Tackling GDPR in the employment context

The introduction of GDPR on May 25, 2018 represents the biggest shake-up of data protection and privacy law in decades. It will radically change how we view and deal with employee personal data. A key change is that employers will effectively no longer rely upon "consent" from employees to process their data, in what is set to be a major change, and will need to have tools in place to meet requests to be forgotten.

Faced with significantly more obligations, including the need to provide much more detailed information to employees, and eye-watering fines (of up to 4 per cent annual global turnover or €20m, whichever is greater) for non-compliance, it is vital that all employers understand the new rules and are ready to comply with them.

This seminar has been designed to help in-house counsel and senior HR practitioners get to grips with the new obligations. We will take a pragmatic look at what essentials require to be done prior to May 25, 2018 as well as looking at the impact GDPR is likely to have, once introduced.

During the seminar, we will review:

• the impact on recruitment practices, including vetting candidates' social media use and reference checking;
• how to deal with existing contracts of employment which give "consent" for processing (and what steps to take to address this);
• the detailed "privacy notices" that must now be provided to employees and other individuals; the new requirements to report breaches of data security to the ICO (and in some cases to individuals as well);
• the changes to subject access requests and new rights being introduced for individuals;
• the significant fines that may be imposed for breaches and likely approach to enforcement; and
• overview of the additional requirements for contracts with data processors (such as payroll providers) being introduced.

The seminar will cover the above questions and provide an opportunity for attendees to talk about GDPR challenges affecting their businesses with lawyers at Dentons. The seminar will be preceded by a breakfast buffet and an opportunity to network.