Staffing agencies work with exceptionally sensitive personal data — ID numbers, copies of ID cards, driver’s licenses, health cards and A1 forms. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) places strict requirements on the processing of this data that many agencies underestimate.
Which agency data falls under GDPR
- Identification data — first name, last name, ID number, date of birth, address
- Document copies — ID card, driver’s license, insurance card
- Work documents — A1 forms, employment contracts, hours sheets
- Financial data — IBAN, tax ID, hourly rate
- Contact data — phone number, email
All of these are personal data within the meaning of GDPR. Document copies with a photo are even considered a more sensitive category.
Basic obligations of the agency
1. Legal basis for processing
You must have a clear legal basis for processing each type of data. For staffing agencies this is usually contract performance (employment contract) and legal obligation (social insurance, A1 forms).
2. Storage security
Copies of documents must not sit in a shared Google Drive folder that the whole company has access to. GDPR requires appropriate technical and organizational measures — encryption, access control, backup, and storage within the EU.
3. Access control
Not every agency employee needs to see a worker’s ID number or ID card copy. Access to sensitive data should be limited to those who really need it — typically the HR manager and office manager.
4. Audit trail
GDPR requires you to be able to prove who accessed personal data and when. If a data protection authority audit arrives, you must be able to show access logs.
5. Right to erasure and export
Every worker has the right to request complete erasure of their data or export of all data you keep on them. You must be able to fulfil this within the statutory 30-day period.
What is at stake for non-compliance
Fines for GDPR violations can reach up to 20 million EUR or 4% of the company’s annual turnover. In practice, fines for smaller companies are lower, but even a 5,000–50,000 € fine is significant for an agency. Moreover, a personal data leak damages the company’s reputation.
How to handle it properly
The ideal solution is a system with GDPR built in from the ground up:
- Data stored in the EU on encrypted servers
- Row-level security — each organization sees only its own data
- Automatic audit log of every access to documents
- Function for full export of a worker’s data (JSON)
- Function for permanent deletion including document copies
- Roles with different access levels (admin, team leader, worker)
When you have these features in the system, GDPR compliance isn’t a burden — it’s just a matter of correct configuration.