Almost 100 users of HR-ON showed up to hear about the new EU Personal Data Regulations (GDPR).
With the EU’s new Personal Data Regulations (GDPR) coming into force, Danish companies must pay close attention to data protection relating to recruitment. It was therefore, not surprising that HR-ON’s GDPR seminar was extremely popular. Extra chairs had to be brought in to accommodate the almost 100 people who came to the seminar.
After everyone had arrived, and found a seat, Ali Cevik, Director of HR-ON, along with most of HR-ON’s staff, welcomed the participants.
Applications and CVs are packed with sensitive data
The new GDPR rules place strict requirements on the documentation of how companies process sensitive, personal information. Candidate applications are of course full of personal information. GDPR threatens with significantly higher fines for companies that are not in control of their data. Which is one more reason why many companies are nervous about how they will abide by these new GDPR rules, explained Christian Højer Schjøler, Assistant Professor at SDU.
The first speaker of the day asked the audience if they would like to hear a little about the fines, and from their reaction it would seem this is a crucial topic.
“Before the EU’s new Personal Data Regulations came into place, in Denmark you could risk having a fine of between 2000 and 25,000 DKK if you violate the Personal Data Act. Now, the fines could be up to 20 million euros, or four percent of the company’s annual turnover. For both public and private organizations. These significantly higher fines are now in place,” he said.
Many grey areas
From a legal point of view, there are still many grey areas in relation to the law. For example, according to Christian Højer Schjøler, it is not yet known how the fines will affect public organizations. Should the state pay fines to the state? What is clear, is that the fines must be significant. Enough to strongly discourage companies from violating the new regulations.
“It must have a deterrent effect,” said Christian Højer Schjøler.
In terms of the information that companies provide to candidates, it is written in the new GDPR rules that this must be in easily understandable language. It cannot be like the mile long terms and conditions that we are often asked to accept online. Basically, companies need to get used to the fact that there is a lot of information, which they are no longer allowed to store:
“We have to go from ‘nice to have’ to ‘need to have’,” the lawyer admonished.
HR-ON is ready for the Personal Data Regulation
When it comes to recruiting, however, there are many things that are already very clear. This was explained by HR-ON’s Head of Concept and Development, Christian Hansen, as he subsequently spoke about the new GDPR laws, which are relevant to recruitment.
He explained exactly how HR-ON will solve the challenges of classifying the large amount of data that naturally occurs during a recruitment process. In fact, HR-ON will help companies in relation to their disclosure requirements. He also discussed how HR-ON will ensure that all activities in relation to personal data is logged. He informed the audience that HR-ON is certified in the handling of recruitment data according to GDPR.
During the seminar, time was set aside for the many attending companies to network. There were also plenty of opportunities to have a chat over a cup of coffee.
Many new initiatives in HR-ON
Before the day came to an end, Ali Cevik and System Developer, Lennard M. Sørensen, gave a presentation on behalf of HR-ON about GDPR and Recruitment.
Among other things, they informed the audience of the possibilities of signing with digital signatures, retrieving candidates directly from LinkedIn, HR-ON’s news feed and the use of social media. They had a final feedback round, where the daily users if the system could brainstorm new ideas.
HR-ON remains a system designed to facilitate corporate life in a wide range of areas. Which now has additional features to help companies adhere to the new GDPR laws, specifically in relation to recruitment.
Click here to read about HR-ON’s focus on: Value-based Recruitment
