Privacy Policy

Application Statement

The implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a priority for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs accepts as personal data: Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person alive. For example, this information includes name, home address, ID number, Internet Protocol (IP) code, information about their health and insurance capacity, employment status, and more.

Special categories data, such as health, racial or ethnic origin, trade union activity, etc., receive special protection.

The rules apply when collecting, using, and storing personal data digitally or in hard copy through a structured filing system.

This policy is in line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. (GDPR), and opinions/decisions issued by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority.

Terms and Definitions

1. “Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
2. “Processing”means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.
3. “Restriction of processing” means the marking of stored personal data to limit their processing in the future.
4. “Profiling” means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular, to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or movements.
5. “Pseudonymisation” means the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.
6. “Filing system” means any structured set of personal data which are accessible according to specific criteria, whether centralised, decentralised, or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis,
7. “Controller” means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law.
8. “Processor” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller.
9. “Recipient” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or another body, to which the personal data are disclosed, whether a third party or not. However, public authorities which may receive personal data in the framework of a particular inquiry by Union or Member State law shall not be regarded as recipients; the processing of those data by those public authorities shall comply with the applicable data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing.
10. “Third party” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, controller, processor, and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorised to process personal data.
11. “Consent” of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her.
12. “Personal data breach” means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored, or otherwise processed.
13. “Special categories data” means personal data disclosing racial or ethnic origin, political views, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union affiliation, as well as the processing of genetic, biometric data for the data relating to health or data relating to the natural sexual life or sexual orientation of a person.
14. “Main establishment” means a) as regards a controller with establishments in more than one Member State, the place of its central administration in the Union. b) as regards a processor with establishments in more than one Member State, the place of its central administration in the Union.
15. “Supervisory authority” means an independent public authority that is established by a Member State pursuant to Article 51.

Categories of Personal Data Collected

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in the context of the above activities and its regular operation in the public interest, may collect personal data of both its citizens or associates who use its services – applications, its employees, as well as his associates in general, but also other natural persons with whom he deals within the framework of his responsibilities.

Depending on the form and purpose of processing per service, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs may collect and process personal data, such as the following:

*Table 1. The categories of Data Subjects and their data

*Table 2. The main purposes and legal bases of processing

The reference to more than one legal basis of processing does not mean that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs changes them (lawful basis swapping), undermining data subjects’ rights, but there are cases where more than one legal processing base is applicable.

Furthermore, since the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. is part of the Public Administration Bodies (according to no. 14 of law 4270/2014 but also the Register of Services and Bodies of the Greek Administration), further process is applied after the end of elaboration to archive in the public interest or for scientific or historical research or statistical purposes, which is not considered incompatible with the original purposes according to Art. 5 paragraph 1, case b) and Art. 89 paragraph 1 of GDPR.

Finally, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs does not use the consent of the data subjects (whether they are simple data or special categories) as the primary basis for processing, recognizing the inherent inequality that exists concerning the data subjects each time and under the recommendations of its Working Group No. 29 (now European Data Protection Council). In exceptional cases, the consent of the subjects may be requested as a legal basis for processing (e.g., for sending informational messages for participation in events or the provision of additional services) when the processing cannot take place on the legal basis of fulfilling the duty in the public interest or the exercise of public authority. In these cases, the subjects are informed in advance and properly before giving their consent, are given full rights, including the withdrawal of consent.

Rights of Data Subjects

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs recognizes individuals’ rights concerning the protection of their personal data. Thus, natural persons have the right to:

1. Be informed about the processing of their personal data.
2. Gain access to the personal data concerning them.
3. Request the correction of incorrect, inaccurate, or incomplete personal data.
4. Request the deletion of personal data when it is no longer necessary or if the processing is illegal. If applied as a legal basis for processing Art.6 par.1 case. e) GDPR (processing for the fulfilment of a duty performed in the public interest or during the exercise of public power and the Art.9 par.2 case b), g), j) in most of the processes of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the right of deletion is limited and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis under strict conditions. According to Art. 4 of the Explanatory Memorandum of the GDPR, the right to personal data protection is not absolute; it must be valued concerning its functioning in society and weighed against other fundamental rights under the principle of proportionality.
5. Oppose personal data processing for reasons related to their unique situation, subject to Art.21 par.6 of GDPR.
6. Apply for a restriction on personal data processing in specific cases.
7. Express their opinion and challenge the decision.
8. Submit a complaint to the Hellenic Data Protection Authority.

These rights are valid in the entire application of the GDPR, regardless of where the data processing occurs and where the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is based.

Processing principles

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs accepts the basic principles governing the processing of personal data. According to article 5 of GDPR, personal data shall be:

1. Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’).
2. Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall, in accordance with Article 89(1), not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes (‘purpose limitation’).
3. Adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimisation’).
4. Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased, or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’).
5. Kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) subject to the implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by this Regulation in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject (‘storage limitation’).
6. Processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction, or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (integrity and confidentiality).

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs keeps a record of the processing activities for which it is responsible. That record contains all the following information:

1. The name and contact details of the controller and, where applicable, the joint controller, the controller’s representative, and the Data Protection Officer.
2. The purposes of the processing.
3. A description of the categories of data subjects and of the categories of personal data.
4. The categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, including recipients in third countries or international organisations.
5. Where applicable, transfers of personal data to a third country or an international organisation, including the identification of that third country or international organisation and, in the case of transfers referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 49(1), the documentation of suitable safeguards.
6. Where possible, the envisaged time limits for erasure of the different categories of data.
7. Where possible, a general description of the technical and organisational security measures referred to in Article 32(1).

Protection of Personal Data

Considering the nature, the scope, the context, and the purposes of the processing, as well as the risks of the different probability of occurrence and seriousness for the rights and freedoms of Data Subjects, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs applies appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure and be able to prove that the processing is carried out under the GDPR.

During the assessment of the appropriate level of security by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs account shall be taken of the risks arising from the processing, in particular from accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure or access to personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed.

In case o of a personal data breach (article 33), the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs as the controller shall notify without delay and, if possible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach of personal data to the supervisory authority responsible under Article 55, unless a breach of personal data does not endanger the rights and freedoms of individuals. When the notification to the supervisory authority is not made within 72 hours, it will be accompanied by a justification for the delay.

Staff Training

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs accepts that the protection of personal data presupposes the awareness of its human resources regarding personal data protection. In this regard, agrees with the adoption and implementation of the following:

1. Appropriate training by executing Fair Information Practices (FIP), governing the collection and use of personal data, and addressing privacy and accuracy issues. Human resources cannot become experts in the field of privacy protection overnight. However, their familiarity with the international requirements of privacy protection is possible and necessary. Employees who have crucial roles in privacy need to acquire more specific knowledge. For most of the workforce, however, a thorough understanding of privacy’s general principles is essential.
2. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs seeks to raise awareness of fundamental concepts of personal data protection on its human resources. This in no way means that its staff’s training is too theoretical or abstract. Instead, it becomes a practice. The core of education focuses on three simple but essential issues:
   1. Motivation: Why should employees care about privacy?
   2. Definition: What is personal data?
   3. Responsibility: What should employees know about how the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is accountable for privacy?

Communication of Natural Persons

The above rights, as well as any rights related to personal data, are exercised upon a written request submitted to any point that is accessible to the public or via electronic communication by sending a message to dpo@yeka.gr and is also examined by the Data Protection Officer, as defined by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Modification

This policy may need to be amended concerning the processing of personal data. In case the modification of the terms in question is of such nature and extent that the above data processing terms do not cover it, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs must make public the new version of the policy.