Data Protection Policy
1. Introduction
1.1 The Data Protection Act 1998 describes how organisations – including Egremont Group – must collect, handle and store personal information.
1.2 These rules apply regardless of whether data is stored electronically, on paper or on other materials.
1.3 To comply with the law, personal information must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed unlawfully.
1.4 The Data Protection Act is underpinned by eight important principles. These say that personal data must:
1.4.1 Be processed fairly and lawfully
1.4.2 Be obtained only for specific, lawful purposes
1.4.3 Be adequate, relevant and not excessive
1.4.4 Be accurate and kept up to date
1.4.5 Not be held for any longer than necessary
1.4.6 Processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects
1.4.7 Be protected in appropriate ways
1.4.8 Not be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), unless that country or territory also ensures and adequate level of protection
1.5 Egremont Group needs to gather and use certain information about individuals and recognises its responsibilities in complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
1.6 This Policy sets out the requirements to ensure compliance with laws and regulations applicable to the collection, storage, use, processing and transfer of personal data. It applies to all staff and agency employees, and all suppliers and clients who receive personal data from the Company, have access to personal data collected or processed by the Company, or who provide information to the Company.
1.7 ‘Personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
2. Why this policy exists
2.1 This data protection policy ensures Egremont Group:
2.1.1 Complies with data protection law and follow good practice
2.1.2 Protects the rights of staff, customers and partners
2.1.3 Is open about how it stores and processes individuals’ data
2.1.4 Protects itself from the risks of a data breach
3. Data protection risks
3.1 This policy helps to protect Egremont Group from some very real data security risks, including:
3.1.1 Breaches of confidentiality. For instance, information being given out inappropriately.
3.1.2 Failing to offer choice. For instance, all individuals should be free to choose how the company uses data relating to them.
3.1.3 Reputational damage. For instance, the company could suffer if hackers successfully gained access to sensitive data.
4. Data Protection Principles
4.1 Personal data will be:
4.1.1 processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’);
4.1.2 collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes. Further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, for scientific or historical research purposes or for statistical purposes shall, in accordance with Article 89(1), not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes (‘purpose limitation’);
4.1.3 adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimisation’);
4.1.4 accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that is inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, is erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’);
4.1.5 kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, for scientific or historical research purposes or for statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by this Regulation in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject (‘storage limitation’);
4.1.6 processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’).
5. Responsibilities
5.1 Everyone who works for or with Egremont Group has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately.
5.2 Each team that handles personal data must ensure that it is handled and processed in line with this policy and data protection principles.
5.3 However, these people have key areas of responsibility:
5.3.1 The Directors are ultimately responsible for ensuring that Egremont Group meet its legal obligations.
5.3.2 The Chief of Staff, under the title Data Protection Officer, Natalie Gordon is responsible for:
A. Keeping the board updated with recommendations to ensure compliance about data protection responsibilities, risks and issues and any potential penalties for non-compliance with Data Protection laws.
B. Reviewing all data protection procedures and related policies to ensure compliance, in line with an agreed schedule.
C. Arranging data protection training and advice for the people covered by this policy.
D. Handling data protection questions from staff and anyone else covered by this policy.
E. Dealing with requests from individuals to see the data Egremont Group holds about them (also called ‘subject access requests’).
F. Disclosing to the relevant authorities and Data Subjects of any loss of personal data.
G. Checking and approving any contracts or agreements with third parties that may handle the company’s sensitive data.
H. Ensuring all systems, services and equipment used for storing data meet acceptable security standards.
I. Performing regular checks and scans to ensure security hardware and software is functioning properly.
J. Evaluating any third-party services the company is considering using to store or process data to ensure compliance. For instance, cloud computing services.
K. Approving any data protection statements attached to communication such as emails and letters.
L. Addressing any data protection queries from journalists or media outlets like newspapers.
M. Where necessary, working with other staff to ensure marketing initiatives abide by data protection principles.
N. Ensuring procedures and standard contractual provisions are made with any customer, supplier or third parties who receive personal data from the Company, have access to personal data collected or processed by the Company, or who provide information to the Company
5.3.3 The Chief of Staff will hold a quarterly personal data audit with other key accountable members of the organisation, including, but not limited to the live project data controller, the archived project data controller, the HR manager, the marketing assistant and the CFO. Any issues will be dealt with by the Chief of Staff or, if necessary, escalated to the management team meeting.
6. General staff guidelines
6.1 The only people able to access data covered by this policy should be those who need it for their work.
6.2 Personal data should not be shared informally. When access to confidential information is required, employees can request it from their line managers. If it is sent by email, it should be password protected.
6.3 Employees should complete provided Data Protection training to understand their responsibilities when handling personal data.
6.4 Employees should keep all data secure, by taking sensible precautions and following the guidelines below.
6.5 In particular, strong passwords must be used and they should never be shared.
6.6 Personal data should not be disclosed to unauthorised people, either within the company or externally.
6.7 Data should be regularly reviewed and updated if it is found to be out of date. If no longer required, it should be deleted and disposed of.
6.8 Employees should request help from their line manager or the data protection officer if they are unsure about any aspects of data protection.
6.9 When working with personal data, employees should ensure the screens of their computers are always locked when left unattended.
6.10 Devices used to process data should have hard disk encryption (whole disk) applied at all times and encryption keys stored securely.
6.11 Employees should not save copies of personal data to their own computers. Always access and update the central copy of any data.
6.12 Data must be encrypted before being transferred electronically. The IT manager can explain how to send data to authorised external contacts.
6.13 Protective measures must be in place to protect equipment used to process data from theft or corruption. Specifically, automatically updating anti-malware protection as well as fully up to date, patched software must be present on any device used to process data.
6.14 Two factor authentication should be used on systems wherever possible, especially in relation to email and file sync and share platforms.
6.15 Personal data should never be transferred outside of the European Economic Area.
6.16 Egremont Group will adhere to an agreed project approach for data handling. This approach is summarised in appendix one to this policy.
6.17 Egremont Group will adhere to an agreed sales approach for data handling. This approach is summarised in appendix two to this policy
7. Data accuracy
7.1 The law requires Egremont Group to take reasonable steps to ensure data is kept accurate and up to date.
7.2 The more important it is that the personal data is accurate, the greater the effort Egremont Group should put into ensuring its’s accuracy.
7.3 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.
7.3.1 Data will be held in as few places as necessary. Staff should not create any unnecessary additional data sets.
7.3.2 Staff should take every opportunity to ensure data is updated. For instance, by confirming a customer’s details when they call.
7.3.3 Egremont Group will make it easy for data subjects to update the information Egremont Group holds about them. For instance, via the company website.
7.3.4 Data should be updated as inaccuracies are discovered. For instance, if a customer can no longer be reaching on their stored telephone number, it should be removed from the database.
8. Data storage
8.1 The Company shall document the personal data it holds, where it came from, how it is collected and with whom it is shared. This information is held in the Personal Data Audit Review in the GDPR folder on Datto and is reviewed and updated annually
8.2 The Company will organise such information audits as are required to ensure compliance.
8.3 The Company will ensure extra safeguards for any “special categories” of personal data, including genetic and biometric information, where processed to uniquely identify an individual.
8.4 These rules describe how and where data should be safely stored. Questions about storing data safely can be directed to the Data Protection Officer.
8.5 When data is stored on paper, it should be kept in a secure place where unauthorised people cannot see it.
8.6 These guidelines also apply to data that is usually stored electronically but has been printed out for some reason:
8.6.1 When not required, the paper or files should be kept in a locked drawer or filing cabinet.
8.6.2 Employees should make sure paper and printouts are not left where unauthorised people could see them, like on a printer.
8.6.3 Data printouts should be shredded and disposed of securely when no longer required.
8.7 When data is stored electronically, it must be protected from unauthorised access, accidental deletion and malicious hacking attempts.
8.8 Data should be protected by strong passwords that are changed regularly and never shared between employees.
8.8.1 If data is stored on removable media (like USB, CD or DVD), these should be kept locked away securely when not being used. Data on such devices should be encrypted wherever possible.
8.8.2 Data should only be stored on designated drives and servers and should only be uploaded to approved cloud computing services.
8.8.3 Data should be backed up frequently. Those backups should be tested regularly, in line with the company’s standard backup procedures.
8.8.4 Data should never be saved directly to laptops or other mobile devices like tablets or smart phones, outside of designated file sync and share platform locations.
8.8.5 All servers and computers containing data should be protected by approved security software and a firewall.
9. Communicating Privacy Information
9.1 The Company will provide such Privacy Notices to ensure Data Subjects are aware of:
9.1.1 what it is going to do with their information;
9.1.2 who it will be shared with;
9.1.3 the lawful basis for processing the data;
9.1.4 the data retention periods;
9.1.5 their right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if they think there is a problem with the way the data is being handled.
10. Consent
10.1 The Company will ensure that:
10.1.1 data subjects are provided with a clear explanation of the processing to which they are consenting;
10.1.2 the consent mechanism is genuinely of a voluntary and "opt-in" nature;
10.1.3 data subjects are permitted to withdraw their consent easily;
10.1.4 it does not rely on silence or inactivity to collect consent (e.g., pre-ticked boxes do not constitute valid consent);
10.1.5 wherever it relies on the consent of EU employees as a lawful basis for processing personal data, it will consider whether such consent is freely given.
11. Providing information
11. 1 Egremont Group aims to ensure that individuals are aware that their data is being processed, and that they understand:
1.1.1 How the data is being used
1.1.2 How to exercise their rights
11.2 To these ends, the company has a privacy statement, setting out how data relating to individuals is used by the company. The statement can be found on Datto in the EG4/GDPR folder
12. Data Subject Rights
12.1 The GDPR guidelines provide rights for Data Subjects, in particular:
12.1.1 to be informed of information held about them;
12.1.2 to access information held on them;
12.1.3 to rectify the information held on them;
12.1.4 to erase information held on them;
12.1.5 to restrict the processing of the personal data;
12.1.6 to data portability;
12.1.7 to object to the personal data held about them;
12.1.8 not to be subject to automated decision-making including profiling.
13. Subject access requests
13.1 All individuals who are the subject of personal data held by Egremont Group are entitled to:
13.1.1 Ask what information the company holds about them and why.
13.1.2 Ask how to gain access to it.
13.1.3 Be informed how to keep it up to date.
13.1.4 Be informed how the company is meeting its data protection obligations.
13.1.5 Ask for the erasure of their data
13.1.6 Restrict processing of their data
13.2 The individual can contact the company directly and the DPO will be informed and set off the process to deal with the request.
13.3 If an individual contacts the company requesting this information, this is called a subject access request and the company will respond in line with the required timescales (one month).
13.4 The Company will always verify the identity of anyone making a subject access request and will consider the nature of the request made and respond accordingly.
13.5 The Company may refuse charge for or requests that are manifestly unfounded or excessive, informing the individual why and advising that they have the right to Information Commissioner’s Office.
14. Disclosing data for other reasons
14.1 In certain circumstances, the Data Protection Act allows personal data to be disclosed to law enforcement agencies without the consent of the data subject.
14.2 Under these circumstances, Egremont Group will disclose requested data. However, the data controller will ensure the request is legitimate, seeking assistance from the board and from the company’s legal advisers where necessary.
15. Data Breaches
15.1 The Company will ensure that it has in place procedures in place to detect, report and investigate a personal data breach. The procedure can be found on Datto in the EG4/GDPR folder
16. Policy Reviews
16.1 This Policy shall be reviewed at such frequencies as are determined by the Board or when necessitated by legislation.