Data protection and manual files The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) was introduced to control the use of “personal data”, by setting out eight principles which must be followed by those holding personal data. An employee (a “data subject”) can make a written request to their employer (the “data controller”) to view certain personal information held about them. Where personal data was being processed before 24 October 1998 transitional provisions arise. The second transitional period runs to 24 October 2007 and applies to manual data only. From this date, companies have to supply all data from 1998 onwards, not just that held on electronic files, within 40 days of the initial request. An employer that fails to provide the relevant records is liable to face a fine. The DPA applies to information “recorded as part of a relevant filing system or with the intention that it should form part of a relevant filing system”. Personnel files and other manual files using individuals’ names or unique identifiers as the file names, which are sub-divided/indexed to allow retrieval of personal data without a manual search (such as sickness, absence, contact details, etc.), are likely to be held in a “relevant filing system” for the purposes of the DPA. The Court of Appeal considered the meaning of a “relevant filing system” in the case of Durant v Financial Services Authority [2003] EWCA. A filing system containing files about individuals, or topics about individuals, where the content of each file is structured purely in chronological order will not be a “relevant filing system”, as the files are not appropriately structured/indexed/divided or referenced to allow the retrieval of personal data without leafing through the file. Therefore, the majority of information held in manual form about individuals does not, therefore, fall within the system of data protection. Paul Tew, Pay Magazine Snowdrop provides a range of Payroll solutions that are fast, flexible and easy-to-use, to suit the many and varied needs of each organisation. To find out more about the software and services that we provide, please click here >>