Back to Basics - Collection Notices

One of the keys to collecting information in line with the Data Protection Act is to ensure that you are telling the person providing the information a few key things. Collection notices aren't properly understood and are sometimes overly complicated.

So here are the basics, a collection notice must tell the person providing their information:

(a) who the organisation collecting the information is

(b) what the information provided will be used for

(c) how the information will be stored and for how long

(d) whether the information will be shared with another organisation or organisations

The wording does not have to be formal, you can just write in plain english the information required.

Collection notices should be provided on both paper and electronic forms. Frequently individuals do not remmebr signing up for something or when they gave information so to ensure that you stay off the ICO's naughty step you should record when the information was collected and this should be retained for the life of your relationship with the individual. Additionally, if it is a paper form you either need to hold the hard copy or have a scanned copy for your records. This will all help with proving that you are protecting the individuals privacy should you need to.

Remember that regardless of whether you are registered with the ICO you have to comply with the Data Protection Act so any forms that you use for the collection of information MUST have a data collection notice on it. Without a valid collection notice you are breaking the law! 

Data Protection Training - Are you doing it for your staff (and Volunteers)?

The Information Commissioners Office has reprimanded the Alzheimer's Society for a number of breaches of the Data Protection Act, including failing to provide regular training to staff and volunteers on Data Protection Compliance.

The enforcement notice states that the charity has failed to comply with two data protection principles and has issued a set of ten action points which need to be complied with within a period of six months.

The key issue is that the charity has not been training its staff or volunteers on a regular basis with regard to the requirements of the Act. This has led to breaches of the Act, probably due to lack of knowledge. So what do you need to do to avoid the wrath of the ICO?

All organisations should be regularly training their staff (and volunteers) in the requirements of the Data Protection Act at least every two years. 

So what should your training cover? As a minimum you would want to inform all staff:

• Who the Data Protection Officer
• What personal information is
• How information should be collected, stored and destroyed
• The time-scales for destruction (i.e. a retention policy)
• An awareness of the checks they should be undertaking before providing information to someone (Subject Access Requests)
• How to ensure that sharing information via email is carried out securely
• The constraints on using their own devices for work purposes.

An organisation should also have policies and procedures to support these elements. Remember, these are THE BASICS! 

Any training undertaken should be recorded as to what the training covered, who attended and the date. You will need to keep these records in case of an issue with the ICO at a later date. Showing that you have trained the staff (and volunteers) on a regular basis shows a commitment to compliance with the Act.

If you have any questions or want to run a training session for your staff, we run in house courses tailored to your needs, so please contact me.

Paper Forms - Do you have the basics in place?

It's been a busy week and whilst I have been out and about I have needed to complete some forms. I completed three different forms and not one of them met the requirements of the Data Protection Act with regard to collection notices.
Most of the forms were collecting basic details -  the usual - name, address, DOB. The forms were being used by a health professional, charity and college.

So what did I learn this week. Ultimately most of the organisations who collected information about me did not even meet the basic requirements of a collection notice on the form. A collection notice tells the person providing the information what their information will be used for, how it will be stored and for how long and if it is going to be shared with anyone. I have asked each of the organisations for whom I have completed a form what they intend to use my information for. It is worrying that if an organisation cannot even collect the information properly, how are they storing it and who has access to it. Given the significant rise in identify theft, I have provided enough information for this to happen.

Remember that regardless of whether you are registered with the ICO you have to comply with the Data Protection Act so any forms that you use for the collection of information MUST have a data collection notice on it. Without a valid collection notice you are breaking the law!

If you need help to produce a collection notice or require a review of your forms, please contact me.