LegalAI[Space]

Data and privacy · DPO, privacy counsel, HR director

Run a DPIA on a new staff monitoring tool

An operations team wants to install activity monitoring software on every laptop and has asked legal to sign it off. The assessment works through the processing as described, the lawful basis available and the risks that would remain after mitigation.

First draft
A structured first assessment comes back from one run, before the pilot is scheduled.

The problem

Monitoring proposals arrive as a product description rather than a description of processing, and the two are not the same. Nobody has written down what data is captured, how long it is kept, who can see it or what happens when an employee objects. Without that, an assessment is a document about a tool rather than about people.
  1. Step 01 of 05

    Open the assessment matter

    The vendor documentation, the proposed configuration, the staff privacy notice and the existing acceptable use policy are uploaded to one matter.

    Matters · Project Halcyon · SPA warranties and disclosureOpen

    Project Halcyon: SPA warranties and disclosure

    Buy-side warranty review, disclosure analysis and cited due-diligence grid.

    Client
    Halcyon Bidco Ltd
    Reference
    WC-2026-0412
    Practice area
    Corporate / M&A
    Jurisdiction
    England and Wales
    Responsible partner
    E. Vance
    No conflict check on file.

    Chat, on this matter

    Compare warranties with the disclosure letter.

    Three high-priority exceptions require action: the unregistered charge, the change-of-control right and the tribunal claim.

    Send a message… (@ to mention tools)BalancedPrepare for
    1. 25 Aug

      Disclosure exceptions matrix

      Chat

    2. 21 Aug

      Disclosure exceptions matrix

      Run · completed · 560 credits

    3. 18 Aug

      Project Halcyon: Disclosure Letter

      Document · indexed

    4. 16 Aug

      Project Halcyon: Share Purchase Agreement

      Document · indexed

    5. 4 Aug

      Matter opened

      Opened

  2. Step 02 of 05

    Describe the processing properly

    Prepare for: Work-Stream Memo. The first section restates what is actually captured, at what frequency, for how long and by whom it can be viewed, drawn from the configuration rather than the brochure.

    Agents · Contract Agent · New runMatter: Northgate · senior associate hire

    Agent

    Jurisdiction

    Prepare for

    Deliver as

    Instruction

    What should the agent look for?

    Documents

    Drop a contract, or pick one from the matter

    Also on the matter

    • Offer_letter_v3.pdf2 pages
    • Staff_handbook_2025.docx61 pages
    • Board_minute_14_Aug.pdf3 pages
    Platform model · zero data retention · audit register on
  3. Step 03 of 05

    Work the lawful basis

    Consent is ruled out for an employment context on the reasoning set out, and the necessity and balancing analysis is written for the legitimate interests position.

    Agents · Contract Agent · Employment Contract Compliance ReviewCompleted
    6 items need your confirmation14 authorities · Where we looked

    Senior Associate Employment Contract: English Law Review

    Summary

    1. 1.

      Clause 9(c), non-competeHigh

      The 12-month prohibition on working for any law firm anywhere in the UK, Ireland or EU, in any capacity, is almost certainly wider than reasonably necessary and therefore unlikely to be enforceable.

      Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32
    2. 2.

      Clause 11, data and monitoringHigh

      Blanket contractual consent is not an adequate basis for general employment processing, special-category data or unrestricted monitoring.

      UK GDPR, Arts 6 and 9
    3. 3.

      Clause 4, holiday carry-overHigh

      The unconditional five-day cap conflicts with mandatory carry-over rights where sickness, statutory leave or employer failure prevents leave being taken.

      Working Time Regulations 1998, regs 13 to 13A
  4. Step 04 of 05

    Read the residual risks

    Three risks remain after the proposed mitigations, including keystroke capture that would incidentally collect personal messages and credentials.

    Agents · Contract Agent · Employment Contract Compliance ReviewCompleted
    6 items need your confirmation14 authorities · Where we looked

    Senior Associate Employment Contract: English Law Review

    Summary

    1. 1.

      Clause 9(c), non-competeHigh

      The 12-month prohibition on working for any law firm anywhere in the UK, Ireland or EU, in any capacity, is almost certainly wider than reasonably necessary and therefore unlikely to be enforceable.

      Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32
    2. 2.

      Clause 11, data and monitoringHigh

      Blanket contractual consent is not an adequate basis for general employment processing, special-category data or unrestricted monitoring.

      UK GDPR, Arts 6 and 9
    3. 3.

      Clause 4, holiday carry-overHigh

      The unconditional five-day cap conflicts with mandatory carry-over rights where sickness, statutory leave or employer failure prevents leave being taken.

      Working Time Regulations 1998, regs 13 to 13A
  5. Step 05 of 05

    Take the conditions

    Action items set out the configuration changes required before rollout, the notice to issue, and the consultation the employer should carry out.

    Agents · Contract Agent · Employment Contract Compliance ReviewCompleted
    • Replace the UK/Ireland/EU non-compete with a 3 to 6 month restriction tied to competing corporate-law work.

    • Replace blanket data consent with a lawful-basis clause and a separate monitoring notice.

    • Remove the five-day carry-over cap and reference the statutory carry-over rules.

    • Narrow the client non-solicit to clients dealt with in the final 12 months.

    • Add an explicit working-time opt-out withdrawal mechanism.

    • Confirm the bonus clause states the discretion is exercised in good faith.

What comes back

A document, not a transcript.

  • A description of the processing built from the configuration, not the vendor's marketing material.
  • A lawful basis analysis with the necessity and balancing reasoning written out rather than asserted.
  • Three residual risks after mitigation, including the incidental capture of credentials.
  • Pre-rollout conditions covering configuration, notice and staff consultation.

Authorities it checks

  • UK GDPR, Art 6
  • UK GDPR, Art 35
  • Data Protection Act 2018
Every source it may cite

What it does not do

  • It does not sign the assessment off. That is the controller's decision and the DPO's advice.
  • It does not configure the tool or test what it captures in practice.
  • It does not consult the regulator where the residual risk stays high; it names that step and who owns it.

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