Candidate Agreement

Whitewater Recruitment Candidate Agreement

By registering with Whitewater Recruitment, you confirm that you have read and agree to this Candidate Agreement.

This agreement applies to Whitewater Recruitment's recruitment and placement services. Our separate Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information, and our separate Terms of Use govern use of our website.

1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement:

Whitewater Recruitment / Whitewater / we / us / our means Whitewater Recruitment Ltd.

Client means any yacht, vessel, shipowner, yacht owner, management company, captain, employer, household, estate, organisation or other person or entity seeking candidates through Whitewater Recruitment.

Candidate / you / your means the individual registering with or being represented by Whitewater Recruitment.

MLC means the International Labour Organisation Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended.

2. Our Role

Whitewater Recruitment provides recruitment and placement services and introduces candidates to prospective employers.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing:

Whitewater Recruitment is not your employer;
Whitewater Recruitment is not a party to your employment agreement;
the decision whether to employ you rests with the Client;
we cannot guarantee that registration, an introduction, interview or offer will result in employment; and
we cannot guarantee the duration or continuation of any employment obtained through us.

Information about vacancies is normally supplied to us by Clients.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that information provided to candidates is accurate, but job details, salaries, start dates, itineraries, rotations, leave arrangements and other circumstances may change.

You must satisfy yourself that the terms contained in your final employment agreement are acceptable before signing it or joining the vessel or employer.

Nothing in this Agreement limits any responsibility which Whitewater Recruitment is legally required to fulfil as a recruitment and placement service.

3. Equal Opportunities and Blacklisting

Whitewater Recruitment operates a fair and professional recruitment service.

We do not unlawfully discriminate against candidates on the basis of any characteristic protected by applicable law.

We do not use any blacklist, list, mechanism or practice intended to prevent or deter a suitably qualified seafarer from obtaining employment.

This does not prevent Whitewater Recruitment from refusing, suspending or ending representation where there is a legitimate reason to do so, including:

false or misleading information;
falsified documents or qualifications;
serious professional misconduct;
abusive, threatening or inappropriate behaviour;
fraud or attempted fraud;
serious safety or compliance concerns;
misuse of Whitewater Recruitment's services; or
circumstances in which continuing to represent a candidate would be unlawful or professionally inappropriate.

Where lawful and necessary, records relating to such matters may be retained in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

4. Candidate Fees

Whitewater Recruitment does not charge candidates a recruitment or placement fee for obtaining employment.

Recruitment fees charged by Whitewater Recruitment are payable by the Client.

No candidate will be required to pay Whitewater Recruitment, directly or indirectly, to register with us, be represented by us or secure employment through us.

Nothing in this section prevents a candidate from being responsible for personal documentation costs which applicable law permits the seafarer to bear, such as their own passport, seafarer's book or statutory medical certificate.

Where the MLC requires the shipowner to bear a particular cost, including applicable visa costs, Whitewater Recruitment will not transfer that cost to the candidate.

If anybody claims to be acting for Whitewater Recruitment and asks you to pay money to obtain a job, contact us immediately.

5. Information You Provide to Us

By registering with Whitewater Recruitment, you confirm that, to the best of your knowledge:

information contained in your CV and candidate profile is accurate and not materially misleading;
your employment history is accurately represented;
qualifications, licences and certificates supplied by you are genuine and have not been fraudulently altered;
references and referee details supplied by you are genuine;
you are entitled to provide the information and documents you submit to us;
you will promptly tell us about any material change affecting your availability or suitability for employment;
you will tell us if a qualification, medical certificate, visa, licence or other document expires, is suspended or ceases to be valid where this is relevant to a role; and
you will not knowingly conceal information which would make you legally or professionally ineligible for a position.

Whitewater Recruitment may verify information supplied by you where reasonably required, including your identity, employment history, experience, qualifications, certificates and references.

Where we reasonably believe information or documentation supplied by a candidate is false, fraudulent or materially misleading, we may cease representing the candidate and take any further steps reasonably required for legal, regulatory, safety or fraud-prevention purposes.

6. References and Verification

Where you provide referee details to Whitewater Recruitment, you authorise us to contact those referees for legitimate recruitment and verification purposes.

We may also verify professional qualifications, licences, certificates, employment history and other information where reasonably required for a position.

You should ensure that individuals whose details you provide as referees are aware that they may be contacted.

Whitewater Recruitment cannot guarantee the accuracy of information supplied to us by third-party referees, former employers, Clients or verification services.

7. Representation and Candidate Introductions

By registering with Whitewater Recruitment, you instruct us to provide recruitment and work-finding services to you.

This may include:

considering you for vacancies;
discussing potential opportunities with you;
preparing candidate profiles or summaries;
introducing or recommending you to prospective Clients;
submitting relevant information to prospective Clients;
arranging interviews;
communicating with Clients concerning your candidacy; and
administering a placement where employment is offered.

Personal information will be handled in accordance with our separate Privacy Policy.

You may tell us that you do not wish to be represented for a particular vacancy or submitted to a particular Client.

Where Whitewater Recruitment introduces you to a Client and that Client, vessel, management company, owner or associated organisation subsequently contacts, interviews or employs you as a result of our introduction, you agree to inform Whitewater Recruitment promptly.

This requirement does not prevent you from accepting employment and does not make you responsible for any recruitment fee payable by the Client.

8. Artificial Intelligence and Recruitment Technology

Whitewater Recruitment may use recruitment software, automation, transcription services and artificial intelligence tools to assist our recruiters with legitimate recruitment activities.

This may include assisting with:

CV processing and formatting;
candidate summaries;
interview or call summaries;
candidate and vacancy matching;
recruiter notes;
administration; and
drafting communications.

The use of personal information in connection with these systems is governed by our Privacy Policy.

Whitewater Recruitment does not use artificial intelligence as the sole basis for making a final decision about whether a candidate should be represented or submitted for employment.

Our recruiters remain responsible for recruitment decisions and professional judgement.

Where applicable law requires separate consent for a particular use of information or technology, that consent will be requested separately.

9. Confidential Information

During a recruitment process you may receive confidential information concerning a Client, yacht, vessel, owner, family, household, itinerary, crew, position or operation.

You agree to treat information identified as confidential, or which would reasonably be understood to be confidential, accordingly.

You must not knowingly publish, circulate or disclose confidential Client information to third parties except where:

disclosure is required for the recruitment or employment process;
the Client or Whitewater Recruitment has authorised the disclosure;
the information is already lawfully public; or
disclosure is required by law.

This provision does not prevent you from reporting unlawful conduct, making a protected disclosure, contacting a regulator or exercising any legal right.

A Client may require a separate confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement.

10. Seafarers' Employment Agreements

Where the MLC applies, Whitewater Recruitment will take the steps required of it as a recruitment and placement service in relation to your Seafarer's Employment Agreement (“SEA”).

You are entitled to:

be informed of your rights and duties under the SEA before or during engagement;
have an opportunity to examine the SEA before signing it;
have an opportunity to examine the agreement after it has been signed; and
receive a copy of the signed SEA.

You should carefully check your SEA before signing it, including matters such as:

identity of the employer;
position;
salary;
leave or rotation;
working arrangements;
probation;
notice periods;
repatriation;
applicable collective bargaining arrangements; and
any other terms important to you.

If anything in your proposed employment agreement differs materially from what you were told during recruitment, you should notify Whitewater Recruitment as soon as possible.

Where required for our regulatory or compliance records following a placement, we may ask you to confirm that you have received, reviewed and signed your SEA and received your own copy.

11. MLC Rights

Where the Maritime Labour Convention applies to your employment, you are entitled to the rights and protections provided by the MLC and the applicable law implementing it.

These include rights relating to matters such as:

a fair employment agreement;
wages;
hours of work and rest;
annual leave;
repatriation;
medical care;
accommodation and welfare;
health and safety; and
onboard and onshore complaints procedures.

Your precise rights may depend upon the vessel's flag, the terms of your SEA and applicable legislation.

Nothing in this Candidate Agreement waives, restricts or removes any statutory or MLC right which cannot lawfully be waived.

12. Financial System of Protection

Whitewater Recruitment maintains the financial System of Protection required for its applicable MLC recruitment and placement activities.

This protection is intended to provide eligible seafarers with compensation for certain monetary losses arising where Whitewater Recruitment or the relevant shipowner fails to meet applicable statutory or contractual obligations.

Where applicable, Whitewater Recruitment will provide you, before or during the engagement process, with information about:

the System of Protection in place;
your rights under that protection;
the circumstances in which a claim may be made; and
how and where to make a claim.

You should retain any System of Protection information provided to you with your employment records.

13. Complaints

Whitewater Recruitment will examine and respond to complaints concerning our recruitment and placement activities.

If you have a complaint, please contact:

hello@whitewaterrecruitment.com

and include “Complaint” in the subject line.

Please provide sufficient information for us to investigate the matter.

We will acknowledge the complaint and aim to provide a substantive response within 28 days. Where the matter requires additional investigation, we will keep you informed.

Making a genuine complaint will not disadvantage you in obtaining employment through Whitewater Recruitment.

Where an MLC complaint concerning our recruitment and placement activities cannot be resolved, it may be referred to the relevant competent authority.

For UK MLC matters, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency can be contacted at:

mlc@mcga.gov.uk

This complaints procedure does not prevent you from exercising any other right of complaint available to you.

14. Clients and Employment

Whitewater Recruitment takes reasonable steps required of a professional recruitment agency when dealing with Clients and vacancies.

However, Clients and employers are independent third parties.

Except where applicable law provides otherwise, Whitewater Recruitment is not responsible for the subsequent acts or omissions of an independent employer, including decisions relating to:

continued employment;
dismissal;
promotion;
management of the vessel or workplace;
changes made by the employer after placement; or
matters outside Whitewater Recruitment's reasonable control.

Nothing in this Agreement excludes any responsibility which Whitewater Recruitment is legally required to accept.

15. No Guarantee of Employment

Registration with Whitewater Recruitment does not guarantee:

an interview;
an introduction;
an offer of employment;
any particular salary or employment terms; or
continued employment following placement.

Whitewater Recruitment may decide not to submit a candidate for a particular role where, in our professional judgement, the candidate does not meet the Client's requirements or the requirements of the position.

16. Ending Representation

You may ask Whitewater Recruitment to stop representing you at any time.

Whitewater Recruitment may also cease representing you where reasonably appropriate, including for the reasons described in this Agreement.

Ending representation does not affect:

recruitment processes or placements already completed;
obligations which arose before representation ended;
regulatory or record-keeping requirements; or
the handling of personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

17. Privacy

Whitewater Recruitment processes candidate personal information in accordance with its separate Privacy Policy, available on our website.

The Privacy Policy explains, amongst other matters:

what information we collect;
why we use it;
who it may be shared with;
the service providers and technology we use;
international data transfers;
retention;
candidate data-protection rights; and
how artificial intelligence and other recruitment technology may be used.

Acceptance of this Candidate Agreement does not constitute blanket consent to all processing of personal information.

18. Changes to this Agreement

Whitewater Recruitment may update this Candidate Agreement where reasonably necessary, including to reflect changes in law, regulation or our recruitment services.

The current version and effective date will be displayed when candidates register.

Where a change materially affects an existing candidate's rights or obligations, we may notify the candidate or require acceptance of an updated version where appropriate.

Changes will not retrospectively remove rights which have already arisen.

19. Governing Law

This Candidate Agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Nothing in this provision removes any mandatory statutory, employment, maritime or consumer rights which apply irrespective of this clause.

20. Confirmation

By completing registration and ticking the acceptance box, you confirm that:

you have read and understood this Candidate Agreement;
the information you have provided is accurate to the best of your knowledge;
you agree to Whitewater Recruitment providing recruitment and placement services to you; and
you acknowledge that your personal information will be processed in accordance with Whitewater Recruitment's separate Privacy Policy.