The Local Enterprise Office Laois has urged all businesses in Laois to prepare for a new data protection law that will become operational shortly.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on May 25th and according to the Local Enterprise Office it will have a significant impact on all local businesses.
Evelyn Reddin, Head of Enterprise with the Local Enterprise Office said: “Every business in Laois will be impacted by the GDPR when it becomes operational in May.
“The rules about data protection are going to be tightened and any business who holds any piece of personal data about customers or staff, including something as simple as the phone number or address of a staff member or the bank account number of a customer or supplier, will have to abide by the new rules.
“The penalties for not complying will be very onerous and companies who don’t comply with the GDPR could be fined up to 4% of their annual turnover.
“This could be a huge fine for what could be an innocent mistake on the part of anyone working for the business.
“Businesses have a lot of work to do to get ready for the GDPR and they cannot afford to wait until closer to May. We do not want to see the situation arise where Laois businesses are subject to fines because their procedures failed random audits which may be carried out. Laois businesses must act now to be ready for the GDPR from May 25th.”
The Local Enterprise Office has developed a new GDPR support structure and are urging every business to avail of.
They are hosting a morning seminar in the Killeshin Hotel on March 14 – this seminar will look at what the GDPR is, how it will impact on businesses and how Laois businesses can start to prepare for it now.
“All businesses are invited to attend but numbers are limited so we ask people to register to attend on our website,” added Evelyn.
“We have also developed a one to one mentoring service which will see a GDPR advisor visit business owners in their premises, examine their current data protection measures, assess their readiness for the GDPR and advise on steps they need to take.
“The value of this service is €700 but we are offering it to a limited number of businesses for €200. Any business interested in availing of this service after our seminar should start by submitting an expression of interest which is available on our website.”
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