DATA PROTECTION AND THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED KINGDOM: LESSONS FOR NIGERIA

Abstract

The rapid digitalisation of workplaces has intensified concerns over the processing of workers’ personal data, including biometric information, health records, performance metrics, electronic monitoring, and automated decision-making. This article comparatively analysed the data protection frameworks governing workers’ rights in the European Union and the United Kingdom with a view to drawing lessons for Nigeria under the Nigerian Data Protection Act, 2023. The study adopted a doctrinal and comparative approach to examine key areas including data protection principles, lawful bases for processing employee rules on special categories of data, and workplace monitoring and surveillance. Others are data subject rights, and the role of collective agreements or sector-specific rules. It is revealed that in the EU, article 88 GDPR empowers Member States to adopt more specific rules for employment contexts, acknowledging the unique power imbalances and enabling tailored protections for human dignity, transparency in monitoring systems, and collective rights. While the NDPA 2023 draws significant inspiration from the GDPR, mirroring core principles, data subject rights, accountability obligations, and breach notification timelines, it lacks explicit provisions equivalent to Article 88 GDPR for workplace-specific rules, detailed guidance on electronic monitoring, robust mechanisms for legitimate interest assessments in employment, and strong integration with labour law. It is recommended that Nigeria can strengthen worker protections by adapting proven EU and UK approaches, such as issuing sector-specific codes of conduct, encouraging collective bargaining on data issues, mandating privacy impact assessments for HR technologies, and enhancing the Nigeria Data Protection Commission’s supervisory role.