Courses take place in:

London, Manchester, Belfast and Glasgow

Dealing effectively with Subject Access Requests (‘SARs’) remains a management challenge for many organisations. Requests can come from customers, employees, complainants, and others. The quantities of information typically held on individuals are increasing to vast proportions, sometimes as an unintended consequence of technological advances.

In the UK, individuals’ awareness of their information rights, as well as their expectations of access, has reached an unprecedented level. Responding to SARs remains an all-too-frequent drain on staff time and budgets.

This practical training session looks in detail at the right of individuals to gain access to their data, as well as the exemptions that organisations can use to withhold information. It gives delegates the information they need to set up an effective SAR handling process in their organisation, and looks at how to avoid the common pitfalls that arise. It includes:

• determining whether a valid request has been made under the Data Protection Act 1998
• liaising with the applicant to clarify the request
• analysing whether particular manual (paper) records fall within the law
• setting parameters for the search for information and collating the results
• establishing whether the retrieved information is personal data
• dealing with third party information
• applying the relevant exemptions
• presenting the response to the applicant
• managing dissatisfied recipients
• how to deal with an investigation
• staff awareness and training

Participants in this session work through the Information Commissioner’s guidance and a number of practical scenarios.