GDPR Compliance Statement
Introduction
Based on privacy by design and taking a risk-based approach, the UK GDPR ('GDPR') has been designed to meet the requirements of the digital age. The 21st century brings with it broader use of technology, new
definitions of what constitutes personal data and a vast increase in cross-border processing. The GDPR Regulation aims to standardise data protection laws and processing across the EU & UK; affording
individuals stronger, more consistent rights to access and control their personal information.
Our Commitment
uniref.uk is committed to ensuring the security and protection of the personal information that is processed, and to provide a compliant and consistent approach to data protection. We recognise our obligations to meet the demands of the GDPR.
We are dedicated to safeguarding the personal information under our remit and to developing a data protection regime that is effective, fit for purpose and demonstrates an understanding of, and appreciation for, the GDPR Regulation. Our preparation and objectives for GDPR compliance have been summarised in this
statement and include the development and implementation of data protection roles, policies, procedures, controls and measures to ensure maximum and ongoing compliance.
How We Comply with the GDPR
uniref.uk already has a consistent level of data protection and
security across the organisation, however our GDPR preparation includes:
- Information Audit - carrying out a company-wide information audit to identify and assess what personal information we hold, where it comes from, how and why it is processed and if and to whom it is disclosed.
- Policies & Procedures - revising data protection policies and procedures to meet the requirements and standards of the GDPR and any relevant data protection laws, including:
- Data Protection - our main policy and procedure document for data protection has been overhauled to meet the standards and requirements of the GDPR. Accountability and governance measures are in place to ensure that we understand and adequately
disseminate and evidence our obligations and responsibilities; with a dedicated focus on privacy by design and the rights of individuals.
- Data Retention & Erasure - we ensure that we meet the 'data minimisation' and 'storage limitation' principles and that personal information
is stored, archived and destroyed compliantly and ethically. We have dedicated erasure procedures in place to meet the new 'Right to Erasure' obligation and are aware of when this and other data subject's rights apply; along with any exemptions, response timeframes and notification responsibilities.
- Data Breaches - our breach procedures ensure that we have safeguards and measures in place to identify, assess, investigate and report any personal data breach at the earliest possible time.
- International Data Transfers & Third-Party Disclosures - uniref.uk does not store with, or transfer any personal information to, any third party; all data remains within uniref.uk.
- Subject Access Requests (SAR) - we accommodate the revised 30-day timeframe for providing requested information and will make this provision free of charge. Our new procedures detail how to verify the data subject, what steps to take for processing an access request, to ensure that communications with data subjects are compliant, consistent and adequate.
- Legal Basis for Processing - Our legal basis for processing personal data is for contract purposes; our customers require the services provided by the and provide their personal data in order to have secure access to it.
- Privacy Statement - our Privacy Statement complies with the GDPR, ensuring that all individuals whose personal information we process have been informed of why we need it, how it is used, what their rights are, who the information is disclosed to and what safeguarding measures are in place to protect their information.
- Obtaining Consent - we have revised our consent mechanisms for obtaining personal data, ensuring that individuals understand what they are providing, why and how we use it and giving clear, defined ways to consent to us processing their information. We have developed stringent processes for recording consent, making sure that we can evidence an affirmative opt-in, along with time and date records; and an easy to see and access opportunity to withdraw consent at any time.
- Direct Marketing - Personal data is not used for direct marketing.
- Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) - these are not required as we do not process personal information that is considered high risk, involves large scale processing or includes special category/criminal conviction data.
- Processor Agreements - There are no third party processor agreements; personal data held by us is not passed to any third party.
- Special Categories Data - we do not process any special category information.
Data Subject Rights
In addition to the policies and procedures mentioned above that ensure individuals can enforce their data protection rights, we provide easy to access information, via email contact, of an individual's right to access any personal information that the processes about them and to request information about:
- What personal data we hold about them
- The purposes of the processing
- The categories of personal data concerned
- The recipients to whom the personal data has/will be disclosed
- How long we intend to store your personal data
- If we did not collect the data directly from them, information about the source
- The right to have incomplete or inaccurate data about them corrected or completed and the process for requesting this
- The right to request erasure of personal data (where applicable) or to restrict processing in accordance with data protection laws
- The right to lodge a complaint or seek judicial remedy and who to contact in such instances