By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 13th March 2025. Can I make accidental data breach at work compensation claims? Successful personal data breach claims will have met certain criteria. Throughout this guide, we will discuss who could be eligible to make a claim if their personal data is breached.

Please note, though, that your claim is going to be at least partially unique. Some claims are similar, but no two are the same. Therefore, you might not find all of the answers you are seeking in this short guide. If you have more questions, call 0800 073 8804 and speak to an advisor, who will provide the answers. Or request a callback using our contact form.

Select A Section:

1. What Are Accidental Data Breach At Work Compensation Claims?
2. Can Staff Claim Compensation For A Breach At Work?
3. Personal Information Which Employers May Have
4. Why Do Accidental Data Breaches At Work Occur?
5. What Could You Claim For An Accidental Data Breach At Work?
6. No Win No Fee Claims For An Accidental Data Breach At Work

What Are Accidental Data Breach At Work Compensation Claims?

You may be wondering if you can make an accidental data breach at work compensation claims. Maybe your personal data has been sent in an email to the wrong recipient, or a letter containing your personal data has been posted to the wrong address by mistake.

Under data protection law that we will discuss later in the guide, a personal data breach can be an accidental or unlawful loss, destruction of data, alteration or disclosure. Or an authorised person accessing your personal data in a data security incident.

UK Data Protection Laws

Two main bodies of legislation protect your personal data. These are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) oversees compliance with these laws. It is also the ICO to which you can report a data breach to.

Can Staff Claim Compensation For A Breach At Work?

To have good grounds to claim for an employer data breach, you must be able to prove that you meet the eligibility criteria set out in Article 82 of the UK GDPR. This means that you need evidence that proves:

• The data controller or processor’s failure to comply with the legislation in place to protect personal data caused a breach. A data controller is generally an organisation that decides why they need to process your data and how to go about it. Data processing is anything that is done to or with personal data, such as collecting and then storing it, ie for payroll purposes. However, the controller may instruct a data processor to carry out the processing on their behalf.
• Your personal data was involved in this data breach.
• This compromise caused you to experience damage. This could be mental health damage, such as the diagnosis of a psychological illness or it could be financial losses, such as a credit card taken out in your name due to identity theft.

Get in touch with a member of our advisory team to discuss whether you could be eligible to make a claim for an accidental data breach at work.

How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Data Breach At Work?

There is usually a time limit you must adhere to if you have an eligible personal data breach claim following a data protection breach at work. The amount of time you’ll have to start a claim for an accidental data breach at work will depend on the type of organisation involved. Following a data breach, you’ll normally need to start your claim within one year if it’s against a public body. If you intend to claim against a non-public body, you will usually need to do so within six years instead.

Contact our advisors online or on the phone today if you need more advice regarding your eligibility to claim for a data breach at work. If it seems like you have a strong case, they could connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors who could help ensure your claim is filed within the correct limitation period.

Personal Information Which Employers May Have

Data protection and security laws do not protect all types of data. They protect personal and special category data, which is a type of personal data that needs added protection by its sensitive nature.

• Personal data – contact details, your name, address, date of birth, email address, or phone number. And financial data such as your credit card, debit card or bank account details.
• Special category data – your race, genome data, religion, sexual preferences, trade union memberships, political beliefs, etc.

To find out more about accidental data breach at work compensation claims and to have a free case assessment by our data breach claims team, call today.

Why Do Accidental Data Breaches At Work Occur?

Why do accidental data breaches occur? There are many reasons, such as human error. Employees may be unaware of their data protection obligations without proper workplace training.

Below are some examples of how data can be put at risk and result in data breaches

• Employee contracts are left out in an insecure location
• The proceedings of a hearing for disciplinary action are discussed with an employee who does not have the authority to know them.
• Your personal data is emailed to the wrong person, who is not authorised to have it.
• A lost or stolen device contained your personal data.
• A misdirected fax, sent to the wrong number, contained your data.

What Could You Claim For An Accidental Data Breach At Work?

A data breach could result in psychological injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder, stress and anxiety. Non-material damage look to compensate claimants for any injury to their mental health. Material damage compensates for monetary losses caused by the data breach.

In 2015, the case Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc was heard at the Court of Appeal. The claimants received non-material damage for mental harm, despite not claiming any monetary losses.

The table below is based on the Judicial College Guidelines that are used by the legal system to value injuries.

No Win No Fee Claims For An Accidental Data Breach At Work

Have you suffered financial loss or mental harm due to your employer breaching your data? Do you think you might have a valid claim?

In many cases, it can be possible to have data breach claims processed by a lawyer working under a No Win No Fee agreement. You won’t be asked to pay an upfront fee. And you won’t need to pay your lawyer a fee if the claim is not a success. A pre-agreed, legally limited success fee will be due to your lawyer if the claim is a success.

Do you have more questions? Would you like to learn more about whether you can make accidental data breach at work compensation claims? Then use the information below to get in touch.

• Telephone: 0800 073 8804
• Contact form

Related Articles

Here are some useful web pages.

• Personal Data An Employer Can Keep About An Employee
• How To Report A Data Breach

And here are some related guides that we have published that could help with data breach at work claims.

• Medical Conditions Data Breach Claims
• My Criminal Convictions Were Exposed In A Data Breach – Can I Claim Compensation?
• A Company Has Misused My Personal Data – Can I Sue?

Last Updated 16th June 2025. This guide examines the steps you could take if your employer sent your personal information to the wrong address.

We examine the legislation in place to protect your personal data. Additionally, we look at how the legislation defines a personal data breach. We also explore examples of how your personal data could be compromised and ways in which organisations can prevent a personal data breach.

We also explore the steps you can take if a personal data breach compromises your data. Additionally, we examine compensation criteria eligibility and explore data breach compensation and how it is awarded.

To conclude this guide, we explain how No Win No Fee agreements work, and how one of our expert solicitors could help you make your claim.

To get in touch:

• Contact us online
• Use the live chat
• Call 0800 073 8804  

Select A Section

1. What Can I Do If An Employer Sent My Information To The Wrong Address?
2. How Could Your Employer Cause A Data Breach?
3. What Personal Information Could Be Sent To The Wrong Address?
4. Do I Need Evidence To Support My Claim?
5. What Could I Claim Following A Data Breach By My Employer?
6. Claiming For A Data Breach With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

What Can I Do If An Employer Sent My Information To The Wrong Address?

Your personal data is any information that could identify you. Examples of personal data include your home address, phone number and your name.

As a data controller or processor, your employer should adhere to rules and regulations set out in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Together these pieces of legislation sit as data protection laws.

A data controller is usually an organisation, and it determines why and how your personal data is processed. Data processors are usually an organisation or agency which is external to the controller. A data processor may be assigned by a data controller to process personal data on their behalf.

If your employer does not follow data protection laws correctly, this could be considered wrongful conduct. It could also potentially result in an employer data breach incident, such as one involving your data being sent to the wrong address.

If you’re asking “my employer sent my info to the wrong address, can I claim compensation?”, then you may be eligible to claim if you can establish the following:

• A data breach involving your employer occurred due to wrongful conduct by either a data controller or data processor.
• Your personal information was affected by this data breach.
• You have suffered financial or psychological harm due to this breach of your personal data.

For more advice about your eligibility to claim for an employer data breach or the steps in the claiming process, contact our team either online or on the phone today.

Time Limit For Claiming For A Data Breach

In addition to ensuring you meet the eligibility criteria for making a data breach claim against your employer, you need to ensure you have enough time to start your case. There is usually a time limit applied to starting an employer data breach claim and the amount of time you’ll have will depend on the type of organisation your claim is against. Usually, following a data breach, you’ll need to start your claim within one year if it’s against a public body. Alternatively, you will have six years to begin legal proceedings.

You can contact us online or on the phone today if you would like to speak to an advisor about your eligibility to claim employer data breach compensation.

Following a personal data breach, you might want to seek legal advice. A No Win No Fee solicitor could help you gather evidence to strengthen your claim. Contact our advisors today to learn more about how one of our solicitors could help you.

How Could Your Employer Cause A Data Breach?

Letters could potentially be sent to the wrong person for different reasons. For example, human error could result in a personal data breach. Organisations can reduce the risk of a human error data breach if they provide their staff with data protection training.  

As a data controller, your employer must ensure the records they keep are up to date. If you move and inform your employer of your new address and they do not update this information, a letter containing your personal data could be sent to the wrong address.

Staff with data access could also be trained to check the address before posting personal data. Training could extend to email addresses to avoid sharing an email address with unauthorised parties. Or sending personal information to the wrong person. 

Our data breach claims team can discuss your next steps if your employer sent personal information to the wrong address. 

What Personal Information Could Be Sent To The Wrong Address?

You might be wondering what kind of personal information could be sent to the wrong address by your employer. Personal data, which is identifying data, could be included in a letter sent to the wrong address.

Personal data includes:

• Name
• Address
• Email address
• Phone number
• National insurance number
• Sort code and bank account number.

Special category data is a type of personal data. Due to its sensitive nature, special category data requires extra protection under data protection law. This includes:

• Religious or political beliefs
• Race or ethnic origin
• Trade union membership
• Health records. 

Contact our team of advisors to learn more about personal data breaches and how they could affect you.

Do I Need Evidence To Support My Claim?

For your data breach claim to be successful, you must obtain evidence that demonstrates how your employer sent personal information to the wrong address. This will support our solicitors in building your claim and establishing third-party liability.

Some examples of evidence that may support your claim include:

• A list of your information that was compromised by the data breach
• A copy of the confirmation you received regarding the data breach
• A copy of your medical reports stating your psychological injuries
• Documents of your financial losses, such as bank statements
• Copies of workplace information regarding data breach safety
• A copy of the ICO’s investigation and their findings, if they completed one
• Copies of complaints you made to your employer regarding the data breach

Obtaining evidence is one of the most important aspects of the claims process. The more evidence you collect to support your claim, the greater the chance you have of reaching a settlement in your favour.

Finding evidence to illustrate how your employer used the wrong address and shared your confidential information is a relatively straightforward task. However, if you are struggling with this, you may seek the legal support of our excellent solicitors.

If you have any questions on how to support a data breach claim against your employer, please contact our helpful advisors.

What Could I Claim Following A Data Breach By My Employer?

Data breach compensation consists of two heads: material damages, and non-material damages. 

• Material damage: These address the financial harm you suffered as a result of a personal data breach. For example, damage to your credit score or purchases made on your credit card.
• Non-material damage: These address any psychological harm you suffered. For example, a personal data breach may cause stress, anxiety, or depression.

The Vidal-Hall and others v. Google Inc. (2015) Court of Appeal ruling changed how you can claim data breach compensation. Prior to this ruling, you could only claim for non-material damages in conjunction with material damages. Now, claims can be made for non-material damages alone.

To help assign value to your mental injury, legal professionals may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). It contains a list of injuries, including psychological damages, alongside compensation brackets. In the table below, we’ve included examples of figures given for mental health injuries from the JCG. However, they should be used as guidelines only, and the top figure was not taken from the JCG. 

Contact our team today for a free estimation of what your claim could be worth. 

Claiming For A Data Breach With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

Making a claim for compensation after your employer sent your personal information to the wrong address can seem daunting. However, you could receive help from one of our solicitors providing their service under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Under a CFA, generally there are no upfront fees or ongoing costs to pay your legal representation. However, if your claim succeeds, your solicitor will take a success fee. This is a percentage with a legal cap. If your claim does not succeed, you do not pay the success fee.

Contact our expert team to learn more about how one of our solicitors could help you make a personal data breach claim. To get in touch:

• Contact us online
• Use the live chat
• Call 0800 073 8804 

Data Breach Guides

The following links might be helpful:

• Make a Complaint to the ICO
• Making a Data Protection Complaint Guide from the Government
• Stress Guide from the NHS

Additional data breach guides:

• Lost or Stolen Paperwork
• Reporting a Data Breach
• Find Out How To Sue A Company for a Data Breach

If your employer sent your personal information to the wrong address, contact our team today.

This guide explores the steps you could take should a Jobcentre Plus data breach occur. You can learn more about what personal data is and the legislation in place to protect it.

Jobcentre plus data breach

There are certain steps a data controller and data processor need to take to protect your personal data. A data controller decides the purpose for processing your personal information and often processes it themselves. A data processor acts on behalf of the controller.

If they fail to adhere to data protection law that sets out their responsibilities, it could result in your personal data becoming compromised. As a result, you may suffer financial losses or a mental injury.

In some cases, you may be able to seek compensation for the impact the personal data breach has had on your life. We will explore when such claims may be justified.

In addition, we explore steps you could take following a personal data breach. You may have to change passwords, for example, or contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO upholds the rights and freedoms of data subjects and can take enforcement action against organisations that fail to adhere to data protection law.

We understand you may have questions after reading. If so, get in touch by:

• Calling 0800 073 8804
• Starting your claim online
• Using the live chat feature below

Select A Section

1. What Could A Jobcentre Plus Data Breach Be?
2. Has The Jobcentre Had A Data Breach?
3. What Data Does A Jobcentre Plus Hold About Me?
4. Could You Get Compensation For A Jobcentre Plus Data Breach?
5. What Could You Claim If A Jobcentre Plus Data Breach Occurs?
6. Can I Use No Win No Fee Solicitors For A Data Breach At A Jobcentre Plus?

What Could A Jobcentre Plus Data Breach Be?

A personal data breach is a security incident which compromises the availability, confidentiality, or integrity of your personal data. Personal data means any information that might be used to identify you. 

Two key pieces of legislation guide the responsibilities a data controller and processor has to protect your personal data. These are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This legislation holds data controllers and processors responsible should a breach occur due to their failure to comply with data protection laws. Additionally, it gives those affected by a personal data breach, the right to seek data breach compensation. We’ll explore this further in this guide. 

Failure to adhere to data protection law could result in your personal information being compromised. As a result, you could be caused mental suffering or financial damage.

For example, a staff member may send a mass email without blind copying people’s email addresses. As a result, people may gain unauthorised access to your email address allowing them to directly identify you.

Should a Jobcentre Plus data breach occur that involves your personal data, contact our advisors for free legal advice. 

Has The Jobcentre Had A Data Breach?

Following a breach of personal information by a Jobcentre Plus employee in 2014, a claimant was approached by someone who had abused him in the past. As a result of this, the claimant moved across the country to avoid this person and suffered a major disruption to his life. 

As a result of this, the Jobcentre made a payment to the claimant. This amount was then increased by £2,000 following an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman.

Should a Jobcentre Plus data breach occur, our advisors can discuss when you may be eligible to claim.

What Data Does A Jobcentre Plus Hold About Me?

Personal data breaches can occur in many ways, resulting from incidences of human error such as lost or stolen paperwork or devices to cybercrime including malware and ransomware attacks. This could lead to your personal data being compromised.

Personal data is information that could be used to identify you. For example:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Email address
• National insurance number
• Sort code and account number and other banking information. 

Additionally, there is data that is considered more sensitive and in need of extra protection. This is known as special category data and can include:

• Information on a trade union membership
• Race and ethnicity data
• Biometric information
• Health data, such as your medical records. 

Should a Jobcentre Plus data breach occur compromising your personal data, our team can discuss the steps you may wish to take.

Government Data Breach Statistics

The ICO is an independent body set up to help enforce data protection law. As part of their role, they monitor data security trends. The chart below shows reports for non-cyber incidents in the central government sector from Q4 of 2021/22.

Reported non-cyber incidents in central government, Q4 2021/22

Could You Get Compensation For A Jobcentre Plus Data Breach?

Article 82 of the UK GDPR sets out personal data breach claim eligibility criteria. In order to claim, you must prove:

• An organisation did not comply with data protection legislation, resulting in a personal data breach.
• The failings of the organisation caused your personal data to become compromised.
• You experienced harm as a result. This could be financial losses or a mental injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

If a personal data breach has put your rights or freedoms at risk, the organisation responsible must alert you as soon as possible. Furthermore, they must inform the ICO of the breach within 72 hours. 

You may also have to take steps to protect your personal data following a breach. This could include changing passwords or cancelling credit cards. 

To discuss a Jobcentre Plus data breach that involved your personal information, contact our advisors to discuss your next steps.

What Could You Claim If A Jobcentre Plus Data Breach Occurs?

Personal data breach compensation has two potential heads. These are material damages and non-material damages. Material damages address the financial harm you suffered due to a personal data breach, whereas non-material damages cover the psychological harm you have experienced. This can include stress or anxiety following a personal data breach.

A precedent was set in how personal data breach compensation can be sought in the Court of Appeal for the Vidal-Hall and Others v. Google Inc. (2015) case. Previously, you could only claim for psychological harm if you had also suffered financial damage. Now, it is possible to make a claim for psychological harm independently of financial loss. 

Legal professionals may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to potentially value your psychological injuries. This document contains a list of mental injuries alongside compensation brackets.

We’ve included examples of figures from the 16th edition of the JCG, published in April 2022, below. Please only use the figures as a guide because they will differ from what you’re actually awarded.

Alternatively, our advisors can provide a free estimation of what your claim could be worth when you get in touch today.

Can I Use No Win No Fee Solicitors For A Data Breach At A Jobcentre Plus?

A No Win No Fee solicitor specialising in data protection claims could provide their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). 

Generally, you won’t be charged ongoing or upfront fees when using a solicitor representing your claim under a CFA. The awards of successful claims will have a success fee taken from them instead. However, unsuccessful claims won’t have to pay a success fee. 

Should a Jobcentre Plus data breach occur, you can contact our team of advisors for free legal advice. If you would like advice on what steps you could take, you can:

• Call 0800 073 8804
• Start your claim online
• Use the live chat feature below

Central And Local Government Data Breach Claim Resources

The following links could help you:

• ICO – Action Taken
• GOV- Making  a Data Protection Complaint
• NHS- Stress

We have also included links to some of our other data breach guides:

• Employer Personal Data Breach Compensation Claims
• How To Report A Data Breach Incident
• Disciplinary Records Data Breach
• Solicitors Lost My Medical Records – Can I Claim?
• Sickness At Work Data Breach Compensation Claims
• UK GDPR Breach Compensation Claims
• Child Custody Data Breach Claims
• Estate Agent Data Breach Claims

Contact our advisors to learn more about the steps you could take should a Jobcentre Plus data breach occur.

Written by Brown

Edited by Mitchell/ Hampton

Last updated 11th March 2025. Are you wondering if your personal information can be shared without consent in the UK? Throughout this guide, we will discuss the lawful basis for sharing personal information and how having your personal data shared could impact you. Furthermore, we will examine how much you could potentially claim in data breach compensation.

We will also explain the legislation that guides data protection in the UK and will go into detail about what a personal data breach is, how it could affect you, and who could be eligible to make a claim. We will also explore how one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you through the claims process.

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) outlines the responsibilities and obligations for processing the personal data of those in the UK. The UK GDPR, with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), are the two main articles of data protection law in the UK. If an organisation fails to comply with data protection law, causing you harm, you may be able to claim.

If, after finishing this guide, you still have any questions, you can speak with our advisors. They can offer free legal advice and can tell you if your personal data breach claim is valid. To learn more:

• Call on 0800 073 8804
• Interact with our Live Chat feature
• Complete our online form

Select A Section

1. Can My Personal Information Be Shared Without Consent In The UK?
2. What Is a Lawful Basis For Sharing Personal Information?
3. What Personal Information Could Be Shared?
4. How Could My Personal Information Being Shared In A Data Breach Impact Me? 
5. How Much Could I Claim If My Personal Information Was Shared Without Consent In The UK?
6. How Legal Expert Can Support Your Data Breach Claim
7. Contact Legal Expert If Your Personal Information Was Involved In A Data Breach

Can My Personal Information Be Shared Without Consent In The UK?

Personal data is information that identifies you, either alone or with other information. For example, your name, address, and mobile number. If a security incident affects this information’s confidentiality, integrity, or availability, this is a personal data breach. 

However, to form the basis of a valid personal data claim, you must prove that the data breach was due to the data controller’s failings or, in some circumstances, the data processor’s. You must also have suffered financial or mental harm (e.g. anxiety, depression, stress)  because of the breach.

Data controllers and processors are responsible for protecting your personal data. Data controllers decide how and why they process your personal data, whereas data processors act on behalf of a data controller. Any organisation that handles your personal data must comply with data protection law. However, this does not mean that your personal information cannot be shared without your consent in the UK.

Our advisors can tell you if you could be eligible to claim when you contact us today.

What Is A Lawful Basis For Sharing Personal Information?

Under data protection law, organisations must establish a lawful basis to process your personal data. The UK GDPR provides six lawful bases where an organisation could share your personal information, as outlined in Article 6 of the UK GDPR.

Consent is only one of these bases, and it is important to note that all bases are equal. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has more information on the lawful bases for processing.

• Consent: An organisation can share your personal information if you have given them clear consent to do so for an exact purpose.
• Legitimate Interests: The processing is necessary for your legitimate interests or those of a third party. However, this base may not be valid if there is an overriding reason to protect your personal data.
• Legal Obligation: If an organisation must fulfil a legal obligation.
• Public Task: An organisation needs to process your personal information as it’s necessary for them to carry out a task in the public’s interest. Or, it could be for their official functions. Additionally, the function must have a clear lawful basis.
• Vital Interests: An organisation can share your personal data if it is necessary to protect your life.
• Contract: If you have a contract with an organisation that requires them to process your personal data to complete the terms stated in the contract.

If your personal information has been shared without your consent in the UK, our advisors can tell you if you have a valid claim. Get in touch today to learn more.

What Personal Information Could Be Shared?

Personal data covers any information that could identify you, alone or in conjunction with other information. For example, this can include:

• Name
• Address
• Mobile number
• Email address (unless it’s a shared email, such as a work email address.)

However, some personal data is classified as special category data. This is personal information that needs more protection because it is sensitive. Additionally, it is important to note that special category data is a type of personal data. Some examples (as defined by the UK GDPR) are personal data regarding:

• Political opinions
• Religious beliefs
• Race/ethnicity
• Biometric or genetic data

If your personal information has been shared without your consent in the UK and there are no other lawful bases, you may be eligible to claim compensation for any harm suffered. Contact our advisors today to learn more.

How Could My Personal Information Being Shared In A Data Breach Impact Me?

A personal data breach can cause lasting and significant harm. Firstly, you may experience harm to your mental health. This could include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Lack of sleep
• Distress

For example, suppose an organisation shared your home address without a lawful basis to do so. In this case, you may worry about strangers coming to your home address, receiving unwanted spam or junk mail, or the safety of yourself or your family.

Additionally, you may suffer financial harm. For example, a breach could affect your banking details or credit card information. In that case, you could suffer financial losses from someone withdrawing money from your bank account or taking out loans in your name. These financial losses could add up substantially and may also impact your mental health.

Contact our advisors today to learn more about how a personal data breach could impact you.

How Much Could I Claim If My Personal Information Was Shared Without Consent In The UK?

If you have a successful data breach claim after your personal information was shared without consent in the UK, you could be compensated for material damage and non-material damage.

Non-material damage is the psychological harm you have suffered due to your personal data being breached. This covers anxiety, stress, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 

Legal professionals can refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to value your non-material damage.

The JCG contains guideline compensation brackets for all kinds of psychological and physical harm.

Guideline Compensation Table

We have taken some types of psychological harm and their accompanying guideline compensation brackets from the JCG and have included them in the table below.

Please bear in mind that none of these figures can be guaranteed for your potential data breach claim, since all claims are unique. Also, the top figure is not from the JCG. 

Material Damage

Material damage is the financial losses you have incurred due to your personal data being breached, such as:

• Loss of earnings if you have needed time off work to recover from your mental harm.
• Therapy costs to recover from your mental harm.
• Relocation costs if you need to change your address due to your safety following a data breach.

However, to recover your material damage, you must provide evidence of your financial losses. So, please keep any receipts, invoices, bank statements, and payslips you have.

To learn more about how you can potentially be compensated after someone was sharing your private information without consent in the UK, please contact us today.

How Legal Expert Can Support Your Data Breach Claim

Here at Legal Expert, we have years of experience in data breach claims. We have won over £80 million for our clients, including those who have had their personal information shared without consent in the UK. We strive to deliver the best service to help you as much as possible through the claims process.

If you’ve suffered because a party was sharing your private information without consent, here are some of the specific things our dedicated team of No Win No Fee data breach solicitors can do for you:

• Collect all of your evidence. 
• Ensure the compensation is valued correctly and fairly.  
• Communicate with the defendant so you don’t have to. 
• Keep you regularly updated on the claim status. 
• Explain any legal terminology you’re unfamiliar with. 
• Ensure the legal time limits relating to the claim are adhered to. 

Please contact us today if another party was sharing your personal information without consent. If you’re eligible to make a claim, we want to help you get the data breach compensation you deserve. You can have a free consultation with us about your situation. Alternatively, to learn more about No Win No Fee agreements, please continue reading.

Contact Legal Expert If Your Personal Information Was Involved In A Data Breach

Our expert solicitors can guide you through your claim with the help of a No Win No Fee type of agreement, called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA provides many benefits, including:

• If your case does succeed, your solicitor will take a success fee from your compensation. This is a percentage of your award, however, there is a legal cap.
• If your case is not successful you do not pay the success fee to your solicitor

Additionally, you can contact our advisors if you have any questions about what to do if you have had personal information shared without consent in the UK. To contact our team:

• Call on 0800 073 8804
• Interact with our Live Chat feature.
• Complete our online form.

Read More About Data Breach Claims

For more helpful articles, we recommend:

• Nursery data breach claims
• How to report a data breach incident
• Lost or stolen paperwork data breach claim

Or, to learn more:

• ICO: Does an organisation need my consent?
• ICO: Understanding and assessing risk in personal data breaches.
• NHS: Stress.

Contact our advisors for any more questions regarding your personal information being shared without consent in the UK.

By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 4th March 2024. Have your mental health problems been made worse after a data breach? A personal data breach can cause significant harm, financially and mentally. If the organisation responsible for handling your personal data fails to comply with data protection law, resulting in a personal data breach in which you suffer harm, you may be eligible to make a claim.

This article explains how a personal data breach could potentially worsen your mental health problems and what the kinds of damage it could cause. Alongside this, we will discuss the definition of a personal data breach and who is responsible for keeping personal data safe. We will also explore the potential compensation you may be eligible for, plus how our No Win No Fee solicitors could help.

We suggest talking to our advisors if you want to make a personal data breach claim. They can help understand the validity of your claim and connect you with our expert No Win No Fee data breach solicitors, who can help you begin the legal process. Talk to our advisors today by:

• Calling us on 0800 073 8804
• Starting your claim online
• Emailing [email protected] 
• Using the live chat feature

Select A Section

1. My Existing Mental Health Problems Were Made Worse By A Data Breach – Can I Claim Compensation?
2. What Existing Mental Health Problems Could A Data Breach Affect?
3. Types Of Data Which Could Be Affected
4. My Existing Mental Health Problems Were Made Worse By A Data Breach – What Could I Claim?
5. Talk To Us About How A Data Breach Impacted You

My Existing Mental Health Problems Were Made Worse By A Data Breach – Can I Claim Compensation?

Personal data breaches are security incidents that compromise the integrity, availability, or confidentiality of your personal data. The UK General Data Protection Regulations 2016 (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) are two pieces of legislation that outline data protection laws in the UK. 

Generally, the organisations that handle your personal data are:

• Data controllers – The original collector of your data and the one that lays out the purpose of its use.
• Data processors – An external company used by a controller to process your data on their behalf.

The data controller must have a lawful basis when processing your data. If they cannot establish a lawful basis, they may be in breach of data protection legislation.

A personal data breach can cause significant harm to your mental health, possibly exacerbating existing problems. If the breach was a result of failings on the part of the organisation responsible for your data, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

What Existing Mental Health Problems Could A Data Breach Affect?

A personal data breach could affect a number of existing mental health issues, including:

• Stress: Stress can range from normal everyday stress to more serious post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Anxiety: It is possible to develop anxiety or worsen it if it was a pre-existing condition. Anxiety is a feeling of unrest, worry, or fear that can range from minor to severe.
• Depression: This could worsen following a personal data breach and could cause the symptoms to become more severe.
• PTSD: Following a personal data breach, symptoms of PTSD may become more severe. For example, if a breach exposes the address of a domestic abuse victim, this could cause any existing symptoms of PTSD to worsen.

To make a claim for a personal data breach, the breach must result from the organisation’s failings, and you must suffer mental or financial harm. Contact our team if a personal data breach has worsened your mental health issues.

Types Of Data Which Could Be Affected

Personal data is defined by the UK GDPR as information that can identify an individual, such as:

• Name
• Email address
• Home address
• Date of birth
• Telephone number

Special category data is a kind of personal data requiring extra protections under the UK GDPR and DPA. This information can include data regarding your:

• Religion
• Trade Union Membership
• Race and ethnicity
• Sexual life, history, and orientation
• Biometric, genetic and health data

When a personal data breach occurs, this can cause significant harm to your mental health. If your mental health problems have been made worse as a result of a personal data breach, contact our advisors today.

My Existing Mental Health Problems Were Made Worse By A Data Breach – What Could I Claim?

In a successful data breach claim, you could possibly receive two types of compensation:

• Material damages – The financial losses that you sustain through compromised banking information. This can lead to theft, impersonation, as well as fraudulent loan applications. 
• Non-material damages – The possible mental health problems made worse or created by a data breach. For example, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, paranoia, and depression amongst other psychological injuries.

When claiming, potential compensation amounts are laid out in brackets in the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). They separate injuries according to types and intensity levels as shown in the table below:

The process for claiming non-material damages was amended in the wake of Vidal-Hall and Others v Google Inc. (2105). Now, it is possible to claim for non-material damages without also claiming for material damages in tandem.

The table above provides guideline figures, not guarantees. For a free estimate of what your claim could be worth, contact our team today.

Breach Of Data Protection – Other Compensation Amounts

In addition to an award for harm to your mental health, you could be awarded compensation for any material damage you suffered due to your personal data’s inclusion in the breach. Material damage refers to your financial losses caused by the compromise of your personal data.

For example, if your banking details were exposed in the data breach, someone could have used this data to spend your money. If you have evidence of this, such as previous bank statements, you might be able to recover this as part of your breach of data protection compensation. Additionally, they may have taken out loans or credit cards using your personal data. These financial losses could also be recovered.

As part of the award for material damage, you could also recover costs related to your mental health harm. These could include therapy costs and prescription costs or loss of earnings if the stress due to the data breach caused you to miss work.

If you are asking, ‘can I claim compensation if my data is breached?’, why not call our advisors for a free claim evaluation?

Talk To Us About How A Data Breach Impacted You

Data protection can be a complex part of the law. If you want to seek compensation for mental health problems made worse by a data breach, you may find it beneficial to talk to our advisors first. They can help understand the validity of your claim, possibly passing you on to our expert solicitors.

Our solicitors offer a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), a type of No Win No Fee arrangement. When using a CFA solicitor, there are no upfront costs. 

If your claim succeeds, only then will a CFA lawyer take payment. This is through a success fee, which is a small percentage of your compensation with a legal cap. If the case fails no success fee to pay.

To find out how one of our expert personal data breach solicitors could help you, contact our advisors by:

• Calling us on 0800 073 8804
• Starting your claim online
• Emailing [email protected] 
• Using the live chat feature

Mental Health Related Claims Guides

Below we have provided some more in-depth data breach guides:

• Medical Records Data Breach – How To Claim Compensation
• My Personal Information Was Shared On A Company Email – Can I Make A Data Breach Claim?
• Lost And Stolen Devices Data Breach Claims

And we have provided useful links too:

• ICO – 72 hours
• NHS – Mental health
• ICO – Your data matters

If your mental health problems were made worse in a data breach, contact our advisors today.

By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 2nd March 2024. Welcome to this guide about claiming sickness at work personal information data breach compensation. If your personal data relating to sickness at work has been exposed by your employer, then you could be entitled to claim compensation. You would need to show that this breach caused you financial and/or emotional harm and that it was caused by the wrongful conduct of your employer.

As a data controller (i.e. someone who decides how and why your personal data is processed), your employer is responsible for protecting your personal data. Your personal data may be breached if a data controller does not adhere to this. 

In this guide, we will share examples of information related to sickness at work. Furthermore, we will discuss how to make a No Win No Fee claim with the help of our panel of solicitors.

Additionally, for more free advice, you can contact our advisors. They are free to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Contact us now by:

• Calling us on 0800 073 8804
• Use our Live Chat function in the bottom left corner of your page.
• Use our claim online form

Select A Section

1. What Is A Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach?
2. Types Of Information Related To Sickness At Work
3. Causes Of Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach Cases
4. Can I Sue My Employer For Disclosing My Personal Information?
5. Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach Compensation Calculator
6. Make A No Win No Fee Workplace Data Breach Claim

What Is A Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach?

A personal data breach is a security incident that affects a the availability, confidentiality or integrity of personal data. Personal data is information that could identify a natural person, either on its own or when it’s combined with other information. Data breaches can happen as a result of human error or because of malicious action on the part of an individual. 

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) make up the regime for personal data protection in the UK. They lay out the obligations and responsibilities for processing the personal data of UK citizens.

To make a successful claim for personal data breach compensation, you need to prove that because of the breach, you suffered financial loss and/or mental harm – i.e. stress, anxiety, depression etc.

If your employer, for example, has caused a data breach, you could ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to conduct an investigation. To prevent the ICO from refusing to investigate, you must contact within three months of the last meaningful contact with the third-party responsible for the breach.

Contact our advisors for more information on your rights after a personal data breach.

Types Of Information Related To Sickness At Work

If you are suffering from sickness at work that resulted in you needing time off or impacted your performance, your employer might hold some sickness records about you. This can include anything from:

• Information about your medical conditions.
• Private medical information.
• Your medical records. This could include mental health information.
• Absence and absenteeism information. 

Some of this information, for example, medical records, is classified as special category data. The UK GDPR defines special category data as personal data that needs more protection because of its sensitive nature.

For to find out whether you might be able to make a claim for a sickness at work personal information data breach, contact our team today. They can also advise you on what you can do if your data has been breached. 

Causes Of Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach Cases

A sickness at work personal information data breach could happen in a number of different ways. We’ve outlined some of these below: 

• Your employer sends an email containing your personal data to the wrong email address. This person doesn’t have the authorisation to view this information.
• Your employer is working in a communal space with your sickness information on their screen. They go to the toilet and leave their device unattended and unlocked. This information can then be seen by people in the vicinity.
• While on a break, your manager is speaking with one of their colleagues about your absence from work because of sickness. However, they do so within earshot of someone else who isn’t authorised to know this information.

Contact our advisors about whether you may be able to claim compensation.

Can I Sue My Employer For Disclosing My Personal Information?

In order to make a successful claim for sickness at work personal information data breach, certain criteria need to be met. This is: 

1. Your personal data was breached due to the failings of the data controller or a data processor (someone who processes data on a data controller’s behalf). If they did all they could to safeguard your data and a breach occurred despite this, then you would not be able to claim. 
2. Due to this, you have suffered from financial loss and/or emotional distress.

It’s also important to consider that you need to be within the appropriate time limit to start your data breach claim. This is generally 6 years from the date of the breach, but it can be one year from the breach when the claim is made against a public body.

If you are considering making a claim, our panel of solicitors may be able to help you. Contact our advisors for more information; they may be able to confirm whether you’re still within the time limit for claiming.

Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach Compensation Calculator

In data protection law, you can claim for financial losses and/or mental suffering caused by the data breach. These are otherwise known as material and non-material damages.

Examples of material damages can include:

• Funds taken from your account if your sort code and account number were involved in a breach
• Money is spent on your credit card if your details were exposed.
• Loans are taken out in your name – this can also affect your credit score. This could happen if your identity was stolen as a result of a breach.

Examples of non-material damages could include anxiety at the thought that someone without authorisation has access to your medical records. You may find yourself being treated differently by colleagues if they 

Sometimes material and non-material damages can interlace. For example, you could become extremely anxious at the idea of your breached home address being accessed by your abusive ex-partner. You are so worried that you pay to have extra security measures, such as alarms, installed in your home. 

Previously, you would have to prove that you suffered from financial loss to claim for psychological damage. However, this changed after the Vidal-Hall v Google (2015) case, where the Court of Appeal ruled that you can now claim for mental suffering without having experienced financial loss. This means you can now claim for either material or non-material damages independently or both together.

Using the figures outlined in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) below, we have included a table of guideline compensation brackets relating to non-material damages. These figures should be used as a guideline only, as the amount you receive may differ depending on your case.

Contact our advisors today to see what could be included in your sickness at work personal information data breach claim.

Make A No Win No Fee Workplace Data Breach Claim

If you are eligible to make a personal data breach claim, you may like to instruct a solicitor to work on your case. One of our data breach solicitors could help with your claim, and may offer their services to you under a type of No Win No Fee arrangement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

When your solicitor provides their services under this type of agreement, they generally don’t charge any upfront or ongoing fees for their work on your claim. Furthermore, you won’t be asked to pay for their services if you’re not awarded compensation following an unsuccessful claim.

However, if your claim for a workplace data breach has a positive outcome, they will deduct a success fee from your award. The amount that can be taken as this fee is a percentage that is limited by the law.

Free advice about starting a claim, if your personal data was compromised due to a data breach at work, is available from our team of advisors 24/7. They can also assess your case, and if you have valid grounds for a claim, you could be passed on to one of our data breach solicitors.

To speak to an advisor:

• Fill in our ‘claim online’ form for a callback.
• Call 0800 073 8804
• Use our live chat feature.

References

Here are some additional resources that may help you.

Our guides:

• Employer personal data breach compensation claims guide
• Lost or stolen paperwork data breach claim
• How to report a data breach incident
• A General Guide To Data Breach Compensation
• Brentwood Borough Council
• East Suffolk Council
• Solicitors Lost My Medical Records – Can I Claim?
• The Police Sent My Personal Data To Someone Else, Can I Claim?
• Foster Care Data Breach Claims

Additional resources:

ICO: Does an organisation need my consent to process my data?

ICO: Taking your case to court and claiming compensation.

National Cyber Security Centre: Data breaches: guidance for individuals and families.

Thank you for reading our guide on claiming sickness at work personal information data breach compensation.

Written by Robinson

Edited by Stocks

By Cat Way. Last Updated March 2024. Throughout this helpful guide, we will explore compensation for a data breach, including who is eligible to claim, and how much you could receive. Generally, personal data breach claims are made up of two potential heads of compensation, which we will go into more detail about later on in the article.

Not only could a personal data breach cause financial harm, but it can also have a significant impact on your mental wellbeing. If you have experienced financial or psychological harm following a personal data breach that was caused by an organisation’s failings, you may be eligible to claim compensation.

Our advisors can provide free and helpful legal advice, and they can tell you if you could have a valid claim. If you do, they can tell you how one of our personal data breach solicitors could guide you through the claims process.

To contact us:

• Call 0800 073 8804
• Start your claim online
• Use the live chat 

 Select A Section

1. What Is Personal Data?
2. When Could You Claim Compensation For A Data Breach?
3. Time Limits To Claim Compensation For A Data Breach
4. What Types Of Compensation Could You Claim For A Data Breach?
5. How Much Compensation Will I Get For A Data Breach in the UK?
6. No Win No Fee Data Breach Compensation Claims

What Is Personal Data?

Two key pieces of legislation help protect data security in the UK. These are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). This legislation gives you certain rights surrounding how your data is collected and processed. Additionally, it holds the data processor and data controller accountable should a breach occur. A data controller decides how and why your personal data is used, while a data processor acts on this on behalf of the controller.  

A data security issue that means the loss, destruction, theft, alteration, disclosure or access of personal information either accidently or unlawfully demonstrates a personal data breach.

Personal data is any information that could, either alone or with other information, be used to identify you. This can include your name, postal address or credit card and debit card details

Special category data is a type of personal data that requires extra protection under the UK GDPR, and can include:

• Medical records and health information
• Genetic and biometric information
• Ethnic or racial background
• Political beliefs
• Trade union membership

Contact our advisors to learn more about personal and special category data, and how it could affect your potential data breach compensation.

When Could You Claim Compensation For A Data Breach?

The UK GDPR grants you the right to compensation for a personal data breach. Eligibility criteria applies, which is also set out in the legislation and includes:

• The breach must have been a result of the data controller or processor’s failings
• You suffered either financially or mentally as a result of the breach
• The breach included your personal data

For example, a personal data breach may occur as a result of:

• Human error: Verbal disclosure could occur, for example, if staff members are discussing a client, customer or patient in a publicly accessible area. Staff could be trained to not discuss personal data. 
• Lost or stolen paperwork: This could result in unauthorised access to personal data. This could be avoided if staff are trained to keep paperwork secure. 
• Failure to use a BCC: Staff responsible for sending outside emails should be trained in the correct use of the blind carbon copy (BCC) and carbon copy (CC) features, as BCC allows emails to be sent to multiple recipients without revealing email addresses.

Our advisors can give you more information on when you could claim for a personal data breach and if you could be eligible to receive compensation when you get in touch today.

Time Limits To Claim Compensation For A Data Breach

If you decide to seek compensation for a data breach, you must do so within the time limit. You have six years to start your claim if claiming against a private company, but this becomes one year if claiming against a public body.

If you report the breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), this could help support your claim. The ICO was set up to help enforce data security law, and can issue fines upon organisations found to be in breach of data protection legislation.

To learn about how time limits may affect your potential compensation claim, contact our team today.

What Types Of Compensation Could You Claim For A Data Breach?

Two heads could make up data breach compensation. Material damages address any financial losses caused by the breach. For example, illegal withdrawals from your bank account, or identity theft resulting in damage to your credit score. Whereas non-material damages compensate for any emotional distress, such as anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Court of Appeal ruling in Vidal-Hall and others v. Google Inc. (2015) means that you can claim for non-material damages without claiming for material damages at the same time. Prior to this case, you were only able to claim compensation for emotional distress in a personal data breach if you also claimed for financial losses. 

If you are claiming under the material damages head, you must be able to prove your losses. For example, you could use bank statements to prove financial damages.

Talk to our advisors to discuss any questions you may have about claiming compensation.

How Much Compensation Will I Get For A Data Breach In The UK?

As previously stated, two heads could make up your compensation for a data breach. In this section, we will explore how much you could potentially receive in non-material damages should your claim succeed.

When legal professionals in England and Wales assign value to personal data breach claims, they now refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). 

Some examples of what you could potentially receive in terms of non-material damages can be found in the table below.

These are only guideline figures, and the actual amount you may receive can differ. To get a free estimation of what you could receive in compensation for a data breach, contact our team of advisors today.

No Win No Fee Data Breach Compensation Claims

If you are interested in starting a claim for data breach compensation, one of our No Win No Fee solicitors may be able to help. A solicitor can help you gather evidence to strengthen your personal data breach claim and can provide more insight into how much compensation you could get for a data breach. They can also ensure that your claim is filed in full and within the relevant time limit.

Our solicitors offer their services under a kind of No Win No Fee arrangement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means that you won’t be asked to pay any upfront or ongoing fees to your solicitor in order for them to work on your case. Likewise, you won’t pay for their services if your claim fails.

Should your claim succeed, your solicitor will be paid a success fee which is taken directly from your compensation. This is taken as a small percentage with a legal cap. Under a CFA, this cap is 25%.

Our advisors are on hand to help. Through a free consultation, they can tell you whether you could be entitled to make a claim and could potentially connect you with one of our solicitors. To get started:

• Call 0800 073 8804
• Start your claim online
• Use the live chat

Related Articles

The following links might be helpful:

• NHS Stress Guide
• ICO Claiming Compensation Guide
• GOV.UK – Make A Data Protection Complaint

Further data breach guides:

• Find out if you could be eligible to claim Dentist Data Breach Compensation after your personal data was compromised by a dental surgery.
• Our guide offers more insight into whether you could claim for a Social Services Data Breach and how compensation is calculated.
• Get help with Reporting a Data Breach and find out if you could be entitled to claim.

Thank you for reading our guide on data breach compensation.

Has your personal data been sent to an ex-partner? If you experience psychological or financial harm as a result of an organisation failing to comply with data protection law, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

Personal data sent to ex partner claims guide

In this guide, we will explain what a personal data breach is, and how your personal data could be sent to your ex-partner by mistake. We will also look at the impact that a personal data breach can have on an individual. Additionally, we will advise you on what you can do if your personal data has been compromised.

To find out if you could have a valid personal data breach claim, get in touch with our team of friendly advisors today. If they find your claim to be valid, they may put you in contact with one of our expert solicitors.

Get in touch today by:

• Contacting us online
• Calling us on 0800 073 8804
• Messaging an advisor through the Live Chat feature

Select A Section

1. What Is A Personal Data Breach?
2. How Could An Ex Partner Be Sent Your Personal Data? 
3. Personal Data Sent To An Ex Partner – What Could Be The Impact? 
4. Ex Partner Data Breach Case Study
5. Data Breach Compensation Amounts
6. Make A No Win No Fee Claim After Personal Data Was Sent To An Ex Partner 

What Is A Personal Data Breach?

 A personal data breach is when the confidentiality, availability, or integrity of your personal data is compromised in a security incident. Personal data is anything that could identify you, either alone or in tandem with other information. For example, your full name, phone number, or postal address.

There are two main pieces of legislation that protect the personal data of UK citizens. These are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). If an organisation fails to comply with this legislation, and your personal data is sent to your ex partner as a result, you may be able to make a claim.

To make a personal data breach claim, you must be able to prove that:

• The breach caused you harm, either psychologically or financially
• The breach was a result of the organisation’s failings

Contact our advisors today to find out if you have a valid claim, or for free and helpful legal advice.

How Could An Ex Partner Be Sent Your Personal Data?

There are a number of ways that your ex partner may be sent your personal data accidentally i.e. as a result of human error. For example, a letter could be sent to the wrong address, or your personal data may not have been redacted when it should have been.

Below, you can find some examples of certain types of data that could be sent to your ex partner through human error.

Medical Records Data Breaches

Health and medical data fall under a type of personal data called special category data. This requires extra protections under data protection law. If an ex partner receives personal medical data, this could cause significant stress and anxiety. Medical letters, hospital appointments and results could be sent to the wrong postal address or email address if administration staff fail to update your records when you provide them with your new contact details. Information such as contact details and home address can be included on the medical records documentation.   

Financial Data Breaches

Financial data breaches can also cause significant stress and anxiety, as well as monetary damages. For example, a bank or other financial institution could send information to the wrong postal address even after you informed them of your new address. In this case, your ex partner could have access to your bank statement, which can include many kinds of personal data.

To learn more about how your personal data could be sent to your ex partner, and how you could be able to claim, contact our advisors today.

Personal Data Sent To An Ex Partner – What Could Be The Impact?

The impact of a personal data breach can be significant, both in terms of financial well-being and mental well-being. For example, a victim of domestic abuse may experience intense PTSD, anxiety, and stress if personal data such as their new address or contact details are sent to their ex partner.

You may also experience financial damage. For example, if your ex partner receives financial information such as your bank statement, or a new debit or credit card with PIN information. This could lead to unlawful withdrawals or access to your account, as well as fraud.

To find out if you could claim for psychological or financial harm after your personal data was sent to a partner or ex-partner, contact our team today.

Ex Partner Data Breach Case Study

A mum of three left her ex partner and relocated to a new address due to domestic violence. Following the move, her children were enrolled into a new school.

According to a report, the new school then disclosed the enrolment of the children to the ex-partner. Following this, the ex-partner proceeded to enter the school premises and was able to obtain the new address of the woman. This then allowed him to harass them at their home address, causing the victim to experience anxiety and paranoia.

Following a court case, against Hampshire County Council she was awarded £10,000 in damages.

(Source: https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/mum-of-three-wins-legal-data-breach-fight-against-hampshire-county-council-after-school-in-havant-gives-ex-partner-her-address-3364413)

Data Breach Compensation Amounts 

There are two heads of claim you may wish to pursue in your personal data breach claim: these are material damages, and non-material damages.

Material damages address the financial impacts of the personal data breach. For example, if your banking information was sent to your ex partner, this could allow them to make unlawful withdrawals from your account. Or, they may take out a loan under your name, causing damage to your credit score.

Non-material damages cover the psychological effects of the breach, including stress, anxiety, and PTSD. The table below shows some guideline compensation figures for non-material damages, taken from the 2022 edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

It’s important to note that the figures provided are not guaranteed amounts, and the amount you could receive can vary. To learn more, contact our advisors today. They can provide a free estimate of what your claim could be worth.

Make A No Win No Fee Claim After Personal Data Was Sent To An Ex Partner

Our solicitors provide a No Win No Fee service under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under a CFA, you do not pay any ongoing fees, nor do you pay for your solicitor’s services upfront. You only pay for the solicitor’s fees if your claim is successful, in which your solicitor will take a capped amount of your compensation. 

To find out how one of our experienced solicitors could help guide you through your claim, get in touch with our advisors today by:

• Contacting us online
• Calling us on 0800 073 8804
• Messaging an advisor through the Live Chat feature

Resources

For more helpful guides, we recommend:

• Nursery data breach compensation claims
• Dentist data breach compensation claims guide
• Hotel data breach compensation claims
• Sickness At Work Data Breach Compensation Claims
• UK GDPR Breach Compensation Claims
• Child Custody Data Breach Claims
• Estate Agent Data Breach Claims
• Civil Nuclear Constabulary Data Breach Claims

Or, for more helpful information:

• ICO – Report a breach
• ICO – How to minimise the risk of a personal data breach happening
• ICO – Make a complaint

For more information on what to do if your personal data was sent to your ex partner, contact us today.

This guide explores the steps involved in claiming discrimination data breach compensation. If you’ve been harmed by a data breach caused by the wrongful conduct of the organisation that was processing your personal data, then you may be able to claim. 

Discrimination data breach compensation guide

Below, we explore the two key pieces of legislation that help protect personal data in the UK. Data subjects are granted rights over their personal data; we look at what these are and what form a breach of these rights could take. 

If you decide to claim data breach compensation, you might like to learn about what your settlement could consist of. We explore the different kinds of harm that you could be compensated for below.

To conclude this guide, we explore No Win No Fee arrangements. Hiring a legal representative could ease the claims process and prove beneficial to your claim. Using a No Win No Fee solicitor, you can have legal representation without upfront solicitors fees. 

If you’d like any more information, our advisors can discuss your case of discrimination due to a data breach and if you could claim compensation. If your claim seems eligible, you could be put in touch with one of our solicitors. 

To contact us:

• Call on 0800 073 8804
• Start your claim online
• Use the live chat 

Select A Section

1. Does The UK GDPR Protect People From Discrimination?
2. When Could The UK GDPR Protect People From Discrimination?
3. What Information Does The UK GDPR Apply To?
4. When Could You Claim Discrimination Data Breach Compensation?
5. Discrimination Data Breach Compensation Calculator
6. Start A Discrimination Data Breach Compensation Claim

Does The UK GDPR Protect People From Discrimination?

In the UK, to help protect data security, we have two key pieces of legislation. These are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). The DPA was updated when the UK left the EU.  

Data protection legislation:

• Gives data subjects rights over personal data processing. 
• Holds data controllers liable if personal data is breached when they fail to comply with the legislation. 
• Sets out data breach claims eligibility criteria. 

A data breach occurs when the security, integrity or availability of personal data is compromised. However, you can only claim for a breach that causes you harm. If a breach did not impact you in a negative way, you would not be able to claim. 

Under the UK GDPR, protection is granted to personal data. Personal data is any information that is stored, digitally or physically, that can be used to identify you. Even if the data does not identify you alone, it can be classed as personal data if it can identify you when combined with other information. 

Additional protections are given to special category data. This is because it is more sensitive and if exposed, could do more damage.

Contact our data breach team to discuss any evidence you may have, or to start your discrimination data breach compensation claim. 

When Could The UK GDPR Protect People From Discrimination?

If a data breach occurred and your rights and freedoms could be impacted, the data controller needs to alert you without undue delay. The information exposed in personal data breaches could result in discrimination. 

There are certain characteristics that are defined in the Equality Act 2010 as protected characteristics, such as age, gender or religious beliefs. It’s illegal for you to be discriminated against on the basis of these.

Examples of personal data breaches that could lead to you being treated differently include: 

• Trade union membership. Trade union status is special category data. 
• Disciplinary records may contain information such as witness statements and details. This could result in the witness experiencing discrimination or bullying. 
• If you have any medical conditions and your health information is exposed, this could be used to make a decision about you in a way that causes harm. A disability, for example, may result in unfair treatment when applying for housing or a job. 

Additionally, criminal convictions could result in you being treated differently. For example, at work, an email that contains the results of a DBS check highlighting some previous convictions could be sent out to your colleagues in error. As a result, they may act coldly towards you causing you distress, upset and anxiety. 

Organisations collecting and processing personal data need to take steps to ensure it is protected. Training staff in data protection compliance could reduce the risk of a breach. 

Article 5 of the UK GDPR sets out the principles organisations should follow when processing data. Furthermore, data should not be processed without a lawful basis for doing so. 

Free legal advice is available from our data breach claims team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

What Information Does The UK GDPR Apply To?

Under the UK GDPR, your personal data and special category data are protected. Special category data is granted additional protections due to its sensitive nature. 

Personal data can include:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Address
• Email address
• Phone number
• Sort code and bank account number

Special category data includes personal data relating to:

• Race or ethnic background
• Religious or political beliefs
• Trade union membership
• Genetic and biometric information
• Medical records
• Sexual orientation
• Sex life information

Contact our advisors to learn more about claiming discrimination data breach compensation. They are happy to offer free legal advice. 

When Could You Claim Discrimination Data Breach Compensation?

As previously mentioned, your claim must meet certain eligibility criteria to claim data breach compensation. Additionally, you will need to submit evidence in support of your case. 

The discrimination data breach compensation claim criteria are as follows:

• The party processing the data failed to comply with data protection laws. 
• It involved your personal or special category data. 
• The breach caused you financial and/or mental harm. 

After a data breach, the data controller should notify you without undue delay if it threatens your rights and freedoms. They should include details about what data was breached.

If they notify you via email, for example, this email could support your discrimination data breach compensation claim. Knowing what details were included could also allow you to take steps to protect yourself, such as changing passwords. 

You can discuss your next steps with our data breach claims team. 

Discrimination Data Breach Compensation Calculator

Two heads could make up a data breach compensation claim; material damage and non-material damage. We’ll explore each in more detail below. 

A precedent was set in how damages are awarded in data breach claims with the Court of Appeal ruling in Vidal-Hall v. Google Inc. 2015. Prior to this ruling, you could only claim for psychological damages if you experienced a financial loss. Now, however, you can claim for each head of claim individually as well as both together. 

Material Damage In Data Breach Claims

Under the material damages head of your claim, you can be compensated for the financial impact of a breach. Evidence must be supplied, however.

For example, the information exposed in a data breach could result in you being rejected from a job offer. Alternatively, if personal data of yours was exposed, then someone could use this to steal your identity

This could be your bank statements, for example, if your account was hacked due to a data breach. 

Non-material Damage In Data Breach Claims

As already stated, you can claim for harm to your mental health alone. When assigning value to personal injury claims, legal professionals use a document titled the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Legal professionals will use the JCG to help assign value to your psychological injury in a data breach claim. 

In the JCG, a set of compensation brackets are listed alongside corresponding injuries. This includes post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and general psychological injuries. The table below includes examples of mental health figures from the latest edition, published in April 2022. 

You can discuss data breach compensation with our advisors. Speak with a member of our team today for free legal advice. 

Start A Discrimination Data Breach Compensation Claim

If you decide to claim discrimination data breach compensation, you might want to hire a No Win No Fee solicitor. A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is a popular form of No Win No Fee agreement. 

What this means for your claim is that you can have legal representation without paying an upfront solicitors fee. They also won’t charge you as the claim progresses for the work that they do. 

Your solicitor will take a success fee from your award, should your claim be successful. Legal caps apply. You will not have to pay a success fee if your claim is unsuccessful, however.

You can further discuss claiming compensation with our advisors. If you have evidence of a data breach, why not get in touch with our claims team? Eligible claims could be passed onto our No Win No Fee solicitors. 

To contact us:

• Call on 0800 073 8804
• Start your claim online
• Use the live chat 

Discrimination And Workplace Data Breaches

• Claiming Data Breach Compensation Guide from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
• Making a Data Protection Complaint Guide from the Government
• Stress Guide from the NHS

Further guides from Legal Expert:

• Employer Data Breach
• Unauthorised Access to Medical Records
• Human Error Data Breach Claims
• Sickness At Work Data Breach Compensation Claims
• UK GDPR Breach Compensation Claims
• Child Custody Data Breach Claims
• Estate Agent Data Breach Claims
• Civil Nuclear Constabulary Data Breach Claims

If you have any more questions about claiming discrimination data breach compensation, speak with an advisor today.

Written by Brown

Edited by Stocks

You may wonder how your personal data could be affected if a Co-operative Bank data breach were to occur. As we move through this guide, we will explain the different types of personal data covered by data protection laws and the effects you could suffer should this information be breached.

Co-operative Bank Data Breach – Can I Claim Compensation?

The two pieces of legislation governing personal data protection are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). These pieces of legislation outline rules that data controllers and processors must adhere to when handling personal data. Data controllers have overall control of the means and purposes of processing personal data, and processors act on their instructions.

Continue reading to learn more about personal data breach compensation claims. You can also get in touch with our team at Legal Expert for free legal advice tailored to your claim. Our advisors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can contact us at a time that best suits you.

Please get in touch with us today to begin your claim. To do this, you can:

• Call us on 0800 073 8804
• Fill out our form to claim online
• Speak to an advisor through the live support feature on this page

Select A Section

• Co-operative Bank Data Breach – Can I Claim Compensation?
• Types Of Personal Data Protected By The UK GDPR
• What Could Cause A Bank Data Breach?
• What Effects Could I Suffer If A Co-operative Bank Data Breach Were To Occur?
• Calculating Compenation For A Personal Data Breach
• Talk To Our Team Should A Co-operative Bank Data Breach Take Place

Co-operative Bank Data Breach – Can I Claim Compensation?

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is an independent body operating in the UK to uphold information rights. They provide a useful definition of a personal data breach:

• A breach of security that leads to accidental or unlawful alteration, destruction, loss, unauthorised access to or disclosure of personal data.

You could be affected by a personal data breach as an employee at a bank or as a customer. It is important to note that not all data breach incidents will result in a compensation claim. To pursue data breach compensation, the following criteria must be true for your case:

• Firstly, failings on the part of the data controller or processor to comply with data protection laws caused a breach to occur.
• Secondly, this data breach involves your personal data.
• Finally, as a result, you have suffered psychiatric injuries or financial harm.

Find out how often data security incidents happen in the following section.

How Frequent Are Data Security Incidents?

Data controllers must report a personal data breach to the ICO within 72 hours of discovery if it puts the rights and freedoms of data subjects at risk.

The ICO collate data security incident trends and publish these statistics on thier website. In the finance, insurance and credit sector, there were:

• 3,082 data security incidents reported between Qtr 2 of 2019 and Qtr 2 of 2022.
• Of these, 2,252 were non-cyber incidents
• and 830 were cyber incidents.

Should a Co-operative Bank data breach occur and involve your personal data, causing you to suffer mentally or financially, please contact a member of our team for advice.

Types Of Personal Data Protected By The UK GDPR

The ICO explains that personal data is information that can be used to identify you. Under the UK GDPR, the following personal data is protected:

• Name
• Home Address
• Date of birth
• Email address
• Phone number
• Debit card
• Credit card
• Passwords

In addition, the UK GDPR defines certain sensitive personal data as special category data. This is information that requires extra protection. Examples of special category data include personal information relating to your:

• Racial or ethnic origin
• Political opinions
• Trade Union membership
• Genetic data
• Philosophical or religious beliefs

Please speak to one of our advisors to receive expert legal advice on whether you could have valid grounds to make a personal data breach claim.

What Could Cause A Bank Data Breach?

There are various causes that could lead to a breach of personal data that a bank is handling. For example, it could be caused by human error or deliberate action.

Below are some examples of incidents that could cause a bank data breach:

• An employee sends an email containing personal data to the wrong email address.
• An employee sends a letter containing personal information to the incorrect address.
• A cyber attack on a bank’s online database enables criminals to steal personal information. This could happen if the bank has an inadequate cybersecurity system.
• A device containing personal data is lost or stolen from a bank as it was not stored in a secure location.

What Effects Could I Suffer Should A Co-operative Bank Data Breach Occur?

There are two main areas that could be impacted after a personal data breach;

• Psychiatric injuries – You could suffer from emotional distress, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and stress due to a data breach.
• Financial losses – You could suffer from financial losses as a direct result of the personal data breach. A criminal could use your information to commit identity theft or steal money from your bank account. Additionally, you could suffer monetary losses as a psychiatric injury could cause you to be unable to work, causing a loss of income.

In the following section, we will explain how compensation for these harmful effects are calculated for a personal data breach claim.

Calculating Compensation For A Personal Data Breach

When pursuing compensation for a personal data breach, you may wonder how much you can claim. A data breach settlement can include a payout for up to two potential types of damage:

• Material damage – the financial losses you suffered due to the personal data breach. You must provide evidence to prove the material damage you have experienced; this can include bank records and payslips.
• Non-material damage – the psychiatric injuries you suffered as a result of the personal data breach.

We have provided the table below as a guide to potential compensation brackets for non-material damage. To create this table, we have used the 16th edition Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), updated for 2022. Legal professionals can also use the JCG to help them value data breach settlement amounts.

The figures in this table are a guide; they are not an exact representation of what you will receive.

Talk To Our Team Should A Co-operative Bank Data Breach Take Place

Contact Legal Expert if you have experienced financial or mental harm following a personal data breach caused by an orgsnaitions failings. If our team of advisors find that you may have valid grounds to make a claim, they could connect you with one of our experienced data breach solicitors. They may offer to work on your claim under a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

This type of agreement generally provides the following benefits:

• No upfront or ongoing fees for the services of a solicitor.
• No payments for a solicitor’s services should your claim be unsuccessful.
• If a claim is successful, the No Win No Fee solicitor working on the case can take a small percentage of the compensation. The law limits this amount, which can also be referred to as a success fee. Therefore, a solicitor under a CFA will not overcharge you.

To speak to a member of our team if a Co-operative Bank data breach occurs and affects your personal information, please:

• Call our claims helpline on 0800 073 8804
• Fill out our form to claim online
• Speak to an advisor through the live support feature on this page

Data Breach Compensation Claim Resources n

Take a look at more of the guides on our website:

• My Banking Details Were Breached – Can I Claim Compensation?
• Tax Information Data Breach Compensation Claims

Also, explore the external sources below for more information:

• GOV.UK – Data protection
• ICO – Make a complaint
• ICO – Online safety

Thank you for reading this guide to the steps you could take should a Co-operative Bank data breach occur and compromise your personal data.