The Organisation needs to collect and use certain types of information about staff, clients and other individuals who come into contact with the company in order to operate. In addition, it may be required by law to collect and use certain types of information to comply with statutory obligations of Local Authorities, government agencies and other bodies.
This personal information must be dealt with properly, however it is collected, recorded and used — whether on paper, in a computer, or recorded on other material — and there are safeguards to ensure this is within the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
We regard the lawful and correct treatment of personal information as very important to successful operations, and to maintaining confidence between those with whom we deal and ourselves. We ensure that our Organisation treats personal information lawfully and correctly.
Most businesses hold personal data on their customers, employees and partners. The explosion in the use of the Internet, electronic communication and computerisation of business data has led to an increase in the importance of privacy. Breaches of computerised data security have prompted the introduction of legislation on a national and European level.
These include:
The General Data Protection Regulation 2016 replaces the EU Data Protection Directive of 1995 and supersedes the laws of individual Member States that were developed in compliance with the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. Its purpose is to protect the “rights and freedoms” of living individuals, and to ensure that personal data is not processed without their knowledge, and, wherever possible, that it is processed with their consent.
The top management of Global Mediation Limited are strongly committed to the rights of individuals whose data they collect and process and will comply with UK and EU laws related to personal information in line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The top management of Global Mediation Limited ensures that it meet its requirements under EU GDPR for the management of personal information, that the objectives of Global Mediation Limited and obligations under the law are met, and ensures that controls are in place that reflect the level of risk that Global Mediation Limited is willing to accept. In addition, steps are taken to ensure that Global Mediation Limited is able to meet all the regulatory, statutory and contractual obligations that are applicable, including the protection of the interests of individuals and all other relevant stakeholders.
To comply with the requirements of GDPR, Global Mediation Limited will:
All third parties working with or for Global Mediation Limited, and who have or may have access to personal information, will be expected to comply with this policy. All third parties who require access to personal data will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement before access is permitted. This agreement will ensure that the third party has the same legal obligations as Global Mediation Limited. This will also include an agreement that Global Mediation Limited can audit compliance with the agreement.
GDPR will apply to all controllers that are established in the EU (European Union) who process the personal data of data subjects, in the context of that establishment. It will also apply to controllers outside of the EU that process personal data in order to offer goods and services, or monitor the behaviour of data subjects who are resident in the EU.
The location, for the purposes of GDPR, of any data controller located in the EU will be the place where the controller makes the key decisions related to the data processing purpose. This is likely to be Global Mediation Limited HQ.
Any data controller that is not located within the EU will be required to appoint a representative in a location that is under the jurisdiction that applies to the data that is being used in order to act on behalf of the controller and engage with the appropriate supervisory authorities for that location.
Personal data — this is defined as any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
Special categories of personal data (i.e. sensitive data) — personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.
Data controller— the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law.
Data subject— any living individual who is the subject of personal data held by an organisation.
Processing— any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.
Profiling — is any form of automated processing of personal data intended to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, or to analyse, or predict that person’s performance at work, economic situation, location, health, personal preferences, reliability, or behaviour. This definition is linked to the right of the data subject to object to profiling and a right to be informed about the existence of profiling, of measures based on profiling and the envisaged effects of profiling on the individual.
Personal data breach— a breach of security leading to the accidental, or unlawful, destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed. There is an obligation on the controller to report personal data breaches to the supervisory authority (usually the Information Commissioner’s Office) where the breach is likely to adversely affect the personal data or privacy of the data subject.
Data subject consent — means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data.
Child — the GDPR defines a child as anyone under the age of 16 years old. The processing of personal data of a child under 13 years of age is only lawful if parental or custodian consent has been obtained.
Third party — a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, is authorised to process personal data.
Filing system — any structured set of personal data which is accessible according to specific criteria, whether centralised, decentralised or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis.
Senior Management and all those in managerial or supervisory roles throughout Global Mediation Limited are responsible for developing and encouraging good information handling practices within the organisation; responsibilities are set out in individual job descriptions.
A Data Protection Officer, a member of the senior management team, is accountable to the top management of Global Mediation Limited for the management of personal information within Global Mediation Limited and for ensuring that compliance with data protection legislation and good practice can be demonstrated. This accountability includes the development and implementation of security and risk management to ensure compliance.
Global Mediation Limited has appointed a suitably qualified and experienced Data Protection Officer (DPO) who is responsible for day-to-day compliance with this policy. The DPO is responsible for ensuring that Global Mediation Limited complies with the GDPR in relation to all aspects of data processing. The DPO has direct responsibility for policy and procedures, including Subject Access Requests. The DPO is also the person to whom all staff will go to seek guidance regarding GDPR compliance.
It should be noted that compliance with GDPR requirements remains the responsibility of all staff who process or control personal information for Global Mediation Limited. All members of staff employed by Global Mediation Limited are also responsible for ensuring that any personal data that is about them that is supplied by them to Global Mediation Limited is accurate and up to date.
The Training Policy defines specifically what training is required for all staff, including specific roles.
Global Mediation Limited needs to ensure that it is aware of any risks associated with the processing of all types of personal information. A Risk Assessment procedure has been implemented and is used by Global Mediation Limited to assess any risk to individuals during processing of their personal information. Assessments will also be completed by Global Mediation Limited for any processing that is undertaken on their behalf by any third party organisation. Global Mediation Limited will also, through the application of the Risk Assessment procedure, ensure that any identified risks are managed appropriately to reduce the risk of non-compliance.
Where processing of personal information may result in a high risk to the “rights and freedoms” of natural persons, Global Mediation Limited shall complete a data protection impact assessment, prior to conducting the processing, to ensure the personal information is protected. This assessment may also be used to apply to a number of similar processing scenarios with a similar level of risk.
Where, as a result of a Data Protection Impact Assessment, it is clear that Global Mediation Limited will process personal information in a manner that may cause damage and/or distress to the data subjects, the DPO must review the process before Global Mediation Limited proceeds to process the information. If the DPO decides that there are significant risks to the data subject they will escalate to the ICO for final guidance.
The Organisation shall apply selected controls for the ISO 27001 Annex A to reduce risk. This should also reference Global Mediation Limited’s risk acceptance criteria and the requirements of the GDPR.
Any processing of personal data must be conducted in accordance with the following data protection principles of the Regulation, and Global Mediation Limited’s policies and procedures will ensure compliance.
Personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently. Global Mediation Limited’s Fair Processing Procedure details how this is achieved.
The GDPR introduces the requirement for transparency whereby the controller has transparent and easily accessible policies relating to the processing of personal data and the exercise of individuals’ ‘rights and freedoms’.
Information must be communicated to the data subject in an intelligible form using clear and plain language.
The specific information that must be provided to the data subject must as a minimum include:
Personal data can only be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes. Data obtained for specified purposes must not be used for a purpose that differs from those formally notified to the Information Commissioner as part of Global Mediation Limited’s GDPR registration.
Personal data must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for processing. The Data Protection Officer is responsible for ensuring that information, which is not strictly necessary for the purpose for which it is obtained, is not collected.
All data collection methods (electronic or paper-based), including data collection requirements in new information systems, must be approved by the Data Protection Officer and approval recorded.
The Data Protection Officer will ensure that all data collection methods are reviewed annually by internal audit or external experts to ensure that collection continues to be adequate, relevant and not excessive.
The DPO is responsible for ensuring that any data that is shown to have been obtained excessively, or is not specifically required by Global Mediation Limited, is securely deleted or destroyed (see A.8.3.2 and A.11.2.7).
Data that is kept for a long time must be reviewed and updated as necessary. Any data that is considered to be inaccurate or likely to be inaccurate must be removed.
Top management is responsible for ensuring that all staff are trained in the importance of collecting accurate data and maintaining it.
All individuals are responsible for ensuring that any data held by Global Mediation Limited is accurate and up to date. Any data submitted by an individual to a company, such as via a registration form, will be considered to be accurate at the time of receipt.
Employees or other individuals should notify Global Mediation Limited of any changes in personal information to ensure personal information is kept up to date. It is the responsibility of Global Mediation Limited to ensure that any notification of changes to personal information is implemented.
The DPO is responsible for ensuring that all necessary actions are taken to ensure personal information is accurate and up to date. This should also take into account the volume of data collected, the speed with which it might change and any other relevant factors.
The DPO will review, at least once a year, all the personal data processed by Global Mediation Limited, held in the Data Register. The DPO will note any data that is no longer required in the context of the registered purpose and will ensure that it is appropriately removed and securely disposed of (see A.8.3.2 and A.11.2.7).
If a third party organisation has provided inaccurate or out-of-date personal information, the DPO is responsible for informing them that the personal information is inaccurate and/ or out-of-date and will advise them that the information should no longer be used. The DPO should also ensure that any correction to the personal information is passed on to the third party.
Where personal data is retained beyond the processing date, it will be encrypted in order to protect the identity of the data subject in the event of a data breach.
Personal data will be retained in line with the retention of records procedure and, once its retention date is passed, it must be securely destroyed as set out in the Retention of Records Procedure.
The DPO must specifically approve any data retention that exceeds the retention periods defined in the Retention of Records procedure and must ensure that the justification is clearly identified and in line with the requirements of the data protection legislation.
This approval must be written.
Personal data must be processed in a manner that ensures its security.
Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data. These controls have been selected on the basis of identified risks to personal data, and the potential for damage or distress to individuals whose data is being processed. Security controls will be subject to audit and review.
Global Mediation Limited’s compliance with this principle is contained in its Information Security Management System (ISMS), which has been developed in line with ISO/IEC 27001 : 2013 and the Security Policy set out in the ISMS.
Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside the European Union Member States unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the ‘rights and freedoms’ of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data.
The transfer of personal data outside of the EU Member States is prohibited unless one or more of the specified safeguards or exceptions apply.
A list of countries that satisfy the adequacy requirements of the Commission is published in the Official Journal of the European Union and in the GDPR 2016.
Data subjects may make data access requests as described in the Subject Access Requests procedure. This procedure also describes how Global Mediation Limited will ensure that its response to the data access request complies with the requirements of the Regulation.
Care must be taken to ensure that PC screens and terminals are not visible except to authorised Staff of Global Mediation Limited. All Staff must sign up to the E-mail & Internet Acceptable Usage Policy before they are given access to organisational information of any sort.
Manual records may not be left where they can be accessed by unauthorised personnel and may not be removed from business premises without explicit [written] authorisation. As soon as manual records are no longer required for day-to-day client support, they must be removed from secure archiving in line with [procedure reference].
Personal data may only be deleted or disposed of in line with the Retention of Records procedure. Manual records that have reached their retention date are to be shredded and disposed of as ‘confidential waste’. Hard drives of redundant PCs are to be removed and immediately destroyed (see A.8.3.2 and A.11.2.7).Because of the increased risk, all Staff must be specifically authorised to process data off-site.
All requests to provide data for one of these reasons must be supported by appropriate paperwork and all such disclosures must be specifically authorised by the Data Protection Officer.
To avoid inappropriate usage, we have introduced security electronic safeguards. A firewall checks, guarantees and manages e-mail attachments. The Organisation has installed filtering software that searches e-mails for specific words or phrases, normally obscene or discriminatory, and monitors which websites our employees are accessing as well as filtering which types of websites our employees can access.
To avoid inappropriate usage, we have introduced security electronic safeguards. A firewall checks, guarantees and manages e-mail attachments. The Organisation has installed filtering software that searches e-mails for specific words or phrases, normally obscene or discriminatory, and monitors which websites our employees are accessing as well as filtering which types of websites our employees can access.
Date of Issue: 25/11/2019