Data Protection Policy

Ominous needs to gather and use certain information about individuals. This includes personal information and data from customers, suppliers, business contacts, employees and other people the organisation may have a relationship with and need to contact.

This Data Protection Policy describes how this personal data must be collected, handled and stored to comply with the law, and meet data protection standards.

Why this policy exists:

This data protection policy ensures that Ominous:

  • Complies with data protection law and follows good practice
  • Protects the rights of staff, customers, and business partners
  • Is open about how it stores and processes individuals’ data
  • Protects itself from the risks of a data breach

Data protection law:

The Data Protection Act 1998 describes how organisations — including Ominous — 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.

People, risks and responsibilities:

Policy Scope

This policy applies to the Head Office, all store sites, all staff and volunteers, and all contractors, suppliers and other people working on behalf of Ominous.

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, including but not limited to individuals’:

  • Name
  • Postal Address
  • Email Address
  • Telephone Number
  • Payment Information
  • Photographs
  • Locations
  • IP Address
  • Online Behaviours
  • Any special category data such as; Religion, Health Information

Data protection risks

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

  • Breaches of confidentiality. For instance, information being given out inappropriately.
  • Failing to offer choice. For instance, all individuals should be free to choose how the company uses data relating to them.
  • Reputation damage. For instance, the company could suffer if hackers successfully gained access to sensitive data.

Responsibilities

Everyone who works for or with the Company 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 the data protection principles.

However, these people have key areas of responsibility:

  • The  Board of Directors  is ultimately responsible for ensuring legal obligations are met.
  • The  Compliance Officer  is responsible for:
    • Keeping the board updated about data protection responsibilities, risks and issues.
    • Reviewing all data protection procedures and related policies, in line with an agreed schedule.
    • Handling data protection questions from staff and anyone else covered by this policy.
  • The  Company Secretary  is responsible for:
    • Dealing with requests from individuals to see the data held about them (also called ‘subject access requests’).
    • Checking and approving any contracts or agreements with third parties that may handle the company’s sensitive data.
  • The  IT Manager  is responsible for:
    • Ensuring all systems, services and equipment used for storing data meet acceptable security standards.
    • Performing regular checks and scans to ensure security hardware and software is functioning properly.
    • Evaluating any third-party services the company is considering using to store or process data. For instance, cloud computing services.
  • The Managing Director  is responsible for:
    • Approving any data protection statements attached to communications such as emails and letters.
    • Addressing any data protection queries from journalists or media outlets like newspapers.
    • Where necessary, working with other staff to ensure marketing initiatives abide by data protection principles.

General staff guidelines

  • The only people able to access data covered by this policy should be those who need it for their work.
  • Data should not be shared informally. When access to confidential information is required, employees can request it from their line managers.
  • All employees will be provided with training to help them understand their responsibilities when handling data.
  • Employees should keep all data secure, by taking sensible precautions and following the guidelines below.
  • In particular, strong passwords must be used and they should never be shared.
  • Personal data should not be disclosed to unauthorised people, either within the company or externally.
  • Data should be regularly reviewed and updated if it is found to be out of date. If no longer required, it should be deleted and disposed of.
  • Employees should request help from their line manager or the compliance officer if they are unsure about any aspect of data protection.

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.

Where data is  stored on paper, it will 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 not required, the paper or files should be kept in a locked drawer or filing cabinet.
  • Employees should make sure paper and printouts are not left where unauthorised people could see them, like on a printer.
  • Data printouts should be shredded and disposed of securely when no longer required.

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

  • Data should be protected by strong passwords that are changed regularly and never shared between employees.
  • If data is stored on removable media, these should be kept locked away securely when not being used.
  • Data should only be stored on designated drives and servers, and should only be uploaded to an approved cloud computing services.
  • Servers containing personal data should be sited in a secure location, away from general office space.
  • Data should be backed up frequently. Those backups should be tested regularly, in line with the company’s standard backup procedures.
  • Data should never be saved directly to laptops or other mobile devices like tablets or smart phones.
  • All servers and computers containing data should be protected by approved security software and a firewall.

Data use:

Personal data is of no value to Ominous 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:

  • When working with personal data, employees should ensure the screens of their computers are always locked when left unattended.
  • Personal data should not be shared informally. In particular, it should never be sent by email, as this form of communication is not secure.
  • Data must be encrypted before being transferred electronically. The IT manager can explain how to send data to authorised external contacts.
  • Employees should not save copies of personal data to their own computers. Always access and update the most recent version of the document from the main file, and update the version.

Data accuracy:

The law requires Ominous 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 should be 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.

  • Data will be held in as few places as necessary. Staff should not create any unnecessary additional data sets.
  • Staff should take every opportunity to ensure data is updated. For instance, by confirming a customer’s details when they call.
  • Make it easy for data subjects to update the information held about them. For instance, via their account online.
  • Data should be updated as inaccuracies are discovered. For instance, if a customer can no longer be reached on their stored telephone number, it should be removed from the database.

Subject access requests:

All individuals who are the subject of personal data held are entitled to:

  • Ask what information the company holds about them and why.
  • Ask how to gain access to it.
  • Be informed how to keep it up to date.
  • Be informed how the company is meeting its data protection obligations.

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.

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, Ominous will disclose requested data. However, the data controller will ensure the request is legitimate, seeking assistance from the board and from the company’s legal advisers where necessary.

Providing information:

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

  • How the data is being used
  • How to exercise their rights

To these ends, the company has a Privacy Policy, setting out how data relating to individuals is used by the company. The latest version of this policy is available on the company website.