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General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Guidance

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018

1. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) governs the collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal data, whether held electronically (e.g. in emails, on computer) or in paper/microfiche records. It applies to all staff who create, store, handle or view personal information that relates to any living individual who can be identified from that data or other information held by Clark Boyle Ltd.

2. An employer’s first priority is to comply with the law and to inform staff that they can in some cases be held responsible if any personal data are improperly disclosed or collected. Clark Boyle Ltd. must:

  • be quite open about the reasons why there is a need to collect personal data;
  • ensure that any personal data collected are relevant, adequate and not excessive, accurate and held for no longer than necessary;
  • ensure that personal data are only used for the purposes registered under the Act;
  • ensure the security of the personal data held;
  • have measures in place to provide subject access allowing individuals to reassure themselves that everything operates properly to protect the confidentiality and accuracy of personal data.

3. Clark Boyle Ltd.’s Data Protection Policy and Guidelines can be viewed on the shared area of the server. Any breach or violation of this policy or the regulations governing the use of computing facilities will be regarded as a disciplinary offence and be dealt with under Clark Boyle Ltd.’s disciplinary procedures.

4. Registered data users must comply with the Data Protection Principles in relation to the personal data they hold. Personal data shall be:

  • obtained and processed fairly and lawfully;
  • held for specified lawful purpose(s) and not be used or disclosed in a way incompatible with the purpose(s);
  • adequate, relevant and not excessive for the purpose(s);
  • accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date;
  • not kept longer than necessary;
  • available to the data subject and processed in accordance with their rights;
  • kept secure (safe from unauthorised access, accidental damage or loss);
  • not transferred outside the European Economic Area unless certain safeguards are in place and certain conditions are met.

5. The Data Protection Principles also provide for individuals to have access to data held about themselves and, where appropriate, to have the data corrected or deleted.

6. Written requests from individuals to have access to the data held about them should be directed to their line manager who will co-ordinate such requests.

7. As a data controller, Clark Boyle Ltd. is legally obliged to notify its uses of personal data to the Information Commissioner, as part of a public register of data controllers.

8. Clark Boyle Ltd.’s Data Protection Officer, besides overseeing subject access requests, undertakes the registration of data on behalf of Clark Boyle Ltd. It is, therefore, essential that departments supply as much information as possible about their use of personal data. Individuals are not expected to register independently but it is vitally important that all qualifying activity is recorded. Registration is an ongoing process. Penalties can be imposed for material which is not registered and it will be easier to withdraw than to undertake subsequent registration of specific items. Staff are therefore asked to undertake annually a survey of all their records and to determine those which fall within the scope of the Act. For further information and guidelines, please contact your line manager.

Data Protection Policy

Introduction

Clark Boyle Ltd. needs to gather and use certain information about individuals. These can include customers, suppliers, business contacts, employees and other people the Form has a relationship with or may need to contact. This policy describes how this personal data must be collected, handles and stored to meet the company’s data protection standards – and to comply with the law.

Why this policy exists

This data protection policy ensures Clark Boyle Ltd:

  • Complies with data protection law and follows good practice
  • Protects the rights of staff, customers and partners
  • Is open about how it stores and processes individuals’ data
  • Protects itself from the risks of a data breach

Data Protection Law

The data protection Act 1998 describes how organisations, including Clark Boyle Ltd., must collect, handle and store personal information. These rules apply regardless of whether the data is stored electronically, on paper or on other materials. To comply with the law, personal information must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed unlawfully. The Data Protection Act is underpinned by eight important principles.  These say that personal data must:

  • Be processed fairly and lawfully
  • Be obtained only for specific, lawful purposes
  • Be adequate, relevant and not excessive
  • Be accurate and kept up to date
  • Not be held for any longer than necessary
  • Processed in accordance with the rights of the data subjects
  • Be protected in appropriate ways
  • Not be transferred outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), unless that country or territory also ensures an adequate level of protection

Policy Scope

This policy applies to:

  • All offices of Clark Boyle Ltd.
  • All staff and volunteers of Clark Boyle Ltd.
  • All contractors, suppliers and other people working on behalf of Clark Boyle Ltd.

It applies to all data that the company holds relating to identifiable individuals, even if that information technically falls outside of the Data protection Act 1998.  This can include:

  • Names of individuals
  • Postal addresses
  • Email addresses
  • Telephone numbers
  • Any other information relating to individuals

Data protection risks

This policy helps to protect Clark Boyle Ltd. from some very real data security risks including:

  • Breaches of confidentiality. For instance, information being given out inappropriately
  • Failing to offer choice. For instance, all individuals should be free to choose how the company uses data relating to them.
  • Reputational damage. For instance, the company could suffer if hackers successfully gained access to sensitive data.

Responsibilities

Everyone who works for or with Clark Boyle Ltd. has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately. Each team that handles personal data must ensure that it is handled and processed in line with this policy and data protection principles. However, these people have key areas of responsibility:

  • The Board of Directors are ultimately responsible for ensuring that Clark Boyle Ltd. meets its legal obligations.
  • The Data Protection Officer is responsible for:
  • Keeping the board updated about data protection responsibilities, risks and issues.
  • Reviewing all data protection procedures and related policies, in line with an agreed schedule.
  • Arranging data protection training and advice for the people covered by this policy
  • Handling data protection questions from staff and anyone else covered by this policy
  • Dealing with requests from individuals to see the data that Clark Boyle Ltd. holds about them (subject access requests).
  • Checking an approving any contracts or agreements with third parties that may handle the company’s sensitive data.

The IT manager is responsible for:

  • Ensuring all systems, services and equipment used for storing data meet the acceptable security standards.
  • Performing regular checks and scans to ensure security hardware and software is functioning properly.
  • Evaluating any third-party services the company is considering using to store or process data. For instance cloud computing services.

The marketing manager, is responsible for:

  • Approving any data protection statements attached to communications such as emails and letters.
  • Addressing any data protection queries form journalists or media outlets such as newspapers.
  • Where necessary, working with other staff to ensure marketing initiatives abide by data protection principles.

General staff guidelines

  • The only people able to access data covered buy this policy should be those who need it for their work.
  • Data should not be shared informally. When access to confidential information is required, employees can request it from their line managers
  • Clark Boyle Ltd. will provide training to all employees to help them understand their responsibilities when handling data.
  • Employees should keep all data secure, by taking sensible precautions and following the guidelines below.
  • In particular strong passwords must be used and they should never be shared.
  • Personal data should not be disclosed to unauthorised people, whether within the company or externally.
  • Data should be regularly reviewed ad updated if it is found to be out of date. If no longer required, it should be deleted and disposed of.
  • Employees should request help from their line manager or the data protection officer if they are unsure about any aspect of data protection.

Data storage

These rules describe how and where data should be safely stored.  Questions about storing data safely can be directed to the IT manager or data controller. When data is stored on paper, it should be kept in a secure place where unauthorised people cannot see it. These guidelines also apply to data that is usually stored electronically but has been printed out for some reason:

  • When not required, the paper or files should be kept in a locked drawer or filing cabinet.
  • Employees should make sure that paper and printouts are not left where unauthorised people could see them, like on a printer.
  • Data printouts should be shredded and disposed of securely when no longer required.

When data is stored electronically, it must be protected from unauthorised access, accidental deletion and malicious hacking attempts:

  • Data should be protected by strong passwords that are changed regularly and never shared between employees.
  • If data is stored on removable media (like a CD or DVD), these should be kept locked away securely when not being used.
  • Data should only be stored on designated drives and servers, and should only be uploaded to an approved cloud computing service.
  • Servers containing personal data should be sited in a secure location, away from general office space.
  • Data should be backed up frequently. Those backups should be tested regularly, in line with the company’s standard back up procedures.
  • Data should never be saved directly to laptops or mobile devices like tablets or smart phones.
  • All servers and computers containing data should be protected by approved security software and a firewall.

Data use

Personal data is of no value to Clark Boyle Ltd. unless the business can make use of it.  However, it is when personal data is accessed and used that it can be at the greatest risk of loss, corruption or theft.

  • When working with personal data, employees should ensure the screens of their computers are locked away when left unattended.
  • Personal data should not be shared informally. In particular, it should never be sent by email, as this form of communication is not secure.
  • Data must be encrypted before being transferred electronically. The IT manager can explain how to send data to authorised external contacts.
  • Personal data should never be transferred outside the EEA.
  • Employees should not save copies of personal data to their own computers. Always access and update the central copy of any data.

Data accuracy

The law requires Clark Boyle Ltd. to take reasonable steps to ensure that data is kept accurate and up to date. The more important it is that the personal data is accurate, the greater the effort Clark Boyle Ltd. should put into ensuring its accuracy. It is the responsibility of all employees who work with data to take reasonable steps to ensure it is kept as accurate and up to date as possible.

  • Data will be held in as few places as necessary. Staff should not create any unnecessary additional data sets.
  • Staff should take every opportunity to ensure that data is updated. For instance, by confirming a customer’s details when they call.
  • Clark Boyle Ltd. will make it easy for data subjects to update the information Clark Boyle Ltd. holds about them. For instance via company website.
  • Data should be updated as inaccuracies are discovered. For instance, if a customer can no longer be reached on their stored telephone number, it should be removed from the database.
  • It is the marketing manager’s responsibility to ensure that marketing databases are checked against industry suppression files every six months.

Subject access requests

All individuals who are subject of personal data held by Clark Boyle Ltd. are entitled to:

  • Ask what information the company holds about them and why
  • Ask how to gain access to it.
  • Be informed how to keep it up to date
  • Be informed how the company is meeting its data protection obligations

If an individual contacts the company requesting this information, this is called a subject access request. Subject access requests from individuals should be made by email, addressed to the data controller using the contact form. Individuals will be charged £10 per subject access request.  The data controller will aim to provide the relevant data within 14 days. The data controller will always verify the identity of anyone making such a request before handing over the information.

Disclosing data for other reasons

In certain circumstances, the Data Protection Act allows personal data to be disclosed to law enforcement agencies without the consent of the data subject. Under these circumstances, Clark Boyle Ltd. will disclose requested data.  However, that data controller will ensure the request is legitimate, seeking assistance from the Directors and from the company’s legal advisers where necessary.

Providing information

Clark Boyle Ltd. aims to ensure that individuals are aware that their data is being processed, and that they understand:

  • How the data is being used
  • How to exercise their rights

To these ends, the company has a privacy statement, setting out how the data relating to individuals is being used by the company. This is available on request.  This statement is also available here.