What I would like to know is, do all you self employed working from home have re-inforced ceilings.
I am requested by ICB to register under the data protection act. Not only does this involve paying a yearly some of £35, but I see that I have to obtain a fire proof safe for up to 30 mins for ALL data stored on my premises.
I am quite prepared to go along with putting a lock on the office door I find this acceptable. However having to shell out around a £1000.00 for this magical safe, then somehow having to manhandle this extremely heavy item up my stairs into my secure office only to watch it drop back through the floor into my sitting room does not appeal to me for some obscure reason.
I would love to have feedback and any advise would be most welcome I do try my best to stay compliant but this has got me beat.
I am about to start bookkeeping from home and I have been thinking about this issue too.
I have bought an external hard drive to back up all the data on and was going to get a small safe just to store it in. I havent looked at prices yet myself but have been told that I could probably get a small safe for around £60
I know this doesnt help with any paper storage but I am hoping it is sufficient as that would be the case for any office.
If your data will all be on computer eg removable hard drive, CD, memory stick etc. then you can get a fire safe from places like homebase for about £20. They're not a at all heavy and easy to store.
The views expressed in this post are my own personal (HRA protected) views, and are not representative of any organisation I have any involvement with.
Being registered under the Data Protection Act dosn't make any requirement on you to keep data safe from fire etc. What it does require you to keep it secure and ensure that it doesn't get to any unauthorised individuals.
It's strange, but taking computer backups etc INCREASES your duty of care under the DPA, because you now have more than one copy to keep safe.
What backups do, whether kept in a fire-proof safe, or off-site do, is ensure that your business (and possibly your client's) will survive if your office goes up in smoke.
If you keep your client's paper records, then you have a duty of care to ensure that they are safe - whether that is from theft, fire etc
I now have a small fireproof safe for all the electronic storage, I have re-read the booklet from ICB and it is still my understanding that I also need it for the paperwork, according to the booklet.
However I have had it pointed out to me that accountants keep the paperwork on shelving in places like cellars, safely locked away and that is sufficient for them. I dont know how true that comment is.
I suppose the best way around it would be to work faster and get it back to the client as soon as possible lol.
Thanks once again for your replies they were much appreciated.
