Data Protection Policy

Policy prepared by: WatchRegister.com Directors
Next review date: June 2024


Introduction

WatchRegister.com needs to gather and use certain information about individuals. These can include customers, suppliers, business contacts, employees and other people the organisation has a relationship with or may need to contact. This policy describes how this personal data must be collected, handled and stored to meet the companys data protection standards and to comply with the law.

This data protection policy ensures WatchRegister.com:


Data protection law

The Data Protection Act 1998 describes how organisations including WatchRegister.com must collect, handle and store personal information. These rules apply regardless of whether data is stored electronically, on paper or on other materials. To comply with the law, personal information must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed unlawfully. The Data Protection Act is underpinned by eight important principles. These say that personal data must:

People, risks and responsibilities

This policy applies to:



It applies to all data that the company holds relating to identifiable individuals, even if that information technically falls outside of the Data Protection Act 1998. This can include:


Data protection risks

This policy helps to protect from some very real data security risks, including:


Responsibilities

Everyone who works for or with WatchRegister.com has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately. Each team that handles personal data must ensure that it is handled and processed in line with this policy and data protection principles. However, these people have key areas of responsibility:


The data protection officer is responsible for:


The IT Director is responsible for:


The Marketing Director is responsible for:


General staff guidelines


Data storage

These rules describe how and where data should be safely stored. Questions about storing data safely can be directed to the IT manager or data controller. When data is stored on paper, it should be kept in a secure place where unauthorised people cannot see it. These guidelines also apply to data that is usually stored electronically but has been printed out for some reason:


When data is stored electronically, it must be protected from unauthorised access, accidental deletion and malicious hacking attempts:


Data use

Personal data is of no value to WatchRegister.com unless the business can make use of it. However, it is when personal data is accessed and used that it can be at the greatest risk of loss, corruption or theft:


Data accuracy

The law requires WatchRegister.com to take reasonable steps to ensure data is kept accurate and up to date. The more important it is that the personal data is accurate, the greater the effort WatchRegister.com should put into ensuring its accuracy. It is the responsibility of all employees who work with data to take reasonable steps to ensure it is kept as accurate and up to date as possible.


Subject access requests

All individuals who are the subject of personal data held by WatchRegister.com are entitled to:


If an individual contacts the company requesting this information, this is called a subject access request. Subject access requests from individuals should be made by email, addressed to the data controller at datacontroller@watchregister.com. The data controller can supply a standard request form, although individuals do not have to use this. Individuals will be charged £10 per subject access request. The data controller will aim to provide the relevant data within 30 days. The data controller will always verify the identity of anyone making a subject access request before handing over any information.

Disclosing data for other reasons

In certain circumstances, the Data Protection Act allows personal data to be disclosed to law enforcement agencies without the consent of the data subject. Under these circumstances, WatchRegister.com will disclose requested data. However, the data controller will ensure the request is legitimate, seeking assistance from the board and from the companys legal advisers where necessary.


Providing information

WatchRegister.com aims to ensure that individuals are aware that their data is being processed, and that they understand:


To these ends, the company has a privacy statement, setting out how data relating to individuals is used by the company.




Changes to Data Protection Policy

The information provided in this document including names, response times and contact information is current as of the time of writing and is subject to change at any time by WatchRegister.com. In the event that it changes, you will notified of the updated Data Protection Policy by email.