Privacy Laws and HR
Question
International HR is concerned not only with cultural differences between groups but also on the additional challenge of simultaneously working within different legal systems. This often means that all employees are not treated equally. HR is responsible for establishing and maintaining the delicate balance required to adhere to local laws while treating all employees fairly.
Review the international privacy laws for three different countries. You may begin your research at the following Web site:
• Information Shield. (n.d.). International privacy laws. Retrieved from
http://www.informationshield.com/intprivacylaws.html
Based on this resource and your research, respond to the following:
• What impact do international privacy laws have on human resource management, specifically in regards to the interviewing and hiring process?
• What are the important features of the laws in the three countries you chose? Are there any features that surprised you?
• What are the restrictive aspects of the laws you reviewed? How would these impact hiring and ongoing employment in that country?
• As technology develops, what changes in the law do you foresee becoming necessary?
Discussed the impact of international privacy laws on the interviewing and hiring process.
Discussed the important features of the laws in the three chosen countries.
Identified the restrictive aspects of the laws and explained their impact on the hiring and ongoing employment relationship.
Discussed potential changes in legislation based on the development of technology.
Answer ( 1 )
1. Impact of international privacy laws on human resource management :
In this era, the globalization has been adopted by many organizations as it has many advantages. However, there are certain difficulties and problems that need to be deal with. One such problem is the management of HR because different countries have different laws which have to be observed by the organization. The issue of observing privacy laws is also critical for the organization as countries have developed laws to safeguard the privacy of the personal data of their citizen.
The international privacy laws do influence the processes of human resource management. During the recruitment and hiring of the candidates for a job the information furnished by them during this process has to be protected by the organization.
In many organizations, the personal data is being asked to be stored within the company’s electronic storing devices for future use. However, it can breach the privacy concerns of the employees. In the UK the laws clearly state the processes where the personal data is asked and how it can be used by the organization. The Data Protection Directive of the European Union presents itself with an agenda to safeguard the personal data of the individuals which are collected by the government and by the private companies for the purpose of assessing or storing. It does not allow the organization to ask for any personal data and the laws also clearly mention that the candidates have the right to know the use of his her personal data.
Moreover with the advent of the internet the organization sometimes also use the candidate data for marketing which again breaches the privacy of the job aspirants. With the internet, the potential to harm the privacy of the employees has been increased for these organizations. Therefore the government all over the world has formed strict laws to protect the personal data of their citizen from the procedures and processes of these multinational companies.
2. The privacy laws of Australia, UK, and Canada
These are the countries whose privacy laws have been overviewed, and the different elements are studied for noting the surprising features.
Australia and Canada have also developed quite comprehensive legal systems for the protection of privacy of the individuals. In Canada the federal guides the collection, usage and further disclosure of the data furnished by the individuals in relation to the commercial processes. However, for non-commercial organizations, such as Not for Profit organizations, these do not hold any limitations. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) are enacted for governing the procedures of the personal data processes being used by the government and private organizations. The Privacy Act has been formulated for safeguarding the information of the individuals. It oversees the collection, use and further disclosure of the personal data by the government and companies operating in Canada.
In Australia, the federal and state protect the information of the individuals the country has enacted legislations for the safeguarding the privacy according to the different sectors at the state level. Also, it regulates the personal data processing in the media sector and few criminal sanctions to protect the personal data of its citizens from being misused by the private organizations. However, there can be a civil cause of personal data breach, but the laws are not clear related to the invasion of privacy by the civil authorities which are important features of the privacy laws of Australia. They have followed the comprehensive privacy laws of the UK to formulate the laws for privacy protection
UK is a member of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the laws enacted by this Convention are observed in the countries which are a part of the European Union. Article 8 of the ECHR clearly gives a right of the protection for the respect and family of its individuals posit by Roehling, M. V., Posthuma, R. A., & Hickox, S. (2009). And thus limits the breach of privacy and personal data either by the civil authorities or the private organizations. However, there are certain restrictions for maintain the democracy in the society and aims to protect the privacy of its individuals from being breached by organizations.
3. Restrictive aspects of privacy laws of these countries
The privacy laws of these countries pose certain limitations in the recruitment and hiring of the individuals. The companies must try to adopt ethical HRM practices for maintaining the privacy of the employees posit by Nye D (2002). Companies try to hire the right person for the right job and for this they need information to be furnished by the job aspirant. But increasingly it has been seen that countries have formulated stricter laws for the protection of the privacy of its individuals which undermine the recruitment and selection process by the company.
The screening process employed by many organizations requires the individuals to submit their health data family information etc. that might pose an invasion of privacy of the individuals. The organizations do so to protect themselves and their customers from fraud and damage to reputation. The selection of the right person cannot be done if necessary information is not furnished by the individuals who will have a greater impact on the whole process.
4. Future of privacy laws
The privacy laws need to be more focused on the use of the information and technology in handling and disseminating of the personal data by the civil or private organizations. However, for the recruitment purposes, the information that is necessary only should be submitted and other irrelevant information should not be asked by the organizations. Moreover, the candidates must be informed about the procedures as to how the data furnished by him or her is critical in selection.
International data protection also reveals the skepticism by the government as is given by Dowling Jr, D. C. (2009). The data security and data retention strategy being adopted by the companies and organizations are to be made clear to the job aspirants. Data retention by companies is done by Human Resource Information Systems to use the data for future use however any breach to this data by the third party can pose a threat to the privacy of the individuals. Privacy does not mean freedom from being observed but being safe from unwanted intrusion.