INFOEASE

Data Protection Compliance Training Package

Love it or hate it, the Data Protection Act 1998 sets out what an organisation can and cannot do in relation to personal information collected from individuals such as clients, employees and third party contractors and it is essential that all organisations comply.

The purpose of the Act is to reduce the risk of an individual's personal data (e.g. name, address and date of birth) or sensitive personal data (including trade union membership, criminal record, religious belief and sexual preference) being made available to anyone else to the detriment of that individual.

Data Protection Pitfalls

The rise in the number of headline-grabbing stories involving companies and public bodies accidentally losing highly confidential data only serves to illustrate the potential for breaches to occur.

A recent survey conducted by the British Standards Institute has shown that approximately one in five small and medium-sized businesses has breached the Act – often without knowing it. This is no surprise given that over 60 per cent of businesses do not train their staff in data protection.

What can you do to help ensure Data Protection Compliance within your organisation?

Most data protection breaches are caused by a simple lack of awareness as to what can and cannot be done with personal data. Training your staff in data protection is imperative if you want to avoid breaching the Act, having sanctions imposed by the Information Commissioner and damaging your company's reputation.

In 2001, Walker Morris launched an innovative data protection training package, Infoease, which proved extremely popular with our clients. We are pleased to announce the launch of Infoease 2010, which has been updated to include more recent data protection cases and issues, such as the use of social networking sites and the expansion of direct marketing lists.

What is Infoease 2010 and how can it benefit your company?

Infoease 2010 is an electronic data protection training package which can either be installed onto your IT system or run from a CD – or both.

We will create a bespoke training package on your behalf which your staff can complete at your convenience, for a package price of £1,995. By tailoring the package to suit your needs, we are able to cover any specific issues which your organisation faces. For anyone who is using the previous version of Infoease, we can offer an upgrade from £500.

The package takes the user through the main principles of the Act, providing practical examples and allowing the user to take a test, the results of which are sent to you so that you can monitor which of your employees are competent. Infoease deals with the processing of personal data belonging to individuals inside your organisation (such as employees) as well as outside (such as clients and third party contractors).

The ICO are now able to order organisations to pay up to £500,000 as a penalty for serious breaches of the Act. Further details of the ICO’s enhanced powers can be found here.

Contact:
Tel: 0113 283 2632
Fax: 0113 245 9412
jeanette.harwood@walkermorris.co.uk