Why the law applies
A recording of a meeting captures people's voices, names and what they said. That is personal data, so the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply to the business doing the recording. The rules are not a ban on recording; they are about doing it fairly and openly.
The four things to get right
| Principle | In practice |
|---|---|
| Tell people | Say at the start that the meeting is being recorded, why, who will see it and how long it is kept. The ICO's right to be informed guidance says people must be told when their data is collected. |
| A lawful basis | Decide which lawful basis you rely on before recording. For routine business meetings many organisations consider legitimate interests, which needs a balancing test and a clear explanation in your privacy information. |
| Use it for what you said | A recording made for accurate minutes should not quietly become a performance review tool. |
| Keep it no longer than needed | Set a retention period for recordings, often shorter than for the minutes made from them. |
What the ICO says about recording workers
The ICO's guidance on monitoring workers covers audio recording. It treats audio recording as more intrusive than visual monitoring and continuous recording as hard to justify, expects workers to be told about monitoring in a way they can understand, and expects a data protection impact assessment where monitoring is likely to be high risk. Recording without telling anyone is covert monitoring, and the ICO expects that only in exceptional circumstances.
For an ordinary project meeting, being open removes most of the difficulty: people know, they can raise concerns, and the record is better for it.
A notice you can use
This meeting is being recorded so accurate minutes can be written. The recording is kept by [company] for [period] and shared only with [who]. Tell me now if you have any concerns.
Say it at the start of the recording, so the notice is part of the record. Note Metric has a notice under Settings, Meeting settings that you can copy or send before the meeting.
Meetings with other companies
On a project, a meeting often includes the client, consultants and subcontractors. Each company is responsible for what it records. Tell everyone, including people who join late, and agree before a sensitive meeting (a dispute, a disciplinary, a commercial negotiation) whether it will be recorded at all.
Questions
Do I need everyone's consent to record?
Consent is one lawful basis, but not the only one, and for a routine business meeting it is often not the most suitable, because people may not feel free to refuse. Whatever basis you use, you still have to tell people. Take advice if you are unsure which applies.
Can an employee secretly record a meeting?
That is a different question from a business recording its own meetings, and it can raise employment issues. If you are an employer dealing with one, take employment law advice.
Can people ask for a copy of a recording?
Yes. A recording and its transcript are personal data, so the people in it can make a subject access request, subject to the exemptions in the law.
Does recording on Teams or Zoom change anything?
The same rules apply. The platform may show a recording notice, but that does not replace telling people why you are recording and how long you keep it.
Sources
- ICO, Employment practices and data protection: monitoring workers: the ICO's guidance on monitoring workers, including audio recording, transparency and impact assessments
- ICO, The right to be informed: what people must be told, and when
- ICO, A guide to lawful basis: the lawful bases under the UK GDPR, updated for the Data (Use and Access) Act
- ICO, Legitimate interests: when legitimate interests can apply and the three-part test
Our summaries of these documents are not their wording: read the source before relying on it. This guide is general information, not legal advice for a particular case. Note Metric and AI Metric Ltd are not affiliated with or endorsed by any body named here.