Payroll is a vital part of any organisation, whether it’s a local business or a multinational corporation. A simple payroll error can cause a large amount of damage, so getting it right is essential.

With just three months to go until the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force, the clock is ticking for HR and payroll managers to get the systems and processes in place to ensure compliance. The regulation, coming into effect on 25 May 2018, updates data rights for today’s networked world and organisations ignore it at their peril. A major infringement could cost a company up to 4% of its global revenue while there is a penalty of 2% of global revenue if records are not in order or a supervising authority and data subjects are not notified within 72 hours when personal data is exposed in a security breach.

Once GDPR takes effect on 25th May 2018, organisations that fail to process data correctly, report security breaches within a set time period, or comply with data regulations, will face fines and brand damage. These legislative changes emphasise how HR and payroll professionals need to be more security-conscious than ever before.

With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into effect in May 2018, all organisations who handle data of EU citizens will need to comply with new guidelines. By nature, HR departments hold personal and sensitive employee data, including payroll data.

If you want to learn best practice in handling data in light of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), you can do no better than to look at DuPont. Now part of science giant DowDuPont following a merger last year, data is part of the DNA of the organisation and it has a long history of embedding data protection into its culture.

With more and more employees relying on technology and flexible working than ever before, the world is becoming increasingly connected and globalised. However, with this new reliance on global working, what do HR and payroll teams need to consider when implementing payroll for multinational companies?

Our webinar, titled ‘GDPR: Completing the Data Register’, and hosted by Gert Beeckmans, Chief Risk & Security Officer at SD Worx, and Laurent De Surgeloose, Lead Lawyer at global law firm DLA Piper, explored the importance of data registers and what HR and payroll professionals need to know.

In February, SD Worx hosted its European Conference 2018 at Hilton on Park Lane, London, with over 800 attendees and 30 expert speakers. One of the sessions, titled ‘How to be internationally compliant in a digital world’, was hosted by Gert Beeckmans, chief risk and security officer SD Worx, and Frank Rudolf, director of payroll at PAREXEL. Here are their top five lessons on implementing GDPR:

Updating payroll systems
At the end of the financial year, payroll professionals need to ensure that they are using the most up-to-date rates—otherwise they are at risk of providing false information that will need to be corrected at a later date. To achieve this, payroll professionals should update their current payroll software so it uses the latest rates and thresholds for Income Tax, National Insurance, and student loan repayments.

With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) around the corner, employees will soon have the right to know the status of the personal data that companies retain. Ex-employees and unsuccessful applicants can also request that their data is discarded (if the necessary period for keeping their data has expired).

On Wednesday 25th January, SD Worx and DLA Piper hosted the second webinar in our General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) series focused on implementing an appropriate retention of employees’ data.

With the GDPR deadline just four months away, are you prepared? To help get your HR and payroll department ready for when the regulation takes effect on 25th May, we’ve put together a checklist of essential steps to compliance.