Data Protection Officer and the GDPR Legal Requirement

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Data Protection Officer and the GDPR Legal Requirement 2017-03-30T13:19:53+00:00

The data protection officer is an important person. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) might just require you to have a Data Protection Officer (DPO) if you do business in countries that are part of the Europe Union, or have other dealings with the personal information of European Union citizens. The GDPR is a relatively new law in the European Union, but has already raised plenty of questions. One such question is: do you need to appoint a Data Protection Officer? This is an important question and you need to answer it as part of your efforts to comply, if the law applies to you.

Controllers and processors of data, in terms of the GDPR, appoint a Data Protection Officer to help them comply with data protection law.

The Job of a Data Protection Officer

If the GDPR does require you to appoint one, here are more questions you will have to answer:

  1. What is a Data Protection Officer?
  2. What does the Data Protection Officer job involve and what type of salary will it come with?
  3. Who do they report to?
  4. And apart from the GDPR requiring you to appoint them, what else does it say you have to do in order to comply?
  5. What are the consequences of not appointing one when the GDPR requires you to do so?

The GDPR does NOT require every controller and processor to appoint a Data Protection Officer.

Actions you can take:

  • Understand the role and whether or not the GDPR requires you to appoint one by asking us your questions.
  • Empower yourself with practical knowledge on the GDPR and its potential impact on your organisation by attending one of our GDPR workshops.
  • Brief the head of your organisation (or body) on the role by asking us to draft a written brief for you or asking us to present to them for you.
  • Find the right person to perform the role by asking us to provide you with a Job Specification or Description.
  • Appoint the person correctly and ensure the person knows what their responsibilities are by asking us to draft a letter of appointment.

Interested?

If you are interested, please complete the form on the right or enquire now. We will contact you to find out more about your requirements and give you a quote.