Employee Relations SHR 020-2: Blacklisting, GDPR, and Data Management

This case study delves into the ethical and legal implications of employee blacklisting, utilizing employee relations theories to argue against its legality. It addresses the impact of blacklisting on employee morale and freedom, advocating for alternative conflict resolution methods like training and coaching. The study further explores the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), advising companies on modifying data management practices to ensure compliance and data security. It highlights the significant financial and reputational costs firms can incur by mismanaging employee data under GDPR, emphasizing the importance of data protection principles and the rights of EU citizens. The conclusion underscores the necessity of maintaining positive employee-employer relations and adhering to data protection laws to foster productivity and profitability.

The employee
relations & SHR 020-2

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Main body........................................................................................................................................3
Why Blacklisting is illegal, justify it by applying employee relationship theory..................3
Advise based on the introduction of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to modify
their present data management practices................................................................................5
In the light of the GDPR rules discuss the cost firms can pay by mismanaging employees data
................................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCE...................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
It is essential for every company to maintain good relations with their employees. Having
good relationship between management team and employees team will help organisations to
achieve their aims and objectives on time (Samwel, 2018). When these two parties communicate
well then they will reduce their conflicts and more focus upon their mission and vision. When
some employers have some personal issues with specific employees then they blacklist that
employee. Blacklisting of employees means hat employee is unable to find similar or any other
job in any company of same industry. The following report covers the various reasons answering
why blacklisting is illegal by providing appropriate justification by using employee relation
theories. It also covers advice for general data protection regulation. In the ned his report covers
GDPR rules for mismanagement of companies.
Main body
Why Blacklisting is illegal, justify it by applying employee relationship theory
Most of the employers conduct blacklisting of employees which consist of boycotting the
employee to perform any job within the same industry due to many reasons like personal hatred,
mistakes done by that employee and many others (Green, 2019). Those employees who get
blacklisted by their employer or company are unable to find any similar or another job within the
same industry. From the given case study it depicts that blacklisting is one of the most illegal
practices done by any employer or company against their employees. It also impact bad upon
employees emotions and freedom to speak against wrong practices by employer in company.
Due to blacklisting practices most of the employees get demotivated and perform their job with
full of fear.

It is essential for every company to focus on the relationship of their employer and
employee to make them productive for organisation. There are various kind of practices which
can be adopted by a company to promote good relationship between their employees because
good relationship between employees will increase communication activities which further help
to resolve various kind of conflicts and help to focus on achieving organisational goal. In context
of blacklisting of employees unitarism theory of employment relationship is explained below-
The unitarism theory
This theory indicates that conflicts with the company can not be ignored because it will
impact upon their overall productivity (Vosko, 2019). This theory further explains that
maintaining good employee relationship within the company is helpful to achieve organisational
goal effectively and efficiently. This theory also help to observe that organisational conflicts can
be resolved as soon as possible by their management team so that it will not impact adverse upon
their long term goals. There are various kind of reasons for a conflict like improper recruitment,
discrimination at workplace, improper pay structure and many others. This theory states that
relationship between employees can be maintained by focusing to identify the reason for their
conflicts and resolving it as soon as possible before it impacts upon their performance and
productivity.
Blacklisting of employees is not a good option to punish any employee regarding their
small mistakes (Hong and et. al., 2020). Employer of a company must make sure that they will
not mix up their personal life with professional life so that they will not blacklist those
employees with whom they are having their personal issues. Every company must maintain good
relationship by promoting their communication activities and allow the participation of
employees in decision making process to feel them valuable asset for their company. This will
help to minimize the chances of conflicts within the company. On the other hand, when
employees and employer have good relations then it will further help to minimize blacklisting
practices within the companies.
It is also suggested to organisations that they must improve their recruitment and
selection process to reduce their organisational conflicts. Most of the companies recruit wrong
person for wrong job which further impact upon their productivity and the employees who have
been selected for wrong job is unable to perform given task effectively. This will create huge
conflict between employees and employer. Hence, hiring employees according to their skills and

capabilities and assign them those tasks only which they are able to perform with their specific
skills and talents will help companies to minimize conflicts and blacklisting practises.
Hence, it is evaluated that each organisational conflict can be resolved without using
blacklisting option (Riley Jr, 2020). Blacklisting can impact worst upon motivational factor of
employees. Secondly, due to blacklisting employees refuse to respect and communicate well
with their employers. Hence, blacklisting option can be replaced by providing various training
programmes within the company to enhance performance of employees and employer. Personal
coaching can also help companies to analyse issues and resolve it. It is essential for every
employer to understand that without employees they are unable to reach organisational goal and
employees are also essential to understand that without employer they are unable to find correct
direction to perform their job (Vosko, 2018).
Advise based on the introduction of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to modify their
present data management practices
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) helps the citizen of European area to
identify how their personal data can be collected, stored and used in secure way by the
companies and governments. It help the EU citizens to analyse their rights for the protection of
their personal data by authorized companies. Some of the companies ad government agencies use
the personal data of their customers for wrong purpose. Hence, this is illegal and the citizen have
rights to complaint against such cases. Hence, it is essential for companies to focus that they will
keep the personal data of their customers as well as employees secure and safe for lifelong. Data
management are those activities which define that a company must collect, store and use their
customer's or employees data in secure and safe way. By chance the data of customers and
employees get leaked by any company then customers and employees have full right to file a
case against their employer or company because it is the responsibility of companies to keep the
data secure.
Helen Steel is advised to adopt some changes in their existing data management practices
to analyse what they are doing which is impacting bad upon their company related to data
protection of their employees and customers (Goddard, 2017). It is essential for Helen Steel to
focus on employer trainer to protect the data of their employees in precise and correct manner.
Training will help to minimize the chance of mistakes by employer in protecting the data of their
employees and customers. It is also essential for the company to make a proper and clear

understanding about the law of data protection in EU to each employee and employer so that
they will understand the importance of data protection act and work effectively on management
practices of their company. Secondly, it is also advised to the company to use updated and
modern software for storing and managing data effectively for their company.
Analysing objective of company will also help in managing data for the company
because here when objectives are clear then employer will collect, store and use data in effective
manner and it further help to systematize data effectively to avoid mismanagement or
overcrowded of data. Secondly, it also advised to Helen Steel that they must recruit and select
employee for data management effectively after checking their skills and talents. So that they
will hire correct skilled employee to manage their data (Hoofnagle, van der Sloot and Borgesius,
2019)
It is also recommended to Helen Steel that she must keep the data as simple as possible
because having the irrelevant and those data which are difficult to understand is useless for the
company. Hence, it is essential that she must focus on collecting right data and manage them in
such a way which will help to use data in correct and easy way. Secondly, if data is managed in
systematic manner then Helen Steel will not face any issue to find any data within few seconds
with the help of software or manual power.
In the light of the GDPR rules discuss the cost firms can pay by mismanaging employees data
General data protection and regulation is one of the most valuable privacy and security
law in the world where every company or government agencies focuses to keep the data of their
customers and employees secure from third party. It also include to keep organisational
confidential report secure and safe from misuse. This law is applicable on every citizen of EU
and they have right to ask from organisations related to their data protection services. Every
citizen can file a case in case they found that their personal data is misused by the company. In
Europe, there are huge fines and penalties for those companies who misuse the data of any
customer or employee (Phillips, 2018 ). These penalties can be reaching up to ten million Euros.
This means that in case any company or individual found to misuse the personal detail of any
other company, employee, customers or citizen then it will be consider as unlawful activity and
that individual or company have to pay a fixed amount to the person whose data used for wrong
purpose. In European countries, companies focuses on the law of GDPR and show their best
efforts to maintain the data of their customers and employees in secure and safe manner by using

cloud services which is well known software to protect personal data. This law is applied upon
every size of business whether the business is small sized or large sized.
It is essential for every company in EU to follow Principles of General Data Protection
and Regulation. Examples of these principles are purpose limitations, accurate accountability,
fairness and recording correct data and many others. The fines and penalties are also paid by
those companies who are found in performing blacklisting of employees by providing wrong
data of bad performance. Blacklisting of employees for personal reasons are illegal and hence,
companies are supposed to punish on such activities.
It is essential for companies to manage and keep the data of their employees and
customers secure and safe and in case company is unable to secure the data and found to misuse
the data then they are supposed to pay high penalties according to their law (Gellert, 2018).
There are two tires of fines and penalties for the company who is found to misuse the data of
their employees. It is compulsory for the company to pay 20 Million Euros or 4% annual revenue
whichever is high to the customer or employee whose data get misused. Here, customers and
employees are also having right to get compensation for damage which companies made after
sharing wrong information of their customers and employees to ruin their image. On the other
hand, most of the companies are also imposed fined due to their mismanagement of internal
activities related to their employees.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above information that maintaining good relationship between
employees and employer is essential for every company to improve their productivity and
profitability well. Blacklisting is the practice of employer to boycott the employee from their
industry to find any job. The employees who get blacklisted by the employer are not able to find
any similar job in other company within the same industry. It is considered as unlawful practices
by employer which further impact bad upon employee's relations. General Data Protection and
Regulation is the law which help to make personal details of customers and employees safe and
secure. In case any company is found to misuse the data of their employees and customers then
they have to pay fines and penalties.

REFERENCE
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