Data Protection Issues Of Employee Health Screenings, Testing, Tracing Apps, Etc.

As we progress into the next phase of the pandemic, employers are considering how to safely reintegrate staff into the workplace whilst also managing the risks of processing health data (which is a special category of data under GDPR) and setting out the expectations for employees.

Click here for our visual overview of the data protection issues. Below we have provided high-level answers to the tricky questions on employers' minds.

Top tips:

• The ICO has published guidance and will take an "empathetic and pragmatic approach" to regulation.
• Some form of health screening is possible under ICO guidance and is likely to be a reasonable instruction in the context of a pandemic (although employers will need to consider their proposals in light of what is necessary in their own businesses).