Data Protection

This page is designed to act as a go to reference for UEL data protection issues and is available to everyone.

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This page is designed to act as a go to reference for UEL data protection issues and is available to everyone.

Data Protection

The right to privacy is a fundamental human right that has never been more important in a digital world. This page is designed to act as a go-to reference for UEL data protection issues and is available to everyone.

The law around data protection has changed. The General Data Protection Regulation has applied in the UK since 25 May 2018 in the form of a new Data Protection Act.

The new law is designed to improve transparency, accountability and the effective use of your personal data. In order to comply with new rules, all organisations need to do some things differently in the way they collect, use and manage personal data as part of their operations.

Use the links throughout this site to explore data protection at UEL in more detail and if you have any queries you can contact us or visit the Information Commissioners Office Website.

Data Protection Basics

The Data Protection Act 2018 (the Act) regulates how organisations use the personal data of living people. The Act sets out the requirements for businesses handling personal data and gives individuals rights about how it is managed. The requirements of the Act apply equally to all personal data whether it is held in electronic or physical form.

Everyone that uses the personal data of someone else, has a duty of care under the Data Protection Act to treat personal data appropriately. Good questions to ask yourself are:

  • Am I treating someone else's personal data in the way that I would want mine to be treated?
  • Would someone be surprised to learn that I hold their personal data and the purpose for which I am processing it?

See the links below to find out more about personal and special category data.

Data Protection Framework

In the digital world, it can be difficult to know where your data is, who has access to it, why they need it and what your rights are. To address these issues, and to improve how we manage the data that we have been given by you UEL is in the process of implementing a Data Protection Framework to centralise all of our practices around data protection and the use of your personal data.

The framework is based on the requirements of a BS10012:2017 which is a quality standard that sets requirements on how we collect, store, use, share and dispose of personal data as well as how we react in the event of a personal data breach. The benefits of adopting a framework approach are that:

  • It helps UEL embed accountability into is practices.
  • It promotes education and awareness about data protection issues
  • It allows us to understand and react to privacy risks and
  • It gives you more control over how we use your data

Data Protection Policy

UEL's Data Protection Policy sets out how we collect, manage, store and dispose of your personal data. It also sets out your information rights and the responsibilities of our staff, students and visitors. View a copy of our Data Protection Policy.

Fair Processing Notices

Fair processing notices provide you with information about what an organisation is going to do with your personal data to allow you to decide for yourself if you are happy to give your data to them.

UEL has a range of Fair Processing Notices for different situations: click on the links below for the fair processing notice relevant to you. These notices may change from time to time as we evolve how we use your data. If you have any queries you can always contact us.

Information Rights

The Data Protection Act 2018 gives you more control over your personal data by strengthening your information rights. These are:

  • The right to be informed
  • The right of access
  • The right to rectification
  • The right to erasure (aka. The right to be forgotten)
  • The right to restrict processing
  • The right to data portability
  • The right to object
  • Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling

More information about each of these rights is provided on the ICO's website.

You can submit an Information Rights request quickly, easily and free of charge by completing an Information Rights Request form and emailing it to dpo@uel.ac.uk.

You can find the answers to some frequently asked questions in our Understanding Your Information Rights document.