73% of UK businesses are unprepared for GDPR
Paul Adams LLB (Hons)
Information Governance, Data Protection & GDPR Consultant, Trainer. External DPO and NED.
73% of UK businesses are unprepared for the GDPR. Are you at risk of huge fines?
Thousands of UK businesses are at risk of huge fines if they do not comply with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into effect on the 25th May 2018. Are you prepared?
Time is running out. According to research published by Careers in Cybersecurity and London law firm Hamlins LLP, thousands of UK businesses are at risk of fines for not complying with GDPR.
As part of the research they surveyed 207 people in the UK, between the dates of April – May 2017, who owned their own business or were directors or senior management of a business.
From this survey they found the following:
- More than 2/3 of the people surveyed were aware of GDPR coming into effect on the 25th May 2018
- 73% of businesses have not allocated a budget to facilitate compliance
- 53% have not appointed a Data Protection Officer
When asked ‘what would be the main reason for not preparing for the regulation’ the survey found:
- 15% believed Brexit would prevent UK businesses from having to comply
- 12% do not have the funds to comply
- 10% did not want to get caught up in the red tape
- 11% did not consider it to be a risk to their business
- Some businesses even believed their size removes the obligation for them to comply with GDPR
When GDPR comes into effect it will affect all businesses, regardless of your size.
Operations Director from Careers in Cybersecurity, Simon Wright said:
“Whilst some businesses will be exempt from appointing a Data Protection Officer, there are hundreds of thousands of businesses currently exposed because they do not have the right caliber of staff to deal with data protection law and practices and ensure they can honor all the obligations under the GDPR.”
What is a crucial key component to comply with GDPR within any organisation?
Staff awareness. Educating your staff with the new regulation’s requirements will ensure the entirety of your business is compliant. You must take the time now to prepare for compliance, you do not want to overlook staff awareness and risk the consequences of fines from the ICO after GDPR has come into effect.
Griffin House Consultancy are experts in data protection and information governance, we hold EU GDPR Workshop’s to ensure your compliance.
To attend this workshop please get in touch with us on 01673 885533 or visit our website.