Compliance with the GDPR is described by this policy and other relevant policies, along with connected processes and procedures. GDPR and this policy apply to all of the Company’s personal data processing functions, including those performed on customers’, clients’, employees’, suppliers’, and partners’ personal data, and any other personal data the organisation processes from any source. Our Data Protection Officer is responsible for reviewing the DPIA register of processing annually in the light of any changes to The Company’s activities (as determined by changes to the data inventory register and the management review) and to any additional requirements identified by means of data protection impact assessments. This is available on the supervisory authority’s request.This policy applies to all Employees/Staff/Stakeholders of the Company such as outsourced suppliers. Any breach of the GDPR will be dealt with under The Company’s disciplinary policy and may also be a criminal offence, in which case the matter will be reported as soon as possible to the appropriate authorities.Partners and any third parties working with or for the Company, and who have or may have access to personal data, will be expected to have read, understood and to comply with this policy. No third party may access personal data held by The Company without having first entered into a data confidentiality agreement, which imposes on the third party obligations no less onerous than those to which the Company is committed, and which gives the Company the right to audit compliance with the agreement.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND ROLES UNDER THE GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION
The Company is a data controller under the GDPR.
Senior Management and all those in managerial or supervisory roles throughout The Company are responsible for developing and encouraging good information handling practices within The Company; responsibilities are set out in individual job descriptions.
Our Data Protection Officer is a member of the senior management team or be accountable to Directors of the Company for the management of personal data within The Company and for ensuring that compliance with data protection legislation and good practice can be demonstrated. This accountability includes:
development and implementation of the GDPR as required by this policy; and security and risk management in relation to compliance with the policy.
The Data Protection Officer, who the Directors consider to be suitably qualified and experienced, has been appointed to take responsibility for the Company’s compliance with this policy on a day-to-day basis and, in particular, has direct responsibility for ensuring that the Company complies with the GDPR, as do all Managers in respect of data processing that takes place within their area of responsibility.
The Data Protection Officer who has specific responsibilities in respect of procedures such as the Subject Access Request Procedure and are the first point of call for Employees seeking clarification on any aspect of data protection compliance.
Compliance with data protection legislation is the responsibility of all Employees of The Company who process personal data.
The Company’s Training Policy sets out specific training and awareness requirements in relation to specific roles and Employees of The Company generally.
Employees of the Company are responsible for ensuring that any personal data about them and supplied by them to The Company is accurate and up-to-date.
DATA PROTECTION PRINCIPLES
All processing of personal data must be conducted in accordance with the data protection principles as set out in Article 5 of the GDPR. The Company’s policies and procedures are designed to ensure compliance with the principles.
Personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently
Lawful – identify a lawful basis before you can process personal data. These are often referred to as the “conditions for processing”, for example, consent.
Fairly- in order for processing to be fair, the data controller has to make certain information available to the data subjects as practicable. This applies whether the personal data was obtained directly from the data subjects or from other sources.
The GDPR has increased requirements about what information should be available to data subjects, which is covered in the ‘Transparency’ requirement.
Transparently – the GDPR includes rules on giving private information to data subjects. Information must be communicated to the data subject in an intelligible form using clear and plain language.
The specific information that must be provided to the data subject must, as a minimum, include:
- the identity and the contact details of the controller and, if any, of the controller’s representative;
- the contact details of the Data Protection Officer;
- the purposes of the processing for which the personal data are intended as well as the legal basis for the processing;
- the period for which the personal data will be stored;
- the existence of the rights to request access, rectification, erasure or to object to the processing, and the conditions (or lack of) relating to exercising these rights, such as whether the lawfulness of previous processing will be affected;
- the categories of personal data concerned;
- the recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data, where applicable;
- where applicable, that the controller intends to transfer personal data to a recipient in a third country and the level of protection afforded to the data;
- any further information necessary to guarantee fair processing.
Personal data can only be collected for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes
Data obtained for specified purposes must not be used for a purpose and must not be processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes.
Personal data must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for processing.
The Data Protection Officer is responsible for ensuring that The Company does not collect information that is not strictly necessary for the purpose for which it is obtained.
All data collection forms (electronic or paper-based), including data collection requirements in new information systems, must include a fair processing statement or link to the privacy statement and approved by the Data Protection Officer.
The Data Protection Officer will ensure that on an annual basis all data collection methods are reviewed by the Managing Director to ensure that collected data continues to be adequate, relevant and not excessive
Personal data must be accurate and kept up to date with every effort to erase or rectify without delay
Data that is stored by the data controller must be reviewed and updated as necessary. No data should be kept unless it is reasonable to assume that it is accurate.
The Data Protection Officer is responsible for ensuring that all staff are trained in the importance of collecting accurate data and maintaining it.
It is also the responsibility of the data subject to ensure that data held by The Company is accurate and up to date. Completion of a registration or application form by a data subject will include a statement that the data contained therein is accurate at the date of submission.
Employees/Staff/customers/suppliers should be required to notify The Company of any changes in circumstance to enable personal records to be updated accordingly. It is the responsibility of The Company to ensure that any notification regarding change of circumstances is recorded and acted upon.
The Data Protection Officer is responsible for ensuring that appropriate procedures and policies are in place to keep personal data accurate and up to date, taking into account the volume of data collected, the speed with which it might change and any other relevant factors.
On at least an annual basis, the Data Protection Officer will review the retention dates of all the personal data processed by The Company, by reference to the data inventory, and will identify any data that is no longer required in the context of the registered purpose. This data will be securely deleted
The Data Protection Officer is responsible for responding to requests for rectification from data subjects within one month (Subject Access Request Procedure). This can be extended to a further two months for complex requests. If The Company decides not to comply with the request, the Data Protection Officer must respond to the data subject to explain its reasoning and inform them of their right to complain to the supervisory authority and seek a judicial remedy.
The Data Protection Officer is responsible for making appropriate arrangements that, where third-party organisations may have been passed inaccurate or out-of-date personal data, to inform them that the information is inaccurate and/or out of date and is not to be used to inform decisions about the individuals concerned; and for passing any correction to the personal data to the third party where this is required.
Personal data must be processed in a manner that ensures the appropriate security.
The Data Protection Officer will carry out a risk assessment taking into account all the circumstances of The Company’s controlling or processing operations.
In determining appropriateness, the Data Protection Officer should also consider the extent of possible damage or loss that might be caused to individuals (e.g. staff or customers) if a security breach occurs, the effect of any security breach on the Company itself, and any likely reputational damage including the possible loss of customer trust.
When assessing appropriate technical measures, the Data Protection Officer will consider the following:
- Password protection
- Automatic locking of idle terminals;
- Removal of access rights for USB and other memory media
- Virus checking software and firewalls
- Role-based access rights including those assigned to temporary staff.
- Encryption of devices that leave the organisations premises such as laptops;
- Security of local and wide area networks;
- Privacy enhancing technologies such as pseudonymisation and anonymisation;
- Identifying appropriate international security standards relevant to the Company.
When assessing appropriate organisational measures the Data Protection Officer will consider the following:
- The appropriate training levels throughout The Company;
- Measures that consider the reliability of employees (such as references etc.);
- The inclusion of data protection in employment contracts;
- Identification of disciplinary action measures for data breaches;
- Monitoring of staff for compliance with relevant security standards;
- Physical access controls to electronic and paper-based records;
- Adoption of a clear desk policy;
- Storing of paper-based data in lockable fire-proof cabinets;
- Restricting the use of portable electronic devices outside of the workplace;
Restricting the use of employee’s own personal devices being used in the workplace, and adhering to the company Bring your own Device policy (if applicable)
- Adopting clear rules about passwords;
- Making regular backups of personal data and storing the media off-site;
The imposition of contractual obligations on the importing organisations to take appropriate security measures when transferring data outside the EEA.
These controls have been selected on the basis of identified risks to personal data, and the potential for damage or distress to individuals whose data is being processed.
The controller must be able to demonstrate compliance with the GDPR’s other principles (accountability)
The GDPR includes provisions that promote accountability and governance. These complement the GDPR’s transparency requirements. The accountability principle in Article 5(2) requires you to demonstrate that you comply with the principles and states explicitly that this is your responsibility.
The Company will demonstrate compliance with the data protection principles by implementing data protection policies, adhering to codes of conduct, implementing technical and organisational measures, as well as adopting techniques such as data protection by design, DPIAs, breach notification procedures
DATA SUBJECTS’ RIGHTS
Data subjects have the following rights regarding data processing and the data that is recorded about them:
- To make subject access requests regarding the nature of information held and to whom it has been disclosed.
- To prevent processing likely to cause damage or distress.
- To prevent processing for purposes of direct marketing.
- To be informed about the mechanics of automated decision-making process that will significantly affect them.
- To not have significant decisions that will affect them taken solely by automated process.
- To sue for compensation if they suffer damage by any contravention of the GDPR.
- To take action to rectify, block, erased, including the right to be forgotten, or destroy inaccurate data.
- To request the supervisory authority to assess whether any provision of the GDPR has been contravened.
- To have personal data provided to them in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and the right to have that data transmitted to another controller.
- To object to any automated profiling that is occurring without consent.
The Company ensures that data subjects may exercise these rights:
- Data subjects may make data access requests as described in Subject Access Request Procedure; this procedure also describes how The Company will ensure that its response to the data access request complies with the requirements of the GDPR.
- Data subjects have the right to complain to The Company related to the processing of their personal data, the handling of a request from a data subject and appeals from a data subject on how complaints have been handled in line with the Complaints Procedure.
CONSENT
The Company understands ‘consent’ to mean that it has been explicitly and freely given, and a specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes that, by statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her. The data subject can withdraw their consent at any time.
The Company understands ‘consent’ to mean that the data subject has been fully informed of the intended processing and has signified their agreement, while in a fit state of mind to do so and without pressure being exerted upon them. Consent obtained under duress or on the basis of misleading information will not be a valid basis for processing.
There must be some active communication between the parties to demonstrate active consent. Consent cannot be inferred from non-response to a communication.
The Controller must be able to demonstrate that consent was obtained for the processing operation.
For sensitive data, explicit written consent of data subjects must be obtained unless an alternative legitimate basis for processing exists.
In most instances, consent to process personal and sensitive data is obtained routinely by The Company using standard consent documents when a new client signs a contract, or during induction for participants on programmes.
Where The Company provides online services to children, parental or custodial authorisation must be obtained. This requirement applies to children under the age of 16 (unless the Member State has made provision for a lower age limit, which may be no lower than 13).
SECURITY OF DATA
All Employees are responsible for ensuring that any personal data that The Company holds and for which they are responsible, is kept securely and is not under any conditions disclosed to any third party unless that third party has been specifically authorised by The Company to receive that information and has entered into a confidentiality agreement
All personal data should be accessible only to those who need to use it. Data should be treated with the highest security and must be kept:
- in a lockable room with controlled access; and/or
- in a locked drawer or filing cabinet; and/or
- if computerised, password protected and/or
- stored on (removable) computer media which are encrypted.
Care must be taken to ensure that PC screens and terminals are not visible except to authorised Employees of The Company.
Manual records may not be left where they can be accessed by unauthorised personnel and may not be removed from business premises without explicit authorisation. As soon as manual records are no longer required for day-to-day client support, they must be removed from secure archiving.
Personal data may only be deleted or disposed of in line with the Retention of Records Policy and Procedure. Manual records that have reached their retention date are to be shredded and disposed of as ‘confidential waste. Hard drives of redundant PCs are to be removed and immediately destroyed before disposal.
Processing of personal data ‘off-site’ presents a potentially greater risk of loss, theft or damage to personal data. Staff must be specifically authorised to process data off-site
DISCLOSURE OF DATA
The Company must ensure that personal data is not disclosed to unauthorised third parties which includes family members, friends, government bodies, and in certain circumstances, the Police. All Employees should exercise caution when asked to disclose personal data held on another individual to a third party It is important to bear in mind whether or not disclosure of the information is relevant to, and necessary for, the conduct of The Company’s business.
All requests to provide data for one of these reasons must be supported by appropriate paperwork and all such disclosures must be specifically authorised by the Data Protection Officer / GDPR Owner.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF DATA
The Company shall not keep personal data in a form that permits identification of data subjects for longer a period than is necessary, in relation to the purpose(s) for which the data was originally collected.
The Company may store data for longer periods if the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes, subject to the implementation of appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject.
The retention period for each category of personal data will be set out in the Retention of Records Procedure along with the criteria used to determine this period including any statutory obligations The Company has to retain the data.
Personal data must be disposed of securely in accordance with the sixth principle of the GDPR – processed in an appropriate manner to maintain security, thereby protecting the “rights and freedoms” of data subjects.
DATA TRANSFERS
All exports of data from within the European Economic Area to non-European Economic Area countries (referred to in the GDPR as ‘third countries’) are unlawful unless there is an appropriate “level of protection for the fundamental rights of the data
The transfer of personal data outside of the EEA is prohibited unless one or more of the specified safeguards, or exceptions, apply:
- An adequacy decision
- The European Commission can and does assess third countries, a territory and/or specific sectors within third countries to assess whether there is an appropriate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of natural persons. In these instances, no authorisation is required.
- Countries that are members of the European Economic Area (EEA) but not of the EU are accepted as having met the conditions for an adequacy decision.
- A list of countries that currently satisfy the adequacy requirements of the Commission are published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
PRIVACY SHIELD
If The Company wishes to transfer personal data from the EU to an organisation in the United States it should check that the organisation is signed up with the Privacy Shield framework at the U.S. Department of Commerce. The obligation applying to companies under the Privacy Shield is contained in the “Privacy Principles”. The US DOC is responsible for managing and administering the Privacy Shield and ensuring that companies live up to their commitments. In order to be able to certify, companies must have a privacy policy in line with the Privacy Principles e.g. use, store and further transfer the personal data according to a strong set of data protection rules and safeguards. The protection given to the personal data applies regardless of whether the personal data is related to an EU resident or not. Organisations must renew their “membership” to the Privacy Shield on an annual basis. If they do not, they can no longer receive and use personal data from the EU under that framework.
Assessment of adequacy by the data controller
In making an assessment of adequacy, the UK based exporting controller should take account of the following factors:
- the nature of the information being transferred;
- the country or territory of the origin, and final destination, of the information;
- how the information will be used and for how long;
- the laws and practices of the country of the transferee, including relevant codes of practice and international obligations; and
- the security measures that are to be taken as regards the data in the overseas location.
Binding corporate rules
The Company may adopt approved binding corporate rules for the transfer of data outside the EU. This requires submission to the relevant supervisory authority for approval of the rules that The Company is seeking to rely upon.
Model contract clauses
The Company may adopt approved model contract clauses for the transfer of data outside of the EEA. If The Company adopts the model contract clauses approved by the relevant supervisory authority there is an automatic recognition of adequacy.
Exceptions
In the absence of an adequacy decision, Privacy Shield membership, binding corporate rules and/or model contract clauses, a transfer of personal data to a third country or international organisation shall only take place on one of the following conditions:
- the data subject has explicitly consented to the proposed transfer, after having been informed of the possible risks of such transfers for the data subject due to the absence of an adequacy decision and appropriate safeguards;
- the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between the data subject and the controller or the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken at the data subject’s request;
- the transfer is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract concluded in the interest of the data subject between the controller and another natural or legal person;
- the transfer is necessary for important reasons of public interest;• the transfer is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; and/or
- the transfer is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of other persons, where the data subject is physically or legally incapable of giving consent.
INFORMATION ASSET REGISTER/DATA INVENTORY
The Company has established a data inventory and data flow process as part of its approach to addressing risks and opportunities throughout its GDPR compliance project. The Company’s data inventory and data flow determine:
- business processes that use personal data;
- source of personal data;
- volume of data subjects;
- description of each item of personal data;
- processing activity;
- maintains the inventory of data categories of personal data processed;
- documents the purpose(s) for which each category of personal data is used;
- recipients, and potential recipients, of the personal data;
- the role of the Company throughout the data flow;
- key systems and repositories;
- any data transfers and
- all retention and disposal requirements.
The Company is aware of any risks associated with the processing of particular types of personal data.
The Company assesses the level of risk to individuals associated with the processing of their personal data. Data protection impact assessments (DPIAs) are carried out in relation to the processing of personal data by The Company and in relation to processing undertaken by other organisations on behalf of The Company.
The Company shall manage any risks identified by the risk assessment in order to reduce the likelihood of a non-conformance with this policy.
Where a type of processing, in particular using new technologies and taking into account the nature, scope, context and purposes of the processing is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, The Company shall, prior to the processing, carry out a DPIA of the impact of the envisaged processing operations on the protection of personal data. A single DPIA may address a set of similar processing operations that present similar high risks.
Where, as a result of a DPIA it is clear that The Company is about to commence processing of personal data that could cause damage and/or distress to the data subjects, the decision as to whether or not The Company may proceed must be escalated for review to the Data Protection Officer.
The Data Protection Officer shall, if there are significant concerns, either as to the potential damage or distress or the quantity of data concerned, escalate the matter to the supervisory authority.Appropriate controls will be selected and applied to reduce the level of risk associated with processing individual data to an acceptable level, by and the requirements of the GDPR.
This policy may be reviewed and updated from time to time. Any amendments will be notified to employees in writing, following consultation and/or notice where appropriate.