Find, review and redact thousands of employee files before your DSAR deadline.
Search across file servers, emails, Teams messages and documents. Find content connected to the requester by name, keyword or file type, then securely redact protected information and prepare the final response packages.
Built for UK employers handling employee and ex-employee Data Subject Access Requests under UK GDPR.
The free search runs locally across the company locations you select and returns potential matches without uploading the original files. If the results give you everything you need, there is no obligation to use any paid features. Questions? Speak to a member of our team.
How much data could be connected to one employee?
Estimate the potential number of emails, messages and documents based on the employee's length of service and the company systems involved.
We count the remaining working days to the one-month deadline, excluding weekends and UK bank & public holidays.
An approximate “at least” figure is enough for the first estimate.
The estimate combines three things people forget to count together:
About 470 items (~750 pages) for every year of employment, plus a 20% uplift for material created by other people that mentions the employee.
This is a floor, not a worst case. In one real long-serving employee DSAR, the qualifying set ran to roughly 150,000 documents plus a very high email volume, found within a corpus of over a million files.
Assumes ~3 focused review hours a day with breaks. Reviewing sensitive employee emails for several uninterrupted hours daily is rarely practical.
Classification, redaction and bundling use the published per-page rates. Classification is estimated to remove 35% of pages, so only 65% of redaction and bundling remain in the total. Refined using the actual volume after the free search.
The calculator provides an initial estimate. The free local search shows the actual number of potential matches.
The data is rarely stored in one place.
A customer's data may sit in one account or system. An employee's data can be spread across years of company activity:
Finding the files is only the first step.
Every potential result may still need to be reviewed, classified, redacted and recorded before it can be disclosed.
DSAR.uk is built specifically for this process.
One employee DSAR. Several teams under pressure.
HR teams and HR consultants
Understand the deadline, identify where employee data may exist and obtain a clear view of the work required.
Data Protection Officers
Control the process, review disclosure decisions and maintain the records needed to demonstrate how the request was handled.
In many SMEs, this may be the person assigned responsibility for data protection rather than a full-time Data Protection Officer.
Directors and business owners
See the potential cost, approve each processing stage and maintain oversight of the company's response.
IT teams and MSPs
Search legacy file servers and mixed file formats, then provide the results to the people responsible for the final disclosure decisions.
Solicitors and legal advisers
Use DSAR.uk to support document discovery, review, redaction and response preparation while retaining control of the legal decisions.
From scattered company data to a response ready for delivery.
Search for free
Search selected file shares, folders, laptops and archives by the requester's name, known aliases, keyword or file type. The results show potential matches and their locations so your team can decide what should move forward for review.
The search runs locally, so original files do not leave your environment during this stage.
The free search may be all you need. You can use the results to continue manually, work with your existing HR or legal adviser, or choose another provider. There is no obligation to continue to the paid stages.
Use DSAR.uk's optional paid features to classify, redact and prepare the data at scale.
Automatically classify the results
Combine local search results with exported Microsoft 365 emails, Teams messages and other collected data. DSAR.uk automatically:
- Identifies likely relevant content
- Reduces false positives
- Flags uncertain items for review
- Creates decision records
- Highlights case-specific Keywords of Interest
Keywords of Interest automatically highlight case-specific terms and sensitive topics within the discovery set connected to the requester, such as bullying, payments, grievances or confidential company matters.
Classification can reduce the number of pages that move to redaction and response preparation, lowering the total processing cost.
Automatically redact protected information
Automatically identify information that may need to be withheld from the documents selected for disclosure. The system can:
- Detect third-party personal information
- Flag legally privileged and other sensitive content for priority review
- Apply consistent redaction across repeated information
- Accept additional names, terms, topics and case-specific instructions
- Record the reason for each redaction
Your team can review flagged cases and approve the final disclosure decisions.
Create secure disclosure files
A black box placed over text does not necessarily remove the information stored inside a document.
DSAR.uk creates fresh disclosure PDFs containing only the permitted content. Removed information is excluded from the underlying file, unnecessary metadata is not carried forward, and the allowed text remains digitally searchable.
PowerPoint presentations, emails and other supported formats can be converted into accessible PDFs, so the requester does not need specialist software to open them.
Prepare two separate response packages
DSAR.uk prepares one package for the requester and another for your organisation's internal records.
Requester package
- Securely redacted documents
- Accessible, digitally searchable PDFs
- Personalised cover letter
- Files organised into manageable download packages
- Clear access without specialist software
Company evidence package
- Complete processing logs
- Record of the data sources searched
- Classification and disclosure decisions
- Phrase-by-phrase redaction reasoning
- Supporting records to retain in case of an ICO complaint or investigation
Not just 20 documents you have already found.
Based on an average of 17 emails, messages and files per working day, one employee could be connected to approximately:
This does not include every file or conversation created by someone else that mentions the employee.
The free search replaces assumptions with the actual number of potential matches.
Calculate Your WorkloadA black box is not secure redaction.
Some apparently redacted PDFs still contain the original hidden text, document layers or metadata. The requester may be able to recover information that the company believed had been removed.
DSAR.uk creates a new disclosure PDF that:
- Contains only the permitted content
- Removes the underlying redacted information
- Excludes unnecessary document metadata
- Adds clear visual redaction marks
- Keeps the disclosed text digitally searchable
- Can be reviewed before delivery
This helps protect third-party information while producing documents that remain accessible to the requester.
Give the requester what they are entitled to. Keep the evidence your organisation may need.
Accessible, redacted disclosure
Receive securely redacted, searchable documents in accessible formats, divided into manageable delivery packages.
A defensible evidence record
Retain the search records, source logs, classification decisions and detailed redaction reasoning needed to demonstrate how the request was handled.
The internal evidence package is designed to support your organisation if the requester makes a complaint to the ICO.
Pay only for this DSAR — not for a year of software.
Start with the free search. Sometimes, this is all you will need.
- Search any supported volume
- Original files remain in your environment during the search
- Receive a list of potential matches and file locations
- Use the results without purchasing additional processing
£0.20 per page
Automatically identify likely relevant content, reduce false positives, flag Keywords of Interest and create decision records.
£0.25 per selected page
Automatically identify information that may need to be withheld, prioritise sensitive content for review and create detailed redaction records.
£0.10 per selected page
Automatically prepare:
- Secure, searchable disclosure PDFs
- A personalised cover letter
- Manageable delivery packages for the requester
- A separate internal evidence package
- Source, processing and decision logs
- No annual subscription
- No onboarding fee
- No minimum commitment
- See the estimated cost before each stage
- Stop after any completed stage
You do not pay every charge for every page found. Only the pages that progress to the relevant processing stage are charged.
Designed for the employee DSAR you need to handle now.
Start immediately
No demonstration, proposal or lengthy onboarding process.
Use the free search on its own
Continue manually or share the results with your existing HR or legal advisers. Paid processing is always optional.
Find the data first
Start searching before you know how many documents exist.
Handle high volumes
Process thousands of files, emails and messages without uploading them individually.
Reduce unnecessary processing
Use automated classification to remove false positives before paying for redaction and response preparation.
Redact information securely
Remove the underlying information, not only what appears visually on the page.
Prepare accessible disclosure files
Convert supported source documents into searchable PDFs that can be opened without specialist software.
Document the complete process
Retain source logs, classification decisions and phrase-by-phrase redaction reasoning.
Know what happens to your data.
The free search runs against the locations you select. Original files remain inside your environment during this stage.
For optional paid processing:
Review Security and Data HandlingEmployee DSAR and UK GDPR FAQs
What is an employee DSAR?
An employee DSAR is a Data Subject Access Request made by a current or former employee asking an organisation for access to their personal data.
A DSAR is one type of Data Subject Request, sometimes shortened to DSR, under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Who normally handles an employee DSAR?
An employee DSAR may involve HR, management, IT, legal advisers and the organisation's Data Protection Officer.
In many SMEs, data protection is not a full-time position. The request may be coordinated by the person assigned responsibility for data protection.
What if we do not know how many files exist?
That is normal. Use the workload calculator for an initial estimate, then run the free local search to establish the actual number of potential matches.
Do we have to use the paid features?
No. The free search may give you everything you need to continue manually or with your existing HR or legal advisers.
There is no obligation to proceed with classification, redaction or response preparation.
Does the free search upload our files?
No. The free search runs locally against the company locations you select.
Does DSAR.uk search Microsoft 365 directly?
Microsoft 365 provides its own search and eDiscovery tools. DSAR.uk can process supported exported emails, Teams messages and other results alongside files found on local systems.
Can DSAR.uk handle thousands of files?
Yes. DSAR.uk is designed for high-volume employee DSARs involving thousands or tens of thousands of files, emails, messages and pages.
Can classification reduce the cost?
Yes. Classification can remove false positives and irrelevant content before the remaining pages move to redaction and response preparation.
What are Keywords of Interest?
Keywords of Interest help your team identify documents containing case-specific terms or sensitive topics within the data connected to the employee.
For example, you may want to prioritise references to bullying, payments, grievances or confidential company information.
What information can be redacted?
Depending on the circumstances, redaction may cover third-party personal data, legally privileged information and other information that can lawfully be withheld.
Your organisation remains responsible for approving the final redaction and disclosure decisions.
Can we add our own redaction instructions?
Yes. Additional names, terms, topics and case-specific instructions can be included in the redaction process.
Does placing a black box over text securely remove it?
Not always. Hidden text, document layers or metadata may remain inside an apparently redacted file.
DSAR.uk creates a fresh disclosure PDF containing only the permitted content while keeping that content digitally searchable.
What happens to PowerPoint, EML and other specialist formats?
Supported files are converted into accessible PDF documents so the requester can open and search them without needing PowerPoint, Outlook or other specialist software.
Why does DSAR.uk create multiple delivery packages?
One very large ZIP file can be difficult to download, open and navigate.
DSAR.uk divides the disclosure into manageable packages to make the response easier for the requester to access.
What are the two response packages?
The requester receives securely redacted, searchable disclosure documents and a personalised cover letter.
Your organisation receives a separate internal evidence package containing source logs, processing records, disclosure decisions and detailed redaction reasoning.
Does DSAR.uk decide what must be disclosed?
No. DSAR.uk can classify content, apply agreed rules, explain the reasoning and flag uncertain or sensitive items.
Your organisation remains responsible for the final disclosure decisions.
Does DSAR.uk guarantee that there will be no ICO complaint?
No system can prevent someone from making a complaint. DSAR.uk helps organisations follow a consistent, documented process and retain supporting evidence in case the ICO reviews how the request was handled.
Do we need an annual contract?
No. Paid processing is based on the stages and page volume used for the individual DSAR.
Is DSAR.uk a law firm?
No. DSAR.uk provides search, discovery, processing, redaction and response-preparation technology.
It supports HR practitioners, Data Protection Officers and solicitors, but it does not replace legal advice.
Start by finding out how much employee data you actually have.
Search your company files for free.
If the results are manageable, continue without using any paid features.
If the volume is too large to process manually, DSAR.uk can automatically classify the results, securely redact protected information and prepare separate packages for the requester and your company records.
Have questions or already close to your deadline? Speak to a member of our DSAR Response Team.