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HOPS Privacy Policy

Introduction

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HOPS Labour Solutions (HOPS) recruits seasonal workers from a small number of carefully vetted countries, offering visa sponsorship via the Seasonal Worker Scheme (SWS). We are licensed by the UK Government and the Gang Masters Labour and Abuse Authority (GLAA), to provide labour within the UK and horticultural sector, to farms and growers.

Our attention to detail and respecting the privacy of our SWS workers, clients and business associates is of significant importance in ensuring legal compliance is fulfilled.

Policy Statement

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The UK Data Protection Act 2018, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (retained EU law) and the UK Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 set out the requirements for processing personal data in the UK. Through our internal processes, operational practises, contracts and agreements with our workers, clients, representatives, business associates and other stakeholders, HOPS is fully committed to upholding UK legislation and fulfilling the rights of those we work with.

Purpose and Use of Personal Information

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Information we process, collate and record, with support of various bespoke secure software platforms, is used solely for the purpose of responsibly, securely and successfully recruiting sponsored workers and processing placements for UK farms and growers:

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  • Processing and managing recruitment and placements for our applicants, workers and clients, with our Representatives.

  • Supporting and assisting visa applications.

  • Ensuring we fulfil labour requirements within horticulture, on UK farms.

  • Make certain all SWS placements are completed legally, correctly and successfully, and with full process transparency.

  • Supporting investigations.

  • Informing the following parties where purpose meets legal requirements:

  • The Home Office including, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)

  • Other relevant Government departments with legitimate interest for example, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), source country governments etc.

  • Legal bodies including, regulators, law enforcement or Courts.

  • Using information for analytical purposes, to create and share anonymised findings with partner organisations for example, SWS demographic data to inform equal opportunity evaluations of the scheme and recruitment.

 

 

 

SWS applicants and workers

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Individuals sponsored by HOPS, are required to share the following personal information with us to enable successful recruitment and placements:

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  • Name

  • Address

  • Date of birth

  • Gender

  • Contact details

  • Next of kin

  • Nationality

  • Passport number

  • Visa details

  • Location details

  • Photo

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Personal information may be used by HOPS to assist and support visa applications and the creation of e-Visa accounts with UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI), using secure software. Visa applicants will maintain full access rights of e-Visa accounts.

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Applicant interviews may be recorded by HOPS and its Representatives, to support the recruitment process and increase recruitment transparency. Recordings will be accessible only to the HOPS team and any relevant government authority. Recordings will be retained for as long as necessary for recruitment and placement purposes, in line with relevant legislation.

Access requests must be submitted to HOPS directly. Please refer to our contact details at the end of this document.

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Clients (labour Users) and HOPS Representatives are required to share the following information with HOPS via the Gateway software system:

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  • Business name

  • Contact details

  • Address

  • GLAA license number (Representatives only)

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Information saved within secure software can be accessed by HOPS, our applicants, workers, HOPS Representatives, clients and select government representatives whose country we recruit from. However, software access restrictions are in place to ensure only necessary information can be accessed by these parties i.e. only select, relevant information is accessible to each party.

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The provision and use of data, along with interview recordings, is freely consented to by all parties involved in the HOPS recruitment process and supported by signed contractual agreements for the services provided to and by HOPS, which forms the lawful basis for which HOPS uses this information.

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Personal data will not be re-used for purposes alternative to those for which it was originally collected. HOPS will not collect any personal/ private information that is not essential to the management of recruitment and processing of placements, and SWS requirements.

 

Retention of information

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HOPS will retain personal data, solely for the purposes set out, for a period of up to five (5) years; unless a request is received in writing to delete, destroy or withdraw consent for this information to be used and/ or stored.

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Control measures

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HOPS is responsible for the legal oversight of how personal details are collected, stored, used and protected.

Information saved by HOPS, both hard and soft copies, are stored securely and in line with UK legislation, safeguarding user privacy. Safety measures are in place to minimise the risk of software viruses.

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Subject access requests and complaints

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Applicants, workers, clients and HOPS Representatives have the right to request a copy of their information kept by HOPS, and are entitled to view, amend and/ or request that this personal information is deleted. 

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Equally, all mentioned parties can lodge a formal complaint with HOPS if they believe we have not acted lawfully in the processing/ sharing of their information.

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Subject access requests, along with any related complaints, must be sent in writing to HOPS. Please refer to contact details provided at the end of this document. Requests must include the senders full name and contact details. For applicants and workers, they must also include their Gateway worker ID number and date of birth. For our clients and Representatives, they must also provide business details. Where possible, requests will be dealt with within one calendar month, and without charge. Should a complaint be submitted, the HOPS Complaints procedure will be followed (HP010).

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If the outcome of a subject access request and/ or a complaint is deemed to be unacceptable by the requesting/ reporting party, they can consult independently with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/

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Implementation of change

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HOPS will review this policy in line with any legislative changes and make relevant changes where necessary. The current version of this policy is available to all parties working with and for HOPS via The Gateway, ‘shared files’.

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Contact details

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Written correspondence to HOPS concerning any policy queries, subject access requests and complaints involving data breaches, can be sent via either of the following ways:

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  • Post:                     HOPS Labour Solutions,

                                    Overross House,

                                    Ross Park,  Ross-on-Wye,

                                     HR9 7US.

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