Last Updated 29/07/2025. A disciplinary investigation at work data breach involving your personal information could cause you psychological and financial harm. In this guide, we will define what a personal data breach is and explain what information of yours may be processed during a disciplinary investigation at work. Moreover, we will discuss the limitation periods relating to claiming data breach compensation and highlight the evidence that could be used to support your claim. 

Furthermore, we will outline how legal professionals could value compensation for the damage you have suffered due to a personal data breach. We also distinguish between the different kinds of damage that could be awarded for a successful claim.

Continue reading this guide for information about whether you could claim compensation for a personal data breach, and learn more about what it means to enter into a No Win No Fee agreement with a solicitor. You can also contact our team of advisors if you require further guidance regarding your potential claim. They are available all day, every day, to provide you with free legal advice. 

Please reach our team using one of the methods below: 

• Call an advisor on 0800 073 8804
• Contact us online
• Use the live support feature below

Select A Section

1. What Is A Disciplinary Investigation At Work Data Breach?
2. Could I Claim For A Disciplinary Investigation At Work Data Breach?
3. What Evidence Can Be Used In A Disciplinary Investigation At Work Data Breach Claim? 
4. Do I Need To Report A Personal Data Breach?
5. Potential Compensation For A Disciplinary Investigation At Work Data Breach
6. Make A Claim With A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor
7. Learn More About Claiming For Data Breaches In Workplaces

What Is A Disciplinary Investigation At Work Data Breach? 

Your employer will process and store your personal data. This may include your name, home address, phone number, and email address. Additionally, information recorded in a disciplinary investigation is considered personal data. This can contain information about your behaviour and potentially include opinions about you.

Data protection laws are in place to protect the storage and use of personal data in both digital and physical forms. The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) outline the rules for processing personal data. These apply to data controllers and processors. 

A data controller decides how and why your personal information is processed, whereas data processors can be employed by a controller to process personal data on their behalf. 

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent body responsible for upholding information rights, describes a personal data breach broadly as a security incident affecting the confidentiality, availability or integrity of personal data. 

An employer’s failure to adhere to data protection laws could cause a personal data breach. This could mean that personal disciplinary information is compromised, resulting in the data subject suffering from psychological harm, such as stress, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also, a personal data breach could lead to financial harm.

However, employers do have some legal obligations to disclose some of your details on a lawful basis. Information about your salary can be lawfully shared for tax purposes and disclosed to the HMRC. 

Please contact our advisors; they can provide advice and carry out an assessment of your potential claim. 

Could I Claim For A Disciplinary Investigation At Work Data Breach? 

There is eligibility criteria that must be met to make a disciplinary investigation at work data breach claim following the compromise of your personal information. This is as follows: 

• A data controller or processor responsible for your personal data failed to uphold their legal data protection responsibilities. 
• As a result of this, your personal information was involved in a data breach.
• This caused you to suffer financial losses and/or mental harm. 

A personal data breach in relation to a disciplinary investigation at work could occur due to various causes. For example, your employer could send your personal information to the wrong address, resulting in an unauthorised person accessing your personal data.

Alternatively, a data breach may occur if an employee from the HR department discloses details concerning your investigation to another employee.  

Data Breach Claim Time Limits

There are time limits that apply to making a claim for a personal data breach. You generally have six years to start a claim. However, if you are claiming against a public body, the time limit to begin your claim is reduced to one year. 

Please contact an advisor to learn more about the time limitations relating to your potential personal data breach claim. Also, they can advise you on whether you could have valid grounds to claim.

What Evidence Can Be Used In A Disciplinary Investigation At Work Data Breach Claim? 

The main pieces of evidence that can be used in a disciplinary investigation at work data breach claim are medical and financial records. They can confirm any psychological harm or loss you suffered due to a breach.

Additional evidence that could be used when claiming compensation for a personal data breach of disciplinary information includes:

• A data breach notification letter, if one was sent to you, and any other relevant correspondence. This could be communications advising you to take certain precautions to protect your personal data, as well as what steps they have taken to contain the breach itself.
• Details of your financial losses, such as lost earnings due to time taken off work or the cost of therapy.
• Findings from the ICO investigation, if one takes place. We’ll examine this in greater detail in the next section.

To ask any questions about gathering evidence for a disciplinary information data breach, get your free eligibility assessment, or to find out more about how Legal Expert can help you seek compensation, call the number below today. Our team can help with any inquiries, as well as assess your potential claim’s validity for zero charge.

Do I Need To Report A Personal Data Breach?

If your personal data has been involved in a breach that places your rights and freedoms at risk, the data controller must notify you without undue delay. Additionally, they have a responsibility to report the breach to ICO within 72 hours of discovery. 

Following the occurrence of a data breach involving your personal information, you could first contact the organisation directly. In the case of a disciplinary investigation at work data breach, this may be your employer.

If they do not respond, or their response is unsatisfactory, you could then report the incident to the ICO, who may investigate the breach. Please note that you should raise your complaint within 3 months of the last meaningful contact you had with the organisation.

It is important to note that the ICO cannot award compensation; however, any findings that are in your favour from an investigation could be used to support your claim.

To learn more about acquiring evidence in support of your potential personal data breach claim, please speak to one of our advisors.

Potential Compensation For A Disciplinary Investigation At Work Data Breach 

Upon making a successful personal data breach claim, your compensation may cover:

• Non-material damage: The psychological harm you suffered due to the personal data breach. 
• Material damage: The financial loss you experienced due to the breach.

To help assess the value of someone’s harm, solicitors can consult the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document containing guideline brackets for compensation for different types of harm, which we have used to create the table below.

Compensation Guidelines

This table is a guide and not a guarantee of any compensation you might receive. The first figure was not taken from the JCG.

Additional Forms Of Damage You Could Claim 

For a successful personal data breach claim, you may also be able to pursue compensation for financial losses. Those losses must be provable and result from the breach. 

This could include:

• Loss of earnings
• Extra home security
• The cost of therapy
• Needing to move home

You will need evidence for these losses, which can consist of bank records, payslips, and invoices.

Speak to one of our advisors to learn how much personal data breach compensation you could be eligible to receive following a disciplinary investigation at work data breach. 

Make A Claim With A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor 

A solicitor may offer to work on a personal data breach claim under a type of No Win No Fee arrangement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

By entering into a CFA, you will not be charged any upfront or ongoing solicitor fees. You also won’t face paying these fees if your claim is unsuccessful.

However, your solicitor will deduct a small success fee from your compensation if your claim is successful. This is a success fee. The percentage that a solicitor can take is legally capped under The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. You will discuss this with your solicitor before entering into an agreement.

To learn more about using a No Win No Fee solicitor, please contact us. Should our advisors find your claim could be eligible, they may put you in contact with one of our No Win No Fee data breach solicitors. 

Contact Our Specialist Team 

Please do not hesitate to contact us about whether you could claim compensation for a personal data breach. 

Our advisors can provide a consultation about your claim. Please reach our team using one of the methods below: 

• • Call an advisor on 0800 073 8804
  • Contact us online
  • Use the live support feature below

Learn More About Claiming For Data Breaches In Workplaces 

For more of our guides:

• My Employer Shared My Medical Records Without My Consent
• Former Employer Data Breach
• Employer Personal Data Breach Compensation Claims

For other resources, check the external links listed:  

• Data Breaches: Guidance For Individuals And Families – National Cyber Security Centre
• Find Out What Data An Organisation Has About You – Government Guidance
• Action We’ve Taken – ICO

Thank you for reading this guide on when you could claim compensation following a disciplinary investigation at work data breach involving your personal information.