Data Protection Act 1998: A Practical Guide is designed to provide practical guidance on all aspects of the Act with particular emphasis on how it affects businesses, and how every business is required by law to implement the changes. The rules are enforceable against all data users, whether or not they have registered. This concise handbook looks at how the 1998 Act replaces the 1984 Act, and implements the EU General Data Protection Directive passed in 1995. It examines: * The special rules introduced for the processing of sensitive data, for example, racial or ethnic origins * The provision to restrict the transfer of data outside the UK and countries within the EU unless the transfer is necessary to perform a contract-a particularly significant provision given the increasing use of the Internet * The extended protection to manual records * The implications of the Act upon privacy, personnel departments, and human rights Essential reading for company secretaries and personnel managers.