Subject access requests: new challenges arise from COVID-19

Although some organisations have seen a decrease in data subject access requests (‘DSARs’) being submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic, others are noticing a definite increase, often as a result of the many decisions being taken around redundancies, furloughing, laying off staff, sick leave and sick pay and other employment-related issues. This briefing looks at some of the challenges organisations can encounter when dealing with DSARs generally and during the COVID-19 pandemic and considers how the draft guidance published by the ICO in December 2019 might address them. Key areas covered include: 

• Recognising and responding to DSARs;
• Searches, proportionality and case law;
• Dealing with third-party data; and
• The impact of COVID-19 on enforcement.

A version of this article was first published in the Privacy Laws & Business UK Report, Issue 109 (May 2020).