Privacy notice regarding the protection of personal data of job applicants


BDO understands the importance of the protection of personal data. The present privacy notice (hereinafter the "Notice") contains important information about the processing of your personal data by BDO (hereinafter "BDO") when you apply for a job (in the broadest sense) with us.

Definitions in this Notice:

  • "BDO": BDO BV/SRL, the company that is part of the consortium BDO Belgium, located at Da Vincilaan 9, Box E.6, 1930 Zaventem.
  • "Personal Data" (hereinafter "Personal Data" or "Data"): any information relating to a natural person who can be identified or who is identifiable directly or indirectly (hereinafter 'data subject'); an 'identifiable natural person' is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier, such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to his or her physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity.
  • "Data Controller": means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.
  • "Processing of personal data" (hereinafter the "Processing"): means any operation or set of operations which is performed upon Personal Data or sets of data, whether or not by automatic means, such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.


Scope

Purpose

BDO may process the Personal Data of candidates who apply for a job with us.

In application of the applicable data protection laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 ("GDPR") and national data protection laws, BDO wishes to specify which types of Personal Data are gathered, and how your Personal Data will be used and with whom the Personal Data are shared. This Notice also sets out the rights of applicants in relation to these Personal Data.


Addressee of this Notice

This Notice applies to:

  • Job applicants applying on the careers section of the website https://www.bdo.be/en-gb/careers;
  • All other job applicants who contact BDO regarding a job application (e.g. spontaneous applications, applications for internships and other).

Insofar as we are likely to collect and process Personal Data from third parties communicated to us by you, we kindly ask you to inform the said third parties of the existence of this Notice so that they may be aware of the Processing we carry out on their Personal Data and of their rights.


Data controller

Data controller

In the context of its activities, BDO is required to process your Personal Data in its capacity as Data Controller insofar as it determines the means and purposes of the Processing(s).

Contact details of the Data Controller:

  • Name: BDO
  • E-mail : dpo.intern@bdo.be
  • Website : www.bdo.be
  • Postal address:
      BDO Belgium
      The Corporate Village – Elsinore Building
      Da Vincilaan 9 / E.6
      1930 Zaventem
      Belgium

Data Protection Officer (DPO)

We have also appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) within BDO.

The DPO's mission is to inform all data subjects about the Personal Data that is processed about them. The DPO provides advice and ensures compliance with current regulations, in particular the GDPR.

You may contact the DPO for any question relating to the Processing of your Personal Data and the exercise your rights.

Contact details of the DPO:

  • E-mail: dpo.intern@bdo.be
  • Telephone: +32 2 778 01 00
  • Postal address:
      BDO Belgium
      The Corporate Village – Elsinor Building
      Da Vincilaan 9 / E.6
      1930 Zaventem
      Belgium

Processing of Personal Data - Data collected and purposes

BDO processes the following Personal Data of candidates for the purposes described below. The whole of these data are processed in compliance with the principles relating to the processing of Personal Data prescribed by the GDPR.

Generally speaking, the Personal Data we process will be directly communicated by you, through your CV, covering letter or during interviews or other forms of assessment.

BDO also collects Personal Data form third parties such as recruiting agencies. If permitted by law or regulation, we may also receive information on you from previous employers or referees if you provide your consent, or from publicly accessible sources, such as LinkedIn.


Selection and recruitment procedure

BDO collects the Personal Data to assess, examine and process the applications for job vacancies, contact the candidate, and eventually enter into a possible contract.

As such, we collect and process the following categories of data.

The list of specific Data is provided by way of example:

Personal identification data

  • Name and first name;
  • Copy of identity card, copy of passport;
  • National register number.

Contact details

  • Address;
  • Telephone number (landline and mobile);
  • E-mail address;
  • Vehicle license plate;
  • Etc.

Career data / education and training related data

  • Academic CV;
  • Professional training and skills, certificates;
  • Professional experience and previous positions;
  • Any references from previous employment or test reports;
  • Details of the job interview and comments, opinions, information provided in e-mails and letters, phone calls and conversations related to the job interview;
  • Etc.

Data relating to personal characteristics

  • Information on the right to work in Belgium.

Data on current profession

  • Position (title, level, etc.);
  • Job description;
  • Professional e-mail address;
  • Place(s) of work;
  • Working hours;
  • Salary and salary components;
  • Career development (positions held);
  • Disciplinary measures;
  • Etc.

Data relating to criminal convictions

  • Extract from the criminal record.

Images

  • Photograph(s).

Other data

  • As well as any other additional/optional information you give us when we have contact with you (by telephone, by e-mail or during events).


Recording your Personal Data in a recruitment reserve

BDO retains the data of non-selected candidates in a recruitment reserve, which is to be able to contact non-selected candidates in order to offer them new job offers as soon as vacancies become available within BDO.

To this end, we collect and process the following categories of Data:

  • Personal identification data: See section 3.1
  • Contact details: See section 3.1
  • Career data / education and training related data: See section 3.1.


On what legal basis do we process your Personal Data

The Personal Data mentioned above are processed and collected only insofar as they are necessary to achieve the purposes described in point 3.

We are only authorised to use and process your Personal Data if one of the following conditions is met :

  • The use of your Personal Data during the recruitment process is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and in accordance with your interests and rights. When we process your Personal Data to meet our legitimate interests, we ensure that a fair balance is struck between your fundamental rights and freedoms, including your privacy, and our legitimate interest(s).
  • We may be legally required to process and communicate certain Personal Data under certain legal obligations, and in some cases to disclose them to the competent authorities and organisations. For example, we are required to check a successful applicant's eligibility work in Belgium before employment starts.
  • We have obtained your explicit and voluntary consent to use your Personal Data for a specific purpose. To the extent that we are processing your Personal Data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting us (see infra).

BDO is obliged to duly respect reporting obligations to the authorities; similarly, we must be able to react appropriately if you exercise your rights in terms of the privacy legislation, and we are also obliged to respond to queries from the Data Protection Authority, for example in the event of complaints.


How will your Personal Data be used and shared ?

Your Personal Data will only be transferred to the relevant workers within BDO, on a need-to-know basis, which means the recipients who have to carry out the various processing activities with regard to the above-mentioned purposes. These persons act under the supervision and responsibility of the Data Controller.

BDO may share your Personal Data with linked companies within the group and/or affiliates.

We may also share your Personal Data with third parties who perform functions on our behalf and provide services to us such as our recruitment software provider, professional advisors or IT consultants carrying out testing and development work on our business technology systems. Given that these third parties have access to Personal Data in order to carry out the services requested, we have taken technical, organisational and contractual measures to ensure that your Personal Data is only processed and used for the purposes mentioned in point 3 of this Declaration.

We can disclose your Personal Data to comply with our legal obligations or in the interests of security, public interest or law enforcement. We can also disclose Personal Data in connection with actual or proposed litigation or to protect our property, security, our workers and other rights or interests.

Your Personal Data will not be sold or rented to third parties.


Personal Data transfer outside the EU/EEA

In principle, BDO does not transfer your Personal Data outside the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA). If this is the case, you will be informed accordingly.

It is nevertheless possible that Personal Data may also be accessed or transferred to our partners or service providers in countries outside the EU or EEA. If such a transfer takes place, BDO will ensure that a level of protection similar to that in force in accordance with the GDPR is guaranteed.

If your Personal Data is transferred to a third party in a country that is not deemed to provide a similar level of protection for individuals' rights in relation to their Personal Data as in the European Economic Area (EEA) or European Union (EU), the transfer of your Personal Data will be framed by one of the mechanisms provided for in Chapter V of the GDPR.


How long do we keep Personal Data?

Your Personal Data will be retained for as long as is necessary to achieve the purposes mentioned in point 3 of this Notice, or as long as you do not withdraw your previously given consent.

If your application is successful, Personal Data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your personnel file and retained for the duration of your employment. The period for which your Personal Data will be held will be communicated to you in a separate notice for collaborators, which then becomes applicable.

As soon as we no longer need your Personal Data and are no longer legally obliged to retain them, we will permanently delete them or, if this is not possible, anonymise them in our systems.

However, your Personal Data will be retained and used for the period necessary to fulfil our legal obligations, settle disputes or conclude contracts.


Rights of persons concerned

Rights

You have certain rights in relation to Personal Data we hold about you:

  • Right to be informed: You have the right to be informed, at the latest at the time of collection of your Personal Data, about the processing we carry out, your rights relating thereto and the exercise of these rights. To this end, we have drawn up this Notice.
  • Right of access: You have the right to request access to your Personal Data we process and you also have the right to consult them. At your request, we must provide you with a copy of your Personal Data. You may also obtain an answer to any questions you may have concerning the Processing of your Personal Data (purposes for processing, data recipients, retention period, etc.).
  • Right to rectification or completion: If your Personal Data have changed or are incorrect, you are entitled to ask us to rectify, complete or erase the outdated, incorrect or incomplete Personal Data we hold about you.
  • Right to restrict Processing: You have the right to obtain the restriction of the Processing of your Personal Data. BDO may thus temporarily and/or partially stop the Processing being carried out. You may permanently stop a specific processing operation or all processing operations carried out by BDO on your Personal Data by exercising your right to object.
  • Right of erasure / right to be forgotten: In certain circumstances, you have the right to request that your Personal Data is erased e.g. if the Personal Data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was processed or when you have withdrawn your consent and there is no other legal basis for the Processing.
  • Right to Data portability: At the request of a job applicant and provided that this is technically feasible, BDO must provide candidates with a copy of their processed Personal Data, in a digital, readable, and structured format. This way, candidates can save them for personal (re)use or ask the Data Controller to transfer them to another Data Controller. Data protection legislation limits this right to the Personal Data that was initially provided to BDO by the candidate themselves.
  • Right to object to certain types of processing: In addition, and in certain circumstances, you have the right to object to the Processing of your Personal Data. This right cannot be exercised where processing is necessary for the performance of legal obligations.

Exercise the rights of data subjects with regards to their Personal Data

If you wish to obtain more information regarding the Processing of your Personal Data or if you wish to exercise your rights, please contact us via one of the following channels:

  • By e-mail: dpo.intern@bdo.be
  • By post:
      BDO Belgium
      The Corporate Village – Elsinore Building
      Da Vincilaan 9 - Box E.6
      1930 Zaventem
      Belgium

We ask you to clearly indicate which right you wish to invoke and to which data processing you wish to oppose or limit or which consent you wish to withdraw.

In the event of reasonable doubt as to the identity of the person making the request, BDO may request additional information necessary to confirm the identity of the person concerned.

When you exercise your rights, no fee will be charged unless we consider the request to be manifestly unfounded or excessive (this will be the case, for example, when it is a repeated request).

However, we may charge you a reasonable sum not exceeding our reproduction costs for any additional copies requested.

For any request relating to your rights, we will respond to your request within one month. However, this period may be extended to two months if the request proves to be complex and/or because of the number of requests we have to deal with. In the event of an extension of this period, we will inform you of this by giving you the reason for this decision.

BDO will notify third parties to whom the Personal Data has been communicated of any rectification, erasure or restriction carried out, unless this proves impossible and/or involves a disproportionate effort.

Please note that in certain circumstances provided for by law, we may refuse access to your information or not accept your request where we are authorized to do so by applicable data protection legislation.

If you do not agree with the way we process your Personal Data or the way we have handled your request to exercise your rights as a data subject, you have the right to file a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA):

Rue de la Presse 35

B-1000 Brussels

T : +32 (0)2 274 48 00

Email : contact@apd-gba.be

W : www.autoriteprotectiondonnees.be


Modification of the present Notice

We reserve the right to modify or supplement this Notice if necessary.

In the event of significant changes, the date of modification will be updated and a copy of the new Notice will be posted on our Website.

We encourage you to review this Notice periodically to be aware of how we treat and protect your data.

Last updated: November 2025