At first glance, data protection can seem like an intimidating subject — particularly when it comes to the law that governs it. No matter what industry you work in, if you’re in the UK and handle customer, client, or employee personal data, you need to adhere to certain regulations.
But where to start? Our multi-disciplinary team of legal experts is here to ensure your business complies with data protection law. With this in mind, our guide offers the insight you need to have a comprehensive understanding of data protection law in the UK.
First things first, let’s determine what we mean by data protection law. This branch of law looks at the legal framework designed to safeguard and regulate how personal data — which can include names, email addresses, financial information, and more — is collected, processed, stored, and shared.
Data protection law aims to protect individuals’ privacy and ensure businesses handle personal data responsibly and ethically.
You may be wondering who has the power to enforce data protection law in the UK, and what the law itself entails.
The short answer is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This independent body is responsible for ensuring organisations comply with data protection regulations. Under the framework of the Data Protection Act 2018 — which aligns with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — the ICO has the authority to investigate data breaches, impose fines, and take enforcement actions against organisations that violate data protection laws.
So, how does the ICO assess if a business is compliant with UK and EU data protection laws? There are several key principles your organisation must abide by:
This principle looks at how you collect and process personal data. It’s essential that you provide clear information on how you will use a customer’s data — they must know what they are consenting to.
It’s also vital that the data you collect is for a specific and legitimate purpose — a purpose that’s clear to the customer. To protect the customer’s privacy, you must only use the data for that specific purpose.
Along with purpose limitation, you must only collect and process the data necessary for a specified purpose. This reduces the risk of data breaches and ensures minimal data handling.
It’s also important to keep any personal data on your systems accurate and up to date — for example, if you have details of a criminal conviction, the information must be exact or the individual has the right to request rectification. Organisations must take steps to correct or delete inaccurate information to protect individuals from potential harm.
This principle relates to making sure your business doesn’t hold personal data any longer than necessary. According to the ICO, there is no set retention period, however, you must securely delete the data once it is no longer needed to reduce the risk of breaches.
UK data protection law also stipulates that you must put measures in place to safeguard any personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or damage.
The final key principle of data protection requires you to take responsibility for and demonstrate compliance. To do so, you might need to maintain records or conduct impact assessments (showing who will be affected by you holding the data). You may also want to appoint a dedicated data protection officer if necessary.
Personal data is collected for an array of reasons, and the majority of businesses will need to handle and process it. After all, even if you don’t collect customer details, you’ll need to keep employee data secure. But why is data protection law so important in your place of work?
Legal compliance: We’ve explored the elements of data protection law you need to be aware of, but what are the consequences of non-compliance? In many cases, failure to comply with data protection law can lead to reputational damage, legal action, and even a penalty.
Protecting employee privacy: Remember, data protection law is here to keep your employees safe, as well as your customers and clients. From names and addresses to health records and financial information, you will likely have a lot of employee data on your system.
As an employer, it’s your role to handle this data with care and protect your team’s privacy. Not only can this reduce the risk of data breaches, but it also helps build trust and a positive work environment.
From drawing up privacy policies for your website to dealing with storing employee and customer information, staying compliant with data protection law can seem complicated. We recommend speaking with a data protection law firm like Hay & Kilner for expert legal advice.
The team at Hay & Kilner has the training and experience to support your business in all areas of data protection law, with our data protection law experts Ben Jackson and Jonathan Waters here to assist you. We can help you navigate subject access requests when an employee or client would like a copy of their personal data. Our experts are also here to help you with consent, marketing, and data audits. In the unfortunate situation that a data breach does occur, we can offer guidance on the best way to handle it to minimise financial and reputational damage.
Learn more about our data protection services.
Whatever field you’re in, complying with data protection laws is essential for your business running smoothly. With a data protection law firm like Hay & Kilner on your side, you can protect your team and your customers, avoid financial damage, and ensure a great reputation.
Want to learn more? Get in touch to see how we provide your business with advice and training on all aspects of data protection law.
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