What Businesses Need to Know About UK GDPR
In an increasingly digitalised world that’s vulnerable to information leaks, it’s never been more important to protect the personal information of clients and customers. This is a legal responsibility but also a moral one. Failing to protect data can also be detrimental to your business and your company’s reputation.
Having a lawful basis is key in collecting data, and consent is just one of the options available. But data protection is more than a box-ticking exercise. It also goes beyond simply complying with GDPR. Data protection is an ongoing series of processes that you are responsible for establishing and overseeing. And yet, the regulations can be confusing and full of both legal and tech jargon.
So, let’s look at the processes and legal frameworks you need in place to comply with UK GDPR, leaving out all the jargon and arming you with the knowledge and tools you actually need to uphold data protection in your business.
What is GDPR and Do UK Businesses Need to Comply?
The General Data Protection Regulation, commonly known as GDPR, is a set of regulations adopted by the EU, which the UK retained in its own form, known as UK GDPR, after Brexit. It outlines a number of obligations companies must meet to protect the information of users, clients and customers. It must be adhered to by businesses of all kinds, from schools and healthcare facilities to tech companies and construction companies.
Since the UK left the EU, UK GDPR is what UK businesses must comply with, though it’s worth noting that this is almost identical to EU regulations. This is useful for UK businesses operating in the EU, as the same basic rules apply, and the main difference is the regulator you answer to. If you offer goods or services to people in the EU, or monitor their behaviour, you may also need to comply with EU GDPR directly and appoint a representative in the EU. Transferring personal data from the UK to the EU is straightforward, as the UK recognises the EU as providing an adequate level of protection. However, transfers to countries outside the EU and EEA are more complex and may need additional safeguards. For more on this, you should refer to our Checklist for UK GDPR Compliance When Transferring Data Out Of The UK.
UK GDPR also operates alongside the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), which cover areas such as cookies and electronic marketing. All three have been amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which updates parts of the UK data protection framework, so it’s worth checking that your policies and processes reflect these changes.
What Types Of Data Are Protected By UK GDPR?
Any information relating to an identified or identifiable living person is governed by UK GDPR, whether they share it with you directly or you obtain it from elsewhere. This includes everything from basic information such as name, date of birth and gender to payment information, location and purchasing preferences.
Some information is classed as special category data, which benefits from greater protection. This covers information about a person’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data used to identify someone, health, sex life or sexual orientation. Information about criminal convictions and offences is not special category data, but it is treated as its own category with separate rules and also needs extra care. Children’s data also merits specific protection under UK GDPR, so if you collect information from children, particularly through online services, you should take additional steps to protect it.
What about using personal data in AI tools?
UK GDPR also applies when you use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to process personal data. This includes entering customer or employee information into chatbots or other AI software, as well as using AI to analyse data or make decisions about people. You will need a lawful basis for this processing, and your privacy policy should explain how AI is used.
Before using AI in ways that could pose a high risk to people, you should carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment. If decisions with legal or similarly significant effects are made about people without meaningful human involvement, you must have safeguards in place, such as telling people about these decisions, allowing them to challenge them and giving them access to human review. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 relaxed some of these rules, but stricter limits still apply where special category data is involved. It’s also worth checking your AI provider’s terms, as some providers use the information you enter to train their models, and you may need a Data Processing Agreement in place.
For more on the risks of using AI in your business, take a look at our blog, The Tech Futures Report on Agentic AI: Insights, Red Flags and Risk Prevention for Businesses.
What Are The Basics Of UK GDPR For Businesses?
UK GDPR is a set of regulations that set standards for collecting and processing data. These regulations are based on some core principles businesses must negotiate, including:
Fair Reason - organisations must have legal reasons for the data they collect. It must have a purpose and be necessary to provide services.
Lawfulness, Fairness and Transparency - organisations must have a lawful basis for processing personal data, such as consent, performance of a contract, a legal obligation or legitimate interests. They must also use data fairly and be open and honest with people about how it is used.
Purpose - Data must only be collected for specific, disclosed purposes and must not be used in any other unstated way.
Minimal Collection - Only necessary information should be collected.
Accuracy - Data collected and stored should be accurate and kept up to date.
Storage Limitation - Data should only be kept for as long as is necessary for the purpose it was collected for. When data is destroyed, it must be done responsibly and completely.
Confidentiality - Data must be kept protected behind passwords and/or encryption or in locked cabinets (for data in paper form). Access should be restricted and shielded from loss or theft.
Accountability - UK GDPR makes it clear that the company, as a data controller, is accountable for data protection. This means all processes and compliance decisions must be documented. You must also have policies in place.
What Policies Are Required To Uphold UK GDPR?
Policies should be in place to stay compliant with UK GDPR. More so, though, they help you to build, uphold and prove your processes for protecting personal information. Some documents must be made available to the people whose data you collect, while others are internal documents you must have in place.
A Privacy Policy
Your privacy policy should explain how you collect, store, protect and process data. It must be accessible to anyone whose data you collect, both at the point you collect it and afterwards. A privacy policy should cover who you are and how to contact you, what information you collect, the purposes you use it for and the lawful basis for each, who it will be shared with and whether it will be transferred outside the UK. It must also explain individuals’ rights, including the right to access, correct or erase their personal information, to object to certain uses, to withdraw consent where you rely on consent, and to complain to you and to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Privacy policies must also explain how long data will be kept, or how you decide this, and how it will be protected.
A privacy policy should be accessible on the business website and should be linked to at any point where personal information from customers is requested. This is one of the most essential documents a business must have in place to comply with UK GDPR, regardless of whether you’re a micro business or a global organisation.
A Cookie Policy
Cookies are governed by PECR, which works alongside UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. If your website uses non-essential cookies, such as advertising cookies, you must get users’ consent before placing them, usually through a cookie banner, and explain them in a cookie policy displayed on your website. Following the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, some low-risk cookies, such as certain analytics cookies, no longer need consent, provided you tell users about them and give them a simple way to opt out.
Internal Documents For GDPR Compliance
Some internal documents are required by UK GDPR. Most businesses must keep records of their processing activities, although organisations with fewer than 250 employees may be exempt from parts of this requirement unless their processing is more than occasional, likely to pose a risk to people, or involves special category or criminal offence data. You must also keep a record of any personal data breaches. More generally, businesses must be able to prove that they collect, process, manage and store personal data in line with their own privacy policy and UK GDPR. Therefore, internal documents, including Data Privacy Policies and Data Retention Policies, are strongly advised. These documents should provide guidelines as to how personal data is handled within an organisation, including who has access and how it should be kept secure.
Data Retention Policies are guidelines establishing how long different types of data might be held for and when and how they should be securely disposed of.
Data Processing Agreements may also be needed if third-party vendors are processing data on your behalf.
Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) are required before you start any processing that is likely to result in a high risk to people. This includes processing special category or criminal offence data on a large scale, systematically monitoring people, or using new technologies such as AI. A DPIA should describe the processing and its purpose, assess whether it is necessary and proportionate, identify the risks to individuals and set out the steps you will take to reduce them. Even where a DPIA is not mandatory, it is good practice and helps show that you have considered data protection from the outset.
Since 19 June 2026, every business that handles personal data must also have a process for dealing with data protection complaints, regardless of its size. You must make it easy for people to complain, for example by providing an online complaint form, acknowledge complaints within 30 days, and investigate and tell the person the outcome without undue delay. Your privacy policy should also explain how people can complain to you. A Data Protection Complaints Policy sets out how your business will handle these complaints, and you can find our Data Protection Complaints Policy Template in our shop.
Most businesses that process personal data must also pay an annual data protection fee to the ICO, unless an exemption applies. If you suffer a personal data breach that is likely to pose a risk to people, you must report it to the ICO without undue delay and, where possible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of it. You must also respond to subject access requests, where people ask for a copy of their personal data, within one month.
Records are very important for proving UK GDPR compliance. The ICO can ask to see them, and they also keep your whole organisation informed and provide practical, clear instructions on how to handle personal data. Since data breaches are your responsibility regardless, it’s wise to establish processes and communicate these well across your organisation. Internal policies can help to do this and to demonstrate that you have done all you can to uphold UK GDPR.
Legal Documents for GDPR Compliance
A privacy policy is essential for UK GDPR compliance, but you may also require additional documents depending on your business type and the data you’re processing. For advice and help with legal data protection documents for your business, get in touch with Aubergine Legal. Also, check out our Website Policies for Businesses Legal Toolkit.
