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

Natacha has served in several senior positions within the Foreign Office, including as Deputy Ambassador for China and Director for Economic Diplomacy and Emerging Powers. She has also worked on global trade policy and international issues related to development.

Businesses that operate outside of the UK must comply with UK privacy laws. They must designate a representative in the UK to act as their point of contact for data subjects as well as the ICO.

What is a UK Representative?

The UK Representative is a person, company or organisation that is formally mandated by a data controller or processor to act on behalf of the controller or processor in relation to the GDPR's compliance issues in general. They will be the main contact point for inquiries from individuals exercising their rights or requests from supervisory authorities. They could also be subject to national requirements that were enacted in light of the GDPR's extraterritorial reach (see the UK case Rondon v LexisNexis Risk Solutions).

The appointment of Representatives is required by Article 27 of the EU GDPR, as well as the UK equivalent Section 3(2) of the Data Protection Act 2018. The requirement applies to any company that does not have its own place of business within the United Kingdom and that offers products or services to or monitors the behavior of people who reside in the United Kingdom, or that processes personal data of such individuals. The representative must be able to provide proof of their identity as well as that they are competent in representing the controller or processor of data in respect to the UK GDPR's obligations.

In addition to serving as a portal for individuals to exercise their GDPR rights, the Representative must be in a position to communicate with authorities in the event of a breach. This is because the avon representative near me (Full Piece of writing) has to submit a notification to the supervisory authority that appointed them, regardless of whether the breach affects the data subject across different jurisdictions.

It is crucial that the representative you choose has experience working with both European and UK data protection authorities. It is also recommended to are fluent in the local language because they are likely to receive contact from both individuals and data protection authorities in the countries in which they operate.

Although the EDPB states that the Representative will 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. The court ruled that the Representative did not have a direct connection with the processing of data by the entity that it represented.

Who needs to appoint a UK Representative?

In order to comply with the EU GDPR, businesses that are not part of the EU that are targeting goods or services towards European citizens but do not have an office, branch, or establishment in the EU must designate an EU Representative. This is in addition to the requirements of the national data protection laws. A Representative's role is to be the local point of contact for supervisory bodies and Avon representative near me individuals in relation to GDPR issues.

The UK has an identical requirement to that of the EU, which is outlined in Article 27 of UK-GDPR. The threshold is the same as the EU requirement: any company providing goods or services within the UK, or monitoring the behaviour of the data subjects, has to appoint an UK Representative.

Under the UK-GDPR, a representative must be mandated in writing "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 cannot be held personally liable for the GDPR's compliance. However they must cooperate with supervisory authorities in formal proceedings and also receive communications from data subjects exercising their rights (access request or right to be forgotten etc. ).

Representatives must be situated within the EU member state in which the individuals whose personal data is being processed are. This is not an easy decision and requires a thorough business and legal analysis to determine the most suitable location for an organisation. For this reason we offer an individualized service that assists organizations in assessing their needs and choosing the best option for them.

It is also advisable that the representative has experience dealing with supervisory authorities and handling data subject requests. Local language skills are also important since the job is likely to be involving dealing with requests from data subjects or supervisory authorities across Europe.

The identity of the sales representative jobs should be disclosed to individuals who are the data subjects via privacy policies and other information that is provided before collecting data (see article 13 in the UK-GDPR). The UK Representative's contact details should be posted on your site, providing an easy way for supervisory authorities to contact them.

When do you have to designate an UK Representative?

If your company is located outside of the UK and provides goods or services to the UK or monitors the behaviour of individuals, you could be required to appoint an UK Representative. The UK's applied EU GDPR regime is applicable to non-UK established companies which are operating in the UK. It has the same extraterritorial reach as EU GDPR, with limited exceptions. It is recommended that you take our free self-assessment and find out if you are required to comply with this requirement.

A representative is appointed by the appointing party under the terms of a contract of service. The representative is appointed to act on behalf of the party in relation to certain obligations under UK GDPR and EU GDPR, if 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 can be either an individual or a company which is based in the UK. The appointing entity must make it clear to individuals who are data individuals that their personal information will be processed by the Representative and the identity of that individual or company has to be easily accessible to supervisory authorities.

In accordance with Articles 13 & 14 of the UK GDPR the entity that is appointed as the representative is also required to provide the contact details of its representative to the ICO as well as the data subjects in the UK. It must make it clear that the role of a Representative is distinct from and not compatible with that of the role of a Data Protection Officer ("DPO"), which requires a certain degree of independence and autonomy that cannot be offered by a Representative.

If you are required to appoint an UK representative It is advised to do it as soon as possible. This is because the requirement arises either immediately after Brexit (if it's a "hard" or "no deal" Brexit) or following an implementation period (if it is an "soft" or a "with deal". There is no grace period.

What are the requirements for the designation of a UK Representative?

Under the UK data protection laws (and specifically article 27 of the UK GDPR) Representatives are an individual or company that is "designated in writing" by an entity that lacks a presence in the UK but is subject to the rules of the law. The UK representative should be competent to represent the company with regard to its obligations under the law and their contact information must be readily accessible to anyone within the UK who have personal data being processed by the non-UK business.

The person who is the UK Representative must be a senior worker of the foreign media or business organisation and has been enlisted and taken on as an employee outside of the UK by the media or business organisation. The visa applicant must intend to serve as the UK representative of the business or media organisation full-time and must not engage in other business activities in the UK.

In addition the visa applicant must prove that they have the required skills and experience to perform their role as UK Representative, which will include acting as the local point of contact for queries from data subjects and UK data protection authorities. The UK Representative must possess sufficient knowledge and expertise of UK data protection laws to be competent to respond to queries or 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 in the future. In the present, however, it is expected for companies that are not based in the UK, but do business in the UK and handle personal data of individuals in the UK, to appoint UK Representatives.

This is because article 27 of the GDPR law in the UK that was adopted as a UK national law, requires all entities that do not have any presence in the UK to nominate an UK representative for data protection. If you are not sure whether you are required to designate a UK representative for data protection It is suggested consult an experienced legal advisor.