🔷 SERIES: 30 PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION COMPLIANCE SCENARIOS IN EVERYDAY BUSINESS OPERATIONS - #10: WHAT SHOULD EMPLOYERS DO TO PROTECT PERSONAL DATA WHEN AN EMPLOYEE LEAVES?

loanlelawlinkvn
Apr 9
2 min read

When an employment relationship ends, businesses often focus on handover processes, asset recovery, and completion of HR procedures. However, one risk that is often overlooked is that employees’ personal data may continue to reside in emails, shared folders, work devices, HR systems, or internal platforms even after their departure.

From a compliance perspective, the issue is not whether the company is allowed to retain data, but rather which data remains necessary, which data no longer serves a legitimate purpose, and who still has access to such data. Without a proper post-offboarding review, businesses may fall into one of two extremes: either retaining excessive and unnecessary data, or deleting data in an uncontrolled manner that is still required for legal obligations, internal governance, or dispute resolution.

Recommendations for employers:

A practical starting point is to develop an offboarding data checklist, to be implemented in coordination among HR, IT, and the relevant line manager.

Immediate actions should include:

Promptly revoke access to email accounts, internal systems, shared folders, and work tools;
Review which data should be retained and clearly document the legal basis for retention;
Restrict access to retained data and assign responsible personnel for its management;
Check for any remaining data on returned devices, shared accounts, or third-party applications.

Protecting personal data during employee offboarding is not merely a compliance requirement. It is also an essential part of responsible HR management and a structured approach to enterprise risk management.

Legal reference:

Law on Personal Data Protection No. 91/2025/QH15 and its implementing regulations, particularly provisions on data processing principles, purpose limitation, data retention, and data security.

CTA:

To download a practical checklist for managing employee data during offboarding, please refer to the link below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dA5PBxjNZCokl0mZ0djecE-nvnz31D7e/view?usp=sharing

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Sending marketing emails to existing customers: when is it customer care, and when does it go beyond purpose?

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Article: Prepared by LLVN.

Image: LLVN

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