New laws on data protection - 07/2001

Olga Aikin, speaker at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developmentís Computers in Personnel event, has urged employers to review their information policies as a matter of urgency. She adds: ìOctober 24 2001 is crunch day for Data Protection. This is when the second stage of the Data Protection Act 1998 will come into effect.

ìFor the first time, employees will have a legal right to see the manual files their employer holds about them. And, although computerised systems set up after 24 October 1998 are already covered, the publicity surrounding manual files is bound to highlight computerised systems so these too, need to be in orderî.

Aikin will urge organisations to develop an information policy or review current ones, and then relate this to staff and train them on its contents.
The seminar entitled IT, HR and the Law will also address the legal implications employers need to be aware of concerning use of E-mail and the Internet. Given the recent spate of well-publisised cases on Internet and E-mail abuse at work, Aikin will address key questions such as permission for usage, restrictions on its use and how access will be monitored.

Aikin adds: ìThe problem with Internet and e-mail is that private use of both has been established before employers have even thought about control. Once people have been used to this, it is difficult to draw back. The employers without informative and effective policies will be those that hit the headlines next for the wrong reasonsî.

www.cipd.co.uk