Necessity Requirement

The necessity requirement is a core principle of the Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life, stipulating that an employer is permitted to process only such personal data about an employee that is directly necessary for the employment relationship. This necessity must be connected with managing the rights and obligations of the parties to the relationship, with the benefits provided by the employer to the employee, or must arise from the special nature of the work concerned. Crucially, this requirement cannot be waived, even with the employee's consent, underscoring the strict limitations on data collection and processing in Finnish working life.