Sensitive Personal Data Policy

What is sensitive personal data?

Certain types of personal data are regarded as sensitive and attract additional legal protection as a ‘special category’. Sensitive personal data is any data that could identify a person such as:

  • Racial or ethnic origin;
  • Political opinions; Religious or philosophical beliefs;
  • Trade union membership;
  • Genetic or biometric data;
  • Health; or
  • Sex life or sexual orientation.

Why does GWR need to process your sensitive personal data?

Some record titles require evidence that is considered sensitive personal data. GWR would need to process this evidence to verify the record title. Some examples of such data are:

  • Census report
  • Copy of birth certificate
  • Copy of death certificate
  • Copy of marriage certificate
  • Copy of passport
  • Current form of ID
  • Employment contract
  • Family tree reconstruction
  • Guild membership
  • Hospital records
  • Immigration papers
  • Medical notes
  • Medical professional statement
  • National service papers
  • Pay slips
  • Proof of employment
  • Written assessment by qualified medical practitioner

Consent to process sensitive personal data

If you are required to produce any evidence that is considered to be sensitive personal data as part of evidence requirements you will need to give GWR explicit consent so that we can process this data.

When you are submitting evidence for your record application you can indicate your consent to enable GWR to process this data by ticking the consent box when requested.

What will we do with your sensitive personal data?

Please note the processing of any ‘special category’ of personal data will enable GWR to process your record application. We will not publish any ‘special category’ of personal data without contacting you for further approval.

Evidence containing sensitive personal data will be visible only for the record manager who is assessing your application. No other GWR staff will have access to view the sensitive data.

Sensitive evidence will be deleted from all our systems nine (9) months after passing through the last stage of the application process.

If you cancel your application at any time the evidence containing the sensitive personal data will immediately be deleted from our systems.

You have access at any time to remove your consent for processing sensitive personal data. You can do this by logging in to the guinnessworldrecords.com website and visiting your Privacy dashboard. If you do remove your consent all pending applications, you have with evidence containing sensitive personal data will be cancelled and the evidence will be deleted.