TL;DR Yes, if your virtual assistant handles any personal data belonging to your clients, customers, or staff, UK and EU law requires a signed data compliance contract before work begins. This guide defines the DPA requirements for UK businesses hiring offshore support staff, explains what the agreement must include, and shows how working with a compliant outsourcing partner removes most of the burden from you.
When you outsource tasks to a virtual assistant, you are not just delegating work; you are sharing access to information that belongs to other people. Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, the transfer of access carries legal obligations. The most important one is this: you must have a written privacy agreement in place with anyone who processes personal data on your behalf.
This guide covers what that agreement needs to include, when it applies, what is at risk if it is missing, and how to manage data security after the contract is signed.
Is Your Virtual Assistant a Data Processor or a Data Controller?
This is one of the most searched questions on this topic, and the answer directly determines your legal obligations.
You are the data controller. You decide what personal data is collected, why it is collected, and what happens to it. Your clients’ information belongs to your business relationship with them.
Whether your virtual assistant counts as a data processor depends on how they are engaged — and getting this wrong is one of the most common mistakes business owners make.
If your VA is a freelance or self-employed contractor, they are a data processor in their own right. GDPR defines a processor as “a natural or legal person which processes personal data on behalf of the controller,” a natural person means an individual human. A DPA between you and that individual is required.
If your VA is sourced through an agency, the agency holds the processor role, not the individual VA. Your DPA is with the agency. The individual VA is the agency’s concern within that arrangement.
If you bring a remote VA on as a direct employee, they are not a separate data processor. Employees act under your authority as part of your organisation. A DPA between you and your own employee is not required, though internal data handling policies still apply.
Article 28 of the GDPR mandates a written agreement between a controller and any external data processor. No agreement means a direct breach of the regulation regardless of whether anything goes wrong.
If your VA ever:
- Accesses your email inbox or CRM
- Manages bookings, invoices, or support tickets
- Handles social media messages with customer details
- Uses shared tools like Google Drive, HubSpot, or Slack
…they are a data processor. The GDPR compliance requirement applies….they are a data processor. The GDPR compliance requirement applies.
What Is a Data Processing Agreement — and What Should It Include?
A Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is the formal contract that governs how a processor handles data on behalf of a controller. It is not the same as a Non-Disclosure Agreement, though you may want both. An NDA covers confidentiality. A VA data security contract covers your legal obligations under data protection law.
A compliant agreement must include:
1. Description of processing: What personal data is being handled, and for what purpose. For example, client names and email addresses are used for appointment scheduling.
2. Duration: How long the processing relationship lasts, and what happens to data when it ends, it must be returned or securely deleted.
3. Technical and Organisational Measures (TOMs): This is a frequently missed requirement. TOMs are the specific security steps the processor must take, such as two-factor authentication, encrypted file storage, restricted system access, and clear desk policies for remote workers.
4. Sub-processors: If your VA uses third-party platforms to do their work, such as Dropbox, Zoom, Trello, Asana, those platforms become sub-processors. The agreement must list them and confirm they meet equivalent data protection standards.
5. Breach notification: Your VA must notify you immediately if it suspect a breach so you can meet your ICO reporting obligation. Serious breaches must be reported to the ICO within 72 hours.
6. Data subject rights: Your VA must be able to support requests from individuals who want to access, correct, or delete their data.
7. Role of a Data Protection Officer (DPO): If your business is large enough to require a DPO, the agreement should reference how the processor interacts with that role. For smaller businesses, this may not apply but it should be assessed.
Access Management and Shadow IT: The Hidden Risk
Getting a signed legal framework in place is step one. Managing how your VA actually accesses data day-to-day is step two, and it is where most businesses fall short.
Access control means your virtual assistant should only have access to the systems and data they need for their specific role. A VA managing your inbox does not need access to financial records. A VA handling social media does not need your CRM login.
Shadow IT is the term for personal apps or unauthorised tools that employees or contractors use outside your approved systems. A VA who saves a client’s spreadsheet to their personal Google Drive, or communicates with customers via their personal WhatsApp, has just created a serious compliance breach, regardless of what your privacy agreement says.
A reputable outsourcing agency mitigates this by:
- Onboarding VAs through managed, auditable systems
- Enforcing data handling protocols as part of staff training
- Restricting the use of unauthorised tools through operational policy
This is why the agency advantage in outsourcing is not just about convenience, it is a genuine risk management consideration.
Freelance VA vs Outsourcing Agency: What Changes?
| Scenario | Data Processor? | DPA Required? | Who Is the DPA With? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance or self-employed VA | Yes — the individual | Yes | You and the individual VA |
| VA sourced through an agency | Yes — the agency | Yes | You and the agency |
| VA hired as a direct employee | No — acts as part of your organisation | Not required | N/A — internal policies apply instead |
| VA manages payroll or financial data (freelance) | Yes | Yes — with enhanced security clauses | You and the individual VA |
| VA does only graphic design, no client data | Assess case-by-case | May not be required | N/A |
The employment relationship determines where the legal obligation sits. If you hire a freelance VA directly, the DPA is between you and that person. If you source through an agency like Aristo Sourcing, the DPA is between you and the agency; the individual VA is not a separate legal party in that data relationship. If you take on a remote VA as a direct employee, standard employment and internal data policies apply instead.
In all cases, the responsibility for putting the right framework in place sits with you as the data controller. What a reputable sourcing agency provides is professional, vetted talent who are experienced enough to work within whatever framework you establish.
International Outsourcing: The Section That Matters Most
If your virtual assistant is based outside the European Union or the United Kingdom, including popular outsourcing destinations such as the Philippines or the United States, you are initiating a cross-border data transfer. This is governed separately under GDPR and requires specific provisions beyond a standard DPA.
Under UK GDPR, personal data can only be transferred to a third country if one of the following conditions is met:
Adequacy decision: The destination country has been assessed by the UK government as offering equivalent data protection. The Philippines does not currently hold UK adequacy status.
Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs): These are pre-approved contractual terms that can be incorporated into your VA data security contract to provide equivalent protection. For UK businesses, the relevant version is the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA).
Binding Corporate Rules: Relevant for large organisations with global operations, less applicable for most SMEs outsourcing individual VAs.
In practical terms, if you are hiring offshore support staff:
- Your GDPR compliance contract must reference the international transfer
- An IDTA or SCC must be incorporated or attached
- You should confirm that the outsourcing provider operates under documented data handling procedures that meet UK standards
A reputable agency that regularly places staff with UK and EU clients will have these provisions already structured into their agreements. An individual freelancer may not even be aware that they exist.
What Happens If You Operate Without One?
The consequences fall into two categories.
Regulatory: The ICO can impose fines of up to £17.5 million or 4% of global annual turnover for serious violations, including operating without a required processing agreement. For lower-tier breaches, penalties reach £8.7 million or 2% of turnover. Even an ICO investigation without a fine is costly in time, legal fees, and disruption.
Reputational: If a client’s data is exposed through a VA that had no formal agreement in place, the question “who was responsible for protecting this?” has no clean answer. That conversation with a client, a journalist, or a regulator is one that no compliant agreement on file would have prevented you from having.
Step-by-Step: Getting Your Data Compliance Contract in Place
Step 1 — Map what data your VA touches: List every system, file type, and category of personal data they will access.
Step 2 — Determine your lawful basis: For most business operations involving client data, this will be legitimate interests or contractual necessity. The ICO website provides a clear self-assessment tool.
Step 3 — Obtain or draft the agreement: If working with an agency, request their standard DPA before signing any service contract. If hiring freelancers, use an ICO-aligned template and adapt it to your specific use case.
Step 4 — Define TOMs explicitly: Do not leave security measures vague. Name the tools, the access levels, and the protocols.
Step 5 — Sign before work begins: Both parties must sign before the VA accesses any personal data. Backdating is not a solution.
Step 6 — Review annually or when roles change: If your VA starts handling a new system or category of data, the agreement must be updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a VA a data processor or a data controller?
In almost all cases, a virtual assistant is a data processor; they handle data on your instructions. You remain the data controller. The distinction matters because Article 28 GDPR mandates a written agreement between the two parties.
Does a small business need a DPA?
Yes. There is no size exemption under UK GDPR or the Data Protection Act 2018. Any organisation processing personal data of UK or EU individuals is subject to the regulation.
What is the difference between a DPA and an NDA?
An NDA covers confidentiality; it stops someone from sharing your business information. A data compliance contract covers your specific obligations under data protection law. They serve different purposes, and you may need both.
Does my VA need to be trained in data protection?
Not to a formal qualification level, but they must understand their role as a data processor, what they can and cannot do with personal data, and how to report a potential breach. Professional outsourcing agencies train their staff in these areas as standard.
What is a Data Protection Officer and do I need one?
A DPO is a designated role required for organisations that carry out large-scale or high-risk data processing. Most small businesses outsourcing a single VA will not need to appoint one. If you are unsure, the ICO’s self-assessment guide can help you determine your obligations.
What is Shadow IT and why does it matter for outsourcing?
Shadow IT refers to tools or apps used by a worker that are not authorised by your organisation. If a VA uses their personal cloud storage or messaging apps to handle your client data, that data is outside your controlled environment and potentially outside your VA data security contract. This is a real-world risk that a well-managed outsourcing agency actively prevents.
The Bottom Line
One signed agreement protects your clients, your business, and your reputation. The legal framework is clear; what varies is how simple or complicated the process is, depending on who you outsource to.
At Aristo Sourcing, compliance is not an add-on. Our virtual assistants and support staff are pre-vetted for data security awareness, trained in data privacy best practices, and placed under agreements that meet UK and EU data protection requirements, including provisions for international data transfers. We manage the Shadow IT risk, the access control protocols, and the contractual structure so you do not have to.
You bring on the support your business needs. Your clients’ data stays protected. You stay focused on growth.
Outsource with confidence — speak to the Aristo Sourcing team today.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your business, consult a qualified data protection solicitor or visit ico.org.uk.