Why HR Data Is High-Risk Under GDPR
Employee data is some of the most sensitive personal data an organisation holds — salary details, health information, disciplinary records, immigration status. Under GDPR and Ireland's Data Protection Acts 2018, fines can reach €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover.
1. Data Minimisation
GDPR's data minimisation principle means you should only collect and store employee data that is necessary for a specific, documented purpose. Your HRM system should allow you to configure which fields are mandatory versus optional.
2. Retention Schedules
Irish employment law requires different retention periods for different record types:
- Payroll records: 6 years (Finance Act requirement)
- Annual leave records: 3 years (Organisation of Working Time Act)
- Health & safety records: 10 years
- Unsuccessful candidate records: up to 12 months
3. Right of Access (Subject Access Requests)
Employees have the right to request a copy of all personal data you hold about them within one month. With a centralised HRM system, a Subject Access Request can be fulfilled by exporting a structured data report — reducing response time from days to minutes.
4. Audit Trails
The DPC expects organisations to demonstrate compliance, not just claim it. Your HRM system should log every data access, edit, and deletion with a timestamp and user ID.
GDPR-Ready Checklist
- Field-level data minimisation controls
- Automated retention and deletion schedules
- One-click Subject Access Request export
- Full audit log with user and timestamp
- EU data residency
- Role-based access controls