New appointment delays launch of final data codes

Publication of the final two data protection codes of practice has been
further delayed by the appointment of a new information commissioner.

The Information Commission had hoped to publish the codes, which outline
employers’ responsibilities when handling staff information under the Data
Protection Act, before former commissioner Elizabeth France left in September.

However, the final two codes on monitoring and medical records have now been
delayed until new commissioner Richard Thomas takes over in December.

Thomas, director of public policy at law firm Clifford Chance will now
oversee the codes’ publication, delaying publication of the last code until
March next year.

David Smith, assistant information commissioner, said: "I hope that the
monitoring code can be released before Christmas, while the medical records
codes needs a further closed consultation with business, so should be out by
March next year."

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

The codes on recruitment and employee records have already been released.

www.dataprotection.gov.uk