Staff privacy notice

What you need to know

The plain-English guidance that comes with this document.

• You have to provide this — it isn't optional. UK data protection law says you must tell staff how you use their personal information. Your statement of main terms and new starter checklist both point to this notice, so it's the piece that makes those promises real. Give a copy to everyone, and to each new starter on day one.
• What changed in 2026, and why it's already built in. From 19 June 2026, under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, your staff have a new right to complain directly to you about how you handle their data — not just to the regulator. You must acknowledge a complaint within 30 days and look into it. This notice already tells staff how to do that; your side of the bargain is to actually have a way to receive and log those complaints. They can still go to the ICO as well.
• Only claim what you actually do. A privacy notice that says one thing while you do another is worse than none. If you bring in CCTV, vehicle tracking, or any monitoring, say so on the "extra monitoring" line — and be honest about what it's for. If you don't do any, delete that line.
• Go easy on health information. Sickness and health details get extra legal protection. Hold only what you genuinely need (this ties in with your sickness and absence record), and keep it separate and secure.
• It's a notice, not a consent form. You're informing staff, not asking permission — you don't need them to "agree" to it. The little acknowledgement slip at the bottom is only there so you can show you gave it to them; it's optional, and completing it is the one part that holds personal data, so file those slips securely.
• Date it, and re-date it when you change it. Put the date you last updated it in the blank provided, and bump it whenever you revise the notice — for instance if you add monitoring or change who you share data with.
• This one's genuinely the same across the whole UK. Data protection law is UK-wide, so this notice works the same in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — no separate wording needed.