The moment you have been waiting for is almost upon us.
GDPR comes into effect on 25th May and as we draw closer to the big day, it’s important that you understand your responsibilities and legal requirements regarding the new laws.
This new framework for data protection laws will affect how businesses can collect, store and handle any personal information provided to them by customers, clients or other businesses.
You should make sure that you and your business are prepared for the ramifications that come with GDPR which include the following:
Consent
No longer can you assume that a customer or client is happy for you to store or use the personal information they provide whilst doing business with you.
Once GDPR comes into effect, you will need explicit permission from them before you can do anything with their phone number, email address or any other details they give you.
For example, a new customer who makes a purchase from your website cannot just automatically be added to your marketing mailing list, you will need to ask them to opt-in.
Keeping Records
Even once someone has opted in and given you permission to use and store their personal data, you need to make sure that you have a record of when this took place and exactly what they have agreed to.
This could be via an email notification that you receive every time someone ticks the opt-in box, or a screenshot.
Unsubscribing
As has always been the case, your subscribers can change their mind and decide to remove their details from your database at any time.
GDPR will now require you to make it very clear to your subscribers how they can unsubscribe and the process should be quick and easy.
Typically, every email that you send should have an unsubscribe button, clearly labelled, in the footer or header. Once clicked on, it should take users directly to a page that explains what will happen if they proceed, and another button to confirm the decision to be removed from the database.
What happens if my business is not compliant with GDPR?
Anyone found to be non-compliant with the GDPR is facing higher-than-ever penalties of up to €20 million or 4% of your businesses annual turnover (whichever is higher).
Therefore, it really isn’t worth running the risk and ignoring these new laws or leaving it too late.
There is so much more to GDPR that just the above. In fact, it’s an 88-page document, so you can understand that the terms are extensive, so the best way to brush up on your knowledge, and your compliance, is through training.
We provide a comprehensive online GDPR training course that can be taken at any time of day and only takes approximately 50 minutes to complete.
Following the successful completion of your GDPR online training, you will receive a certificate confirming that you have finished the course.
Buy your GDPR training course from Safety Services Direct online.
