Data protective jurisdictions tend to guarantee the right of individuals to contact an organization directly and find out whether personal data is being tracked. Access procedures and acceptable exceptions (such as business secrecy) are determined by law and may be subject to the control of data protection authorities. In the context of HR, personal data access requests can include information tracked by the company as well as data tracked by third-party solutions, such as background check vendors.
There is no general right for individuals to access and control HR related personal information held by mainland employers in the UAE.
Note that some free trade zones give employees and other data subjects certain rights relating to their personal information. For example, the Dubai International Financial Center and the Abu Dhabi Global Market give individuals several rights, including the right to: access; request rectification; request erasure; and, object to the processing of their personal information (DIFC Law No. 5 of 2020; ADGM Data Protection Regulations 2021).
