Call recording is extremely common across all kinds of businesses which operate external facing contact centres. For monitoring and managing service levels, assisting professional development and for protecting against disputes, call recording adds value to operations by providing reliable evidence which can be referred to as and when needed.
However, any business which records telephone conversation for any purpose needs to be aware of data protection and privacy rules. In the UK, the relevant laws are contained within the Data Protection Act 1998, which adopted EU wide principles aimed at protecting individual’s privacy.
Although the Act does not refer to call recording explicitly, it does cover any activity involving the “processing” of personal data, including the creation, management and use of records. As telephone conversations between a business and a customer will often involve the sharing of personal details and information, call recording falls under these terms.
The main principles of the Act which apply to call recording are as follows:
- Data cannot be used for any purpose other than that which it is gathered for.
- Any business which collects and stores personal data must be registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
- If a business does record and store personal data, it must have appropriate security infrastructure and protocols in place to keep it safe.
- Personal data should only be stored as long as necessary.
Notification
In terms of what these principles mean in practice, the first point means that businesses have to be explicit about the fact that they are gathering information and what it is to be used for. Amendments made to the Data Protection Act in 2003, as well as articles in the Telecommunications Act 1984 and Human Rights Act 1998, require organisations to announce both to employees and customers whenever calls may be recorded, and give the option not to take part.
Some specific uses of recorded calls may require explicit consent from the parties involved, but these are specialist cases. If unsure, it is best to get legal advice on what you intend to do with your recordings.
For incoming calls, many companies choose to insert a recorded message announcing that calls may be recorded, and the reason why - usually for training and security purposes. This covers businesses to use recordings for activities such as staff appraisals, compliance, checking service levels, and to use as evidence in the event of a dispute. For outgoing calls, agents must read a similar script at the start of any call which may be recorded.
Employees must by law be provided with a means to make private calls which will not be recorded, even if this is via a pay phone.
Staying Compliant
The other principles govern the preparations a business must make to become and remain compliant with the data regulations. Registering with the ICO is a requirement in case a complaint is made prompting an investigation by the Information Commissioner.
