This depends – normally we will invoice the franchisor and they will in turn either stand the cost themselves or pass on the cost to their franchise network.

Whilst it’s not often talked about, franchisees leave the network whether it be by mutual agreement, at the request of the franchisor or decided by the franchisee. The way we charge means that we invoice a set amount per month (which is reviewed annually) this means that  sometimes you will have more franchisees using GDPR Systems than you are paying for and other times (and it is really rare) you will be paying for more franchisees to be using GDPR Systems than you have in the network (normally this will be pending resales of the franchise in question).

The short answer is no. Your franchisees will be legal entities in their own right and have to meet their own data protection obligations. You as franchisor are a separate legal entity and while you both work closely together there is no reason for you to have default access to any personal data related to your franchisees or their clients (potentially). Any personal data that needs to be shared can be where there are proper data sharing agreements in place.

As franchisor one of the biggest challenges is to know or see what your network is doing when it comes to data protection. That is why we provide you with your franchisee management system. This enables you to gauge in real time which franchisees are utilising the tools you have made available for them. It will also enable you to keep track of numbers of personal data breaches as well as subject access requests across your whole network. You’ll even be able to audit them remotely.

Everyone of your franchisees will be able to use the systems – they are simple to navigate and logically designed. Our role is to engage with every single franchisee in one to one consultations to ensure that the right information and right questions are being asked of them This means that you will have a consistency across your whole network as to what is documented as a reflection of your brand.

 Your franchisor will provide you with a Calendly link for you to be able to book a support session at a time that suits you. In that first call we will walk you through everything from logging in to sharing your screen.

Dont’t panic!

You have a couple of options – there is a link to reset your password on the login page of the system. Alternatively just drop us an email and we can reset from our end if easier.

In the first instance we would discuss the proposed change with your franchisor to make them aware of what the changes are and why we are implementing them. De[pending on the size of the change, your franchisor would firstly communicate to the whole network what the changes are and if they are simple changes they will supply you with a PDF of simple instructions to enable you to implement the changes. For more complex changes then they would recommend booking a specific support session so we can walk you through what they changes are and why they are happening.

After the initial sessions you will have documented exactly how personal data flows through your business as well as security of devices, data processor due diligence etc.

Data protection is an ongoing project though so you will need to update personnel, data flows, purposes, retention periods when required as well as when there are updates to the systems and changes in the law. We will always offer support sessions though so you never feel alone – we understand that you might not login to the GDPR system every day so when you do you may need a little help to remind you what to do.