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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Category: Enforced SAR

New guidance for insurers on (not) using enforced subject access to get details of criminal records

We’re pleased to see that the Association of British Insurers has produced guidance for insurers which clarifies the position for insurers after section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998 came into force earlier this year.

For far too long now, some insurance companies have relied on dubious practices when dealing with claims, relying on individuals to get a copy of their full police record, which runs the risk that they take into account spent convictions which the individual didn’t need to disclose. Since earlier this year, this practice was made illegal.

This guidance should help insurers to make sure that they operate fairer practices when dealing with individuals that have criminal records.

 

Useful links

Finally, ‘enforced subject access’ becomes a criminal offence

From tomorrow, 10th March 2015, a practice known as ‘enforced subject access’ becomes a criminal offence, as section 56 of the Data Protection Act comes into force.

As we originally reported in an update to our Information Hub in June 2014, this is an important step in making sure that employers and organisations don’t take part in the unsavoury practice of requiring individuals to provide a copy of their police records through their rights of subject access.

 

 

Today, to help people understand what this means in practice, we’re:

  1. Publishing brief guidance for individuals on our self-help Information Hub
  2. Providing a news update for employers, as well as brief guidance for employers and organisations
  3. Highlighting the technical guidance that the Information Commissioners Office has published.

 

Christopher Stacey, Co-Director  of Unlock, said; “Subject access is an important right of individuals to be able to obtain copies of their own criminal record. However, ever since the Data Protection Act came into force, there has been clear evidence of unsavoury practices where employers and others have abused this right by requiring individuals to use this route as a way of checking an individuals’ criminal record, which is a clear abuse, and bypasses the official disclosure regimes which have safeguards built into them.”

“The criminal offence that comes into force will finally give the Information Commissioners Office the tools that they need to deal with the problem. We’ll be monitoring the practices of employers and organisations, and where appropriate, we’ll be challenging those organisations. We also look forward to working closely with the ICO, so that this type of practice can be stamped out. We’re encouraging anybody who knows of practices like this to get in touch with our helpline”.

 

Employers – New criminal offence; make sure you check your recruitment processes!

Tomorrow, the 10th March 2015, a new criminal offence of ‘enforced subject access’ comes into force, which employers and organisations need to be aware of.

This news has implications on the recruitment processes of employers and organisations. In particular, it has an impact on those that ask individuals to obtain a copy of their police record, for example as part of the recruitment process.

To help to understand the practical implications of this news, and what employers should do, we’ve produced a simple guidance leaflet which explains this in more detail.

We have also produced guidance for individuals with convictions. A link to this, and more background information, can be found in our main news piece.

If you have any questions about this as an employer, you can contact us for advice.

“Enforced subject access” will become a criminal offence on 10th March 2015

We’ve learnt from the Information Commissioners Office that section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998 will be brought into force on the 10th March 2015.

This means that “enforced subject access” will finally become a criminal offence. As we explained back in June 2014 when this was first announced, this is an important development for people with convictions.

There is more information about this news on our self-help information site.

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