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Most business owners understand the need to store personal information on their company’s computer system safely. However, there is less online guidance concerning the potential act of sharing personal data outside your organisation. This is because the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act encourage businesses to avoid doing so outside specific circumstances. This article will explore situations where your UK business can share personal information with others without the content of that individual. This should allow your company to weigh the pros and cons of doing so in particular circumstances.
What is the GDPR?
The General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) sets data protection rules for UK organisations. One of its primary purposes is to protect personal information and deter inappropriate use. Consequently, the starting point for UK businesses is that, generally, you should avoid sharing personal information sharing without the consent of the individual.
However, as with most rules, certain exceptions allow your business to do so. Within this article, we will explore when your company may wish to use an appropriate exemption. It is vital to ensure full compliance with the GDPR when sharing personal information, given the ability of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to fine businesses up to £17.5m for GDPR violations.
Who are the ICO?
The Information Commissioner’s Office is an independent body that can impose significant financial penalties on UK businesses in breach of data protection law.
Let us explore some reasons for wishing to share personal information with others and the appropriate GDPR-derived exemptions that allow this.
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Why Share Personal Data With Others?
Suppose you run an advertising agency, and your employees are all subject to income tax and national insurance contributions. HMRC audits your business and seeks information regarding certain individual staff members (data subjects). Generally, payslips will contain information about their pay, home address, full name and national insurance number. Consider whether you must obtain consent from those individuals before disclosing that information regarding their payslips.
This is similar to the Police investigating a crime and seeking to view CCTV footage relating to a staff member. Your company is bound to provide information relevant to their investigation absent that individual’s consent. The GDPR allows this because it is in the public interest to permit data sharing with law enforcement bodies.
Scenarios Outside Law Enforcement
Let us say that your business has 50 staff members and uses an online payroll management system. Your employment contracts with those staff members will legally bind you to pay them an appropriate monthly wage, most likely by bank transfer by a specific date.
Most online payroll systems require you to enter personal details into their system (such as full name, home address, email address and national insurance number). This information is necessary to ensure accurate and swift wage payments.
In this scenario, your business does not need to obtain prior consent from each of your staff members before wage payments. Instead, it can utilise the ‘performance of a contract’ exemption. This exemption relies on the fact that an individual has asked your business to carry out a task (in this case, to pay them a wage), and that involves sharing non-sensitive personal information.
This is similar to a customer asking you to post an item to them and your company using Royal Mail. Providing a customer’s name and delivery address details to Royal Mail is technically an exchange of personal information. However, because the individual has asked for delivery as part of the purchase, this comes under the contract performance exemption.
Key Takeaways
Fortunately, the GDPR takes a common sense view to businesses sharing personal information with others. If that information is reasonably provided to comply with the law or carry out the fair performance of a contract, the ICO usually allows this. It is only when a business provides personal information absent exemption or consent (for example, selling personal data to telemarketers) that companies get in trouble with the ICO.
If you need help ensuring the safe disclosure of personal information outside your company, our experienced Data, Privacy and IT lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
The starting point is obtaining prior consent before sharing personal information. Your company should only consider doing otherwise where an appropriate GDPR exemption applies.
You should always attempt to obtain prior consent from an individual where the information requested is sensitive personal data. Sensitive personal data includes information relating to sexual orientation, health conditions and political viewpoints.
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