This week’s video highlights the potential data protection issues employers need to think about as employees return to the office here.

If you have any queries about the matters discussed in this video, please email employmenthub@chadlaw.co.uk for help and advice.

Critical Work – Exemption from Self-Isolation

You may have read recently that the Government has proposed an amendment to the rules on self-isolation in relation to fully vaccinated individuals involved in “critical work”. It has been widely reported that numerous industries are suffering disruption as a result of a significant proportion of their workforce being required to self-isolate as close contacts of a positive case of covid-19.

The Government has now announced who the new policy will apply to, in advance of the rules on self-isolation changing generally for fully vaccinated individuals on 16^th August (the guidance is set out here).

The new rules are likely to apply to a very limited number of employers; the advice being:

The test that is applied when identifying if an individual could attend work is whether they work in critical elements of national infrastructure and whether their absence would be likely to lead to the loss or compromise of this infrastructure resulting in one or both of the following:

• major detrimental impact on the availability, integrity or delivery of essential services – including those services whose integrity, if compromised, could result in significant loss of life or casualties;
• significant impact on national security, national defence, or the functioning of the state.

Employers considering use of this exemption will need to apply to the relevant government department as noted in the guidance. They are required to confirm the number of fully vaccinated employees (and seemingly names) who should be exempt from self-isolation, the roles they perform and the impact that is likely to materialise if there is no exemption.

If the Government department accepts the request, the employer will receive a letter setting out the named critical workers who may be excused from self-isolation in the event of being a close contact (note that all workers need to self-isolate if they test positive).

Whilst this is likely to apply to a very limited number of employers and employees, the guidance does state “In some exceptional cases there may be critical roles in sectors not listed in the table above which meet the criteria. These will be agreed on a case-by-case basis. Where employers think this applies, they should contact the government department with responsibility for their sector.”

The ICO Investigate Alleged Data Breach on Department of Health and Social Care CCTV

The Information Commissioner’s Office has confirmed that it is investigating an alleged data breach of CCTV images which involved the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Mr Matt Hancock, leading to headline news. As part of the ICO’s investigation, the ICO searched two residential properties in mid-July and confiscated personal computer equipment and electronic devices.  The company which provides facilities management and CCTV services for the Department of Health and Social Care submitted a breach report as a processor of the personal data, in which they alleged the CCTV images were taken from the CCTV system without the consent of either the company or the Department of Health and Social Care.

https://www.chadwicklawrence.co.uk/news/ico-investigate-alleged-data-breach-department-health-social-care-cctv/