Your Kent business must keep records of accidents and other health and safety incidents. However, GDPR has been in place since 2018 and this makes it even more important to think more carefully about your record keeping. Accident records include some personal details as is necessary. However, GDPR sets out new regulations about the time you can keep records and when data should be disposed of.

What do you need to do about your health and safety records?

UK law requires you to keep accident records for a minimum of three years. There are some exceptions to this including when they fall under COSHH regulations. Destroying some records is required by GDPR. However, it states that:

“The personal data should be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes for which they are processed. This requires, in particular, ensuring that the period for which the personal data are stored is limited to a strict minimum. Personal data should be processed only if the purpose of the processing could not reasonably be fulfilled by other means. In order to ensure that the personal data are not kept longer than necessary, time limits should be established by the controller for erasure or for a periodic review.”

This is a complicated way of saying do not keep hold of data any longer than it is needed. It must be destroyed once it is not required. It also states that the subject of the data, meaning the people involved in the accident or incident, must be allowed access without restriction, to the data relating to themselves.

Holding onto fata beyond the legal requirements puts you at risk of being in breach of GDPR. This can lead to significant penalties and fines. You cannot hold personal data indefinitely. All businesses should audit and keep their records in good order. Fines for GDPR -related breaches can be up to 4% of a firm’s global turnover, dependent on the severity of the offence.

Better Health and Safety Record Keeping and GDPR in Kent

At Risk Safety Services, we specialise in helping business ensure their health and safety records are correct and up to date. We help businesses understand health and safety record keeping and GDPR in Kent. Our extensive library of downloadable safety documents provides templates for a wide range of industries. You can use our documents to create risk assessments and other records for your business but it is important to always keep the basics of GDPR in mind and assess the necessity of any personal data held at any given time.

Contact us to find out how we can help with your health and safety record keeping in Kent.

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

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