What Is a UK Representative and Why Do You Need One?

Natacha has held a variety of high-level positions within the Foreign Office including Deputy Ambassador to China and Director for economic diplomacy and Emerging Powers. She has also worked in global trade policy and international issues.

Businesses that are not located in the UK are bound by UK privacy legislation. They must designate a representative in the UK who will be their point of contact for people who are data subjects and ICO.

What is an UK Representative?

The UK Representative jobsWloszczowa.praca.gov.pl, is an individual, a company or organisation mandated in writing by a data controller or processor to act on their behalf regarding all matters around GDPR compliance. They will be the main point of contact avon for representatives queries from individuals who exercise their rights or requests from supervisory authorities. They may also be subject to national regulations that have been implemented because of the GDPR’s extraterritorial reach (see the UK case Rondon against LexisNexis Risk Solutions).

The appointment of Representatives is required by Article 27 of the EU GDPR, and the UK equivalent section 3(2) of the Data Protection Act 2018. The requirement applies to any entity that does not have a separate establishment within the United Kingdom and that offers goods or services to or monitors the behavior of individuals residing in the United Kingdom, or that processes personal data of such individuals. The Representative must be able provide proof of their identity, and that they are able to represent the controller or processor of data in respect to UK GDPR obligations.

The representative must be able to communicate with authorities if there’s an incident. The representative must notify the supervisory authority that appointed them, regardless of whether or not the breach affects data subjects across multiple jurisdictions.

It is recommended that your representative has worked with both European and UK-based data protection authorities. It is also recommended for them to be proficient in local languages since they are likely to receive contact from individuals and data protection agencies in the countries they operate.

Although the EDPB states that the Representative must be held liable in the event of non-compliance the UK court case of Rondon v LexisNexis UK Ltd (2019) EWHC 1427 has established that a Representative cannot be sued by a person for the apparent failure to adhere to the UK GDPR. This is because, according to the court the Representative does not have a direct connection with the processing of data by the representative entity.

Who is required to appoint the UK Representative?

The EU GDPR stipulates that businesses from outside the EU with no office or branch within the EU, that target products or services to European citizens must appoint an official. This is in addition to requirements from national laws regarding data protection. A representative’s job is to act as the local point of contact for supervisory bodies and individuals regarding GDPR-related issues.

The UK has a similar requirement to the EU as laid out in Article 27 of UK-GDPR. The threshold is the same as that of the EU requirement: any company that offers goods or representative jobs services in the UK or monitoring the behavior of the data subjects, has to appoint an UK Representative.

Under the UK-GDPR, a representative must be formally authorized “to be, additionally or alternatively addressed, on behalf of the controller or processor by the data subjects and the British Information Commissioner’s Officethe [British Information Commissioner’s Office]”. They are not personally accountable for GDPR compliance. However, they must cooperate with supervisory authorities in official proceedings and receive notifications from data subjects who exercise their rights (access request or right to be forgotten, etc. ).

Representatives should be located in the member state of the European Union in which the individuals whose personal data is processed reside. This is not an easy decision and requires an in-depth legal and business analysis to determine the most suitable location for a company. We provide an individualized service that assists organisations in assessing their needs and deciding on the most appropriate option for them.

It is also advisable that representatives have experience dealing with supervisory authorities and dealing with data subject requests. Language skills in the local language can also be essential, as the job may require dealing with requests from supervisory authority or data subjects in a variety of countries across Europe.

The identity of the representative should be made known to the people who have data through privacy policies and other information that is provided before collecting data (see article 13 of the UK-GDPR). Contact details for the UK Representative should be posted on your website so that supervisory authorities are able to easily contact them.

When do you need to designate a UK Representative?

If your organisation is based outside the UK, offers products or services to people who reside in the UK or monitors their behavior and conducts surveillance, you may have to appoint the position of a UK Representative. The UK’s applied EU GDPR regime is applicable to established entities outside the UK which are operating in the UK. It has the same reach as EU GDPR, with some exceptions. Take our free self-assessment to check if you’re legally bound by this obligation.

A Representative is mandated by the entity that appointed them under an agreement to represent the entity with respect to a number of its obligations under UK and EU GDPR as applicable. In the UK the primary purpose of this would be to facilitate communication between the party that appointed and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) or any data subjects affected in the UK. A Representative could be an individual or a UK-based company. The appointing body must inform the data subjects that the Representative is processing their personal data and ensure that the identity of the individual or company is readily available to supervisory authorities.

In accordance with Articles 13 & 14 of the UK GDPR The appointing entity is also required to provide the contact information of its representative to the ICO as well as the individuals who are data subjects in the UK. It must be made clear that the representative’s job is distinct from the one of the position of a Data Protection Officer (DPO) which requires a level of autonomy and independence that is that is not available to representatives.

If you have to designate an official from the UK representative and you are required to do so, you must do it in the earliest time possible. This is because the requirement will be in effect immediately following Brexit (if there is an ‘hard’ or ‘no deal’ Brexit) or after an implementation period (if there is a’soft’ or “with deal” Brexit). There is no grace period.

What are the requirements for a UK Representative?

According to UK laws on data protection, a representative is a person or a company who is “designated” in writing by an entity which does not have a physical presence in the UK but is subject to the law. The UK representative should be able to represent an entity with respect to its obligations under law. Contact details for representatives should also be readily accessible to UK residents whose personal data are processed by a non-UK company.

The UK Representative must be an overseas senior member of a business or media organization and have been hired and employed as an employee by the business or media organization outside of the UK. The person applying for the visa must intend to be full-time employed as the UK Representative for the business or media organisation, and they are not allowed to engage in any other business activities in the UK.

In addition, the visa applicant must demonstrate that they possess the necessary knowledge and skills to perform their role as UK Representative jobs – Wloszczowa.praca.gov.pl,, which will include acting as local point of contact for queries from data subjects and UK authorities for data protection. The UK Representative must have sufficient experience and knowledge of UK laws regarding data protection to be capable of responding to inquiries and requests from data protection authorities as well as individuals exercising their rights.

As the Brexit process continues, it is likely that the UK data protection laws will change as time passes. In the present, however it is expected of companies that are not based in the UK, but do business in the UK and collect personal data on individuals in the UK to nominate UK Representatives.

It is because article 27 of the UK’s GDPR that was adopted as a UK national law, requires companies without a UK-based presence to appoint an UK representative for data protection. If you’re not sure whether you’re required to have a UK data protection rep it is advised to consult a qualified legal professional.

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