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- Is your company ready for UK GDPR in 2025? Practical steps for compliance
Is your company ready for UK GDPR in 2025? Practical steps for compliance
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) remains a critical piece of legislation for UK businesses handling personal and sensitive data. In 2025, the UK GDPR continues to govern data protection alongside the Data Protection Act 2018, with recent updates under the Data (Use and Access) Act (DUAA) 2025 modernising the framework for easier compliance while maintaining strong safeguards for individuals.
Whether you store customer data, employee records, or sensitive business information, it’s essential to ensure your processes meet legal requirements. Failing to comply could result in fines of up to £17.5 million or 4% of annual global turnover (whichever is greater). Is your company ready? Here are some tips on how to prepare for GDPR in the best possible way*.
What is UK GDPR in 2025?
UK GDPR sets out how organisations must handle personal data, ensuring transparency, fairness, and security. Personal data includes names, addresses, email addresses, IP addresses or any information that can identify an individual.
The DUAA 2025 introduces updates to simplify compliance and support businesses, including:
- New lawful basis for processing: “recognised legitimate interests” under certain conditions
- Revised rules for automated decision-making with safeguards
- Updated cross-border data transfer guidance
What is considered personal data?
Personal data is any information that can directly or indirectly identify a person. Personal data may be name, address details, e-mail address, social security number, image, IP address or mobile ID. According to GDPR, all processing of personal data should be legal, correct and readily available to the person whose information is being used.
Key GDPR Compliance Actions for UK Businesses
- Make a risk assessment plan: Investigate how you store and process personal data today. Important questions to ask are: Where is personal data stored and processed? What data security is available today? Who has access to personal data?
- Conduct a data audit: Map how personal data is collected, shared, processed and stored.This includes internal servers, cloud platforms, mobile devices, and even printed records. It might be good to make a flowchart to see how personal data is moved between different systems and if these systems meet UK GDPR's data management requirements.
- Secure data storage: Check where you store any physical records containing personal information and eliminate the risk of printed documents ending up in the wrong hands. Because GDPR applies to all data, including paper copies, it's wise to invest in lockable storage such as document cabinets, burglar-proof filing cabinets or safes. These offer high security storage and make it easy to restrict access to confidential documents.
- Destroy paper copies of sensitive documents using document shredders: Cross-cut document shredders that cut or shred the document into small confetti-like pieces are recommended for destroying sensitive and confidential information that should no longer be stored.
- Manage data breaches: Develop and communicate clear internal procedures for reporting and handling if a personal data breach occurs. Under UK GDPR, serious breaches must be reported to the ICO within 72 hours.
- Ensure all processing activities are legally justified and documented: Be sure to always specify the purpose when your company collects personal information. It should be clear how the information is to be used; the data may not be used for any reason incompatible with this purpose.
- Update Privacy Policies and Notices: Make sure all individuals understand how their personal data and sensitive information is handled including: purpose of collection, legal basis for processing, rights to access, correction or deletion and contact information for your Data Protection Officer. Ensure that the information is readily available to the person to whom it relates.
- Automate Transparency in Decisions: If your organisation uses automated decision-making like algorithmic hiring or credit scoring, implement human review steps, provide explanations to affected individuals and maintain fairness and transparency.
- Monitor Third-Country Transfers: If you transfer data outside the UK or EEA, check that the country has strong rules about data protection or implement contractual safeguards where needed to make sure that the data stays safe.
- Staff training: Keep all employees informed of GDPR updates, security measures, and DUAA changes. Regular training reduces human error and strengthens compliance culture.
Practical Tips for SMEs
- Use flowcharts to visualise data processing.
- Label and organise physical and digital records.
- Implement regular audits of systems and third-party vendors.
- Maintain a record of processing activities (ROPA).
*Please note: The above text does not contain legal advice. It should only be interpreted as a brief overview of the GDPR law and used to provide basic tips on the subject as many companies are affected. Read more about GDPR and what it means on the website of the Information Commissioner's Office.
FAQ
- UK GDPR is the United Kingdom’s version of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which governs how businesses collect, store, and manage personal data. It ensures individuals have rights over their personal information and requires organisations to handle data lawfully, transparently and securely.
- The DUAA 2025 introduces updates to simplify compliance while maintaining strong protections. Key changes include a new lawful basis for certain types of processing (“recognised legitimate interests”), clearer rules on automated decision-making, and updated guidance for transferring data internationally.
- Personal data is any information that can identify an individual directly or indirectly. This includes names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses, images, or identification numbers. Sensitive personal data, such as health records or financial information, requires additional protection.
- Not every organisation is legally required to appoint a DPO. Typically, a DPO is needed if your core activities involve large-scale processing of personal data or sensitive information. However, even if not mandatory, having a designated person responsible for data protection can strengthen compliance and accountability.
- Automated decision-making, such as algorithmic hiring, credit scoring, or personalised marketing, must be fair, transparent, and explainable. Businesses should:
- Allow for human review where necessary
- Provide clear information to individuals affected by decisions
- Ensure that the decisions do not result in discrimination or unfair outcomes
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