Skip over navigation

Search results for Protecting your employees’ data

Subjects

Formats

Services

43 results found showing 1 - 20

  1. Protecting your employees’ data

    ...the organisation that transgresses the Data Protection Act when something like this happens." Are data protection breaches met with a fine? "They can be ­ the Information Commissioner has a number of potential things that he can do. Normally it is a slapped wrist and a ,,dont do it again and clean your act up, but at the most serious end he can send people to prison or have them investigated for a criminal offence, particularly if someone has misused the data criminally, subsequent to it being removed or mislaid." What do you think will happen to HMRC? "There will be a lot of soul searching I sus...

    News analysis | 23 Jan 2008

  2. Screening staff to protect your business

    © Workplace Law Group 2010 All rights reserved Screening staff to protect your business Screening staff to protect your business Small business owners and large corporations alike know the value of good employees. But unlike large corporations, smaller businesses are often unable to absorb the risks and liability that may come from bad hiring decisions. More and more, emplo...

    News analysis | 16 Feb 2010

  3. Social engineering: securing your business's data

    © Workplace Law Group 2009 All rights reserved Social engineering: securing your business's data Social engineering: securing your business's data Recent reports suggest that instances of `social engineering' being used to obtain confidential data are on the rise. Social engineering is, in simple terms, the act of manipulating people into divulging confidential information. By...

    News analysis | 9 Jun 2009

  4. Are your employees who they say they are?

    ...iminal records section of the Workplace Law Handbook 2007, a complete A–Z guide of everything employers need to know about HR and employment law, health and safety law and building and premises law in the next 12 months. The Handbook contains 150 fully revised and updated chapters to help you get your hands on the latest guidance and legal information. more info>>

    News | 9 May 2007

  5. Would you use ‘snooping’ software on your employees?

    ...iple is communicated to all staff from the moment they join, through to their everyday work, when they receive a reminder every time they log on to the system. The application captures all staff keystrokes and records every software and hardware device installed on individual PCs, in a secure SQL database. The system can track data files either emailed or copied onto external disks or devices. The software also acts as an effective deterrent against breaches of UK law such as: theft of data files, including by emailing to a third party; by copying, printing or deleting; and by saving t...

    News | 19 Jan 2006

  6. Will your employees be required to buy their own work computer?

    ...ional costs." She noted that the payback to a company is in removing PC assets from company books. The question is: who will be responsible for ensuring that the computer is both safe and secure? Transferring ownership to employees carries risks especially if the computer contains sensitive data. Employers will still have to take measures to make sure that they comply with data protection laws. It is likely that the IT department will retain responsibility for maintaining security since most people are not very vigilant about securing their home computers. To address such shortcomings,...

    News | 5 Jan 2006

  7. First financial penalties for data protection offences issued

    ...vacy was potentially compromised by the company’s failure to take the simple step of encrypting the data. “These first monetary penalties send a strong message to all organisations handling personal information. Get it wrong and you do substantial harm to individuals and the reputation of your business. You could also be fined up to half a million pounds.”  A spokesman for Hertfordshire County Council said it accepted the Commissioner's findings. He added:  "We are sorry that these mistakes happened and have put processes in place to try and prevent any recurrence." A4e Chief...

    Case | 24 Nov 2010

  8. HIV-positive employees still face barriers in recruitment

    ...employer you should be aware of, until after you have offered the candidate the job. The National Aids Trust guide also explains what employers’ legal obligations are if an applicant discloses their HIV status, including data protection issues. Under the Data Protection Act 1998, to safeguard your employees' medical and personal data, information on someone’s HIV status can only be passed on to other people in the company if there is express consent from the employee concerned. If an employer does reveal the HIV status of one of their employees without having consent from that person they ...

    News | 21 Mar 2007

  9. Employees ‘perceived’ to have HIV face workplace discrimination

    ... HIV. All HIV discrimination has to stop. Other countries have closed this loophole and so should we.” All employers should consider HIV and AIDS workplace discrimination and have policies and procedures in place covering the issue. Simply, this is because there is no way of knowing if any of your employees are HIV positive; a HIV positive person has no obligation to disclose their condition to their employer. There are only very few circumstances and jobs where someone’s HIV status would need to be disclosed, for example health care workers involved in invasive procedures. However, an e...

    News | 12 Mar 2007

  10. Employers risk abusing employees’ human rights by ‘snooping’ on emails

    ...ail. Sixty per cent also conduct regular audits of outbound email. Mark Hughes, Proofpoint’s Marketing Director for Europe, the Middle East & Africa, said: “It is legitimate for a company to monitor outbound email but clandestine ‘Big Brother’ voyeurism is illegal. If you don't make your staff fully aware of how and why you monitor their messages, you are snooping on them. About 44 % of UK companies may be at risk because they are simply not doing a good enough job of telling their employees about their email policies.” Whilst 81% of companies have a simple or detailed writte...

    News | 17 Jul 2006

  11. Lying on your CV - hotel boss quits

    Employers are urged to check employees’ CVs properly following the embarrassing resignation of the Chief Executive of InterContinental Hotels Group, Patrick Imbardelli after his employers discovered that he lied on his CV. Imbardelli claimed that he had three degree qualifications. He was on a salary of between £300,000 and £400,00...

    News | 15 Jun 2007

  12. Hemel Hempstead blast – would your business be prepared?

    ...s if all staff records are in the affected building and so un-obtainable. Then there is the question of whose job is it to contact everyone? Do staff who are ringing in know who to contact? These are all issues that employers should think about when creating a continuity plan. There is the issue of data protection to consider if you decide to keep employees information at home as a back up. Employees need to be consulted about whether they have any objection to their employer storing telephone numbers at home. It is best if only the minimum amount of information is stored at home and it should be ...

    News | 12 Dec 2005

  13. Is employee monitoring plain common sense or an invasion of privacy?

    ...s by an employee at work. An employer will see it as an attempt to ensure business efficiency, where an employee may see it as an invasion of privacy. Creating a Policy It is essential that you create a policy stating how employees are expected to use business communications. This will inform your employees about when (if at all) they may use business communications for personal use. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 means that if you intend to monitor e-mails and telephone calls you should make employees aware of the fact. You should also inform the employees that their e-mail...

    News | 30 Nov 2005

  14. Thermal Comfort: What is it? What does it mean for your business?

    ...it is important to consider the possible impact of increased thermal discomfort on employees. It is the responsibility of management to ensure that a company adapts as necessary to reduce or eliminate the risk of thermal discomfort amongst the employees. If thermal discomfort is a risk, and your employees are complaining and/or reporting illnesses that may be caused by the thermal environment, then you will be required to develop a thermal comfort programme: You may need to train and/or re-train staff. Training may be required for the thermal comfort risk assessments, analysis of...

    News | 7 Oct 2005

  15. EU data protection law reforms announced

    ...st lost, stolen and breached data. Their role will be to monitor whether the processing activities are carried out in compliance with data protection policy and the new law.Guice advised organisations now needing to reappraise their information management regimes that ‘the first stage of ensuring your organisation is safe from the risk of data breaches and is compliant with the law is to draw up a data protection policy’.“Although the safe disposal of electronic equipment, such as hard drives, USBs and laptops, has to be paramount, you will still need to be clear about how printed documents ...

    News | 25 Jan 2012

  16. Over 1,000 data breaches reported to ICO

    ...hey are entitled to the personal details that they are asking for?Beware of the dangers of email. Be very careful when selecting recipients of personal information from drop down lists to get the right ones. Do not click on ‘reply to all’ and automatically include all the copy recipients in your disclosure of personal information. For more sensitive information, simple email disclosure may not be sufficiently secure.Check that automated systems, e.g. for stuffing envelopes are working properly and do some dip sampling to verify this.Beware of window envelopes. Make sure that only the ...

    News | 28 May 2010

  17. Warning over employees switching off encryption

    ...gree or agree. Dr Larry Ponemon commented: "While laptop encryption is an essential and important security tool, improper end-user actions such as turning off security features, sharing passwords, or using insecure wireless networks may substantially reduce the effectiveness of encryption in protecting laptop computers."  John Livingston, chairman and CEO of Absolute Software said: "This year's global study gives us graphic evidence that IT and compliance departments continue to have insufficient tools to enforce company policies – especially those that are designed to protect sensitive ...

    News | 12 Mar 2010

  18. Data protection and references – are you breaking the law?

    ...uest you should ensure that: the information contained in the reference is factually correct. sensitive data (e.g. details of health to explain absences) must not be disclosed without the explicit consent of the employee. where opinions about a person's suitability are disclosed, your comments are defensible and justifiable on reasonable grounds.  if you are asked to express an opinion on an issue about which you have limited knowledge, e.g. honesty and integrity, you respond appropriately (for example, “I know of nothing that would lead me to question X's honesty”) ...

    News | 6 Jan 2006

  19. New and updated Policies and Procedures from Workplace Law Group!

    ...ed a series of 21 completely revised and updated Policies and Procedures, covering all the major areas of risk to employers. Each title in the Policies and Procedures series comes in two parts: a Template policy that is issued electronically in MS Word format, which can be customised to suit your organisation’s needs; an accompanying Management guide that explains all the relevant legislation behind the policy. Both are written in the plain-English, jargon-free style you will find in all Workplace Law publications. Each policy and guide is downloadable, giving you instant access...

    News | 30 Apr 2007

  20. Are you disposing of confidential waste securely?

    ...s and consumers. Credit reference agencies offer a wide range of solutions to authenticate and verify the identity of customers to ensure that they exist and are who they say they are. Having a well-formulated document disposal policy in place, and adhering to it, is the first crucial step in protecting your business and employees from identity fraud. Lock away sensitive documents in a safe place and limit access to these documents to the staff who really need them. Make sure that only key members of staff have access to highly sensitive documents, to ensure that information is not fal...

    News | 1 Mar 2007

Top Info centre