COVID-19 & Privacy & Data Protection Chart

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on businesses. Many employers have deployed business continuity plans to help mitigate the effect of the virus, which include measures to protect the health and safety of employees. Discharging that duty is not easy, particularly when navigating the varying guidance from regulators around the world on what an employer can and can’t do with its employees’ personal data.

Our Privacy & Data Protection team has produced guidance to help you. The comparative chart contains a traffic light system and explanations to help you answer important questions, such as whether you can ask employees about symptoms, or whether you can take temperature readings from employees.

This chart is part of a suite of guidance and materials that Bird & Bird has produced on its COVID-19 briefing page. Click here to view the chart.

Written by
Ruth Boardman
Ruth Boardman
I am based in London and co-head Bird & Bird's International Privacy and Data Protection Group. I enjoy providing practical advice and solutions to complex legal issues. I have extensive experience advising a broad range of organisations on data privacy matters. I advise on the data protection aspects of new products or services and on commercial arrangements involving personal data. I also help when there has been a personal data breach. I advise clients on their dealings with data protection authorities, with the European Data Protection Board and with those involved in passing new data protection legislation.
Ariane Mole
Ariane Mole
I am a partner and co-head of Bird & Bird's International Data Protection Group. Thanks to many years of experience dedicated to data protection, I can provide innovative and practical solutions to clients around the world. In my role as co-head of our International Data Protection Group, I have extensive GDPR expertise and I assist clients through the twists and turns of local law divergences, so that they can reach global compliance and find practical solutions.
Oran Kiazim
Oran Kiazim
I am a senior data protection advisor in our Privacy & Data Protection practice providing strategic and practical support to our multinational clients. Having built a global privacy program from the ground up, I understand what privacy compliance means in practice. I take a pragmatic approach with my clients and help them translate their legal obligations into operational reality. My work covers all aspects of privacy and data protection law, including carrying out data protection impact assessments and developing practical data breach response procedures, as well as creating global privacy compliance frameworks that comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and implement Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs). I have particular expertise in advising on employment-related privacy matters, data breaches and international data transfers, including intra-group data transfer agreements.

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