Help & Advice - FAQs

Employment Application Form

If you are interested in working with Canvas Holidays then you will need to complete an application form. This can be completed online.

Please ensure that you respond to all questions fully. Incomplete applications may delay the application process.

Minimum requirements

• Minimum age of 18 years old

Desirable

• Previous hospitality/tour operator/camping experience
• Cleaning experience
• Conversational / Fluent Spoken Languages
• A minimum of 1 year in a customer service role

Couples/Friends

We can only accept one application form per person so, if you are applying with a partner, you will both need to complete two separate application forms. There is a section to add your partner's name on the application form.

Re-Applications

Please contact us by phone or email if you have previously worked for Canvas Holidays within the last 2 years. If more than 2 Years you will need to complete an application form.

Once your Application form has been submitted

If you are successful with your application we will invite you for a face-to-face interview in one of our regional interviews. The Canvas office is based in Dunfermline so out of peak recruiting times all interviews will be completed in Head Office.

If You Are Selected For Interview

• Interviews will be on a one to one basis with a member of our operations team.
• We aim to respond to you within 5 working days of your interview by email. At this stage we will confirm whether or not your application has been successful, the position offered, the dates of employment and, for full season placements, the area you have been allocated to.
• You must respond to this email within 5 working days to let us know you wish to accept the offer of employment.

• All our overseas staff will receive training either at an overseas regional training site or on your allocated campsite. You will be trained by experienced members of staff who have an excellent knowledge of the job and a good understanding of the on-site roles. You will also be provided with a Courier Manual detailing key procedures for the role you will be expected to undertake. 
• You will be supported and managed overseas by an ADEX (Area Manager), there is also an excellent HR and Recruitment team based in the UK head office.

• We will normally arrange transport for you a few weeks before your start date. We will contact you before making arrangements. At the end of your contract, a contribution will be made towards your return travel. If it is agreed that you can take your own vehicle then a contribution will be made towards your travel costs, the exact details will be sent with your joining instructions. 
• Please remember that the cost of any travel within the UK will be at your own expense. 
• We will arrange your travel from training to your campsite. You may be flying to the area where you will be based for the season, so please take this into account when packing as airlines are very strict on the amount of baggage you can take on board.

Here is a list of essential items that you will need to bring with you, and a few suggestions for items that you may like to bring along. Please remember that when packing you should ensure your luggage does not exceed 20kgs. Try and limit your luggage to one suitcase or rucksack. This is due to some members of staff being flown to site and many airlines charging for exceeding the limit!! (You will be responsible for covering any excess baggage charges)

Essential items

• Sleeping bag
• Towel
• International Bank cards for access to money - (don’t forget your PIN number)
• European Health Insurance Card
• Passport & other necessary visas/travel documents where applicable
• Any personal medication you require
• Baggage insurance documents
• Copies of all contractual literature we have sent you
• Driving licence - (if you are over 21 and hold a current full driving licence).
• Basic toiletry kit, hand cream and sun protection – (please note that these can be bought overseas)
• Navy or white training shoes to wear with uniform
• Clothes for days and nights off

Montage and Demo Checklist

• Gardening or light waterproof gloves
• Sturdy waterproof boots
• Waterproof Jacket
• Clothes you do not mind working in and getting dirty

Optional

• Pillow and Sheet
• Torch
• Hot water bottle - we are sure you will find this a welcome addition, especially in low season and on montage/de montage!
• Basic first aid kit for yourself e.g. plasters, aspirins etc.
• Alarm Clock

Working overseas can be a very big step to take. You will be able to experience different cultures and ways of life, enjoy a fantastic summer, friends for life and great job satisfaction. You’ll gain invaluable experience of working with the public as well as giving you many new skills and developing existing ones. We understand the importance of personal development and encourage our staff to move into more senior positions in their subsequent seasons. We can guarantee it really will be a summer to remember!

• Fully equipped accommodation – either a Canvas Holidays tent or mobile home. You may be in this on your own or sharing with members of your team.
• Competitive salary
• Uniform which you should wear when carrying out your day to day on-site tasks.
• Emergency medical Insurance in case of serious illness (doesn’t include pre-existing conditions and you will still require your European Health Insurance Card which covers you for day to day medical problems)
• Training either at one of our residential training courses or on your allocated campsite
• Contribution towards travel costs
• Monthly salary paid into your UK bank account
• The opportunity to progress within the company in future seasons

The Organisation is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. 

This Privacy Notice describes how we collect and use personal information about you during and after your working relationship with us, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and data protection legislation. 

It applies to all current and former employees, workers and contractors.

Canvas Holidays is a “data controller”. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you. We are required under data protection legislation to notify you of the information contained in this privacy notice. 

This notice does not form part of any contract of employment or other contract to provide services. We may update this notice at any time. 

It is important that you read this notice, together with any other privacy notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal information about you, so that you are aware of how and why we are using such information.

We will collect, store, and use the following categories of personal information about you: 

• Personal contact details such as name, title, addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses; date of birth; gender; marital status and dependants
• Next of kin and emergency contact information
• National Insurance number
• Bank account details, payroll records and tax status information
• Salary, annual leave, pension and benefits information
• Start date
• Copy of driving licence and or passport
• Recruitment information (including copies of right to work documentation, references and other information included in a CV or cover letter or as part of the application process)
• Employment records (including terms and conditions of employment, work history, working hours, training records and professional memberships)
• Compensation history
• Performance information including appraisals and performance improvement plans
• Details of any disciplinary and grievance proceedings you have been involved in
• Details of any leave you have taken including holidays; sickness; family and parental leave.
• Information obtained through electronic means such as swipecard records and biometric means of identification
• Information about your use of our information and communications systems
• Photographs
• Information about your race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and political opinions
• Information about your health, including any medical condition, health and sickness records and details of any disability for which we may need to make reasonable adjustments
• Information about criminal convictions and offences

We collect personal information about you through the application and recruitment process, either directly from you or from an employment agency or background check provider. We may sometimes collect additional information from third parties including former employers and credit reference agencies. 

We also collect additional personal information in the course of job-related activities throughout the period you are working for us.

We will use your personal information in the following circumstances: 

• Where we need to perform the contract we have entered into with you.
• Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.
• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.

• Making a decision about your recruitment or appointment
• Determining the terms on which you work for us
• Checking you are legally entitled to work in the UK
• Paying you and, if you are an employee, deducting tax and National Insurance contributions
• Liaising with your pension provider
• Administering the contract we have entered into with you
• Business management and planning, including accounting and auditing
• Conducting performance reviews, managing performance and determining performance requirements
• Making decisions about salary reviews and compensation
• Assessing qualifications for a particular job or task, including decisions about promotions
• Gathering evidence for possible grievance or disciplinary hearings
• Making decisions about your continued employment or engagement
• Making arrangements for the termination of our working relationship.
• Education, training and development requirements.
• Dealing with possible legal disputes involving you, or other employees, workers and contractors, including accidents at work
• Ascertaining your fitness to work
• Managing sickness absence
• Complying with health and safety obligations
• To prevent fraud
• To monitor your use of our information and communication systems to ensure compliance with our IT policies
• To ensure network and information security, including preventing unauthorised access to our computer and electronic communications systems and preventing malicious software distribution
• To conduct data analytics studies to review and better understand employee retention and attrition rates
• Equal opportunities monitoring
• Some of the above grounds for processing will overlap and there may be several grounds which justify our use of your personal information

We may share your personal information with third parties where required by law, where it is necessary to administer the working relationship with you or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so. 

Recipients of your data may include third party service providers (such as payroll and pensions providers); other related business entities; a regulator or to otherwise comply with the law. 

Where we do so, we will require third parties to respect the security of your data and to treat it in accordance with the law. 

We may transfer your personal information outside the EU. If we do, you can expect a similar degree of protection in respect of your personal information.

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. 

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. 

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

You have the right to: 

• Request access to, and a copy of, your personal information
• Request correction of the personal information that we hold about you
• Request erasure of your personal information.
• Object to processing of your personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation, which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes. 

If you believe we have not complied with your rights, you can complain to the Information Commissioner.

If you do not provide personal data, it is likely to be impossible for the Organisation to enter into, or to continue with, an employment relationship with you.

The Organisation may make use of electronic automated decision-making systems. We would only do so in the following circumstances:

• where we have notified you of the decision and given you 21 days to request reconsideration.
• where it is necessary to perform the contract with you and appropriate measures are in place to safeguard your rights.
• in limited circumstances, with your explicit written consent and where appropriate measures are in place to safeguard your rights. 

Employment decisions are not based solely on automated decision-making.

The Organisation reserves the right to update this privacy notice at any time, and we will provide you with a new privacy notice when we make any substantial updates. We may also notify you in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal information.