Introduction
This Policy sets out the obligations of Boom Holdings Limited, a company registered in the United Kingdom under number 11279508, whose registered office is at Arena, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 4EB (“the Company”) regarding retention of personal data collected, held, and processed by the Company in accordance with EU Regulation 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). It also sets out the obligations of the Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries.
The GDPR defines “personal data” as any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (a “data subject”). An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of that natural person.
The GDPR also addresses “special category” personal data (also known as “sensitive” personal data). Such data includes, but is not necessarily limited to, data concerning the data subject’s race, ethnicity, politics, religion, trade union membership, genetics, biometrics (if used for ID purposes), health, sex life, or sexual orientation.
Under the GDPR, personal data shall be kept in a form which permits the identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data is processed. In certain cases, personal data may be stored for longer periods where that data is to be processed for archiving purposes that are in the public interest, for scientific or historical research, or for statistical purposes (subject to the implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by the GDPR to protect that data).
In addition, the GDPR includes the right to erasure or “the right to be forgotten”. Data subjects have the right to have their personal data erased (and to prevent the processing of that personal data) in the following circumstances:
a) Where the personal data is no longer required for the purpose for which it was originally collected or processed (see above);
b) When the data subject withdraws their consent;
c) When the data subject objects to the processing of their personal data and the Company has no overriding legitimate interest;
d) When the personal data is processed unlawfully (i.e. in breach of the GDPR);
e) When the personal data has to be erased to comply with a legal obligation; or
f) Where the personal data is processed for the provision of information society services to a child.
This Policy sets out the type(s) of personal data held by the Company, the period(s) for which that personal data is to be retained, the criteria for establishing and reviewing such period(s), and when and how it is to be deleted or otherwise disposed of. It also indicates, where appropriate, the legislation which governs the collection and retention of such information.
Aims and Objectives
a) The primary aim of this Policy is to set out limits for the retention of personal data and to ensure that those limits, as well as further data subject rights to erasure, are complied with. By extension, this Policy aims to ensure that the Company complies fully with its obligations and the rights of data subjects under the GDPR.
b) In addition to safeguarding the rights of data subjects under the GDPR, by ensuring that excessive amounts of data are not retained by the Company, this Policy also aims to improve the speed and efficiency of managing data.
Scope
a) This Policy applies to all personal data held by the Company and by third-party data processors processing personal data on the Company’s behalf.
b) Personal data is stored in the following ways and in the following locations:
i. Third-party servers, operated by our collaboration partners whose servers are in the UK and EEA
ii. Third-party servers operated by several suppliers of cloud-based business support services (e.g. Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services etc.) all of which have been checked for GDPR compliance and whose servers are in the UK, US and EEA.
iii. Laptop computers and other mobile devices provided by the Company to its employees;
Data Subject Rights and Data Integrity
All personal data held by the Company is held in accordance with the requirements of the GDPR and data subjects’ rights thereunder.
a) Data subjects are kept fully informed of their rights, of what personal data the Company holds about them, how that personal data is used and how long the Company will hold that personal data (or, if no fixed retention period can be determined, the criteria by which the retention of the data will be determined).
b) Data subjects are given control over their personal data held by the Company including the right to have incorrect data rectified, the right to request that their personal data be deleted or otherwise disposed of (notwithstanding the retention periods otherwise set by this Data Retention Policy), the right to restrict the Company’s use of their personal data, the right to data portability, and further rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling.
Technical and Organisational Data Security Measures
a) The following technical measures are in place within the Company to protect the security of personal data:
i. All emails containing personal data must have this information stored as an encrypted attachment and not in the body of the email;
ii. All emails containing personal data must be marked “confidential”;
iii. Personal data may only be transmitted over secure networks;
iv. Personal data may not be transmitted over a wireless network if there is a reasonable wired alternative;
v. Personal data contained in the body of an email, whether sent or received, should be copied from the body of that email and stored securely. The email itself and associated temporary files should be deleted;
vi. Where personal data is to be sent by facsimile transmission the recipient should be informed in advance and should be waiting to receive it;
vii. Where personal data is to be transferred in hardcopy form, it should be passed directly to the recipient;
viii. All personal data transferred physically should be transferred in a suitable container marked “confidential”;
ix. No personal data may be shared informally and if access is required to any personal data, such access should be formally requested from the Data Protection Officer.
x. All hardcopies of personal data, along with any electronic copies stored on physical media should be stored securely;
xi. No personal data may be transferred to any employees, agents, contractors, or other parties, whether such parties are working on behalf of the Company or not,
without authorisation;
xii. Personal data must be handled with care at all times and should not be left unattended or on view;
xiii. Computers used to view personal data must always be locked before being left unattended;
xiv. No personal data should be stored on any mobile device, whether such device belongs to the Company or otherwise without the formal written approval of the Data Protection Officer and then strictly in accordance with all instructions and limitations described at the time the approval is given, and for no longer than is absolutely necessary;
xv. No personal data should be transferred to any device personally belonging to an employee and personal data may only be transferred to devices belonging to agents, contractors, or other parties working on behalf of the Company where the party in question has agreed to comply fully with the Company’s Data Protection Policy and the GDPR;
xvi. All personal data stored electronically will be backed up and stored offsite. All backups will be encrypted;
xvii. All electronic copies of personal data should be stored securely using passwords and encryption;
xviii. Under no circumstances should any passwords be written down or shared. If a password is forgotten, it must be reset using the applicable method. IT staff do not have access to passwords;
xix. All software should be kept up-to-date. Security-related updates should be installed as soon as reasonably possible after becoming available;
xx. No software may be installed on any Company-owned computer or device without approval; and
xxi. Where personal data held by the Company is used for marketing purposes, it shall be the responsibility of the Data Protection Officer to ensure that the appropriate consent is obtained and that no data subjects have opted out, whether directly or via a third-party service such as the TPS.
b) The following organisational measures are in place within the Company to protect the security of personal data.:
i. All employees and other parties working on behalf of the Company shall be made fully aware of both their individual responsibilities and the Company’s responsibilities under the GDPR;
ii. Only employees and other parties working on behalf of the Company that need access to, and use of, personal data in order to perform their work shall have access to personal data held by the Company;
iii. All employees and other parties working on behalf of the Company handling personal data will be appropriately trained to do so;
iv. All employees and other parties working on behalf of the Company handling personal data will be appropriately supervised;
v. All employees and other parties working on behalf of the Company handling personal data should exercise care and caution when discussing any work relating to personal data at all times;
vi. Methods of collecting, holding, and processing personal data shall be regularly evaluated and reviewed;
vii. The performance of those employees and other parties working on behalf of the Company handling personal data shall be regularly evaluated and reviewed;
viii. All employees and other parties working on behalf of the Company handling personal data will be bound by contract to comply with the GDPR;
ix. All agents, contractors, or other parties working on behalf of the Company handling personal data must ensure that any and all relevant employees are held to the same conditions as those relevant employees of the Company arising out of the GDPR;
x. Where any agent, contractor or other party working on behalf of the Company handling personal data fails in their obligations under the GDPR, that party shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any costs, liability, damages, loss, claims or proceedings which may arise out of that failure.
Data Disposal
Upon the expiry of the data retention periods set out below in Part 7 of this Policy, or when a data subject exercises their right to have their personal data erased, personal data shall be deleted, destroyed, or otherwise disposed of as follows:
a) Personal data stored electronically (including any and all backups thereof) shall be deleted securely;
b) Special category personal data stored electronically (including any and all backups thereof) shall be deleted securely;
c) Personal data stored in hardcopy form will be collected and securely shredded by Shred It UK services;
d) Special category personal data stored in hardcopy form will be collected and securely shredded by Shred It UK services or equivalent secure UK shredding company.
Data Retention
a) As stated above, and as required by law, the Company shall not retain any personal data for any longer than is necessary in light of the purpose(s) for which that data is collected, held, and processed.
b) Different types of personal data, used for different purposes, will necessarily be retained for different periods and its retention periodically reviewed), as set out below.
c) When establishing and/or reviewing retention periods, the following shall be taken into account:
i. The objectives and requirements of the Company;
ii. The type of personal data in question;
iii. The purpose(s) for which the data in question is collected, held, and processed;
iv. The Company’s legal basis for collecting, holding, and processing that data;
v. The category or categories of data subject to whom the data relates;
d) If a precise retention period cannot be fixed for a particular type of data, criteria shall be established by which the retention of the data will be determined, thereby ensuring that the data in question, and the retention of that data, can be regularly reviewed against
those criteria.
e) Notwithstanding the following defined retention periods, certain personal data may be deleted or otherwise disposed of prior to the expiry of its defined retention period where a decision is made within the Company to do so (whether in response to a request by a
data subject or otherwise).
f) In limited circumstances, it may also be necessary to retain personal data for longer periods where such retention is for archiving purposes that are in the public interest, for scientific or historical research purposes, or for statistical purposes. All such retention will
be subject to the implementation of appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the rights and freedoms of data subjects, as required by the GDPR.
Roles and Responsibilities
a) The Company’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at (DPO@boom.limited).
b) The Data Protection Officer shall be responsible for overseeing the implementation of this Policy and for monitoring compliance with this Policy, the Company’s other Data Protection-related policies and with the GDPR and other applicable data protection legislation.
c) The Data Protection Officer shall be directly responsible for ensuring compliance with the above data retention periods throughout the Company.
d) Any questions regarding this Policy, the retention of personal data, or any other aspect of GDPR compliance should be referred to the Data Protection Officer
Implementation of Policy
This Policy shall be deemed effective as of 15th August 2024. No part of this Policy shall have retroactive effect and shall thus apply only to matters occurring on or after this date.
The information in emails which we send is confidential and may be legally privileged.
It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to such an email by anyone else is unauthorised. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken or reliance on it is prohibited and may be unlawful.
In addition, any unauthorised reproduction, dissemination, copying, disclosure, modification, distribution and/or publication of this e-mail message is strictly prohibited. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error free and Boom does not accept any liability for changes made to this e-mail (and any attachments) after it was sent or for viruses arising as a result of this e-mail transmission.
Boom may intercept any e-mail or other communications which you send to or receive via the Company’s telecommunications systems for certain permitted lawful purposes. By so corresponding you also give your consent to Boom, monitoring and recording of any correspondence using these systems. Boom is a trading name of Boom Holdings Ltd, is registered in England and Wales, number 11279508. Head Office Address: The Square, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 4EB. Registered Office: Boom Coms Ltd, Arena, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 4EB, United Kingdom.