Data Retention Policy
This Data Retention Policy is designed to help businesses manage how long personal data is kept, the criteria used to set retention periods, and the procedures for deleting or disposing of data when it is no longer needed.
Under the UK GDPR, personal data should not be kept for longer than necessary. Data subjects may also have the right to require the erasure of their personal data in certain circumstances.
A clear retention policy can therefore support compliance while also helping to reduce unnecessary storage, duplication, and the operational burden of holding excessive data.
Helps you set and apply retention rules
This template is designed primarily to set out retention limits for different types of personal data held by a business, explain how those limits are determined, and establish how personal data should be deleted or disposed of.
It also states where and how personal data is held, outlines key data subject rights, and includes a summary of the technical and organisational measures the business has in place to protect personal data.
Works alongside your wider data protection documents
Parts of this policy are duplicated in summary form from the Data Protection Policy and the two documents are designed to be used together.
References in this template to the various Parts of the Company’s Data Protection Policy should therefore be checked and amended if optional provisions are removed from that document.
Flexible for business-wide or departmental use
The policy can be used across the whole business or adapted for separate departments. Where large volumes of personal data are handled, a departmental approach may be more manageable.
What the policy covers
- aims, objectives, and scope;
- data subject rights and data integrity;
- technical and organisational data security measures;
- data disposal and data retention;
- roles, responsibilities, and implementation.
Data Retention Policy is part of Business . Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Business for 1 year.