The importance of shredding when working from home

While thousands of UK workers have spent the last two months adjusting to working remotely, there is an ongoing issue because not everybody has the right infrastructure in place to ensure their working environments are fully compliant. For businesses, it’s a necessity to keep up with, and implement, the latest regulations within that environment; for individuals, now scattered and having more responsibility over their roles than ever before, education on how they can still adhere to the law is needed. Their priorities’ lists are probably topped by keeping organised and finding space for themselves within the home to concentrate, rather than the legal minutia of their role.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in May 2018 and tightened data security in a way that was impossible to ignore – especially since the potential fines for non-compliance would have a serious impact on any organisation. The regulation affects all businesses, but some more than others – especially legal, accountancy and any finance sector. Anybody who handles sensitive information needs to be aware of the legal implications of not doing so safely and, when a team is working from home, it becomes even more difficult to regulate.

Some important tips for GDPR compliance when working from home include:

Only access information that you need to access. Limit the devices used to access that information. Implement strong passwords on all devices and cloud networks. Invest in an SME GDPR toolkit; this contains resources on how to remain compliant on an individual level. ICO.org.uk offers great resources for companies of any size. Ensure you’re up-to-date with the business’s data protection policy. Consult your data protection officer, if your organisation has one.

Good GDPR compliance is not only about processing data securely, but also being able to evidence this. Managers must ensure they have considered this in relation to their staff who are working from home in an environment that’s beyond their control; they need to supply information on policies relating to data protection, as well as any equipment their people might need. Unfortunately, according to a 2020 HRZone report, one of the biggest complaints from home workers is that they lack proper equipment; the onus is on their employers to make sure this isn’t the case.

One of the biggest hurdles when it comes to a lack of equipment is the ability to destroy paper documents. IT-based security is relatively easy to implement, and can be regulated remotely, but the only way to securely, and legally, destroy data is by shredding it. It’s highly recommended that any documents removed from a workplace and taken to an individual’s home is shredded once its usefulness is ended. The same goes for confidential documents printed at home, or those which have reached the end of their life cycle.

As a result, managers must make sure their staff have equipment which can effectively slice through documents at the correct security level for the company’s needs. Both Rexel and Leitz offer quiet, compact shredders which can fit smartly into the required environment, meaning there is something for every role within the team, and every security level.

The responsibility for ensuring that all data is handled, protected and disposed of in the correct way lies with both management and employees; it is everybody’s duty to create, and carry out, the strongest possible GDPR protection within the home office environment.

Want help choosing the right shredder? Try Rexel’s online buying guide: www.rexeleurope.com/en-gb/buying-guides/ paper-shredder-buying-guide

Or the buying guide from Leitz: www.leitz.com/en-gb/ design--concepts/iq-paper-shredders/paper-shredderbuying-guide/