CORONAVIRUS - DATA PROTECTION - 04.06.2020

New data protection and coronavirus information hub

The Information Commissioner’s Office has created an online information hub to help employers navigate data protection during the pandemic. What topics does it cover?

General guidance

The information hub (see Follow up ) sets out general guidance, in Q&A format, covering what you need to know about data protection during the pandemic, including the security measures for working from home. It usefully includes a section enabling you to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for further advice.

Specific guidance

There’s also specific guidance on the ICO’s regulatory approach during coronavirus and on workplace testing. The former provides that the ICO will take an “empathetic and pragmatic approach” to enforcement, giving organisations longer to respond during investigations and possibly longer to rectify any breaches. It also expects fewer investigations to be conducted and a reduction in the level of fines. The latter covers the extent to which you can carry out tests on workers to determine if they have coronavirus or symptoms of it. It makes clear that any testing needs to comply with the GDPR .

Pro advice. The guidance discusses such areas as: the lawful basis that can be used for testing employees; demonstrating compliance with data protection principles; data retention and sharing; and the use of on-site temperature checks or thermal cameras for testing staff.

Data protection and coronavirus information hub

It covers the security measures for homeworking, how it intends to regulate during coronavirus and the tricky issue of workplace testing, as well as more general Q&A.

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