Our confidentiality policy

At Synergie ( “us”, “our”, “we”) we protect the personal information and respect the privacy of our employees, candidates, providers, and clients in every area of our business activities. 

The goal of this policy is to help you understand our practices regarding the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of personal information. Even though no practices are completely foolproof, Synergie International implements appropriate and necessary measures to protect the personal information that we collect, and we make sure that this information remains confidential and protected when providing our services to our clients. 

Personal information is collected, used and disclosed by Synergie in compliance with this confidentiality policy.  Our policy is also designed to comply with the requirements of Canadian privacy protection laws, including the Quebec Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector. 

Type of collected personal information

As a job seeker using the services of Synergie International we ask you to provide some information to offer you the best service possible. In addition to your contact information, language preference, date of birth (the date of birth is only used for conducting background checks if it is required for the position), resume and a description of the type of employment you are looking for, your file may have the following information: 

·         Our interview notes

·         Information obtained through reference and background checks

·         Education records

·         Reference letters

·         Skill testing results

·         Information required for payroll services, this includes banking details, tax deductions and vacation pay. The social insurance number is not requested at the application stage but only once the candidate has received a job offer. The SIN is used for tax purposes. 

What is the personal information used for?

Synergie uses your personal information to:

·         Understand your qualifications, needs and preferences;

·         Find the best employment opportunities that match you background, preferences and needs;

·         Provide information on our candidates to our clients when requested.

·         Offer you relevant training or career transition services;

·         Assess and develop our activities and operations to further improve the service we provide to our job seekers and clients;

·         Manage payroll;

·         Contact you about your file when necessary;

·         Do a background screening when necessary and legally permitted;

·         Ensure compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements;

·         Any other purposes for which we obtain your consent.

Synergie never collects more information than is necessary to achieve its goals.

Disclosing personal information

Your personal information will be shared for legitimate business purposes only (which are listed above) or to meet legal and regulatory requirements, for example to comply with a court order. 

During the company’s day to day activities, Synergie will disclose your personal information to its clients only if they believe that you are a potential fit for a position. As a job seeker you rely on us to share this information. Synergie will share your information with employers only if there is an employment opportunity that suits you, and we will only provide the required and requested information to make an informed decision about a candidate.  

We may share personal information with our affiliates, partners, contractors, or other companies (collectively called “representatives”) who we provide comprehensive staffing services to. However, we only disclose information that is strictly necessary for the function that will be carried out by the representative on our behalf.

·         The types of third parties Synergie shares your limited information with are:

• Companies that perform background checks, including criminal, educational and credit, when requested by a client. 

• Employee testing centres.

• Technical service providers such as cloud service providers.

• Our professional consultants and advisors (accountants, legal counsel, etc.).

We may also disclose your personal information in the context of a merger, acquisition, debt financing, sale of assets or any similar transaction, as well as in the event of insolvency, bankruptcy or receivership which leads to the transfer of personal information as a business asset to one or several third parties.

As a result of the practices described above, it is possible that your personal information may be transferred outside of Quebec to other countries such as the United States, where less protective laws and regulations regarding personal information may apply.

Consent

By reviewing this policy, using our services, and providing your personal information for the services we offer, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as specified in this policy. For example, if you indicate the names and phone numbers of your previous employers on your resume for reference checking purposes, you give us your consent to verify these references. 

When required under applicable law, if we wish to use your personal information for a purpose that was not previously disclosed or was not specified in this policy, we will ask for your consent before using and/or sharing this information.  

Personal information retention

We retain your information for as long as you use our placement services, this includes if you choose to be contacted when we find other career opportunities that may be of interest to you, or longer if required by law.

Security

We have implemented policies and procedures for our personnel to ensure that your personal information is protected, both in paper and electronic form. Synergie protects the personal information you provide using different safety measures and practices. For example, we have implemented the following security measures: 

·         Access to electronic and paper files is limited to employees/representatives of Synergie and is based on their need to access the information which depends on their position in the company; 

·         Password selection criteria and their expiration make unauthorized access more difficult; 

·         Staff training on the importance of protecting personal information and information security is done on a regular basis; 

·         Filing cabinets remain locked at all times. 

However, we cannot guarantee foolproof security when using Information Technologies such as the Internet. On our website you can ask questions about our services and provide information about yourself, you can even send an email that includes your resume. If you provide your personal information by unencrypted email, you should be aware that there are risks of mail interception fraud over which we have no control. 

Accessing and changing your personal information

Synergie uses information that you provide, as well as information received from third parties, such as third parties providing references, educational institutions or third parties performing background checks. 

You may at any moment make a written request to access your personal information and we will provide all the information in our possession to the extent provided by applicable privacy laws. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for the transcription, reproduction, or transmission of this information. 

Synergie’s goal is to keep accurate records of your personal information, but this cannot be accomplished without your help. In order to have up to date information, we ask you to promptly notify us of any changes to your personal information so that we can make the necessary changes when it is required. 

To notify us of any changes to your personal information or to request access to that information please contact us using the contact information provided in the “contact us” section below. 

Contact us for any requests, questions or concerns

If you wish to make a request to access and/or change information, if you have questions regarding this policy or if you believe Synergie is failing to comply with it, please contact Cora Bucci, Privacy Officer, cbucci@synergie.ca

Confidentiality policy changes

We may change this policy periodically. We therefore encourage you to review this policy each time you visit our website to be up to date on how we handle personal information.

This policy was last updated: September 2024