The Business Ladder Blog

Owners of businesses of all sizes that manage personal data should be extremely careful in relation to keeping their customer records.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has introduced fines of up to £500,000 for breaches of the Data Protection Act, which came into force on April 6 to try to prevent further serious breaches of data protection laws and regulations.

Critics have pointed out that many of the most serious breaches have come from government bodies or departments, and not the private sector. However, the new penalties are expected to be used to fight violations by all persons or organisations holding information.

Especially in tough times where real financial issues occupy most of your time, it can be easy to overlook the importance of being fully up-to-date and compliant with all the relevant regulations. But this change in the applicable penalties should serve as a reminder to all business owners that compliance is far better than running the risk of being punished.

Notification to the ICO can be performed online at www.ico.gov.uk and costs just £35 for all but large entities.