Privacy and security policy
The Directorate of Labour must gather personal information about individuals in order to fulfill its legal duties. The agency places high demands on the security of the processing of personal information and that the privacy of information and confidentiality is maintained in accordance with laws, regulations and its own security policy.
Here you can access information about how The Directorate of Labour handles personal information. It is also possible to find further details about information security and The Directorate of Labour’s databases.
What kind of personal information do we work with at The Directorate of Labour?
The Directorate of Labour works with information, for example:
Information regarding individual identity and family relations
For example, name, ID number, address, email, phone number, marital status, family relations, communication history.
Information on individual’s education and career
For example, education, degrees, driver’s licence, progress in studies, information on completion of studies, job history, employment ratio, information on retirement and vacation status.
Financial and bank account information
For example, account numbers, information on income, tax returns, calculated remuneration, pension payments of applicants and union membership.
Health status information
For example information about work capabilities and individuals’ entitlements from other insurances systems.
Digital information
For example, visits to the The Directorate of Labour’s website and my pages, such as IP addresses and website monitoring.
Where does the Directorate of Labour obtain this information?
The Directorate of Labour gathers information from the individuals themselves, the public and private sectors, for example:
The applicants themselves,
-Employers
-Pension Funds
-Unions
Other government agencies, such as Iceland Revenue and Customs, The Social Insurance Administration, The Directorate of Immigration, educational agencies, The Icelandic Student Loan Fund and Icelandic Health Insurance.
Why does The Directorate of Labour gather information, and what authorizations does the directorate have?
It is necessary for The Directorate of Labour to gather personal information in order to fulfill its duties. All gathering of personal information is based on Acts of law. The legislation that the directorate is required to operate according to can be found here: https://vinnumalastofnun.is/um-okkur/log-og-reglugerdir
Here you can also access a file containing personal information where all information is categorized according to legal authority and subjects.
Who have access to individuals' personal information?
First and foremost, it is the The Directorate of Labour’s staff who have access to personal information and only when it is essential for them to perform their duties All employees of the agency are bound by confidentiality regarding everything they witness in their work. Confidentiality must be maintained, even if the employees ceases employment. remains after the employee retires. Personal information accessed by service agents who work on the Directorate’s behalf, is also to be held in confidence.
The Directorate of Labour gives personal information to public agencies if and when legal requirements are met.
Giving information to private agencies is always based on legal authorization and the consent of the individual in question. An example of providing information to private agencies can be sending a jobseeker’s CV to an employer regarding employment service to jobseekers.
The retention of data storage
The Directorate of Labour is obliged to deliver data according to Act no. 77/2014 on public archives. According to the Act, The Directorate of Labour is obliged to deliver data and information to the National Archives of Iceland after a certain period of time and can not discard data according to the Act, unless given permission from the National Archives of Iceland.
The right of the registered and right of appeal
Individuals are entitled to know what information about them is stored at the Directorate of Labour, and they have access to this information.
An individual can request a correction of incorrect personal information, and in special circumstances, they are entitled to have information deleted. The right to erasure is though very limited due to the directorate's obligation to deliver data to the National Archives of Iceland.
Please send questions or comments regarding the processing of personal information at The Directorate of Labour to postur@vmst.is or by phone 515-4800.
It can also be delivered by mail addressed to: The Directorate of Labour’s data protection officer, Grensásvegi 9. 108 Reykjavík.
If individuals believe that the processing of personal information is in accordance with legislation, they can file a complaint to The Data Protection Authority. Information on complaints about the processing of personal information is on The Data Protection Authority’s website.
Electronic monitoring / surveillance cameras
As The Directorate of Labour uses electronic monitoring with surveillance cameras on their premises and in its workplaces, all areas under surveillance are specially marked. Such surveillance is used for safety reasons.
Footage collected during electronic monitoring is only viewed if there is a special reason for it and it is not retained for longer than 30 days unless required by law, or it is necessary to preserve material in order to delimit, present, or defend a claim due to a court case or other similar and necessary legal action.
You can send comments or complaints regarding privacy protection to the email address:
personuvernd@vmst.is
