Okay, grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee and maybe a large pack of biscuits because today, we’re diving into the wild, high-octane world of your legal responsibilities as a UK Virtual Assistant. The subject is as dull as ditchwater, but if you’re going to run your own VA business, you need to understand how to stay protected and compliant.
Below is an overview of your legal responsibilities as a UK Virtual Assistant.
A freelancer contract
A contract prevents you from getting sued or screwed and is an essential document for every Virtual Assistant.
It may start out all rainbows and fairies, but client relationships can sour, and you do NOT want to find yourself exposed without protection.
You should get your contract (and the DPA) as soon as you sign your first client.
Your contract is your legal safety net and covers many things including:
- Data privacy and compliance
- Subcontracting
- Late payment terms
- Confidentiality
- Intellectual property rights
- Office hours & communication
No contract – no work.
Do not make any exceptions to this because I promise you’ll regret it.
You’ll come to the Facebook group with your problem, question or complaint and everyone’s answer will involve the words “what does it say in your contract?”.
A Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
A DPA is required for GDPR compliance and confirms that your client has collected and is storing personal data in a compliant manner.
If you handle personal data for your clients, you need a DPA in place because, if the client has not collected the data compliantly, as the Processor, it will be YOU in trouble, not your client.
Not sure if you handle personal data?
You’re a Virtual Assistant – you do.
- The DPA protects you from liability if a client misuses their data.
- It ensures you’re GDPR-compliant (so you don’t get fined).
Basically, your contract is you saying you will do everything in your power to comply with GDPR. The DPA is you actually doing so.
Without a DPA you’re taking a legal risk every time you access a client’s info.
If you’re unfamiliar with the thrilling details of data protection, don’t worry. I provide some handy links at the end to help you make sense of it all.
Insurance
Read our guide to the different types of business insurance available to Virtual Assistants and what they generally cover.
PolicyBee is one of the insurance providers most commonly mentioned by members of our UK Facebook community. If you’d like to find out more, you can use our affiliate link to receive up to 10% off Professional Indemnity insurance..
ICO Data Protection Fee
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK independent regulatory office in charge of upholding information rights in the interest of the public.
Basically, they deal with data protection and GDPR.
If you process personal data in the UK (which you will do as a VA), you need to register with the ICO and pay the data protection fee.
- It’s a legal requirement
- It proves you take data security seriously
- It stops you from getting fined
- The fee isn’t expensive, but it is a legal requirement for UK VAs
As with the contract, DPA and insurance, you only need to get this as soon as you land your first client.
You can sort all of the above out in under an hour and then you’re done.
Website Policies
To comply with the regulations governing cookies under the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, if you have a UK website, you must:
- A Privacy Policy (so visitors know how their data is used)
- A Cookie Policy (one of those irritating pop-ups)
- Terms & Conditions (to cover your business online)
It’s bum-clenchingly tedious but has to be done.
What happens if you ignore this stuff?
- Clients could refuse to pay you
- You could accidentally break GDPR laws
- A legal dispute could drain your time, money, and sanity
- You could damage a client’s business
- You could damage your own reputation and credibility
Sorting the legal shizz = less stress, more protection, and a rock-solid business.
If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed at this point, don’t worry, you only have to sort this stuff once.
After that, it’s just a case of revisiting and checking if everything is still in order every six months or so.
Summary
Your legal responsibilities as a Virtual Assistant may look quite complicated, but they really aren’t. It’s just that new things are always a little daunting at first.
Take it one step at a time, read through the resources I’ve provided, and feel free to ask questions in your VA Handbookers Facebook group if you’re not sure about anything. The lawyer who wrote my VA policies is in the group and is always on hand to answer your questions.
Once you have the legal shizz sorted, you can move on to running your business, being in control of your own life, learning more than you ever thought possible and finally seeing what you’re capable of.
Which is way more fun!
Additional Resources
1) This is where you register with the ICO and pay your Data Protection Fee.
2) I have an entire post on the subject of contracts. It covers what should be in one, what to do if your client won’t sign it and how to manage any changes the client may want to make.
 | Buy your legal contracts hereWhether it’s a Freelancer Contract, DPA, an Associate contract, or Website Policies, I have every contract you need to work as a Virtual Assistant. Written by an international contracts lawyer specifically for VAs, all of the contracts are updated and resent to buyers free of charge any time the law changes. |
Good afternoon. I have recently purchased the Freelancer Agreement Bundle. I am hoping to onboard a client shortly but all I will be doing for her is optimising her LinkedIn profile. In this scenario, is a Data Processing Agreement necessary?
Sorry, we’ve only just seen this. You won’t for this case, but you will need a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) for most VA work to cover you under GDPR.