VAT Data Privacy Declaration

The VAT Group welcomes you to our website and is pleased about your interest in our company.

To us, the protection of your personal data and privacy are very important. Therefore, the declaration is to inform you how we handle your personal data.

VAT Data Privacy Declaration (Job Prospects and Candidates)

VAT Vakuumventile AG having its registered office at Seelistrasse 1, 9469 Haag, Switzerland (“VAT”) is responsible for the processing of your personal information as it decides why and how it is processed, thereby acting as the “Data Controller”. It may exercise this responsibility alone or jointly with other companies in the VAT group, acting as “co-controller(s)”. In this Data Privacy Declaration (“DPD”), “we” or “us” refers to VAT Vakuumventile AG and its group companies.

For the purpose of the scope of this DPD, job prospects or candidates mean individuals who apply to an open position with us, or who are contacted for or express interest in employment with us, or who attend a recruitment event or undergo an interview or assessment with us. This includes prospective employees, interns and contractors (will be further referred in this DPD as “you” or “user”).

We invite you to carefully read this DPD, which sets out in which context we are processing information that relates directly or indirectly to you as an individual (“personal information”) and explains your rights with respect to the processing of your personal information. "Personal Information" means all details and information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

We consider privacy as a very important matter. We are committed to ensuring that any personal information we receive is processed and protected in accordance with applicable data protection laws and VAT policies and standards.

The purpose of this DPD is to clarify the way we are processing personal information. In this context, we are committed to keeping you fully informed about our activities involving the processing of your personal information pertaining to talent management, scouting, assessment and acquisition activities and application, in general, for positions with us.

1. Personal Information we collect about you
When you apply for a job at VAT, we will ask you to provide with personal information about yourself so we can evaluate your application. If this information is not provided, our ability to consider you as a candidate may be limited. You may also provide us with your personal information that we have not specifically requested (for example, your CV may contain information about your hobbies and social preferences). All information is provided on a voluntarily basis and you determine the extent of information that you provide to VAT.

1.1 Personal Information.
The kind of personal information we collect about you may include:

Name, identity and contact details – such as your name, address, email address, telephone, nationality, country of residence, civil, marital status, language, date of birth, immigration status and other contact information
For some countries, VAT may ask for information such as race, ethnicity or gender for monitoring equal opportunity however, such information will not be considered in the hiring or selection process.
Employment details - such as details of your employment background, including position, work experience, employment references, salary and other past benefits and compensation requests where required (to the extent legally permitted)
Background information – such as your educational background including degrees, certificates, transcripts, credit history and/or criminal background screenings (where relevant to your application and permitted under applicable law/industrial practices), pre-employment medical test (if required by applicable laws/industrial practices for the job-fit assessment)
Financial Information - such as salary, tax information, benefits, expenses, company allowances, stock and equity grants
COVID-19 data- subject to applicable laws for workplace health and safety purpose, candidate will be notified if the proof of vaccination is required.
IT Information – such as certain technical information from you about your visit to our website using “cookies” and other similar technologies which collected the electronic identification details such as username, password, picture, login and activity logs etc. For more information please refer to VAT’s online privacy statement on our website
Any other information in your application that you choose to share with us - such as personal preferences, hobbies, social preferences if connected to the social media accounts.

1.2 Children’s Information
If you are under age of 16 years, do not supply any personal data to VAT. VAT does not collect, maintain or use personal information from children and no part of the sites is directed to them without the parents or guardian consent. If you learn that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, you have the right to delete or terminate the child’s account, if any. If VAT become aware that someone under the age mentioned above has registered, we will expunge any related personal data from our records.

2. Information from other third parties
From time to time, we may obtain information about you from public sources, affiliated companies or third parties. For example, we may conduct background screenings through a third-party service provider and verify information that you have in your application that relates to your past education, employment, credit and/or criminal history, as allowed by applicable law/industrial practices. You may also choose to provide us with access to certain personal information stored by third parties such as job-related social media sites (for example, LinkedIn etc.). By authorizing VAT to have access to this information, you agree that VAT may collect, store and use this information in accordance with this DPD.

3. Cookies
The Platform uses so-called cookies and beacons. Cookies are text files that are stored in or by the internet browser on the computer system or a mobile device of the User. The cookie contains a characteristic string that allows the browser or mobile device to be identified unambiguously when the Portal is accessed again.
The purpose of cookies is, on the one hand, to enable and simplify the use of the Portal for Users. Some functions of the Portal cannot be offered without the use of cookies (so-called technically necessary cookies). On the other hand, we also use cookies to analyse User behaviour on the Portal, namely for range measurement and marketing purposes.

3.1 Technically necessary cookies
Technically necessary cookies are required for the Portal to function. Therefore, these cookies cannot be deactivated. They usually record important actions, such as the number of requests made, the editing of your privacy settings or when you fill out forms. Although you can block these cookies in your browser, some parts of the Portal may no longer function then.

The legal basis for the data processing when using technically necessary cookies is our legitimate interest, which lies primarily in ensuring the functionality and improvement of the Portal.

3.2 Analytical and marketing cookies
Analytical cookies allow us to analyse visitor behaviour and traffic sources to measure the performance of the Portal and improve the user experience. They help us identify how popular which pages are and indicate how visitors move around the Portal. The information collected is aggregated and anonymous.

Marketing cookies allow us to deliver advertising that is relevant to you. These cookies may remember that you have visited the Portal and may share this information with other companies, including other advertisers.

If we use cookies for analysis and marketing purposes, we obtain your consent to do so. Therefore, the processing of data for analysis and marketing purposes is based on your consent. If you give us your consent, you may withdraw it at any time with effect for the future. However, this does not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out on the basis of your consent before your withdrawal of consent.

You can express your withdrawal at any time by adjusting the cookie settings. You can also object to the use of cookies, for example,

by selecting the appropriate settings or deleting cookies in your browser
by using appropriate cookie blocker software (e.g. ghostery etc.)
by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available at the following link regarding cookies from Google: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de.

4. How VAT uses your personal information
VAT will use your personal information for the following purposes:

Recruitment processes relating to selection and evaluation (including as appropriate interview assessment) and the appointment of job candidates (temporary or permanent) for the job you have applied for and for subsequent job opportunities.
General HR administration and management
Carrying out satisfaction surveys (for example, to manage and improve the recruitment process − application analysis such as verification of your employment reference(s) that you have provided, background checks and related assessments
Compliance with corporate governance and legal requirements (for example, to monitor diversity requirements)
Communicate with you and to inform you of current status of your application and future opportunities (unless you have told us that you do not want us to keep your information for such purposes).

5. Profiling and automated decision making
VAT may also process your personal data in relation to your application for data and statistical analysis. We may deploy specific technologies for the purposes of enabling certain global-level recruiting analysis and diversity monitoring with your consent where permitted by applicable law, to comply with legal requirements or in VAT’s legitimate interests. VAT does not make any automated decisions in relation to your application without human involvement.

6. How we share your information
We take care to share your personal information only with those who really need it in order to perform their tasks and duties, and to third parties with a legitimate business need. We may disclose your personal information (to the extent permitted by applicable law) to the following types of third parties:

6.1 Other VAT group companies
Your personal information may be shared for the purposes described above with other companies within VAT. A list of the companies belonging to VAT can be found here https://www.vatvalve.com/page/vat-worldwide.

6.2 Third party service providers
We may also share your personal information with third parties who provide services to us (such as recruitment agencies, partners, IT and hosting providers, background services), tax advisors, auditors, lawyers and other external professional advisors of VAT, authorities, social insurance carriers and courts and acquirers, investors or other third parties interested in the acquisition of business divisions, companies or other parts of VAT.

If your personal information is shared in this way, VAT do so only on a “need-to-know” basis and we will seek to ensure it is only used in connection with the functions or services these parties will be performing for VAT and that your personal information is treated by them in a confidential manner. These service providers that VAT uses may change depending on the VAT entity that employs you and may change over time but we will always seek to ensure that any third parties who handle your personal information will do so in a manner consistent with this DPD and in accordance with applicable law.

6.3 Other third parties
VAT may also disclose your personal information to other third parties including:

As necessary to comply with our legal obligations, including in order to respond to a lawful government request, court order, administrative or judicial process (such as a subpoena or search warrant)
As necessary to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights
As necessary to protect your vital interests (for example, we may need to share your personal information with third parties in the event of an emergency)
Where we have otherwise obtained your consent

7. Legal basis under which VAT processes your personal information
If you are an individual in the European Economic Area and Switzerland (“EEA”), our legal basis for our collecting and processing of your personal information is as follows:

VAT’s legitimate interests, namely the recruitment, selection, evaluation and appointment of new employees and the management and administration of the recruitment and HR process, to the extent these activities do not prejudice or harm your rights and freedoms.
Compliance with VAT’s legal obligations where employment law or other laws require the processing of your personal information (for example to the extent the law requires the monitoring equality of opportunity and diversity).
Other legal grounds where applicable such as in your vital interests (for example, health and safety reasons if you attend an interview at our site) and agreements with employee representations (such as Works Councils).

8. How do we protect your personal information?
We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to provide an adequate level of security and confidentiality to your personal information. The purpose of these measures is to protect it against accidental or unlawful destruction or alteration, accidental loss, unauthorized disclosure or access and against other unlawful forms of processing.

9. How long do we keep your personal information
We will keep your personal information for as long as necessary in connection with the purposes described in this DPD and in accordance with VAT’s retention policy and applicable law (e.g. statutory retention periods). We retain Personal Data that we hold on the basis of your consent delivered with your application until your retention based on an employment agreement leading to a prolongation of our retention under the title of employment or for a maximum of 2 years after your last information update or in case of your revocation of consent until all legal basis for data retention has expired.

Recruiters at VAT and affiliated companies worldwide will be able to access your Information and may contact you should a suitable opening arise.

10. International Transfers
We process Personal Data strictly in accordance with the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") and, if and to the extent applicable, local data protection laws applicable in the country in which the data controller is located.

Your Personal Data may be processed within the European Union or the European Economic Area ("EU/EEA") but may also be processed in and transferred to a country outside of the EU/EEA through our global recruitment platform. This will involve transferring your personal information, including personal information collected in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), United Kingdom (“UK”) and Switzerland, to the US and other countries.

Our parent company, VAT Vakuumventile AG, may host these servers or utilise third party service providers, but in either case we will be responsible for the secure access of personal information. We ensure adequate data protection as provided for by law by using appropriate contracts (namely on the basis of the so-called standard contractual clauses of the European Commission) or rely on the legal exceptions of consent, the performance of the contract, the establishment, exercise or enforcement of legal claims, overriding public interests, published personal data or because it is necessary to protect the integrity of the data subjects.

11. Your rights
Under the data protection law applicable to you and to the extent provided for therein, you have the right to information, rectification, erasure, the right to restrict data processing and otherwise to object to our data processing as well as to the handover of certain Personal Data for transfer to another location (so-called data portability). Please note, however, that we reserve the right to assert the statutory restrictions on our part, for example, if we are obliged to retain or process certain data, if we have an overriding interest in this (to the extent we are entitled to rely on such interest) or if we need the data in order to assert claims. If this results in costs for you, we will inform you in advance.

We will provide you the ability to exercise the following rights under the conditions and within the limits set forth in the law. Please note these rights are subject to certain conditions set out in applicable law and therefore may be limited depending on the circumstances.

Right to be informed about what personal information we have about you and how we process your data
Right to be informed about your personal information as processed by us and, if you believe that any information relating to you is incorrect, obsolete or incomplete, to request its correction or updating
Right to request the erasure of your personal information or the restriction thereof to specific categories of processing in accordance with clause 9 above.
Right to withdraw or opt-out your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of the processing before such withdrawal
Right to object, in whole or in part, to the processing of your personal information. With certain exceptions, this includes the right to object to direct marketing and the right to object to your data being used for research
Right to request its portability, i.e. that the personal information you have provided to us be returned to you, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format without hindrance from us and subject to your confidentiality obligations

In addition, every data subject has the right to enforce his/her rights in court or to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority. The competent data protection authority may vary depending on your place of residence or the place where the alleged infringement of the GDPR or applicable data protection law takes place.

If you have a question or want to exercise the above rights, you may send an email to our data protection office at dataprotection@vat.ch for application related to positions with us or send a letter to our local address (refer to Contact VAT section) with a scan of your identify card for identification purpose, it being understood that we shall only use such data to verify your identify and shall not retain the scan after completion of the verification.

12. Data security
We put technical and organisational measures in place to protect your Personal Data from unauthorised access, misuse, loss and destruction. In particular, we use encryption during data transmission (SSL/TLS encryption) and have implemented additional protective measures in order to ensure that the Personal Data processed through the Portal is protected as comprehensively as possible.

13. Amendments to this Privacy Policy
We expressly reserve the right to amend this privacy policy at any time. If such amendments are made, we will immediately publish the amended privacy policy on the Portal. The privacy policy published on the Portal, as from time to time amended, shall apply.

All information regarding your data protection rights will be sent to your contact credentials provided with your application as to your latest update upon request. If there are any changes as to your contact information, please renew and update such information in a timely manner.

14. Contact VAT
If you have any questions or comments regarding this DPD or VAT’s Personal Data collection and processing practices, please contact us at dataprotection@vat.ch or mail us at

VAT Vakuumventile AG
Human Resources
Seelistrasse 1
9469 Haag
Switzerland