Vattenfall’s privacy statement for job applicants

Personal data is therefore processed and secured with the utmost care in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the legal requirements in the country where you applied. This privacy statement informs you about how Vattenfall handles your personal data and how you can exercise your rights regarding your personal data.

Data controller and contact

Vattenfall AB is the data controller for the information you provide during the recruitment process unless otherwise stated. You can contact the data protection officer responsible for Vattenfall AB at

Vattenfall AB
Data Protection Officer
Evenemangsgatan 13
S-169 56 Solna

What do we do with the information you provide to us?

All of the information you provide during the process will only be used for the purpose of progressing your application, or to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements if necessary.

We will not share any of the information you provide during the recruitment process with any third parties for marketing purposes or store any of your information outside of the European Economic Area. The information you provide will be held securely by us and/or our data processors whether the information is in electronic or physical format. Automatic profiling does not take place.

We will use the contact details you provide to us to contact you to progress your application. We will use the other information you provide to assess your suitability for the role you have applied for. (Data processing for the initiation of an employment contract in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (b) DSGVO)

What information do we ask for, and why?

If you are applying at Vattenfall, we ask you to enter your application online. All information relevant to your application can be transmitted to us via our web form. We do not use more information than we need to fulfil our stated purposes and will not retain it for longer than is necessary. The information we ask for is used to assess your suitability for employment.

The information that you provide to us in your application will be reviewed by our recruitment team. We ask you for your personal details including name and contact details. We also ask you to provide us with your previous experience, education, references. While processing your application we might ask you questions relevant to the role you have applied for. Our recruitment team will have access to all of this information.

In case you provide us with information that is not relevant for your suitability for the position but can't be separated from your application (e.g. pictures or gender) we will not use during the application process and only retain as long as we retain your application. Reports on equal opportunities are only generated after anonymization of data.

Interviews, tests and assessments

We might ask you to participate in assessment, complete tests or occupational personality profile questionnaires and/or to attend an interview – or a combination of these. Information will be generated by you and by us or our provider for assessments. For example, you might complete a written test or we might take interview notes. This information is held by Vattenfall and only retained as long as necessary. (Data processing based on a legitimate interest in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO)

Pre-employment screening and security vetting

If we would like to make you an offer of employment we may carry out pre-employment checks beforehand. You must successfully complete pre-employment checks to progress to the contracting phase. In addition, in Germany your employment may need to be approved by the works council for your employment contract to be valid. We are required to confirm the identity of our staff, their right to work in the country they have applied at and seek assurance as to their trustworthiness, integrity and reliability. (Data processing due to legal obligation in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (c) DSGVO)

If we make a final offer, we will also ask you for the following:

• Bank details – to process salary payments
• Emergency contact details – so we know who to contact in case you have an emergency at work

Some roles require a higher level of security clearance – this will be clear on the advert. If this is the case, then you will be asked to submit information via the Security Vetting process.

Our Code of Conduct requires all staff to declare if they have any potential conflicts of interest. If you complete a declaration, the information will be held on your personnel file.

Use of data processors

Data processors are third parties who provide elements of our recruitment service for us. We have data protection agreements with our providers. This means that they cannot use your information for any other purpose than this recruitment process. They will not share your personal information with any organization apart from us. They will hold it securely and retain it only for the period required by law.

How long is the information retained for?

If you are unsuccessful following assessment for the position you have applied for, we may ask if you would like your details to be retained in our talent pool for a period of three years. If you say yes, we would proactively contact you should any further suitable vacancies arise.

If you are successful, the information you provide during the application process will be retained by us as part of your employee file for the duration of your employment plus 2,5 years after the end of your employment. If a dispute would arise between you and Vattenfall within this time frame, the information will be retained until the dispute has been settled or otherwise solved. This includes your criminal records declaration, fitness to work, records of any security checks and references.

If you are unsuccessful at any stage of the process, the information you have provided until that point will be retained for 2,5 years. If a dispute would arise within this time frame between you and Vattenfall, the information will be retained until the dispute has been settled or otherwise solved. 

How do we make decisions about recruitment?

Final recruitment decisions are made by hiring managers and members of our recruitment team. All of the relevant information gathered during the application process is taken into account.

You are able to ask about decisions made about your application by speaking to your contact within our recruitment team or by emailing.

Your rights

Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation you have rights as an individual which you can exercise in relation to the information we hold about you. These rights are: Correction in the case of errors in the storage and processing of your data (Art. 16 GDPR), deletion of your data, for example, in the event of loss of purpose or on revocation of granted consent (Art. 17 and 18 GDPR), limitation of Processing for example due to the denying of the correctness of personal data or for the preservation of possible existing claims (Art. 18 GDPR), opposition to processing on the basis of legitimate interest (Art. 21 GDPR) and data portability over the data provided by you in a machine-readable format (Art. 20 DSGVO).

Complaints or queries

Vattenfall tries to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.

If you have any questions regarding the processing of your personal information, you can contact our Data Protection Officer directly, who will also be available to assist with their team in case of requests or complaints. Please contact us.

Vattenfall AB
Data Protection Officer
Evenemangsgatan 13
S-169 56 Solna

Changes to this privacy notice

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. This privacy notice was last updated on 25 May 2018.