The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force May 25th, and the Occupational Health & Safety department will be directly affected in any organization where information about EU-based individuals is processed. Despite the mountains of GDPR information available online, resources relevant for OHS professionals are far and few between. So, we’ve rolled them all into one place: our new GDPR Hub.
There’s less than two weeks until GDPR goes live – you may have noticed quite a few “Do you still want to hear from us?” emails in your inbox the past few months! (The legislation requires that subscribers have explicitly opted in to receiving marketing emails.) In my experience, conversations about GDPR go one of two ways: people tend to either be pulling their hair out, or not concerned at all. Neither is the appropriate way to react. Data protection law enforcers such as the ICO in the UK have already pledged not to make an example out of early noncompliance, but simultaneously, you need to be able to demonstrate sufficient steps towards the standards expected.
Go to the GDPR Information Hub →
Why GDPR applies to you
GDPR compliance can’t all be left to the Data Protection Officer or the IT department to sort out. GDPR is a long overdue exercise of education for everyone within an organization that handles personal data. It requires a change in attitude, and I suspect that during preparations many people (myself included) have realized just how much personal data is actually out there, and sometimes in places you don't expect.
GDPR aims to emphasize the value of this data in a connected world and make processors accountable for its security.
OHS professionals are just as responsible, and perhaps even more exposed due to the handling of highly sensitive data such as health records, so you must understand and adhere to the “new way of doing things”.
Where to find more information for OHS
If GDPR still seems like gobbledegook, take a look at our GDPR information hub for OHS professionals. We’ve put together several sections about:
- What is GDPR?
- A GDPR Q&A video
- How will GDPR affect health and safety?
- Getting started
- Online resources
- Compliance by May 25th
We hope it makes the new regulation more understandable from a health and safety point of view. It's not as scary as you might have thought! And actually, it's something that will benefit us all.
If you have questions, or other resources that you think our readers could benefit from, please tell us about them in the comments below.
Get answers from the GDPR OHS hub
We've rolled up a range of GDPR resources for Occupational Health & Safety professionals, all into one place. Check out our GDPR Hub for help on what the regulation is, how it affects you, and what to do.
