Processing Employee Personal Data - Five Key Tips For Employers

In June 2017, the Article 29 Working Party - the collective group of European data protection authorities - ("WP29") adopted new guidance on data processing in the workplace. This guidance complements previous WP29 opinions on the processing of data in an employment context and on electronic surveillance in the workplace. The new guidance seeks to address the increase in the amount of personal data collected in the workplace. It also focuses on the rise of new forms of data processing and new technologies in the workplace which, according to WP29, may allow for the systematic and potentially invasive processing of employees' personal data.

While the guidance focuses primarily on processing under the Data Protection Directive ("Directive"), the guidance also considers the obligations that are imposed on employers by the upcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). This guidance is instructive for employers as it highlights the conservative views of