Employee Subject Access Requests

The UK GDPR allows individuals to access information from organisations that process their personal data by means of a Subject Access Request (SAR). As the UK GDPR applies to all personal data that an organisation processes, employers should accept subject access requests not just from employees, but also from workers, contractors, apprentices, volunteers, job applicants and interviewees. SARs are a fundamental part of data privacy and data protection regulations. The primary purpose of a SAR is to empower individuals by providing them with transparency and control over their personal information.

A Subject Access Request is a formal request for access to personal data held by the employer covering information such as emails, documents, records, and any other data held by the employer that pertains to the requester. A SAR can be made verbally or in writing, either electronically or in paper form.

Businesses and employers should have clear procedures in place to handle SARs effectively, including designated personnel responsible for managing these requests and providing timely responses while respecting data privacy and security standards. In response to a SAR, the company must advise the employee on the personal data that it collects about the employee and what the company does with that information, including how the information is used, stored, transferred, secured and the employee’s rights in relation to the data stored.

The time limit for responding to a subject access request is one month from the date of receipt. If a request is complex, the time period for response can be extended by a further two months.

Listed below are a Subject Access Request Form, a Subject Access Request Policy and a variety of letters that can be used by the employer to respond to different Subject Access Request scenarios.

• Employee's Subject Access Request Form
• Letter Acknowledging Subject Access Request and Asking for Admin Fee and Time to Respond
• Letter Acknowledging Subject Access Request and Asking for More Information
• Letter Acknowledging Subject Access Request

Employee Subject Access Requests is part of Employment. Just £35.00 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment for 1 year.