An HR system stores trade-union membership for workforce planning. Staff treat the field like a cafeteria preference. What is the correct GDPR characterisation?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Union membership is not the same as picking a sandwich. GDPR puts trade-union membership in the special-category bucket with other highly sensitive traits. Treating it like cafeteria trivia underplays the legal protection it gets.
Full Explanation
Article 9(1) GDPR expressly includes trade-union membership among special categories of personal data. Processing that information is prohibited unless an Article 9 condition applies, in addition to an Article 6 lawful basis. Labelling the field as a preference or compressing it to a boolean does not change its special-category character while it still reveals membership status about identifiable workers.