Data protection for franchises

We find franchises all over the world. Most businesses use franchises as a way to expand their businesses. Data protection laws have a significant impact on the flow of personal data between a franchisor and its franchisees. You need to know what to do if one of your franchisees suffers a data breach. In that same breath, a franchisee needs to understand what are their obligations to the data subject that they collect personal information from.  Your franchise agreement would need to describe the role you and the franchisee will play in the processing of personal data.

Your organisation needs to consider how it approaches the protection of personal data. If you don’t, you could find yourself causing serious harm to not only your business but also to the data subjects who participate in your research.

What laws apply to your processing?

Different data protection laws will apply to your organisation depending on where you are based or where your data subjects are from. Depending on your circumstances, you may need to comply with:

• The General Data Protection Regulation – if you are based in the European Union or process the personal data of data subjects who are.
• The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) – if you are based in South Africa.
• Or other data protection laws that may apply in your location.

Will joining this lens help my organisation comply?

Yes. That’s the short answer. We understand that you may be working with limited resources and budgets. We want to help you in the most efficient and cost-effective way.  Our data protection for franchises lens will help you. This lens combined with our practical core programme takes you through the key actions franchises must take to comply.

Whoever is responsible for dealing with data protection compliance within your organisation should join this lense. If you have franchises or are deciding to franchise your business, you need to ensure that your brand is protected from any significant reputational harm. This programme is not for everyone in your organisation. There may be many people that are dealing with franchising within your organisation but you only need a core team of individuals to focus on this topic.

This lens is for organisations that:

• have existing franchises such as restaurants, clothing retailers, and supermarkets; or
• are looking to expand their businesses by using the franchise model.

You’ll achieve the following results as a consequence of participating in our data protection for frachises lens:

• Raise your awareness by knowing about the data protection laws that apply to your franchises.
• Protect the personal data quickly by finding out what data protection quick wins you can score.
• Reduce the risk of reputational harm by ensuring that your franchise agreements are compliant with data protection laws
• Reduce your overall costs of compliance by doing it yourself with our assistance.
• Empower yourself with tools to help you with your compliance efforts by working through the tools section of our programme.

• We believe in using the law as a tool to prevent harm from coming to people.
• We have significant practical experience dealing with data protection law.
• We cover only those areas of data protection law that are most relevant to you, saving you time and money.
• We provide insight and simplify the issues, empowering you to work through the obligations yourself.

You can work through this lens at your own pace and go as fast or slow as you like. Depending on the data protection processes you already have in place, it could take you a few hours or a few weeks to work through this lens.