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Essential points 

  • Data protection is about safeguarding important information and making sure it is used properly and legally.
  • Data protection is a legal entitlement. There are core UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 principles that people professionals must follow.
  • Broadly, employers should only keep the data they need about their employees and workers to fulfil their contractual obligations (for example, paying salary), or other legal requirements (for example, paying National Insurance Contributions). This information could include name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number, bank details emergency contact details and any disciplinary action taken against them.  
  • The following page will support people professionals to know where consent is needed, the security requirements for employees’ personal data, the regularity of review of this storage and the legal obligations to notify the ICO of all data breaches.  
  • Employees also have rights to access their data (known as a SAR/DSAR) and people professionals should be aware of these rights and how they have been tested in case law. Details of this is provided in the following page. 
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Disclaimer 

​Please note: While every care has been taken in compiling this content, CIPD cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. These notes are not intended to be a substitute for specific legal advice. 

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