Working overseas

For users wanting to work overseas they must ensure that the guidance contained is followed, particularly the points about physical security.

From a legal perspective the ICO has given an opinion that processing data on an approved IT system overseas does not constitute a data transfer so working on a work provided laptop with the appropriate technical set up overseas is legal. However the user must also have permission from their employing organisation as the Data Controller of the information being worked on.

The practice manager will need to log a call with N3i, stating that they are accepting the associated risks and providing a window where the access will be removed. There is also a technical restriction in that the user will require a fixed IP address in the foreign country to allow us to enable access.

Finally users must be aware that there will only be limited technical support available to staff working overseas and this will be on a best endeavours basis.

Update: 29 April 2022

Users wishing to work from overseas locations should be aware that with the current conflict in Ukraine we have followed government security guidance and our VPN service is now geographically restricted in some countries. In general Western Europe and North America will be fine but you should check with us to confirm other locations.

Update: 8 December 2022

In addition to the notes above this is a very useful guide to Working Overseas produced by NHS Employers (PDF, 500KB).