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They must process certain information about you and other employees in order to monitor employment history, performance, achievements, and health and safety etc. However, this information must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed to any other personal unlawfully. The Data Protection Act 1998 requires your employer to comply with a number of principles in relation to the personal data they retain in that it must be:
You are entitled to know what personal information your employer holds about you and the purpose for which it is used, how to gain access to it, how it is kept up to date, and what they are doing to comply with their obligations under the Data Protection Act.
You are also responsible for certain aspects of data protection, such as checking that any information that you have provided to your employer in connection with your employment is accurate and up to date. You must also comply with the Data Protection Act when processing personal data in the course of your work. Any breach of data protection policy, whether deliberate or through negligence, may justify your employer in taking disciplinary action and could in certain cases result in criminal prosecution.
Personal information should be kept in a secure environment, or if it is computerised, be password protected, or be kept only on disk, which is itself kept securely.
You have the right to access any personal data that is kept about you, either on computer or in files. If you wish to exercise this right, you should put your request in writing, accompanied by the correct fee. Your employer should deal with such access requests as quickly as possible and in any event, they must ensure that a response is provided to you within 40 days of receipt of your request and payment of the correct fee. There are certain categories of information that they are not obliged to provide, such as plans for promoting you and copies of references given to prospective employers.
If you consider that there has been a breach of the Data Protection Act in respect of personal data about you, you should raise the matter initially with the person responsible for dealing with data control. If the matter is not resolved it may be taken further in accordance with the company’s grievance procedures.
If you believe that your data protection rights are being compromised, or you simply want more information about data protection in general, Ashby Cohen can help you. We specialise in employment law cases, and our years of experience as employment lawyers make us uniquely qualified to assist you with any data protection issues you may have. Please contact us for an initial free consultation.
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