GDPR Policy
Coeus Intelligence
Introduction
We hold personal data about our employees, clients, suppliers and other individuals
for a variety of business purposes.
This policy sets out how we seek to protect personal data and ensure that staff
understand the rules governing their use of personal data to which they have access
in the course of their work. In particular, this policy requires staff to ensure that the
Data Protection Officer (DPO) be consulted before any significant new data
processing activity is initiated to ensure that relevant compliance steps are
addressed.
Definitions
Business
purposes
The purposes for which personal data may be used by us:
Personnel, administrative, financial, regulatory,
investigative, payroll and business development
purposes.
Business purposes include the following:
– Compliance with our legal, regulatory and
corporate governance obligations and good
practice
– Gathering information as part of investigations
by regulatory bodies or in connection with legal
proceedings, legal investigations or other
requests
– Ensuring business policies are adhered to (such
as policies covering email and internet use)
– Operational reasons, such as recording
transactions, training and quality control,
ensuring the confidentiality of commercially
sensitive information, security vetting, credit
scoring and checking
– Investigating complaints
2– Checking references, ensuring safe working
practices, monitoring and managing staff
access to systems and facilities and staff
absences, administration and assessments
– Monitoring staff conduct, disciplinary matters
– Marketing our business
– Improving services
Personal
data
Information relating to identifiable individuals, such as job
applicants, current and former employees, agency,
contract and other staff, clients, suppliers and marketing
contacts.
Personal data we gather may include: individuals’ contact
details, educational background, financial and pay details,
details of certificates and diplomas, education and skills,
marital status, nationality, job title, and CV.
Sensitive
personal
data
Personal data about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin,
political opinions, religious or similar beliefs, trade union
membership (or non-membership), physical or mental
health or condition, criminal offences, or related
proceedings—any use of sensitive personal data should
be strictly controlled in accordance with this policy.
Scope
This policy applies to all staff. You must be familiar with this policy and
comply with its terms.
This policy supplements our other policies relating to internet and email
use. We may supplement or amend this policy by additional policies and
guidelines from time to time. Any new or modified policy will be
circulated to staff before being adopted.
Who is responsible for this policy?
As our Data Protection Officer, Neil Bullock has overall responsibility for
the day-to-day implementation of this policy.
3Our procedures
Fair and lawful processing
We must process personal data fairly and lawfully in accordance with
individuals’ rights. This generally means that we should not process
personal data unless the individual whose details we are processing has
consented to this happening. The exception to this is where the person is
the subject of a confidential investigation.
The Data Protection Officer’s responsibilities:
• Keeping the board updated about data protection responsibilities,
risks and issues
• Reviewing all data protection procedures and policies on a regular
basis
• Arranging data protection training and advice for all staff members
and those included in this policy
• Answering questions on data protection from staff, board members
and other stakeholders
• Responding to individuals such as clients and employees who wish
to know which data is being held on them by Coeus Intelligence
• Checking and approving with third parties that handle the
company’s data any contracts or agreement regarding data
processing
• Ensure all systems, services, software and equipment meet
acceptable security standards
• Checking and scanning security hardware and software regularly to
ensure it is functioning properly
• Researching third-party services, such as cloud services the
company is considering using to store or process data
4• Approving data protection statements attached to emails and other
marketing copy
• Addressing data protection queries from clients, target audiences or
media outlets
• Coordinating with the DPO to ensure all marketing initiatives adhere
to data protection laws and the company’s Data Protection Policy
The processing of all data must be:
• Necessary to deliver our services
• In our legitimate interests and not unduly prejudice the individual’s
privacy
• In most cases this provision will apply to routine business data
processing activities.
Our Terms of Business contains a Privacy Notice to clients on data
protection.
The notice:
• Sets out the purposes for which we hold personal data on customers
and employees
• Highlights that our work may require us to give information to third
parties such as expert witnesses and other professional advisers
• Provides that customers have a right of access to the personal data
that we hold about them
Sensitive personal data
In most cases where we process sensitive personal data we will require
the data subject’s explicit consent to do this unless exceptional
circumstances apply such as the existence of a confidential investigation
or we are required to do this by law (e.g. to comply with legal obligations
to ensure health and safety at work). Any such consent will need to clearly
identify what the relevant data is, why it is being processed and to whom
it will be disclosed.
5Accuracy and relevance
We will ensure that any personal data we process is accurate, adequate,
relevant and not excessive, given the purpose for which it was obtained.
We will not process personal data obtained for one purpose for any
unconnected purpose unless the individual concerned has agreed to this
or would otherwise reasonably expect this.
Individuals may ask that we correct inaccurate personal data relating to
them. If you believe that information is inaccurate you should record the
fact that the accuracy of the information is disputed and inform the DPO,
Neil Bullock.
Your personal data
You must take reasonable steps to ensure that personal data we hold
about you is accurate and updated as required. For example, if your
personal circumstances change, please inform the Data Protection Officer
so that they can update your records.
Data security
You must keep personal data secure against loss or misuse. Where other
organisations process personal data as a service on our behalf, the DPO
will establish what, if any, additional specific data security arrangements
need to be implemented in contracts with those third party organisations.
Storing data securely
• In cases when data is stored on printed paper, it should be kept in
a secure place where unauthorised personnel cannot access it
• Printed data should be shredded when it is no longer needed
• Data stored on a computer should be protected by strong passwords
that are changed regularly. We encourage all staff to use a
password manager to create and store their passwords.
• Data stored on CDs or memory sticks must be locked away securely
when they are not being used
6• The DPO must approve any cloud used to store data
• Servers containing personal data must be kept in a secure location,
away from general office space
• Data should be regularly backed up in line with the company’s
backup procedures
• Data should never be saved directly to mobile devices such as
laptops, tablets or smartphones
• All servers containing sensitive data must be approved and
protected by security software and strong firewall.
Data retention
We must retain personal data for no longer than is necessary. What is
necessary will depend on the circumstances of each case, taking into
account the reasons that the personal data was obtained, but should be
determined in a manner consistent with our data retention guidelines.
Transferring data internationally
There are restrictions on international transfers of personal data. You
must not transfer personal data anywhere outside the UK without first
consulting the Data Protection Officer.
Subject access requests
Please note that under the Data Protection Act 1998, individuals are
entitled, subject to certain exceptions, to request access to information
held about them.
If you receive a subject access request, you should refer that request
immediately to the DPO. We may ask you to help us comply with those
requests.
Please contact the Data Protection Officer if you would like to correct or
request information that we hold about you. There are also restrictions
on the information to which you are entitled under applicable law.
7Processing data in accordance with the individual’s
rights
You should abide by any request from an individual not to use their
personal data for direct marketing purposes and notify the DPO about any
such request.
Do not send direct marketing material to someone electronically (e.g. via
email) unless you have an existing business relationship with them in
relation to the services being marketed.
Please contact the DPO for advice on direct marketing before starting any
new direct marketing activity.
Training
All staff will receive training on this policy. New joiners will receive training
as part of the induction process. Further training will be provided at least
every two years or whenever there is a substantial change in the law or
our policy and procedure.
Training is provided through an in-house seminar on a regular basis.
It will cover:
• The law relating to data protection
• Our data protection and related policies and procedures.
Completion of training is compulsory.
GDPR provisions
Where not specified previously in this policy, the following provisions will
be in effect on or before 25 May 2018.
Privacy Notice – transparency of data protection
Being transparent and providing accessible information to individuals
about how we will use their personal data is important for our organisation.
8The following are categories on how we collect data and what we will do
with it and will vary from case to case:
What information is being
collected?
Who is collecting it?
How is it collected?
Why is it being collected?
How will it be used?
Who will it be shared with?
Identity and contact details of any
data controllers
Details of transfers to third country
and safeguards
Retention period
Conditions for processing
We will ensure any use of personal data is justified using at least one of
the conditions for processing and this will be specifically documented. All
staff who are responsible for processing personal data will be aware of
the conditions for processing. The conditions for processing will be
available to data subjects in the form of a privacy notice.
Justification for personal data
We will process personal data in compliance with all six data protection
principles.
We will document the additional justification for the processing of sensitive
data, and will ensure any biometric and genetic data is considered
sensitive.
Consent
Where appropriate, the data that we collect is subject to active consent by
the data subject. This consent can be revoked at any time.
9Criminal record checks
Any criminal record checks are justified by law. Criminal record checks
cannot be undertaken based solely on the consent of the subject.
Data portability
Upon request and where justified and appropriate, a data subject should
have the right to receive a copy of their data in a structured format. These
requests should be processed within one month, provided there is no
undue burden and it does not compromise the privacy of other individuals.
A data subject may also request that their data is transferred directly to
another system. This must be done for free.
Right to be forgotten
A data subject may request that any information held on them is deleted
or removed, and any third parties who process or use that data must also
comply with the request. An erasure request can only be refused if an
exemption applies.
Privacy by design and default
Privacy by design is an approach to projects that promote privacy and
data protection compliance from the start. The DPO will be responsible for
conducting Privacy Impact Assessments and ensuring that all IT projects
commence with a privacy plan.
When relevant, and when it does not have a negative impact on the data
subject, privacy settings will be set to the most private by default.
International data transfers
No data may be transferred outside of the EEA without first discussing it
with the data protection officer. Specific consent from the data subject
must be obtained prior to transferring their data outside the EEA.
Data audit and register
10Regular data audits to manage and mitigate risks will inform the data
register. This contains information on what data is held, where it is stored,
how it is used, who is responsible and any further regulations or retention
timescales that may be relevant.
Reporting breaches
All members of staff have an obligation to report actual or potential data
protection compliance failures. This allows us to:
• Investigate the failure and take remedial steps if necessary
• Maintain a register of compliance failures
• Notify the Supervisory Authority (SA) of any compliance failures that
are material either in their own right or as part of a pattern of failures
Please refer to our Compliance Failure Policy for our reporting procedure.
Monitoring
Everyone must observe this policy. The DPO has overall responsibility for
this policy. They will monitor it regularly to make sure it is being adhered
to.
Consequences of failing to comply
We take compliance with this policy very seriously. Failure to comply puts
both you and the organisation at risk.
The importance of this policy means that failure to comply with any
requirement may lead to disciplinary action under our procedures which
may result in dismissal. A solicitor in breach of Data Protection
responsibility under the law or the Code of Conduct may be struck off.
If you have any questions or concerns about anything in this policy, do not
hesitate to contact the DPO.