The UK's small business community is worryingly unprepared for new data protection regulations, according to research from the Federation of Small Businesses. The latest FSB analysis found that one third of small companies have not started preparing for the introduction of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), while a further third are only in the early stages. Only eight per cent are fully ready for the changes, which take effect on 25th May, 2018.
“The GDPR is the biggest shake-up in data protection to date, and many small businesses will be concerned that the changes will be too much to handle,” says Mike Cherry, FSB national chairman. “It's clear that a large part of the small business community is still unaware of the steps they need to take to comply and may be left playing catch-up.”
FSB also found that 60 per cent of small businesses have reported lower profits due to compliance with data protection, and 31 per cent say they have been forced to stop workforce expansion. On average, companies will spend seven hours per month meeting data protection obligations, which equates to £1,075 per year. “Small businesses do understand the need for, and the benefits of, data protection regulations,” continues Mike. “However, many struggle with the cumulative burden of the regulations and the costs that compliance brings both in time and money.”
Visit www.fsb.org.uk for details.
Posted: 11 May 2018