GDPR Compliance Statement

Introduction

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), tailored by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and updated by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA), establishes the legal framework for data protection in the United Kingdom. Based on privacy by design and taking a risk-based approach, the UK GDPR is designed to meet the requirements of the digital age.

The 21st Century brings with it broader use of technology, new definitions of what constitutes personal data, and a vast increase in cross-border processing. The regulation aims to standardise data protection laws and processing, affording individuals stronger, more consistent rights to access and control their personal information.

Our Commitment

Diverse Leaders Network (‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’) is committed to ensuring the security and protection of the personal information that we process, and to providing a compliant and consistent approach to data protection. We maintain a robust and effective data protection programme in place which complies with existing law and abides by the data protection principles set out in the UK GDPR and the DPA 2018.

Diverse Leaders Network is dedicated to safeguarding the personal information under our remit and to developing a data protection regime that is effective, fit for purpose and demonstrates an understanding of, and appreciation for, current data protection legislation. Our ongoing objectives for data protection compliance are summarised in this statement and include the continued application of data protection roles, policies, procedures, controls and measures to ensure maximum and ongoing compliance.

How We Maintain GDPR Compliance

Diverse Leaders Network maintains a consistent level of data protection and security across our organisation. To ensure ongoing compliance with the UK GDPR, our practices include:

Information Audit

We conduct regular company-wide information audits to identify and assess what personal information we hold, where it comes from, how and why it is processed and if and to whom it is disclosed.

Policies & Procedures

We implement and regularly review data protection policies and procedures to meet the requirements and standards of the UK GDPR and relevant data protection laws, including:

Data Protection: Our main policy and procedure document for data protection meets the standards and requirements of the UK GDPR. Accountability and governance measures are in place to ensure that we understand and adequately disseminate and evidence our obligations and responsibilities, with a dedicated focus on privacy by design and the rights of individuals.
Data Retention & Erasure: Our retention policy and schedule ensure that we meet the ‘data minimisation’ and ‘storage limitation’ principles and that personal information is stored, archived and destroyed compliantly and ethically. We have dedicated erasure procedures in place to meet the ‘Right to Erasure’ obligation and are aware of when this and other data subject’s rights apply, along with any exemptions, response timeframes and notification responsibilities. Diverse Leaders Network will retain any physical data for a maximum of one year stored in a locked and secure archive. After this point all physical data will be destroyed in a compliant and ethical manner.
Data Breaches: Our breach procedures ensure that we have safeguards and measures in place to identify, assess, investigate and report any personal data breach at the earliest possible time. Our procedures are robust and have been disseminated to all employees, making them aware of the reporting lines and steps to follow.
International Data Transfers & Third-Party Disclosures: Diverse Leaders Network does not store or transfer any personal information outside the United Kingdom unless appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with UK adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses. We will not share or disclose any personal information without the subject (or if under 16, without their parents' consent). Where data is shared with third parties, it will be for purposes only related to the data gathering (i.e. impact reports, progress reports, attendance and registration, funding reports etc.). We carry out strict due diligence checks with all recipients of personal data to assess and verify that they have appropriate safeguards in place to protect the information, ensure enforceable data subject rights and have effective legal remedies for data subjects where applicable.
Subject Access Request (SAR): Our SAR procedures accommodate the 30-day timeframe for providing the requested information and for making this provision free of charge. Our procedures detail how to verify the data subject, what steps to take for processing an access request, what exemptions apply and a suite of response templates to ensure that communications with data subjects are compliant, consistent and adequate.
Privacy Notice/Policy: We maintain Privacy Notices to comply with the UK GDPR, ensuring that all individuals whose personal information we process have been informed of why we need it, how it is used, what their rights are, who the information is disclosed to and what safeguarding measures are in place to protect their information.
Obtaining Consent: We maintain clear mechanisms for obtaining personal data, ensuring that individuals understand what they are providing, why and how we use it and giving clear, defined ways to consent to us processing their information. We have developed stringent processes for recording consent, making sure that we can evidence an affirmative opt-in, along with time and date records, and an easy to see and access way to withdraw consent at any time. For network member image usage, we ensure consent statements are formal and short.
Direct Marketing: We maintain clear wording and processes for direct marketing, including clear opt-in mechanisms for marketing subscriptions, a clear notice and method for opting out and providing unsubscribe features on all subsequent marketing materials.
Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA): Where we process personal information that is considered high risk, involves large scale processing or includes special category/criminal conviction data, we utilise stringent procedures and assessment templates for carrying out impact assessments that comply fully with the UK GDPR’s Article 35 requirements. We have implemented documentation processes that record each assessment, allow us to rate the risk posed by the processing activity and implement mitigating measures to reduce the risk posed to the data subject(s).
Processor Agreements: Where we use any third-party to process personal information on our behalf (i.e. Payroll, Recruitment, Hosting etc.), we have drafted compliant Processor Agreements and due diligence procedures for ensuring that they (as well as we) meet and understand their/our UK GDPR obligations. These measures include initial and ongoing reviews of the service provided, the necessity of the processing activity, the technical and organisational measures in place and compliance with the UK GDPR.

Data Subject Rights

In addition to the policies and procedures mentioned above that ensure individuals can enforce their data protection rights, we provide easy to access information via an emailed request of an individual’s right to access any personal information that Diverse Leaders Network processes about them and to request information about:

What personal data we hold about them
The purposes of the processing
The categories of personal data concerned
The recipients to whom the personal data has/will be disclosed
How long we intend to store your personal data for
If we did not collect the data directly from them, information about the source
The right to have incomplete or inaccurate data about them corrected or completed and the process for requesting this
The right to request erasure of personal data (where applicable) or to restrict processing in accordance with data protection laws, as well as to object to any direct marketing from us and to be informed about any automated decision-making that we use
The right to data portability, allowing individuals to obtain and reuse their personal data across different services
The right to lodge a complaint or seek judicial remedy and who to contact in such instances

If you believe that Diverse Leaders Network has not complied with your data protection rights, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK's supervisory authority for data protection.

Information Security & Technical and Organisational Measures

Diverse Leaders Network takes the privacy and security of individuals and their personal information very seriously and takes every reasonable measure and precaution to protect and secure the personal data that we process. We have robust information security policies and procedures in place to protect personal information from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction and have several layers of security measures, including: up to date SSL certification, access controls, password protection, encryptions, restrictions and authentication.

GDPR Roles and Employees

Diverse Leaders Network has designated Katrina Thompson as our appointed Data Protection Officer (DPO) along with senior management to oversee our ongoing compliance with data protection regulations. The DPO is responsible for promoting awareness of the UK GDPR across the organisation, assessing our compliance, identifying any gap areas and implementing new policies, procedures and measures as required. Diverse Leaders Network understands that continuous employee awareness and understanding is vital to the continued compliance of the UK GDPR and have involved our employees in our data protection practices. We maintain an employee training programme which is provided to all employees and forms part of our induction and annual training programme.

If you have any questions about our data protection compliance, please email [email protected].

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