When it comes to UK GDPR compliance, UK Lawyers advising small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a vital role to play. Beyond offering general legal guidance, they often act as trusted advisors on data protection — helping SME clients avoid regulatory risks and build trust with customers. To support these efforts, we spoke with Keith Budden, GDPR expert and founder of Ensurety.co.uk, for key insights that every SME-focused Lawyer should know.
The Unique GDPR Challenges SMEs Face
While large organisations may have dedicated legal, compliance, and data protection teams, SMEs often lack in-house expertise. GDPR Expert Keith Budden explains:
“SMEs typically don’t have a data protection officer or specialist team. They rely on external advisors — often their Lawyer — to guide them on what’s essential, what’s urgent, and how to stay on the right side of UK GDPR law.”
Common challenges SMEs face include:
* Limited resources for compliance programmes
* Overreliance on templates that may not fit their specific operations
* Misunderstanding of lawful bases for processing data
* Failure to implement basic data breach procedures
* Risky marketing practices (e.g. email campaigns without proper consent)
For Lawyers, this presents both an opportunity and a duty to help clients navigate these risks effectively.
Key Compliance Areas for Lawyers Advising SMEs
Data Mapping & Lawful Processing
SMEs must understand what personal data they hold, why they hold it, and under what lawful basis they process it. Keith Budden stresses: “Too many SMEs think GDPR is about having a privacy policy and ticking boxes. In reality, they need to map their data flows, understand where data comes from and goes, and ensure they have the correct lawful bases for processing.”
Lawyers should be encouraging their clients to:
✅ Conduct basic data mapping
✅ Review contracts with third-party processors
✅ Document lawful bases (e.g. consent, contractual necessity, legitimate interests)
Breach Readiness
Even small businesses are targets for cybercrime and accidental breaches. Under UK GDPR, a personal data breach must generally be reported to the ICO within 72 hours if it risks individual rights.
“SMEs often don’t have breach procedures in place,” says Budden. “Lawyers can add huge value by helping clients create simple, actionable breach response plans.”
Marketing & Consent
Keith highlights marketing compliance as a frequent pain point: “It’s easy for SMEs to trip up when sending marketing emails or texts. They must understand consent, soft opt-ins, and PECR rules alongside GDPR.”
Lawyers should help SMEs:
✅ Understand when consent is required
✅ Keep accurate records of consent
✅ Review marketing databases for compliance
Contracts & Data Sharing
Lawyers advising SMEs should ensure client contracts address:
✅ Data sharing with processors (with compliant data processing clauses)
✅ Data sharing with partners or suppliers (transparency and lawful basis)
✅ Cross-border transfers (especially post-Brexit UK-specific requirements)
