Dear colleague,

I would like to apologise unreservedly for some of the content in the GDPR training modules I asked you all to look at last week. Unfortunately, the content was not picked up in our QA processes. If we had spotted it earlier we would not have included it.

The content was well-intentioned – it refers to a situation in which someone is a union member and this is revealed in an email circulation about their suitability for employment. This would be a breach of the data protection regulations as, rightly, political opinions and affiliations are a protected characteristic and that information was not germane to the email discussion and the individual had not given their consent. It should have been a good example of the new legal situation and its additional protection of an individual’s rights.

 However, the content was very clumsily worded and comes across as quite offensive – it gives the impression that being a member of a union is a negative thing and that it impacts on their suitability for employment. It is quite regrettable and it makes me blush to think of it.

By way of explanation, but not excuse, this material was developed externally to the University for use in the sector more widely. It certainly does not reflect our institutional values nor my own!

We are going to block access to the specific training module and we will have the content edited or removed.

Please do not give up on GDPR though – it is important to us all and I urge you to complete the training (we’ll let you know when it’s available again) to raise your awareness of the new law and our responsibilities under it. If you have any concerns at all please get in touch with me.

 Regards,

Dr Darrell Sturley
Chief Information Officer and Deputy Chief Operating Officer