Access to personal data is restricted to staff who need it, and our hosting provider maintains physical and network security controls. No system is completely secure, so please use a strong, unique password and tell us immediately if you believe your account has been compromised.

12. Children

The site is intended for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18; if you believe we have, please contact us and we will delete it.

13. Third-party websites

Some job listings link to employers' own websites or application systems. Those sites have their own privacy policies and we are not responsible for how they handle your data.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed, and we will notify registered users by email of any significant changes.

15. Contact

HHS Group, trading as Homeless Hostel Jobs
Email: marlon@homelesshostelstaff.co.uk
Website: homelesshosteljobs.co.uk