Does the GDPR apply to UK charities?

Confusion has existed in regard to GDPR since the UK left the European Union in 2020. In this blog, Clive Mackintosh, Founder of GDPR Rep, experts in GDPR Representative services answers the question - Does the GDPR apply to UK charities?

In short - Yes, the UK GDPR applies to charities. Let's dig into why, and what this means.

The UK GDPR applies to any organisation that processes personal data of individuals in the UK, regardless of where the organisation is located or the type of business they conduct. Charities typically process personal data of their donors, beneficiaries, staff, and volunteers. This personal data can include names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and other sensitive information.

The UK GDPR requires charities to comply with a number of data protection principles, including:

• Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency:
  ‍Charities must process personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. This means that they must have a legitimate reason for processing the data, and they must inform individuals about how their data is being used.
• Purpose limitation:
  ‍Charities must only process personal data for the purposes for which it was collected.
• Data minimisation:
  ‍Charities must only collect the personal data that is necessary for the purposes for which it is being processed.
• Accuracy:
  ‍Charities must keep personal data accurate and up-to-date.
• Storage limitation:
  Charities must only store personal data for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it is being processed.
• Integrity and confidentiality:
  ‍Charities must take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.
• Accountability:
  ‍Charities must be able to demonstrate compliance with the UK GDPR.

Charities that violate the UK GDPR can be fined up to £17.5 million or 4% of their global annual turnover, whichever is greater.

Here are some additional things to keep in mind about the UK GDPR and charities:

• Charities must have a privacy policy that sets out how they collect, use, and store personal data.
• Charities must give individuals the right to access their personal data, the right to have their personal data corrected, and the right to have their personal data deleted.
• Charities must give individuals the right to object to the processing of their personal data.
• Charities must appoint a data protection officer if they process large amounts of personal data or if they carry out certain types of processing, such as profiling or automated decision-making.

If you are a charity, it is important to understand the UK GDPR and how it applies to your organisation. The UK GDPR is a significant piece of legislation that has had a major impact on the way organisations handle the personal data of UK citizens. It is important for organisations to understand the GDPR and to put in place measures to comply with it. If you are looking into how your organisation can fulfil its requirements why not schedule a no-commitment call with a GDPR representative expert today, or get a quote to understand how our value pricing makes compliance simple.