Channel Island businesses "on track for GDPR"

Thursday 22 February 2018

In a poll taken at the recent Mourant Ozannes GDPR seminar in Guernsey, the majority of attendees correctly answered that everyone within an organisation has a role to play in data protection.

The law firm ran a sell-out seminar in Guernsey on 7 February, delivering practical advice on the key areas within each organisation that will feel the impact of the GDPR which comes into effect on 25 May 2018.

Panel members discussed the features of the new regime, looking closely at the day to day implications for handling external personal data, marketing and database management as well as HR and employment issues.

Mourant Ozannes Guernsey Managing Partner and employment law specialist, Jessica Roland, said: "Ultimately, the impact of the GDPR is likely to vary greatly from business to business, depending on the nature of work and the jurisdictions companies operate in. Our aim was to give practical guidance that everyone can understand as we will all have a part to play to make sure our own organisations are compliant. Interestingly we discovered that most if not all attendees are currently in the process of preparing for changes and some are already GDPR ready which is excellent news."

Attendees were given guidance on how they can demonstrate they are taking the GDPR seriously with help from Mourant Ozannes' booklet on preparatory steps. The steps include an audit and data origin exercise, policy and procedure changes for not relying on implied consent, preparing and deciding on strategies for privacy notices, as well as the importance of training employees.