SARs: Not as Scary as They Sound (Still Worth Getting Right!)
Ever wondered what kind of digital footprint you leave behind at work? Or perhaps you’ve heard whispers of “GDPR” and “fines” in the same breath and felt a little shiver? Well, today, we’re going to demystify one of the key rights under the GDPR – the Subject Access Request, or SAR – and explore why it’s something every business, big or small, needs to understand. And don’t worry, we’ll keep it light-hearted and just a touch technical!
So, What Exactly is a Subject Access Request (SAR)?
Imagine you’re a customer, an employee, or even a supplier. You have a legal right to know what personal data an organisation holds about you, why they’re keeping it, and how they use it. That’s what a Subject Access Request is. It’s your right to say, “Hey, what do you know about me?” and ask the organisation to provide you with a copy of that information.
Think of it like requesting your own personal data report card. It’s about transparency and giving individuals control over their information. Under GDPR, organisations usually have one calendar month to respond to a SAR, though this can be extended for complex requests.
The GDPR Elephant in the Room (and Why Businesses Should Care)
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the overarching framework that governs how personal data is collected, processed, and stored in the UK and EU. SARs are a core pillar of GDPR. And why should businesses care? Beyond the ethical responsibility to protect personal data, there’s a rather substantial financial incentive – fines.
We’re not talking about a slap on the wrist here. The fines can be eye-watering for serious infringements of GDPR, including failing to comply with SARs. Under UK GDPR, the maximum fine can be up to £17.5 million or 4% of annual global turnover, whichever is greater. Fines can reach £8.7 million or 2% of global turnover even for lesser offences. While the average fine in the UK in 2024 was around £153,722, it’s clear that the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) isn’t shy about imposing significant penalties. A single mishandled SAR could lead to a complaint, an investigation, and ultimately, a hefty financial hit that no business wants to endure.
The Digital Maze: Why SARs Can Be a Headache
Now, for the slightly more technical bit. You might think, “How hard can it be to find someone’s data?” Ah, if only it were that simple! In today’s digital landscape, personal data isn’t neatly filed away in a single drawer. It’s spread across many platforms and systems, making SARs a digital treasure hunt with a tight deadline.
Consider a typical business environment in the UK:
- Microsoft SharePoint: Documents, collaborations, internal communications – a treasure trove of data.
- Windows Servers: Traditional file shares, user profiles, and application data.
- Cloud Storage: Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive – employees often use these for work-related files.
- Physical Records: Yes, paper still exists!
Imagine trying to scour all these different locations, often with varying access permissions and search functionalities, to gather every piece of personal data related to one individual. It’s like searching for a needle in a haystack; the only haystack contains several different types of hay, spread across multiple fields, and you only have a month to find it!
Time and Cost Estimates (UK):
Let’s make some rough estimates for a medium-sized business attempting a manual SAR:
- Identifying relevant systems: 1-2 days
- Coordinating access permissions: 1-3 days (can be complex if roles are siloed)
- Manual searching across platforms: This is where it gets tricky.
- For a simple SAR, say an employee’s email history: 1-2 days.
- For a more complex SAR involving multiple systems and a deeper dive into content, easily 5-15 days or more. This would involve individual searches on each platform, sifting through documents, emails, and databases.
- Reviewing and redacting data: Once found, the data needs careful review to ensure it only provides the requested personal data, and any third-party information is redacted. This is a critical and time-consuming step. Another 3-7 days.
- Compiling and delivering the response: 1-2 days.
Assuming a labour cost of around £35-£50 per hour for an administrative or IT professional in the UK (factoring in salary, benefits, overheads), a SAR that takes 10 full working days (80 hours) could easily cost a business £2,800 – £4,000 in labour alone. And that’s for one request! If multiple SARs come in, or if the requests are particularly complex, these costs can skyrocket.
The SAR Superhero: How Software Like Foldr Can Save the Day
This is where a clever software solution truly shines. Imagine a single pane of glass, a unified search engine that can peer into all those disparate digital locations we just mentioned. That’s the power of something like Foldr when it comes to SARs.
Foldr doesn’t just link to your file shares; it can power content searches across multiple storage. This means:
- Unified Search: Instead of logging into SharePoint, then a Windows server, then your cloud storage, Foldr provides a central point to search across them all simultaneously. It’s like having a universal librarian who knows exactly where everything is, regardless of the shelf it’s on.
- Content-Level Discovery: Foldr isn’t just looking at file names. It’s delving into the document’s content and other files to find all instances of the individual’s personal data. This is crucial for a comprehensive SAR response.
- Reduced Time and Effort: What would take days or weeks of manual searching and sifting can be done in minutes or hours. This dramatically reduces labour costs and frees up valuable employee time for other critical tasks.
- Improved Accuracy: Manual processes are prone to human error. A robust software solution ensures a more thorough and consistent search, reducing the risk of missing relevant data and thus, non-compliance.
- Better Compliance Posture: By streamlining the SAR process, businesses can confidently meet their one-month deadline, demonstrate due diligence, and ultimately reduce their risk of GDPR fines and reputational damage.
In essence, Foldr takes the “treasure hunt” out of Subject Access Requests and replaces it with a highly efficient, automated discovery process. It transforms a potential GDPR headache into a manageable, even routine, operation.
So, while SARs might initially sound a little intimidating, understanding your obligations and leveraging the right tools can turn them from a compliance burden into another example of good data hygiene. And that, in the world of GDPR, is a win-win for everyone!
