Call Recording for Business: Legal Requirements & Setup Guide

Why Businesses Record Calls

Call recording is no longer just for large call centres. Businesses of all sizes across the UK are recording calls for a range of legitimate reasons:

• Quality monitoring — Review calls to assess customer service quality, identify training needs, and maintain consistent standards across your team
• Staff training — Use real call recordings as training material for new staff. Hearing actual customer interactions is far more effective than role-playing exercises
• Dispute resolution — When a customer disputes what was agreed on a call, a recording provides definitive evidence. This protects both the business and the customer
• Compliance — Certain industries are legally required to record calls. Financial services firms regulated by the FCA must record calls where transactions are discussed or agreed
• Order verification — Businesses that take orders or bookings over the phone use recordings to verify details and prevent errors
• Security — Recording calls deters abusive behaviour towards staff and provides evidence if threats are made
• Performance management — Managers can review calls to assess individual performance, identify top performers, and provide targeted coaching

UK Legal Requirements for Call Recording

Call recording in the UK is governed by several pieces of legislation. Understanding these is essential before you start recording. Here is what you need to know:

The Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) Regulations 2000

This is the primary legislation that permits businesses to record calls. Under these regulations, a business can record calls without the consent of the caller for the following purposes:

• Establishing the existence of facts (e.g., confirming what was agreed)
• Ascertaining compliance with regulatory or self-regulatory practices
• Ascertaining or demonstrating standards which are achieved by staff
• Preventing or detecting crime
• Investigating or detecting unauthorised use of the telecommunications system
• Ensuring the effective operation of the system

While these regulations technically allow recording without informing the caller, GDPR (see below) effectively requires you to inform callers in most circumstances.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

Call recordings contain personal data (the caller's voice, and potentially their name, account details, and other information discussed on the call). Under GDPR, you must:

• Have a lawful basis for recording — This is typically "legitimate interests" (quality monitoring, training, dispute resolution) or "legal obligation" (FCA compliance requirements)
• Inform callers — Tell callers that the call is being recorded and explain why. This is usually done via an automated announcement: "Calls may be recorded for training and quality purposes"
• Set retention periods — Only keep recordings for as long as necessary. Document your retention policy and delete recordings when the retention period expires
• Provide access on request — Under GDPR's Subject Access Request (SAR) provisions, individuals have the right to request a copy of their recorded calls. You must be able to locate and provide these within one month
• Store securely — Recordings must be stored securely with appropriate access controls. Only authorised personnel should be able to access recordings
• Document your processing — Include call recording in your Record of Processing Activities (ROPA) and your privacy notice

FCA Regulations (Financial Services)

If your business is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, you have additional obligations under MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive):

• Mandatory recording — You must record all telephone conversations relating to transactions or intended transactions in financial instruments
• Retention period — Recordings must be kept for a minimum of 5 years, and up to 7 years if requested by the FCA
• Accessibility — Recordings must be readily accessible and provided to the FCA on request
• Applies to — Investment firms, stockbrokers, financial advisers, insurance brokers, and any firm that arranges or executes transactions in financial instruments

How VoIP Makes Call Recording Easy

Traditional PBX systems made call recording complicated and expensive. You needed dedicated recording hardware, additional server infrastructure, and specialist software. VoIP has changed this completely.

Built-In Recording on Hosted VoIP

Most modern hosted VoIP platforms — including the Drakos Systems platform — include call recording as a built-in feature. There is no additional hardware, no separate software, and often no extra cost. Here is how it works:

• Enable with a click — Call recording can be enabled for individual users, teams, or the entire organisation through the admin portal. No engineer visit required
• Automatic recording — Once enabled, all calls (inbound and outbound) are recorded automatically. No action required from the user
• On-demand recording — Alternatively, users can start and stop recording during a call using a button on their handset or softphone. Useful when you only need to record specific calls
• Cloud storage — Recordings are stored securely in the cloud, not on local hardware. Access recordings from anywhere via the web portal or mobile app
• Search and playback — Find recordings by date, time, caller number, extension, or duration. Play back directly in the browser or download as audio files
• Automatic deletion — Set retention policies to automatically delete recordings after a specified period (30 days, 90 days, 1 year, etc.), ensuring GDPR compliance

Recording on Legacy PBX Systems

If you are keeping your existing PBX (Avaya, Panasonic, or other) with SIP trunking, call recording options include:

• Avaya IP Office — Supports built-in call recording via Voicemail Pro (limited capacity) or third-party recording solutions like OAISYS or Enghouse for higher-volume recording
• Panasonic NS700 — Supports basic call recording via the built-in voicemail system or third-party solutions
• SIP-based recording — Some SIP trunk providers offer network-level call recording that works with any PBX, recording calls at the trunk level before they reach your system

Storage Options: Cloud vs Local

Where you store your call recordings matters for security, compliance, and cost:

Cloud Storage

• Pros: No local hardware needed, accessible from anywhere, automatic backups, scalable storage, provider handles security and encryption
• Cons: Ongoing storage costs (though typically low), dependency on internet connection for access, data sovereignty considerations (ensure recordings are stored in UK data centres)
• Cost: Often included in the VoIP subscription up to a certain limit (e.g., 30 days or 1GB per user). Additional storage typically £1-5 per user per month

Local Storage

• Pros: Full control over data, no ongoing cloud storage costs, no internet dependency for access
• Cons: Requires local server or NAS, you are responsible for backups and security, limited accessibility from outside the office, hardware maintenance required
• Cost: One-off hardware cost (NAS or server) plus ongoing maintenance

For most businesses, cloud storage is the practical choice. It eliminates hardware costs, provides automatic backups, and ensures recordings are accessible from anywhere. For businesses with strict data sovereignty requirements or very high recording volumes, local storage may be preferred.

CRM Integration with Call Recording

One of the most powerful features of modern VoIP call recording is integration with your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. When your phone system is connected to your CRM:

• Automatic call logging — Every call is automatically logged in the customer's CRM record with date, time, duration, and a link to the recording
• One-click playback — Play back any recorded call directly from the customer's CRM record without switching to a separate system
• Complete customer history — See every interaction with a customer in one place — calls, emails, meetings, and notes
• Supported CRMs — Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Pipedrive, and hundreds of others via API integration

Learn more about how phone-CRM integration works in our screen popping and CRM integration guide.

Industries That Need Call Recording

While any business can benefit from call recording, certain industries have specific requirements:

Financial Services

Banks, investment firms, insurance brokers, financial advisers, and mortgage brokers are required by the FCA to record calls where transactions are discussed. Recordings must be retained for 5-7 years. Non-compliance can result in significant fines.

Legal Practices

Solicitors and law firms use call recording to document client instructions, verify advice given, and protect against professional negligence claims. Recordings provide an accurate record of what was discussed and agreed.

Healthcare

GP surgeries, dental practices, and healthcare providers record calls for appointment verification, patient safety, and complaint resolution. Recordings help verify what medical advice was given over the phone.

Call Centres and Customer Service

Call centres use recording extensively for quality monitoring, agent training, performance management, and dispute resolution. Recording is fundamental to call centre operations and continuous improvement.

Sales Teams

Sales teams record calls to verify orders, review sales techniques, train new staff, and resolve disputes about what was promised to customers. Recordings protect both the business and the customer.

Property and Estate Agents

Estate agents record calls to document property viewings, offers, and instructions. This provides evidence of what was communicated between buyers, sellers, and agents.

Setting Up Call Recording: Step by Step

1. Define your purpose — Document why you are recording calls (quality, training, compliance, dispute resolution). This forms your lawful basis under GDPR
2. Set your retention policy — Decide how long recordings will be kept. Document this in your data retention policy
3. Update your privacy notice — Add call recording to your privacy notice, explaining what you record, why, and how long you keep it
4. Configure the announcement — Set up an automated message that plays at the start of calls: "Calls may be recorded for training and quality purposes"
5. Enable recording — On hosted VoIP, enable recording in the admin portal. On legacy PBX, install and configure the recording solution
6. Set access controls — Define who can access recordings. Typically managers and supervisors, not all staff
7. Train your staff — Ensure staff understand that calls are being recorded, why, and how recordings may be used
8. Test and verify — Make test calls, verify recordings are captured correctly, check playback quality, and confirm automatic deletion works

Cost Guide for Business Call Recording

• Hosted VoIP with built-in recording — Often included in the monthly subscription (£8-15 per user/month) at no additional cost. This is the most cost-effective option for most businesses
• Add-on recording for legacy PBX — £5-20 per user per month for third-party recording solutions that work with Avaya, Panasonic, and other PBX systems
• Cloud storage — Typically included up to a limit, with additional storage at £1-5 per user per month
• Compliance recording (FCA) — Specialist compliance recording solutions with tamper-proof storage and audit trails cost £10-30 per user per month

Why Choose Drakos Systems for Call Recording

• Built-in recording — Our hosted VoIP platform includes call recording as standard at no extra cost
• Cloud storage — Recordings stored securely in UK data centres with automatic backups
• CRM integration — Connect recordings to Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, and hundreds of other applications
• Compliance support — We help configure recording policies, retention periods, and announcements to meet your regulatory requirements
• Legacy PBX support — If you are keeping your Avaya or Panasonic system, we can add recording capability via SIP-based solutions
• ISO 27001 certified — Our information security management is independently audited, giving you confidence that recordings are handled securely

Frequently Asked Questions