How Data Protection Law affects Human Resources Management System (HRMS)

 How Data Protection Law affects

Human Resources Management System (HRMS)

The Data Protection Law affects the Human Resources department to a large extent because it manages many personal data embodied in contracts, resumes used in selection processes and in payroll management, among others.

 

The protection of personal data is a fundamental right of every individual. Previously, each country had its own regulations and this made it very difficult to guarantee the correct use of this information. The new Data Protection Law standardizes processes and allows all companies and their Human Resources departments to work in the same direction in order to certify the cleanliness of the process and the real knowledge of the use that entities make of the data of customers, employees, suppliers, etc.

 

The new Data Protection Law 

The General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD) entered into force on May 25, 2018 and on December 6 it became fully valid when published in the Official State Gazette.   The RGPD is a European regulation that establishes the rights and obligations of all European citizens regarding data protection. The main objective of the new Spanish data protection law (LOPD) is to adapt this European regulation to the national scope without modifying any of its principles. In fact, it will only be able to regulate specific items in which countries have more freedom, such as, for example, the age considered of majority for consent to data protection.

 

The application of this new data protection law is mandatory for all companies that work with personal data of European citizens, be they multinationals or SMEs, public or private, since if they do not comply with the regulations they will face high fines. There are no exceptions. NGOs, freelancers and companies located outside the member countries but that process data of European citizens are also governed by this RGPD.

 

This is how the LOPD affects Human Resources

 

The implementation of this new LOPD affects Human Resources departments since they work with a large flow of personal information. It is mandatory to collect verifiable consent documents from all individuals about whom they handle personal data. The main changes affect different phases of HR work.

 

The Data Protection Law and the selection processes 

The new data protection law requires the candidate to know the exact use of the personal data collected in the selection processes. For example, the applicant for the job must know if their data will be transferred to third parties , why they need that specific information, verify whether they are correct or not and obtain a copy of that data that will be stored in the recruiting company. All the information that the company provides to the candidate on the use of their personal data must be transmitted clearly and simply.

 

Resumes and data protection 

Under the new law, a resume can be kept by the company that applied for it for up to two years. After that time, the company will need to request again the consent signed by the interested party. Digitizing the resumes is essential to optimize the work of the Human Resources staff since they will be able to know when that deadline is met, request the new consent in time or eliminate it from the database so as not to fall into infractions and, consequently, in fines.

 

Security measures

It is essential that the Human Resources department request the necessary tools to reinforce security levels when storing candidate and employee information. If there were an attack to obtain information and the company had not put in place the appropriate means to prevent the transfer to third parties, the sanction could be devastating. Why? The fines are proportional to the annual invoicing of the entity.

 

It is also necessary to control that there are no failures or errors in the computer systems that allow access to that content by any hacker or that involve the loss or modification of the personal data that is stored. If there is a violation of this type of information, the RGPD establishes that the person in charge of security or the person in charge of the protection of said data must notify the Spanish Agency for Data Protection within a maximum period of 72 hours from when it is known of the attack.

Basic principles of HR staff

The HR staff it also has to meet three basic principles:

 

·         The principle of transparency: the information provided by employees, candidates, clients and suppliers must be written in a legible, clear and understandable way in order to guarantee maximum transparency in the process.

·         Principle of responsibility: the consultation of the data collected by the company must be possible at all times to verify that it complies with the rules and internal policies established regarding data protection.

·         The principle of protection: the measures to protect personal data must be established in writing from the creation of the company or from the beginning of the business activity.

5 keys to data protection in Human Resources

The HR department must ensure the protection of the personal data of employees and candidates at all stages in which they participate within the company.

 

Recruitment process

 

They have to make the official forms available to applicants to the job to correctly inform how their data will be used, explain what security measures they use to protect them and all the information that may be relevant so that the candidate is aware and authorizes the use of that personal data. If it is the applicant who approaches the entity to leave the curriculum, they will also have to be informed in writing of all the treatment that will be carried out with the information contained in the curriculum.

 

Work contract

 

It must reflect in writing the treatment that will be made of the worker's personal data so that they are aware at all times and the company does not fall into any illegal behavior with respect to the data protection law, having to assume the consequent sanction.

If the conditions on the storage and custody of this data change during the contractual relationship, the employee must also be correctly informed.

 

Contracting of social benefits

 

The company can contract life insurance or pension plans for the benefit of its workers. In this case, to carry out the policies, they need to process personal information of the employees, so it is essential to previously define the procedure so as not to incur any errors.

The simplest thing is to inform the staff of the existence of these insurance or social benefits and that they are the ones who carry out the pertinent procedures for the transfer of data to the insurance companies.

 

Payroll management

 

It is increasingly common for companies to outsource the management of their employees' payroll. To do so, they have to provide their data to an agency with which they must sign a contract called "treatment manager" that allows this information exchange for this specific purpose. Finally, it is necessary for entities to know which data is specially protected by the new data protection law. Article 7 establishes that they are all those related to health, ideology, religion and, ultimately, all those that violate one's own freedoms and rights.

Tools that will help you comply with the Human Resources Data Protection Law

There is some Human Resources Management Software that, in addition to streamlining the different department procedures, allows compliance with the current Data Protection Law.

 

ATS to comply with the Data Protection Law

The ATS of Bizneo HR, for example, complies with the regulations for the preservation of resumes. However, it allows the candidates' CVs to be stored during those two years in a properly labeled and ordered own talent base –with filters and advanced search options to locate certain profiles–, which we can use when we need it.

 

Other advantages of the Bizneo HR ATS are that it saves those candidates discarded in other processes and avoids having to post the offer again on subsequent occasions. However, doing so is also very agile if we wish. The platform includes up to 80 different automated recruiting sources.

Employee Database in Human Resource Management Software 

Of course, once the candidate becomes an employee of our company, we must also ensure that their information is collected and stored correctly. This is exactly what the Bizneo HR employee database software guarantees. The application allows:

 

·         Centralize important information to improve decision-making and streamline all kinds of procedures related to personnel.

·         Automate personnel management tasks.

·         Consult updated data.

·         Maintain the history of interactions.

·         It integrates with your payroll software (also very important with the new LOPD)

·         And, of course, comply with the legal requirements of security and data protection.

Document management

Regarding the storage of sensitive documentation, the HRMmitra, HRMS software also makes it easy for you, as it not only guarantees correct accesses, but also allows you to configure permissions based on the range, access documents from any device, streamline the search for documentation. It also reduces human errors and the risks of information loss and dispersion.