Records Management - What is and what is not a confidential record

Confidential records - general

Only a small proportion of the records you produce will be confidential in nature, unless your office deals with financial or personal matters (e.g. staff or students). However it is prudent to remember that:

  • Any record produced by the University which is not already within the public domain, and which contains information on identifiable individuals, should always be treated as confidential.

  • Any record produced by the University which is not already within the public domain, and which contains commercially sensitive information, should always be treated as confidential.

  • The format of a record has absolutely nothing to do with whether it is confidential or not. Emails may be just as confidential as formal letters.
Contents
What is not confidential
What is confidential
Security of confidential paper waste

The definition of a record? A Record is recorded information in any form created or received by the University in the transaction of its business or conduct of its affairs and which it retains as evidence of that activity. Put more simply, a record is 'recorded evidence of business activity'.


What is not confidential

Generally any record or copy of a record that is already in the public domain e.g.

  • Mission statements
  • Charters
  • Constitutions
  • Ordinances
  • Statutes
  • Regulations
  • Published directories
  • Internet websites
  • Published minutes
  • Published reports
  • Press releases
  • Prospectuses
  • Timetables
  • Presentation materials
  • Course guides and outlines
  • Publicity material
  • Blank examination papers (post exam)
  • Theses (accepted)
  • Data which has been wholly anonymised
  • Published surveys
  • Magazines
  • Published circulars

What is confidential

Any record which contains personal information about a living individual e.g.

  • Questionnaire or other data collected under an understanding of confidentiality.
  • Correspondence or other documents that reveal the contact details or any financial details of a named living individual.
  • Correspondence or other documents which reveal personal details or pass comments on a named living person.
  • Staff personnel records
  • Staff or student discipline or appeal records
  • Student records
  • Grant applications
  • Job applications
  • Interview notes
  • Admissions records
  • Redundancy records
  • Sick pay records
  • Maternity pay records
  • Income tax and National Insurance returns
  • Wages and salary records
  • Accident books and records
  • Health records
  • Medical records
Any record which, if made public before a certain period, may breach commercial confidentiality e.g.

  • Contracts
  • Tenders
  • Purchasing records
  • Maintenance records
  • Insurance records
  • Unpublished accounting records
Any record which may breach intellectual property rights e.g.
  • Unpublished research material, drafts and manuscripts.

Security of confidential waste

If your records have been sent to the University Records Store then confidential waste destruction will be taken care of for you - in other circumstances the following should be observed.

  • Ensure that the waste is kept in a secure location pending collection e.g. in your office. Do not leave sacks containing confidential waste in corridors; remember that you are personally responsible for the records’ security until collection has taken place. The practice of leaving confidential waste sacks in corridors, also poses a serious health and safety hazard.

  • If you do not already have separate arrangements in place with your own House Porter, Email central portering staff to advise that waste is ready for collection.

  • In the unlikely event that it is not possible to leave the waste in a secure location to await collection - email relevant portering staff and request priority collection of the material.