Data Protection & GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on 25th May 2018 – bringing about the most fundamental change in data protection law in a generation. Its purpose is to protect the rights of individuals and the security of their data. This new regime impacts every business, public authority and non-commercial organisation in the UK. Not complying with the GDPR will have heavy consequences.

The GDPR introduces far heavier fines (up to €20 million) for organisations which do not follow the new requirements for valid consent.

Key changes include:

• Far heavier fines – up to €20million or 4% of worldwide turnover (whichever is higher)
• New and stricter requirements for valid consent
• More extensive compliance requirements for all agreements involving personal data
• Compulsory reporting of data breaches and strict time limits for doing so
• In some cases, a duty to appoint a data protection officer
• New data subject rights, and changes to the rules dealing with subject access requests
• Data processors being directly liable for breaches of the law
• Strict requirements for privacy policies and notices
• A requirement to carry out privacy impact assessments in some situations.

GDPR won’t stop your business in its tracks, but you should be doing things differently to avoid breaking the law.

Why choose our GDPR team?

• We can guide you through a long, complex process with site visits, tailored training and helplines
• Our specialist data protection lawyers are frequent speakers at trade events and GDPR conferences
• We can support your GDPR compliance processes with model contracts, documents and clear policies
• Charity-specific – we have particular expertise with assisting non-profit organisations with GDPR

We know the GDPR can seem overwhelming. Our specialist lawyers have helped numerous clients put in place the effective policies, contracts and procedures required to avoid fines and reputational damage.

We can advise on new data subject rights and changes to the rules dealing with subject access requests. Our lawyers can explain how the introduction of data processor liability affects your supply chain and how to manage this. If you haven’t already, you probably need new (or revised) contracts, privacy policies/notices, and we can help with those too. In addition, we run training seminars and workshops for clients and provide them with guidance and templates documents.

Whether you have questions about international data transfers, direct marketing or profiling – we offer a full spectrum of services to get your organisation fully compliant with the GDPR.

Charities and the non-profit sector will also benefit from our specialist knowledge; we understand the issues of moving to opt-in communications and the challenges that entails.

Get in touch with our experts now to see how we can help you get your organisation with GDPR issues.