Data protection in challenging times

Employers should follow as transparent a redundancy process as possible, provide as much background information as the organisation is commercially able to, be upfront with employees and disclose and discuss individual scores to explain how the decision made by the employer has been reached.

Employers need to continue to strike a balance between their need to keep records with information being processed in accordance with the data protection principles and the employee's right to respect for private life.

Taking a proactive approach should reduce not only the use of SARs by employers but leave the employee well placed to defend claims for unfair dismissal.