Checks & records
What is candidate registration?
Candidate registration is the point at which a work-seeker joins an agency's database — where identity, eligibility, qualifications and preferences are captured and the compliance file begins.
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<img src="https://agencyoptix.co.uk/glossary/registration/diagram.svg" alt="candidate registration — diagram from AgencyOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://agencyoptix.co.uk/glossary/registration">What is candidate registration?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://agencyoptix.co.uk">AgencyOptix</a>
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</figure>It is the cheapest point at which to do compliance work, because nobody is waiting for a shift to be filled. Everything done here is work not done under pressure later.
Data protection obligations start here too. A database of candidates is a database of personal data, and retention, accuracy and the lawful basis for holding it all apply from registration.
The information captured shapes everything downstream. Preferences and restrictions recorded properly prevent placements that will not work; recorded loosely they generate them.
What goes wrong in practice
- Registration treated as capturing a CV, with compliance deferred to placement.
- Retention periods never applied, so the database grows indefinitely.
- Restrictions and preferences not recorded in a form the placing process can use.