Standards Comparison

    ISO 45001

    Voluntary
    2018

    International standard for occupational health and safety management

    VS

    GDPR UK

    Mandatory
    2021

    UK regulation for personal data protection compliance

    Quick Verdict

    ISO 45001 provides voluntary OH&S management certification for global safety improvement, while GDPR UK mandates data protection compliance for UK personal data handlers with hefty fines. Companies adopt ISO 45001 for risk reduction and IMS integration; GDPR UK to avoid penalties and build trust.

    Occupational Health & Safety

    ISO 45001

    ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health and safety management systems

    Cost
    €€€
    Complexity
    High
    Implementation Time
    6-12 months

    Key Features

    • Top management accountability and worker participation
    • Risk-based planning with hierarchy of controls
    • Annex SL structure for integrated management systems
    • PDCA cycle for continual improvement
    • Operational controls for change and contractors
    Data Privacy

    GDPR UK

    UK General Data Protection Regulation

    Cost
    €€€€
    Complexity
    High
    Implementation Time
    12-18 months

    Key Features

    • Accountability principle requiring demonstrable compliance
    • Seven core data processing principles
    • Data subject rights with one-month timelines
    • 72-hour ICO breach notification obligation
    • Mandatory DPIAs for high-risk processing

    Detailed Analysis

    A comprehensive look at the specific requirements, scope, and impact of each standard.

    ISO 45001 Details

    What It Is

    ISO 45001:2018 is the international standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS). It provides a framework to prevent work-related injury and ill health, improve OH&S performance, using a risk-based approach aligned with Annex SL (High-Level Structure) and PDCA cycle.

    Key Components

    • Clauses 4-10 cover context, leadership, planning, support, operation, evaluation, improvement.
    • Emphasizes leadership accountability, worker participation, hierarchy of controls.
    • Built on PDCA; supports certification via audits.

    Why Organizations Use It

    • Reduces incidents, legal risks, costs; enhances resilience.
    • Meets stakeholder expectations, supply-chain requirements.
    • Builds safety culture, competitive advantage via certification.
    • Integrates with ISO 9001/14001 for efficiency.

    Implementation Overview

    • Phased: gap analysis, policy/objectives, controls, audits.
    • Scalable for all sizes/sectors; 6-12 months typical.
    • Requires training, documented info, internal audits; optional third-party certification.

    GDPR UK Details

    What It Is

    The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) is the UK's post-Brexit adaptation of the EU GDPR, a binding legal regulation enforced by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). It applies a risk-based, accountability-focused approach to safeguard personal data processing.

    Key Components

    • **Seven core principleslawfulness, fairness/transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity/confidentiality, accountability.
    • Individual **data subject rightsaccess, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, automated decisions.
    • Controller/processor obligations: Records of Processing Activities (RoPA), DPIAs, processor contracts, security measures, 72-hour breach notifications.
    • No formal certification; compliance via demonstrable evidence, ICO enforcement up to 4% global turnover fines.

    Why Organizations Use It

    • Mandatory for UK data processors; avoids fines, civil claims, reputational harm.
    • Builds trust, enables secure data use, supports cross-border operations.
    • Drives efficiency via minimisation, better governance.

    Implementation Overview

    Phased: governance setup, RoPA/data mapping, policies/contracts, training, DPIAs/security, rights/breach processes. Applies universally to organizations handling UK personal data; extra-territorial scope; ongoing monitoring/audits required.

    Key Differences

    Scope

    ISO 45001
    Occupational health & safety management
    GDPR UK
    Personal data protection & privacy

    Industry

    ISO 45001
    All sectors worldwide, scalable
    GDPR UK
    All handling UK personal data, extra-territorial

    Nature

    ISO 45001
    Voluntary ISO certification standard
    GDPR UK
    Mandatory UK regulation with fines

    Testing

    ISO 45001
    Internal audits, management reviews
    GDPR UK
    DPIAs, breach assessments, ICO audits

    Penalties

    ISO 45001
    Loss of certification, no fines
    GDPR UK
    Up to 4% global turnover fines

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Common questions about ISO 45001 and GDPR UK

    ISO 45001 FAQ

    GDPR UK FAQ

    You Might also be Interested in These Articles...

    Run Maturity Assessments with GRADUM

    Transform your compliance journey with our AI-powered assessment platform

    Assess your organization's maturity across multiple standards and regulations including ISO 27001, DORA, NIS2, NIST, GDPR, and hundreds more. Get actionable insights and track your progress with collaborative, AI-powered evaluations.

    100+ Standards & Regulations
    AI-Powered Insights
    Collaborative Assessments
    Actionable Recommendations

    Check out these other Gradum.io Standards Comparison Pages