By Daniel Archer. Last Updated March 2024. This guide will explain how to make a personal data breach claim for a sexuality data breach. If an organisation breached personal data concerning your sexual orientation or sex life, you might feel that they violated your privacy. Moreover, the data breach may have caused problems in your personal life or made you vulnerable to discrimination.

Do you get compensation for a data breach?

If an organisation has breached your personal data, you may be eligible to claim compensation. You’d need to be able to show that you suffered financial loss or psychiatric injury because of the breach.

You’d also need to show that the organisation that was collecting, holding or processing your personal data caused the data breach through wrongful conduct. For example, they may have provided substandard cybersecurity, leading to a cyber attack in which your personal information was accessed.

If you have a favourable claim, Legal Expert can provide you with an experienced data breach solicitor. Our solicitors work hard to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. So, to see if you can begin your claim, contact us using the details below:

• Call us on 0800 073 8804
• Or use our online claims form to reach out to us

Select A Section

1. What Is A Sexuality Data Breach?
2. What Is Special Category Data?
3. When Can Organisations Process Special Category Data?
4. Can A Data Breach Be Verbal?
5. Calculating Settlements For Sexuality Data Breaches
6. Discuss How To Claim For A Data Breach

What Is A Sexuality Data Breach?

A sexuality data breach is a data breach that exposes sensitive information about a person’s sexual orientation or data concerning their sex life.

Personal data is information that identifies a person, such as your name or email address. Organisations sometimes collect personal data for operational or commercial purposes.

A data breach is a security incident that causes the unlawful or accidental alteration, loss, disclosure, destruction of or access to personal data. For example, an employer data breach can happen if the employer shares an employee’s personal data without a lawful reason.

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, organisations should safeguard the personal data they collect. The organisation should invest in staff training and security measures to protect the data.

Please contact us today if you’re able to claim compensation for a data breach that exposed information about your sexuality.

What Is Special Category Data?

The UK GDPR considers data concerning one’s sexual orientation or sex life as special category data. Therefore, the data is sensitive and requires additional protection.

Examples of special category data include:

• Data concerning sex life
• Data concerning sexual orientation
• Genetic data and biometric data (for ID purposes)
• Data concerning one’s health

Is gender considered sensitive personal data under the UK GDPR?

Gender and gender identity aren’t considered sensitive data under the UK GDPR. However, if an organisation exposed personal information regarding your sex, gender or gender identity, you may still be eligible to claim compensation.

When Can Organisations Process Special Category Data?

The UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 recognise that special category data is sensitive. Therefore there are rules for processing special category data. For example, an organisation can only process special category data if there are any of the following exceptions:

1. The person has given explicit consent
2. Employment, social protection and  social security (if authorised by law)
3. Vital interests (to protect someone’s life)
4. Bodies that are not-for-profit
5. Made public by the data subject
6. Judicial acts or legal claims
7. Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)
8. Social care or health (with a basis in law)
9. Public health (with a basis in law)
10. Research, archiving and statistics (with a basis in law)

Can A Data Breach Be Verbal?

Generally, information being verbally shared without your consent is only considered to be a data breach if the information in question can be categorised as processed data. This means if your sexuality has been officially added to record somewhere, it is afforded the same protection as any other sensitive information.

However, it typically would not be considered a security breach if your sexuality was overheard by someone listening to a personal conversation you were having, and this person then spread this information.

If you have questions about breaches of the UK GDPR and whether your sexuality being shared is considered a breach, get in touch with our advisors today.

The ICO Fines Transgender Charity

In 2021 the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fined Mermaids (a transgender charity) for failing to keep the personal information of its users secure. The ICO is an independent body that enforces data protection laws.

The charity sent the ICO a data breach report. It found that an internal email group had insufficient security, causing around 780 pages of emails that were confidential to be viewable online for almost 3 years. 550 people’s personal data, including email addresses and names, was searchable online during this time. Some people’s sexual orientation was also exposed.

Calculating Settlements For Sexuality Data Breaches

If you claim compensation for a sexuality data breach, you can receive up to two heads of claim. Firstly you can receive material damages, compensating for any financial losses incurred by the data breach.

Secondly, you can receive non-material damages. Non-material damages compensate you for any psychological injuries you experienced. If data concerning your sexual orientation is publicly exposed, you may experience stress due to a data breach. Moreover, the trauma of having your privacy violated or experiencing subsequent discrimination may have caused psychiatric injuries. Injuries you could claim for include depression or anxiety.

Data Protection Breach Compensation – Calculating Compensation For A Data Protection Breach Of Sexuality

If your personal data has been compromised due to a breach of the UK GDPR, a claim could potentially be made. If your mental health has been impacted negatively due to a breach of privacy where your sexual orientation was wrongfully exposed, you may be able to claim for non-material damage as part of your data protection breach compensation.

The severity and impact of your psychological injury will determine the data protection breach compensation you might receive. Solicitors can also use compensation amounts from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to assist them in valuing claims.

The compensation brackets in the table below are taken from the JCG and relate to non-material damages. The payout you might receive may not match the compensation amounts in the table below as material damage may also be addressed. Please reach out to our advisors for a personalised evaluation of your claim.

Discuss How To Claim For A Data Breach

You may be able to use the services of a solicitor under a No Win No Fee agreement. A No Win No Fee claim means that you won’t pay a solicitor’s fee before the claim or while the claim is ongoing. Instead, you are charged a success fee if the claim wins.

What Are The Benefits Of No Win No Fee Claims?

• The success fee is deducted from your data breach compensation payment only after it comes through. What’s more, it’s capped by law.
• You only pay the success fee if you win your claim. Therefore you are taking on less risk with your finances when funding the services of a solicitor this way.

Please reach out to us today to see if you can begin your No Win No Fee claim for a sexuality data breach. An advisor will be happy to discuss whether or not you can claim compensation.

Get in touch:

• Call our claims helpline on 0800 073 8804
• Use our online claims form to start
• Or ask us a question directly, using the chat widget

No Win No Fee Data Breach Resources

Please read the guides below if you wish to learn more about claiming compensation for a data breach.

Do Data Breach Protection Solicitors Offer No Win No Fee?

Social Services Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

Can I Get Compensation For The Loss of Medical Records?

Employer Personal Data Breach Compensation Claims

An ICO guide to claiming compensation for a data breach

A government guide to your data protection rights

The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021

Thank you for reading our guide to sexuality data breaches.

Written by Chelache

Edited by Victorine

By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 24th June 2024. Has your ethnicity been exposed in a personal data breach? If so, this guide may have important information on whether you could be eligible to make an ethnicity data breach claim.

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 are both pieces of data protection legislation. The UK GDPR states that information about your race or ethnicity is special category data. Special category data means that the information is of a sensitive nature. So, what happens if an organisation breached sensitive data? Moreover, can you make a data breach claim if you suffer emotional harm because of the exposure?

Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, victims of a personal data breach can claim compensation if they have experienced emotional distress or psychiatric injuries. However, this is only if you can prove that a party was liable for the breach.

Legal Expert can provide you with an experienced data breach lawyer who can manage your data breach claim. Our solicitors have solid experience handling claims for a data breach. And what’s more, you will have the option to make a No Win No Fee claim.

To begin your compensation claim, please get in touch with us using the details below:

• Call our compensation claims helpline on 0800 073 8804
• Or begin your claim online today

Select A Section

• What Is An Ethnicity Data Breach?
• Who Could Hold Your Ethnicity Data?
• How To Report An Ethnicity Data Breach
• How Could An Organisation Breach Your Ethnicity Data?
• Find Out How To Make A No Win No Fee Claim

What Is An Ethnicity Data Breach?

A personal data breach is a security incident whereby personal or special category data is lost, destroyed, stolen, accessed, disclosed without authorisation, through deliberate action or by human error. Therefore, an ethnicity data breach is a breach that compromises the security of information about the data subject’s race or ethnic group. Human error can cause a data breach. Or a bad actor may deliberately carry out a data breach.

Examples of how a data breach can take place:

• The organisation loses the data, deletes or alters it in a security incident
• A malicious actor steals the data
• An employee shares personal data with people who have no authority to see it
• The organisation loses devices with stored personal data that are not password protected.

Under certain circumstances, you can claim compensation for a personal data breach. Firstly, the data controller, generally organisations that say why and how data is processed, failed to adequately protect such information. Secondly, you must have experienced emotional distress, psychological injuries or financial losses because of the data breach. For example, you may have developed PTSD or suffered from depression or lost money.

Please get in touch with Legal Expert to discuss your situation, and see if you have ground to claim.

What Is Special Category Data Under The UK GDPR?

Special categories of personal data, as outlined in the UK GDPR, is any information that relates to you or may identify you but is considered to be of a more sensitive nature. Therefore, additional safeguards apply in order to protect this information from a UK GDPR breach.

Your race and ethnicity is classed as special category data. As such, organisations have a responsibility to ensure that this data is protected when being collected. Failure to do so may result in you suffering harm or loss.

Other examples of sensitive information may include:

• Data on your sex or gender;
• Sexuality data;
• Philosophy or religious beliefs;
• Political beliefs;
• Biometric data;
• Genetic data;
• Health data.

Get in touch to find out if you could get data breach compensation after your ethnicity or sensitive personal information was breached and you suffered stress or financial harm.

Who Could Hold Your Ethnicity Data?

Lots of forms you may fill in could ask about your ethnicity. It is vital that when a data controller handles this type of data for processing they add extra precautions to protect it.

Parties that may collect your ethnicity data include:

• Your employer
• A local council
• Social services
• The police force
• A trade union
• A public body or government organisation

You may have grounds to make an employer data breach claim if your employer is liable for a breach that exposes personal information about you. This can be data that can directly identify you or information that could be used in conjunction with other data to identify you. Likewise, if a data controller failed to adhere to data protection laws and this results in a breach that causes you harm you may be able to claim compensation from them.

How To Report An Ethnicity Data Breach

If an organisation has breached your personal data and this affects your rights and freedoms, they will normally notify the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours. They must inform you without undue delay.

However, if you believe you have discovered a data breach, you should raise your concerns with the organisation. So, please contact the data protection officer or relevant department to make your complaint as soon as possible. Normally, an organisation will be able to resolve the matter internally.

If the organisation does not resolve the matter, you can report the data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is the public body responsible for upholding the data security laws in the UK. The Information Commissioner’s Office may investigate the sensitive data breach and issue the organisation with a fine. However, they do not award compensation.

Call our data breach advisors to have you case looked over for free. You can contact Legal Expert to enquire about making a data breach claim today.

How Could An Organisation Breach Your Ethnicity Data?

Organisations are responsible for safeguarding personal data. Moreover, employers and other organisations should take special care to protect special categories of personal data. Unfortunately, there are many ways that an organisation could cause an ethnic data breach.

Personal data can be handled by many different kinds of workers, such as care workers, medical staff, HR managers and staff at a bank. Organisations should comprehensively train their staff on how to correctly handle personal data properly. If there is a lack of training on data security then there is room for a data breach to occur.

Human error is one of the main causes of personal data breaches. For example, an HR data breach could happen if an employee’s employment file is left on a desk for anyone to access. This file could include lots of personal data including information about the employee’s ethnicity.

Data breaches can also happen because of malicious actors. For example, hackers may use malware to gain unlawful access to a company’s employee database. Subsequently, the hackers may use the stolen sensitive data to blackmail the company or employees. Therefore potentially causing emotional distress of financial losses.

How Is A Compensation Payout Calculated?

In successful personal data breach compensation claims, you can be awarded up to two heads of loss:

• Material damage – compensation for any financial losses incurred
• Non-material damage – is compensation for any emotional distress or psychological injuries suffered

The severity of the damage suffered dictates how much compensation you could receive. For example, if you develop severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of the breach, you could receive a high payout if you’re no longer able to work or function normally.

Find Out How To Make A No Win No Fee Claim

All our data breach solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis. When you call about your ethnicity data breach case our advisors will assess the merits of the claim in a free consultation. When they can see that the case may succeed in a successful outcome they will offer to appoint one of our solicitors.

A No Win No Fee service will require you to sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). There is no upfront fee for the solicitor to start work on your case. Instead, you will pay a success fee if you win your claim. However, you won’t pay a success fee if you do not win your claim.

To begin your No Win No Fee data breach claim, please get in touch with Legal Expert using the details below:

• Ask us a question right now, using our Live Support widget
• Call our compensation claims helpline on 0800 073 8804
• Or you can use our online claims form to begin

Where To Read More

We appreciate that you have taken the time to read our guide on ethnicity data breaches. In addition to our article, here is some more information about data privacy breaches.

Human Error Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

Pharmacy Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

Do Data Breach Protection Solicitors Offer No Win No Fee Claims?

A government guide on what PAYE information employers can keep on employees

An ICO guide to claiming compensation for a data breach and taking your case to court

Information about your data protection rights under the UK GDPR

Learn how to make a school data breach claim with our helpful guide and find out more about the data breach claims process.

Thank you for reading our guide on whether you can claim compensation for an ethnicity data breach.

Guide By Chelache

Edited By Melissa.

Last Updated On 8th July 2025. This guide will address how an accountant data breach could occur and when you may be able to claim. Your accountant may need to collect various types of personal data in order to fulfil their role. The exposure of such data could have an impact on your finances and have an impact on you psychologically.

We will provide information on what to do following a data breach. This guide will also outline the data breach claim process and the different heads of claim you could receive if your claim is a success. 

If you have any questions about how to claim data breach compensation, please don’t hesitate to contact us. If one of our advisors thinks you have a valid claim, you could be connected with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors. 

You can get in touch for free advice by:

• Calling 0800 073 8804
• Using our online contact form
• Speaking to an advisor using the live chat feature on this page

Select A Section

• What Is An Accountant Data Breach?
• What Financial Data Could An Accountant Hold?
• How Accountancy Data Breaches Could Happen
• What Are The Risks Of Accountancy Data Breaches?
• Accountant Data Breach Compensation Calculator
• Find Out More About Accountant Data Breach Claims

What Is An Accountant Data Breach?

A data breach is a security incident in which confidential and sensitive data is compromised by an unauthorised person. The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) follows the framework outlined in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and sets out how organisations should control and process your data. 

Article 4 of the UK GDPR defines personal data as information that may be used to identify a natural person. This can either be information that is used to identify you on its own or when combined with other information. 

Speak to an advisor to find out whether you could be eligible to claim for damage sustained after an accountant data breach. They could connect you to our experienced data breach solicitors. 

What Financial Data Could An Accountant Hold?

As mentioned above, accountants may handle special categories of data, including financial data. Special category data requires more protection due to its sensitive nature.

In terms of what personal information and financial data an accountant may hold, take a look at the list below:

• Scans of ID documentation 
• Contact details, such as phone number and email
• National Insurance Number
• Tax records
• Salary information 
• P60s and other tax forms 

If you have further questions on what information could be involved in an accountant data breach, our team of advisors are here to help. They can offer you free legal advice about your eligibility to claim. 

How Accountancy Data Breaches Could Happen

An accountant data breach can result from a variety of situations, as all organisations have to follow strict procedures to ensure that they are handling personal data in accordance with the law. 

The main types of data breach are:

• Cyber- this involves breaches that happen in the digital sphere due to the malicious actions of a third party
• Non-cyber- a breach that does not involve a technological element, nor does it include a malicious actor
• Human error- these data breaches can be digital or non-digital and result from accidents 

Examples of valid accountant data breach claims include:

• An accountancy firm fails to implement the recommended updates to their online security systems. As a result, a cyber criminal gains access to their digital data base and steals your personal data. This causes you to suffer from anxiety as you worry that your accounts will be hacked
• A receptionist at an accountancy firm misplaces a physical copy of your details. This is permanently lost, exacerbating your pre-existing condition of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder( PTSD)
• Your accountant sends an email containing your full name and address to the wrong email address, despite you providing them with your correct email address. You have to take time off work in order to deal with the anxiety that this causes you.

This is not an exhaustive list of accountant data breach claims, so get in touch with an advisor to discuss further examples or assess your specific case.

What Are The Risks Of Accountancy Data Breaches?

An accountant data breach presents a risk of the disclosure of sensitive information such as financial data. If financial data is stolen, hackers may coerce money from you or could even make fraudulent transactions. Furthermore, cybercriminals may use personal information obtained from a data breach to pose as an organisation. This is known as a phishing attack, and you could be tricked into giving them even more personal data. 

Another risk of a data breach could be identity theft. When your financial data is stolen, it may be sold on the dark web. If this information is combined with other personal data that is lost or stolen, criminals could build an online profile of you. This could lead to future issues, including a long-term impact on your credit score. In turn, this could cause you significant stress. 

Additionally, you must be able to prove that the data breach happened because of the failure of the organisation in order to make a claim. If an accountancy firm did its best to protect your personal data, but a breach occurred despite this, you would not be eligible to claim. Call our team for more information. 

Accountant Data Breach Compensation Calculator

You may claim for material damage following an accountant data breach. Material damages account for financial costs you have endured because of the incident. However, it is important that you provide evidence for material damages. An example of this could be if, in the event of a data breach, you had to take time off work. To prove your loss of earnings during this time it would be useful to retain wage slips.

Additionally, it is possible to claim for psychological injuries caused by a data breach without having incurred any financial losses. In the Court of Appeal case, Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc (2015), it was ruled that claimants are allowed to seek non-material damages for any injury that was the result of a data breach.

A separate case, Gulati & Others v MGN Limited (2015), held that the settlement for psychiatric harm can be valued in line with figures used in personal injury claims. For this reason, we’ve included figures from the Judicial College Guidelines in the table below to give you an idea of the bracket compensation amounts outlined for psychiatric issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Please be aware that the figure in the first row was not taken from these guidelines. 

Please note that you should only use the bracket figures as a guide because the actual payout you receive will depend on several factors unique to your case.

For free legal advice on the data breach claims process, you may wish to speak with an advisor; if you have a valid case, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor. Look at our reviews to see how we’ve helped other satisfied claimants.

Find Out More About Accountant Data Breach Claims

An accountant data breach could leave you out of pocket, particularly if you have had financial data stolen. Consequently, you may not be able to pay upfront fees or ongoing costs to a solicitor to work on your claim. However, you may recognise the benefits of working with a solicitor and wish to do so. 

If this is the case for you, a No Win No Fee agreement could be an alternative solution to funding legal representation. 

No Win No Fee solicitors do not require a fee upfront, nor do they require any payments if your claim is unsuccessful.  Solicitors will take a legally-capped fee from your compensation if your claim is successful.

Our team may connect you to our solicitors if they think you have a strong enough claim. You can get in touch by:

• Call 0800 073 8804
• Filling out our online contact us form
• Use the live chat feature on your screen

Data Breaches Involving Financial Data

Below are some more resources where you can find out more about data breaches involving financial data.

Cyber Security Breaches Survey – Find all previous government surveys on cyber security breaches.

Data Security Incident Trends – Security incident trends as recorded by the ICO. 

If you have found this guide useful, you may also be interested in reading some more of our articles.

How To Report A Data Breach – What steps you can take to report a data security incident.

My Personal Data Has Been Lost – Find out how much compensation you could be entitled to if a company has lost your personal data.

Data Breach Compensation Claims – A guide to data breaches and making a claim.

We hope you have found this guide useful. If you have further questions on what to do in an accountant data breach, please contact us for free legal advice using the above details.

A religion data breach or political data breach may have exposed your beliefs to unauthorised people. For many of us, our religious or political beliefs are deeply personal. So you may feel that the data breach violated your privacy. Moreover, you may have experienced discrimination after a political or religious beliefs data breach.

Organisations that hold or process personal data should protect it. If your personal data was involved in a breach due to the wrongful conduct of such an organisation, and you suffered psychologically or financially, you could claim.

A guide on claiming after a religion or political data breach

Please do reach out to Legal Expert today to enquire about making a religious or political beliefs data breach claim. We can provide you with an experienced data breach lawyer. Your lawyer will try to value your claim accurately and negotiate with the defendant to ensure you receive the right compensation.

To see if you can begin your claim, call our helpline today on 0800 073 8804. Alternatively, you can use our claim online form.

Select A Section

1. What Is A Religion Data Breach?
2. How To Report Political Or Religious Belief Data Breaches
3. How Employers Could Breach Your Data Privacy
4. What Religious Or Political Beliefs Data Could Employers Hold?
5. Check How Much You Could Claim If Another Party Breached Your Religious Privacy
6. Check If You Could Claim For A Religion Data Breach

What Is A Religion Data Breach?

An organisation may collect personal information about employees or other individuals in some circumstances. A personal data breach is a security incident that means personal data is lost, accessed, changed, destroyed or disclosed unlawfully or accidentally.

A data breach can include the following:

• An organisation sharing personal data without permission or without a lawful basis
• Unauthorised persons accessing your personal data
• A party stealing personal data

Under data privacy laws such as the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), organisations are responsible for safeguarding the personal data they collect. You could claim compensation if the organisation enabled the data breach because of their wrongful conduct. For example, they may have provided substandard cyber security, which meant your personal data was easy for cyber attackers to access your personal data. And as a result of the data breach, if you experienced financial loss or psychological injuries, you could claim.

Special category data is sensitive personal data. For example, it can include religious data and information about people’s philosophical beliefs. Sensitive data can also be information about a person’s sex, age, racial origin or ethnic origin and sexuality. If a religious or political data breach occurs, the victims may be eligible to claim compensation for any harm incurred.

How To Report Political Or Religious Belief Data Breaches

If an organisation discovers that it has breached your personal data, and this risks your rights and freedoms, they should notify you. Moreover, the organisation must report the data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours. The ICO is an independent body that enforces data protection legislation.

But what should you do if you believe you have discovered a religion data breach that affects you? First of all, please raise your concerns with the organisation that breached the data. The organisation may be able to resolve the matter. You can escalate your complaint if you are not satisfied with the response you receive.

What should you do if the organisation that breached your data does not resolve your complaint? You can report the political or religious beliefs data breach to the ICO if they’ve not been made aware of the data breach.

How Employers Could Breach Your Data Privacy

Organisations that may collect information about people’s religious or political beliefs include:

• Survey and market research companies
• University research departments
• Government agencies
• Religious or political organisations
• Employers and trade unions

Let’s look at how an organisation may be responsible for a religion data breach.

Mismanagement Of Data Privacy

The organisation may not have trained their staff to handle sensitive personal data correctly. So, a religious or political beliefs data breach could happen as a result. For example, a receptionist may leave a printed file on a public-facing desk containing special category data. Therefore, members of the public would be able to access the file.

Human Error

Unfortunately, a colleague could unintentionally breach your personal data privacy. For example, an email data breach can happen at work if an HR professional emails private information about your religious beliefs to an unauthorised person. To prevent employer data breaches, organisations should take proper measures, such as investing in training.

Hacking

Unfortunately, hackers may target an organisation. Hackers use various methods to gain unlawful access to a computer system. So, criminals may steal sensitive personal data and hold it to ransom. Or the criminals may blackmail the victims of the data breach.

What Religious Or Political Beliefs Data Could Employers Hold?

An employer has to keep sensitive data about you secure. This includes:

• Your religious beliefs, or lack thereof
• Your political beliefs
• Membership in a political party or organisation
• Information about any religious requirements you may have

Check How Much You Could Claim If Another Party Breached Your Religious Privacy

You might be eligible to claim compensation if you were affected by a politics or religion data breach. Successful claimants can receive compensation for:

• Material damages. You could be compensated for your financial losses incurred due to a data breach. For example, if a fraudster used your personal data to target you for identity theft, you could seek compensation for the financial losses you were unable to recover.
• Non-material damages. You could be compensated for the emotional distress the data breach caused. In some cases, victims of a data breach experience mental health problems, such as anxiety or depression. You can also claim compensation for these psychiatric injuries.

You can use our table below to estimate how much non-material damages compensation you could claim. We have used guidelines provided by the Judicial College to create the compensation amounts in the table. These are for illustrative purposes.

Data breach solicitors may use these guidelines to help them value your compensation claim. However, the solicitor will consider other factors when they value your claim. So the final settlement you receive may be different to what you see in the table.

For our advisors to value your claim for free, why not get in touch?

Check If You Could Claim For A Religion Data Breach

You might be eligible to claim compensation if a data breach exposed your religious or political beliefs. So, if there is adequate evidence to support your claim, our panel of solicitors can handle your case as a No Win No Fee claim.

If you make a No Win No Fee claim, your solicitor does not charge you an upfront fee. Instead, you pay a success fee if you win. The solicitor deducts the success fee from the compensation payout at a legally capped rate. So, this option may be more affordable in terms of funding the services of a solicitor.

If the claim doesn’t win, you don’t have to pay the success fee at all.

To see if you can begin your No Win No Fee claim, please get in touch with Legal Expert today:

• Call our helpline on 0800 073 8804
• Or complete our claim online form today
• On the other hand, you can chat with an advisor right now using our Live Support widget

Our Data Breach Claims Guides

Please read these guides to discover more about what to do after a data breach.

Housing Association Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

Comparison Site Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

I Suffered Stress Because Of A Data Breach. Am I Eligible To Claim Compensation?

The Data Protection Act 2018, which enacted the EU GDPR into UK law

Your data protection rights in the UK

An ICO guide to how political groups are allowed to target you

If you have any questions about claiming after a politics or religion data breach, why not get in touch?

Written by Chelache

Edited by Victorine

By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 24th June 2024. This guide will provide information on seeking compensation following a criminal conviction data breach. To be eligible to make a valid data breach claim the onus will be on you to prove how there was a failure to keep this type of information safe and why it led to psychological and/ or financial damage.

If this has happened to you, you may be considering making a claim for the harm you experienced. We will explore the process of doing so, including the evidence you may need to gather to support your claim.

This guide will also provide examples of personal data breaches to help you understand whether you’re eligible to claim.

We’ve also included information on what your data breach compensation payout may comprise. 

If you have any questions, please get in touch with our team. An advisor can provide further clarification on anything of which you’re unsure after reading. Get in touch by:

• Using our online claim form
• Calling a specialist for free claims advice on 0800 073 8804
• Asking an online advisor for support via the live chat function below.

Select A Section

• What Is A Criminal Conviction Data Breach?
• Who Could Hold Or Access Criminal Conviction Data?
• How To Report A Breach Of Your Criminal Record
• How To Claim For A Criminal Conviction Data Breach
• How Is Data Breach Compensation Calculated?
• Start A Claim For Your Criminal Convictions Data Breach

What Is A Criminal Conviction Data Breach?

The Information Commissioner’s Office is the UK’s independent authority that gives advice and guidance to organisations that decide why and how personal data is collected (data controllers) on handling personal data. They are the governing body for data protection laws and information privacy and can fine data controllers when they fail to adhere to applicable laws. 

The ICO defines a personal data breach as a security incident that means your personal data is lost, altered, disclosed, destroyed, or accessed without authorisation in an accidental or unlawful way. These actions can be deliberate, especially when it comes to cybercriminals accessing personal data.  

For instance, if someone receives a criminal conviction, they will have this put on their criminal record. An organisation, such as a school, could request a standard Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to check which shows spent and unspent convictions.

However, the school should ensure this information is kept safe and isn’t subject to a breach. Given its sensitive nature, if this information is breached, the impact could be detrimental to someone’s psychological wellbeing as well as their financial position.

Who Could Hold Or Access Criminal Conviction Data?

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) provides extra protection for personal data that relates to criminal convictions and offences, as well as related security measures.

The ICO refers to this data as criminal offence data. It covers any personal data which is linked to an individual’s criminal convictions. 

There are various organisations that could hold this type of personal data, including:

• The police: Criminal convictions are kept by police in two main systems; firstly, the Police National Computer (PNC) and, secondly, the Police National Database (PND).
• Employers: Employers can check your criminal convictions using a DBS check. 

Additionally, in order to check your DBS certificate, an employer would need to verify your identity and obtain your written or verbal consent. 

If you’d like to find out whether an organisation holds specific personal data about you, you can make a request. We have explored the process of doing so in the section below.

How To Access Your Criminal Records Data

Under Section 45 of the Data Protection Act 2018, it is within your right to ask for the information held about you from a data controller. This process is referred to as a Subject Access Request (SAR).

If you want to access information that the police hold about you the ICO recommends making your request to your local police. However, for information held on the PNC, you would need to make your request to ACRO Criminal Records Office.

When making your request, you should ensure that the details of the information you need are clearly outlined. Furthermore, the request should be made directly to the organisation that holds the information.

However, it’s important to note, that there are some exemptions that allow data controllers to withhold information in certain circumstances.

How To Report A Breach Of Your Criminal Record

To report a personal data breach, the ICO recommends taking the following steps:

• Contact the organisation: You should contact the organisation responsible for a data breach of your criminal convictions. If you receive no response or are not satisfied with the response, you could make a report to the ICO directly.
• Report the incident to the ICO: When you make a complaint to the ICO, they may decide to conduct an independent investigation of the breach. If they do, their findings could be used as evidence if you have a valid claim. 

For more information on the steps you could take following a criminal convictions data breach, get in touch on the number above.

How To Claim For A Criminal Conviction Data Breach

A criminal conviction data breach could have impacted you in several ways. In light of this, you may consider making a claim for compensation. However, in order to hold a valid personal data breach claim, you must be able to prove liability. You will need to illustrate who you think is liable for the breach. If a data controller did all they could to protect your personal information a claim is less likely.

We’ve included some tips on making a claim in the list below:

• Gather evidence: This could include any communication you have had with the organisation about the incident. Also, you could provide evidence of financial damage such as bank statements. Or medical records for proving your ill health. 
• Seek legal advice: An experienced data breach solicitor could help you obtain the evidence needed to support your claim. Additionally, they could provide guidance on the steps involved in seeking compensation.

Additionally, you should also be aware of the time limit for putting forward a claim following a data breach. Generally, this is six years or one year if claiming against a public body. 

For any additional information on the time limit or the evidence, you could gather, contact our team of advisors now.

How Is Data Breach Compensation Calculated?

If you have grounds to make a criminal records data breach claim, you may have questions about how much compensation you could claim if your claim is successful.

Compensation for a data protection breach may cover two types of damage – material and non-material. Material damage is any financial loss you have incurred because of the breach.

Due to a case heard at the Court of Appeal in 2015, Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc, you can claim compensation for psychiatric harm (non-material damage) without also having experienced any financial damage. For instance, if you have suffered stress due to a data breach or post-traumatic stress disorder, then you may be eligible to claim for such psychological injuries.

To provide some indication of what could be offered for non-material damages, you can view the compensation brackets in the table below which are based on the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

The JCG is used by legal professionals to help value injuries for claims. However, these brackets should only be viewed as a rough guide to potential payouts. The actual settlement you may receive will depend on the factors that are unique to your specific case.

For more information on what your claim may comprise, discuss your case with a member of our team today. They can provide a free valuation of your claim and give an estimate of what your claim might be worth.

Start A Claim For Your Criminal Convictions Data Breach

A No Win No Fee agreement offers a way to receive legal representation following a criminal convictions data breach without paying a solicitor upfront for their services.

Solicitors who offer these services also don’t require ongoing costs while your claim proceeds and, you only pay a legally capped success fee from your compensation if you are successful in your claim. You won’t need to pay the fee to your solicitor if your claim is unsuccessful.

Our No Win No Fee solicitors can represent your claim if it’s found your case is strong enough to pursue. Get in touch with our advisors and they can assess whether one of our solicitors could take your case. You can reach them by:

• Calling 0800 073 8804 to speak with a specialist.
• Asking our online advisors for advice via live chat.
• Filling out our online claim form with your query.

Data Breach Claim Resources

Here are some additional resources you may find useful following a personal data breach.

• Criminal record checks when you apply for a role – Find out more about who can check your criminal record in this government guide.
• Subject Access Request – Learn more about making a SAR 
• Action the ICO has taken – Find out more about the action the ICO has taken against organisations.

Please see below for some more of our other guides that you may find helpful.

• Lost and Stolen Devices Data Breach Claims — A guide on making lost and stolen device data breach claims.
• Employer Personal Data Breach Compensation Claims – Learn more about how an employer could have breached your personal data in our guide.

If you have any more questions about a criminal convictions data breach, get in touch now. Our advisors can provide further clarification on anything of which you’re still unsure after reading.

In this guide, we will explore the different types of medical drug errors that could have been caused by medical negligence. If you have experienced harm as a result of a medical drug error that was caused by medical negligence, you may be eligible to claim. Our guide will explore the process of claiming and the evidence you may need to provide in support of your claim.

Medical drug errors claims guide

Furthermore, we understand the process of claiming may seem complex. For this reason, you may find it beneficial to hire an experienced solicitor to help you seek compensation.

However, if you’re apprehensive about the cost of hiring legal representation, this guide will provide information on solicitors who offer No Win No Fee services. This means you will pay no upfront fee for their services.

Although we have aimed to cover the information you need, you may still have questions after reading. If so, please don’t hesitate to contact our team on the details below:

• Telephone: 0800 073 8804  
• Online form: Send us your query by filling out our online contact form
• Live chat: Speak with an advisor using the live chat feature below

Select A Section

1. What Are Harmful Drug Errors?
2. How Do Harmful Drug Errors Occur?
3. Why Do Dangerous Drug Errors Occur?
4. Could I Be Eligible To Claim Compensation?
5. How Are Damages For Drug Errors Calculated?
6. Make A No Win No Fee Claim

What Are Harmful Drug Errors?

There are various types of medical drug errors that could occur if a medical professional fails to uphold the duty of care they owe their patients. They could also cause various types of harm, including:

• Drug allergic reaction
• Internal organ failure or damage
• Loss of consciousness
• Symptoms of a harmful drug reaction, which are often caused by taking two types of medication that are not suitable to be taken together.

The severity of the harm you sustained may vary depending on several factors such as the medication and dosage you ingested.

If you have experienced a similar type of harm as a result of negligence, please get in touch with our team to find out if you could make a claim for the harm you sustained.

How Do Harmful Drug Errors Occur?

All medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care. However, if they fail to uphold the duty of care it could result in incidents of negligence that cause medical drug errors. Below we look at the different ways medication errors could potentially occur: 

• Adverse drug reaction: Sometimes taking two different types of medication together could cause harmful reactions in the body. However, a doctor may have prescribed you two types of medication that shouldn’t be taken together at the same time. As a result, you may have experienced additional harm and had your pre-existing condition made worse.
• Wrong prescription: A pharmacist may have taken the wrong medication off the shelf when processing your prescription. As a result, you may have ended up taking a medication that wasn’t suitable for you due to another known condition you had.
• Wrong medication: A doctor may have incorrectly diagnosed you despite you exhibiting symptoms of a certain condition. As a result, they may have prescribed you the wrong medication causing you avoidable harm.
• Wrong dosage: A doctor may have prescribed your child an adult dosage of a certain medication causing them to experience symptoms of an overdose.

There are many other drug errors that could result in you receiving the wrong medication or prescription. If you’d like to discuss your specific case in more detail, please get in touch on the number above.

How Often Do Medication Errors Happen?

The British Medical Journal published a report on the prevalence and clinical and economic burden of medication errors in England. The report found that there were an estimated 237 million errors with medication each year. Additionally, the errors cost the NHS an estimated £98,462,582. Furthermore, they:

• Caused 712 deaths
• Contributed to 1,708 deaths

The report also found that medical drug errors that did occur happened throughout various stages of the medication process, including:

• Administration
• Prescribing
• Dispensing

Why Do Dangerous Drug Errors Occur? 

Every medically trained professional has a responsibility to provide their patients with a minimum standard of care to prevent them from sustaining avoidable harm.

However, there are some instances where a medical professional may provide care that falls below the expected standard. As a result, a patient may experience additional harm or harm that could have been prevented.

This could involve incidents where medical drug errors have been made when prescribing, dispensing or calculating the dosage of medication.

However, it’s important to note that there are drug errors that aren’t the result of medical negligence. Furthermore, if there was an error with the medication you received but you did not suffer harm, you wouldn’t be able to claim compensation.

Could I Be Eligible To Claim Compensation?

Experiencing a medication drug error relating to medical negligence would not be enough to make you eligible to claim compensation. You would have to have suffered additional or preventable harm as a result of a medical professional providing care that didn’t meet the expected standard. 

If your claim holds validity, you could take further steps to build a strong case. For instance, you could gather medical evidence to provide details on the harm you sustained. This could include:

• Doctor records
• Hospital records
• Prescriptions

As part of the medical negligence claims process, you will also attend an independent medical assessment to produce a full and current report on the extent of the harm you sustained.

Whilst medical evidence is important in showing the level of harm you experienced, the Bolam test may also be considered. This is a process that involves a group of medical professionals trained in a relevant field assessing your case. They will look at whether you received an adequate standard of care.

Also, you may find it beneficial to hire an experienced medical negligence solicitor to help you through the stages of your claim. For instance, they could help you gather relevant evidence and arrange for you to attend a medical appointment in your local area.

For more information on how a solicitor could help you claim, call our team on the number above.

How Are Damages For Drug Errors Calculated?

For successful claims, your compensation payout will include an award for the psychical or psychological harm you sustained. This is awarded under general damages and will take into account several factors, such as:

• Severity
• Future impact
• Impact on your quality of life

Medical evidence may be used to provide a more detailed picture of the harm you sustained. Additionally, a publication known as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) may also be considered when valuing your injuries. The publication provides bracket compensation amounts for different injuries at varying levels of severity.

We have used figures from the JCG in the table below. However, you should only use them as a guide because the actual settlement you receive will depend on factors unique to your case.

Alternatively, you could use our compensation calculator to get an estimate of how much your claim is worth. However, you should still only use the figure as a guide because settlements do change on a case by case basis. 

Could I Claim Back Any Additional Costs?

Special damages is another head of claim that you may be entitled to. These seek to provide compensation for monetary losses you have experienced as a direct result of the harm you experienced. For example:

• Loss of earnings
• Prescriptions 
• Travelling costs
• Cost of care assisting you with day to day duties

It is important to keep proof of these expenses for future reference as you can use them to prove any financial losses you experienced.

For more advice on what you could claim back under special damages, speak with our advisors by calling on the number above.

Make A No Win No Fee Claim

All our solicitors offer a  No Win No Fee service. When you call up our expert advisors will assess your medical negligence claim for free. They could even evaluate any evidence you have managed to gather yourself. But do not worry too much about the evidence because our solicitors can do all that for you at no up front cost to you.

When you work with us for your for medical drug errors claim you will not be asked to pay an upfront free for your solicitor to start working on the case. 

 Also, there will be no costs to pay during the course of your claim.

If you have a successful claim, you would pay a success fee out of the compensation you are rewarded. This fee is subject to a legal cap. However, if you were to make a claim and your claim happened to lose, there would be no success fee to pay your solicitor.

A solicitor has the experience and knowledge needed to ensure that you claim for all the damages you have suffered. Once a claim is settled you cannot go back and ask for more so it is vital you get it right the first time around.

For more information and advice on starting your claim, please contact our advisors on the details below:

• Telephone: 0800 073 8804  
• Online form: Send us your query by filling out our online contact form
• Live chat: Speak with an advisor using the live chat feature below

Latest Articles And Resources

We have provided some additional medical negligence guides below.

• Time Limits For Medical Negligence Claims
• How Hard Is It To Prove Medical Negligence
• Private Hospital Medical Negligence

We have also provided some external resources that could provide further information.

• For more information on what to expect from your doctor, visit the General Medical Council website.
• Visit the Care Quality Commission to learn more about the fundamental standards of care you may be owed when accessing health and social care services in England.
• See the NHS Resolution report on medication errors.

We hope this guide on medication drug errors has helped. However, if you have any questions about making a medical negligence claim for the harm you sustained, call our team. They can provide further information.

By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 3rd March 2025. Have you had your account number leaked and the disclosure of your sort code in a data breach? Are you looking to make a claim? This article has been made to inform you about the different types of financial data breaches along with how you could begin the claims process.

A data breach is an incident in which personal data is destroyed,  or disclosed without a lawful reason. As a result of a data breach, you could be greatly affected psychologically or financially. 

If you were affected this way and the data breach was caused by an organisation’s wrongful conduct when processing or storing the personal data, you could claim.

It is important to act quickly when making a data breach claim. This is due to the fact that there is a limited window of time after a data breach has occurred in which you can make a claim.

Get in touch with us today to see if you can start your data breach compensation claim by:

• Contacting us through our website
• Using the pop-up live chat in the corner
• Calling us on 0800 073 8804

Select A Section

1. What Are The Criteria To Make A Bank Account And Sort Code Data Breach Claim?
2. What Would The Impact Of A Sort Code And Account Number Data Breach Be?
3. How Could A Sort Code Data Breach Occur?
4. How To Claim For A Financial And Banking Information Data Breach
5. Examples Of Data Breach Compensation Payouts
6. Make A No Win No Fee Data Breach Claim

What Are The Criteria To Make A Bank Account And Sort Code Data Breach Claim?

We use our bank account number and sort code near enough every day for purchases, direct debits, and sending and receiving money between family and friends. People often wonder is it safe to give your sort and account number, and the answer is most of the time yes, it is completely safe. However, if such details are exposed in a data breach, then you could potentially be at risk.

When talking about a sort code and account number data breach, there are 3 relevant parties. These are:

• Data subjects: the living and identifiable individuals to whom the personal data relates.
• Data controllers: the organisation that decides when, why and how personal data will be processed.
• Data processors: these are external organisations that conduct processing services on behalf of controllers. It is important to note that not every data controller will use external processing services.

Both data processors and controllers have legal obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). Failing to uphold these laws can lead to data breaches.

The criteria for a sort code and account number data breach claim are as follows:

1. The data controller failed to uphold their legal obligations under data protection law.
2. This failure resulted in a breach of your personal data.
3. Due to this breach, you suffered psychological distress, financial loss or both. 

To learn more about “what someone can do with my account number and sort code” talk to our advisors today. Our team can also assess your eligibility to begin a claim for free.

Data Breach Time Limit – How Long Do I Have To Claim?

If you meet the eligibility criteria to make a personal data breach claim, you must also ensure that you start your claim within the correct limitation period.

Generally, for claims being made for a personal data breach, the time limit is 6 years.

To check if you are still within the limitation for your potential claim, contact our friendly advisory team. They can offer you free advice, answer any questions you may have, and offer a free valuation of your claim.

What Would The Impact Of A Sort Code And Account Number Data Breach Be?

As we said above, using your sort code and account number for online purchases or transferring funds to friends and family is, most of the time, completely safe. However, if unauthorised persons are able to access your bank card and take the CVC number, then the impacts could be substantial.

The impacts of a sort code and account number data breach could be:

• Funds being removed from your account and purchases being made in your name.
• Detrimental impacts on your credit score.
• Identity theft.
• Significant psychological distress.

At Legal Expert, we fully appreciate just how difficult and worrying having your banking information exposed can be, and the risks to your personal finances it presents. If you suspect your bank card details of being involved in a personal data breach, contact your bank immediately and protective measures can be put in place.

In the later sections of this guide, we explore how the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) uphold the rights of data subjects and ensure compliance with the UK GDPR. We also explain how to start a claim if you have been impacted by a personal data breach.

For a free eligibility assessment, or to ask our advisory team “Is it safe to give sort code and account number?” call the number below now.

How Could A Sort Code Data Breach Occur?

Data breaches can occur within any organisation, financial institution and charity. There are several different types of financial data breaches and they include:

• Data has been lost, hacked or leaked
• Identity theft, e.g. for the purposes of falsely obtaining credit cards
• A staff member wasn’t trained in data protection and your personal data was compromised as a result of them leaving it in an unsecured location.

These failings can be due to a third party, such as ransomware and hackers, or human error. If a data breach occurs and it risks your freedoms and rights, the organisation should inform you without undue delay. 

How To Claim For A Financial And Banking Information Data Breach

If you begin your claim for a financial and banking information data breach, there are a number of steps that you need to take to make your claim as successful as possible. The process can be daunting but below is a how-to you can follow to begin.

Under the UK GDPR, a company is required to inform you and the ICO if there has been a data breach that risks your rights and freedoms. If you notice that you have any unauthorised or unusual charges on your bank account, inform your bank immediately.

However, if they don’t get in touch with you about the sort code data breach, you should raise your concerns with them. If they don’t give you a satisfactory response, you could raise your concerns with the ICO within 3 months of the organisation’s last meaningful contact on the matter.

The ICO can’t award you compensation or give advice on what type of compensation could be owed to you, but it may launch an independent investigation into the breach. While it isn’t mandatory, it could be useful to obtain legal advice. This could help you clear any confusion or anxiety you may have when making a claim. 

Gathering Evidence

An important step to begin the claims process is to start gathering evidence of the sort code data breach. It could be the information that you may have received from the data controller confirming that a data breach has taken place. This letter or email should have the date the breach occurred and what was exposed.

The findings of the ICO’s investigation could also be used as evidence, along with any financial records that show financial loss, such as credit scores or bank statements. 

For more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with an advisor. Just call the number at the top of the page.

Examples Of Data Breach Compensation Payouts

If you make a successful claim for a sort code data breach, then you could receive compensation for up to two types of damages: Material damage and non-material damage.

Non-material damage compensation addresses the effects the breach had on your mental health. For example, non-material damage could compensate you for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety or depression caused by the data breach. 

The compensation guideline brackets in the table below are taken from the  Judicial College Guidelines. Those valuing your claim may refer to this document, as it provides guideline compensation brackets for a number of injuries and illnesses. Please note that these are only guideline amounts. Also, the figure in the top row was not taken from the JCG. 

Compensation table

Material damage compensation addresses the financial losses caused by the breach. For example, after a financial data breach, money could be stolen from your bank account. This could be recouped under material damage compensation.

Similarly, if you lose out on earnings after taking time off work to recover from the psychological effects of the breach, these could also be covered by material damage compensation.

For more advice on how much data breach compensation you may receive if your claim is successful, get in touch with our advisors online or on the phone today.

Make A No Win No Fee Data Breach Claim

When you are making a claim for bank data breach compensation, you may wish to work with a solicitor. It can be useful to bring your claim to a solicitor, particularly if they specialise in or are familiar with the area of the law that your claim is concerned with.

Our solicitors have years of experience dealing with various types of personal data breach claims and could help you with yours. Additionally, they may offer to work with you under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement which is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.

When working with one of our No Win No Fee data breach solicitors, you won’t have to pay them anything upfront for their services. If your claim is successful, your solicitor will take a success fee from the compensation awarded to you. However, this amount is a percentage that is subject to a legal cap. Alternatively, if your claim is unsuccessful, there will typically be no expectation for you to pay your solicitor for the services they have provided.

For further information on working with No Win No Fee data breach solicitors, please contact our advisory team for guidance. Our team is available 24/7 to answer your questions and offer free advice.

Contact our advisors today:

• Call on 0800 073 8804
• Use our live chat.
• Or contact us online.

Our Related Guides

We have included some helpful links that may be of interest to you.

• See more about the action the ICO has taken.
• We also have a guide on what you can do if your data has been breached. 
• We have an article on bank data breach compensation claims.
• You can also find out what happens when you make a claim for your accident or injury.
• Find examples of data breaches in schools and learn how to make a data breach claim with our guide.

For further information on a sort code data breach, please contact us through the live chat feature in the corner.

Last Updated 3rd July 2025. If your personal information is exposed in a trade union membership data breach, you might be wondering what your options are. We trust the organisations we are members of to keep our personal data safe, but that is not always the case. If you suffered harm in such circumstances, you may be able to claim data breach compensation.

This article will explain the steps involved in making a claim, from the evidence you might need to what compensation can potentially cover. We’ll also examine why trade union membership data is protected and who may be responsible for breaches. To illustrate this, we’ll provide examples of how breaches occur and why they may result in a claim.

Towards the end of this guide, we’ll take a look at the type of No Win No Fee contract offered by our specialist solicitors. They’ve secured compensation for clients across the country, and one of these experts could help you make a successful data breach claim next.

For further information on making a claim with one of our dedicated solicitors, you can:

• Ring us on 0800 073 8804
• Enquire through the contact form
• Chat with an advisor in the live chat window

Select A Section

1. What Is A Trade Union Membership Data Breach?
2. What Is Covered By Special Category Data?
3. Does The UK GDPR Protect Trade Union Membership Data?
4. How Should Trade Union Membership Data Be Processed?
5. Statistics On Cyber Security Breaches 
6. How Do Trade Union Membership Data Breach Claims Happen?
7. Trade Union Membership Data Breach Compensation Settlements
8. Contact A Data Breach Claims Specialist

What Is A Trade Union Membership Data Breach?

Before understanding a trade union membership data breach, it is important to understand what a trade union is.

A trade union consists of workers or employees who want to protect or advance their interests in the workplace. Due to the nature of trade unions, they often possess personal data regarding their members. A personal data breach is a security incident that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of personal information. It may be accidental or unlawful. 

Trade union membership data is special category data. The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) defines special category data as personal data that requires extra protection due to its sensitivity. Personal data is any information that identifies you, such as your surname, home address, or date of birth.

You can report a data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection.

What Is Covered By Special Category Data?

As mentioned above, special category data refers to personal information relating to you that is considered more sensitive in nature. Besides trade union membership, this type of personal data covers: 

• Racial or ethnic origin.
• Political opinions.
• Religious and philosophical beliefs.
• Genetic data.
• Biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person.
• Data concerning health.
• Sex life and sexual orientation.

Our solicitors may be able to help if you have been affected by a trade union membership data breach. Speak to an advisor for more information by using the live chat feature at the bottom of this screen. 

Does The UK GDPR Protect Trade Union Membership Data?

The UK GDPR does protect trade union membership data, together with the Data Protection Act 2018. These data protection laws govern how organisations process the personal information of UK citizens:

1. Confidentiality and integrity: An organisation should not breach confidentiality, integrity, or security when processing data. Personal data could be lost or stolen if it is not properly secured. The same security applies to a device that holds personal data.
2. Minimisation of data: They must only collect data for necessary purposes.
3. Limitation of purpose: They should explicitly state the purpose of processing personal data to the data subject (e.g. you) and must not use it for unspecified purposes.
4. Accountability: Organisations must show compliance.
5. Transparency, lawfulness and fairness: It should be clear why personal data is processed, and the processing must be fair and lawful.
6. Limitation of storage: The organisation should store data for the minimum period necessary.
7. Accuracy: Data should be accurate and updated when required.

A trade union membership breach could happen if there is a failure to comply with data protection laws. Get in touch with our team of advisors for more information.

How Should Trade Union Membership Data Be Processed?

The UK GDPR forbids organisations like trade unions from processing special category data without your explicit consent (unless there’s a lawful basis for processing that provides an exception).

If you think you have suffered a trade union membership data breach, you may be eligible to make a claim. Get in touch today.

Statistics On Cyber Security Breaches 

The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 offers the latest statistics on cybersecurity and data breach incidents in the UK. It indicates that phishing remains the most common threat to businesses and charities.

Moreover, the survey revealed that a little over 4 in 10 businesses (43%) had reported breaches or attacks. However, the number of businesses reporting a cyberattack or breach had dropped compared to 2024.

Inadequate cybersecurity protection may lead to a trade union membership data breach. Yet, according to the survey, only 40% of businesses used two-factor authentication, while just 30% engaged in user monitoring.

Ready to make a claim? Speak to our advisors today.

How Do Trade Union Membership Data Breach Claims Happen?

Trade union membership data breach claims can happen for any number of reasons. To help give you clarity, we will explore several scenarios below, showing how a claim might arise:

• Despite having the correct details on file, you discover that your trade union has sent a letter containing personal information about you to the wrong address. This human error leaves you distressed, causing you to develop long-term anxiety.
• Your trade union fails to provide staff with appropriate cybersecurity training, meaning they are unable to recognise phishing emails. Subsequently, a union employee shares personal information about you when a spoof email requests membership data for specific individuals. This breach leaves you with severe anxiety and forces you to invest in extra home security.
• No efforts are made by trade union management to organise regular audits of cybersecurity software. That failure results in a serious trade union membership data breach, leaving you distressed about the information obtained in the ransomware attack. 

These scenarios represent only a small snapshot of the many causes of data breach claims involving trade union membership. You can share your own experience with one of our advisors at any time.

If you’re also wondering how to claim for a trade union membership data breach, our advisory team can help. They’re available 24/7 and can provide you with free, no-obligation advice tailored to your unique circumstances. Keep reading as we next discuss the question of trade union membership data breach compensation.

Trade Union Membership Data Breach Compensation Settlements

Your trade union membership data breach compensation settlement may be made up of compensation for:

• Non-Material Damage: The psychological harm. For example, you might have suffered stress due to a data breach.
• Material Damage: The financial loss arising from the data breach. You may have out-of-pocket costs related to lost earnings or counselling. In some cases, it may be necessary to invest in extra home security or even move home.

To claim compensation for your financial losses, you will need to provide evidence such as receipts, invoices, and payslips. If you suffered psychological damage, your solicitor may use the Judicial College Guidelines to put a value on this part of the claim. The JCG is a publication that compiles suggested compensation brackets for many different kinds of harm, including PTSD.

You can see some suggested brackets in the table below, but please note that the top figure isn’t from the JCG. This table does not guarantee compensation and should be used for guidance only.

If you’d like our advisors to value your claim for free, why not get in touch?

Contact A Data Breach Claims Specialist

Now that you know more about trade union membership data breach compensation settlements, you may be interested in pursuing a claim. A No Win No Fee solicitor can provide legal representation without the financial risks traditionally associated with hiring one. You wouldn’t have to pay any upfront or ongoing solicitor fees through the type of No Win No Fee arrangement offered by our solicitors, referred to as a Conditional Fee Agreement. 

Furthermore, if your claim is unsuccessful, you don’t have to pay any solicitor fees whatsoever. However, if you win, a legally capped percentage will be deducted from your compensation as payment for the solicitor’s work.

Our team at Legal Expert can connect you with one of our experienced data breach solicitors, who can help you build a compelling case for compensation. Reach out today:

• Ring us on 0800 073 8804
• Enquire through the contact form
• Chat with an advisor in the live chat window

Breach Of Data Protection Resources

Here are some additional resources that you may find useful:

• Annual government statistics on trade union membership in the UK.
• The ICO provides information on the rules for special category data.
• Employment rights concerning trade union membership.

Take a look at more of our specialised guides:

• Making a claim for an employer personal data breach.
• Learn about salary and wage data breach claims.
• Frequently asked questions about data breach evidence.

Get in touch today and move a step closer to making a claim for a trade union membership data breach.

Written by Jennings

Edited by Victorine

By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated March 2024. In this guide, we explore how you could make a disciplinary records data breach claim.

On this page, you will find information on how a data breach can occur and how much compensation you could be entitled to.

If you’d like to discuss claiming with Legal Expert today, or if you have any questions about the process, you can:

• Get in touch via our contact form
• Call for free claims advice on 0800 073 8804
• Email [email protected] 
• Ask an online advisor for support in our online chat facility.

Select A Section

1. What Is A Disciplinary Records Data Breach?
2. Your Right To Data Protection In The Workplace
3. How Employees’ Data Should Be Protected
4. My Dismissal Was Disclosed In A Data Breach, Could I Claim?
5. Disciplinary Records Data Breach Settlement Calculator
6. Make A No Win No Fee Data Breach Claim

What Is A Disciplinary Records Data Breach?

Disciplinary records may include witness statements, emails, computer records, hearing notes, outcome letters, and appeal paperwork.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) defines a data breach as the unauthorised accessing, disclosure, alteration or destruction of personal data whether through accident or deliberately. It can also include the loss of personal data. 

A disciplinary records data breach may occur in the following instances;

• Your records are kept in an unsecured location and an unauthorised person accesses them because of this.
• Online security is substandard so cyber attackers are able to steal your personal data.
• Your disciplinary record is lost and unable to be retrieved.

Workplace Data Breach Statistics

The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021 is an annual survey conducted by the government to identify data breaches or attacks. 

Below, you can find workplace data breach statistics from the last 12 months:

• Four in ten businesses (39%) reported having a cyber security breach or attack
• Unauthorised access to files or networks by staff accounted for 2% of cyber breaches to businesses
• Around a quarter of businesses (27%) said that breaches or attacks were happening weekly

Legal Expert are here to help you with any questions on a disciplinary records data breach. If you consider making a claim, contact us via our claims form.

Your Right To Data Protection in The Workplace

The Data Protection Act 2018 introduced General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to the UK to protect the personal data and privacy of British people, including in the workplace. It sits alongside the UK GDPR. 

The UK GDPR lays out seven principles for upholding your personal data protection in the workplace. 

1. Accuracy: Employers must keep data updated and accurate.
2. Limitation of storage: Data should be stored for the minimum period necessary for the purpose it is held for.
3. Transparency, lawfulness and fairness: It is an employer’s responsibility to be transparent with their employees about the processing of their data and how it will be processed fairly and lawfully. 
4. Accountability: Employers must show compliance.
5. Limitation of purpose: The purpose of why data is being processed should be explicitly specified by an employer.
6. Minimisation of data: Data should only be collected for necessary purposes.
7. Confidentiality and integrity: Data processing should not risk confidentiality, integrity or security.

If you have been subjected to a disciplinary records data breach and suffered mental injury or financial loss as a result, you may be able to claim. Why not get in touch?

How Employees’ Data Should Be Protected

Employers must pay special attention to the use and retention of employee data. Employers should destroy data in line with a schedule they have set. A privacy notice may be in place to set this out.

A clear procedure on handling expired disciplinary sanctions should be in place, and appropriate limits on who can access your disciplinary record. Otherwise, a disciplinary records data breach may happen.

Moreover, once you have resolved the matter, your manager may need to return or destroy any paperwork associated with your disciplinary sanction. However, your employer may retain a single central record so that no one can access it without a legitimate reason.

An employer that terminates your contract should record the reasons why. After terminating employment, your employer should retain all disciplinary records for at least six months.

If you have been subjected to an employer data breach, get in touch today.

My Dismissal Was Disclosed In A Data Breach, Could I Claim?

Before making a claim, it is important to determine whether you are eligible. Consider the following ahead of suing your employer for a disciplinary records data breach:

• Firstly, did a personal data breach at work affect you?
• Secondly, did you incur any financial losses or suffer from psychiatric problems, such as stress, after a data breach?
• Lastly, was your employer’s wrongful conduct the cause of the breach? (For example, they may not have provided appropriate data protection training to staff, which led to the breach.)

Additionally, your dismissal will fall under ‘special category data’, which accounts for personal information relating to you that is especially sensitive. A data breach may lead to the disclosure of your dismissal, meaning you could face discrimination. 

You may consider contacting your employer to address your concerns. It would be useful to outline any distress they have caused you and how much compensation you expect in return. Subsequently, their response could provide evidence in any case against them.

It may also be in your best interest to report a data breach incident to the ICO if the employer hasn’t yet done this.

The ICO cannot provide compensation; however, they could investigate whether your employer has breached data protection laws and can issue a monetary penalty. Their findings could be key to making a successful claim.

If you are ready to make a claim now, give Legal Expert a call.

Disciplinary Records Data Breach Settlement Calculator

There are two types of damages under the Data Protection Act 2018.

Firstly, there is material damage and that covers any financial losses you have suffered as a result of a disciplinary records data breach. Evidence you could use to support your claim includes a bank account statement or credit rating.

In addition, non-material damage covers the psychological harm caused by a data breach. For example, if you suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of your disciplinary record being breached. 

Furthermore, a case at the Court of Appeal, Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc (2015), held that, after a data breach, you don’t need to have suffered financially to claim for psychological harm. Before this case, you could only claim for psychological harm if you’d also suffered financially. Now, you can claim for one or both damages.

In that way, we can use guidelines from the Judicial College to estimate compensation settlements. Legal professionals use these guidelines to help when valuing injuries.

Our team of advisors can offer expert advice. Use the live feature chat at the bottom of this page to speak to someone now. 

Make A No Win No Fee Data Breach Claim

If your personal data was compromised in a disciplinary records data breach, and you meet the eligibility criteria, one of our professional solicitors may be able to help you with your personal data breach compensation claim.

Our solicitors have experience with various types of data breach claims, and may offer to represent you in yours under a type of No Win No Fee arrangement, known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this agreement, you will not need to pay your solicitor anything upfront or during the process of your claim for their services. Furthermore, you will not need to pay them a fee for their services should your claim fail.

In the event of a successful claim, you will pay your solicitor a legally capped success fee, which will be directly deducted from your compensation settlement.

To find out if one of our solicitors could help you with your disciplinary record data breach claim, you can contact our advisors. They can be contacted by

• Calling 0800 073 8804
• Using our live chat.
• Completing our ‘claim online’ form for a callback.

Employment Data Breach Resources

We have provided some additional links below to help you find more information on what to do if you have suffered a disciplinary records data breach.

Taking your case to court and claiming compensation – Guidance from the ICO on how to take your case to court.

Employment status – Government guidance on your employee rights.

The employment practices code – The ICO provides employers with an understanding of how to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Please find some more of our guides below that you may find useful.

Dismissed After An Accident At Work – What to do after being unfairly dismissed at work.

Professional Negligence – How to claim in the event of professional negligence. 

My Personal Data Has Been Lost After A Breach – Find out what you could do if your personal data has been lost after a breach. 

We hope you have learned about what to do in the event of a disciplinary records data breach. Please get in touch if you have any further questions.

Written by Jennings

Edited by Victorine

Welcome to our guide on what to do in the event of a medical conditions data breach. 

Here we’ll explain what causes a data breach and what kind of compensation you could get if you make a claim. 

If you’d like to discuss claiming with Legal Expert today, or if you have any questions about the process, you can:

• Get in touch via our contact form
• Call a specialist for free claims advice on 0800 073 8804
• Ask an online advisor for support in our online chat facility

Select A Section

1. What Is A Medical Conditions Data Breach?
2. What Organisations And Individuals Could Breach Your Medical Data Privacy?
3. Types Of Medical Data
4. Examples Of How Your Medical Condition Data Can Be Breached
5. Examples Of ICO Fines For Medical Data Breaches
6. Medical Conditions Data Breach Settlement Calculator
7. Talk To Us About No Win No Fee Medical Conditions Data Breach Claims

What Is A Medical Conditions Data Breach?

Whenever you visit a medical facility, like a hospital, GP surgery, dental practice or pharmacy, you will likely need to provide information about yourself.

Data breaches could occur if medical service providers fail to secure this information, or if they use your information in ways you haven’t authorised.

A data breach is a breach of data security that results in the unlawful or accidental alteration, loss, destruction of, disclosure of or access to personal data. 

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) states that personal data is any information that can identify you.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) upholds data protection rights and takes action against organisations that breach the Data Protection Act (2018) or other data protection laws.

Healthcare Data Breach Statistics

In the second quarter of 2021/22, the ICO found data security incidents were most common in the healthcare industry compared to all other sectors.

In Q2, there were a total of 2,431 reported incidents. Out of these, 1,717 were non-cyber data breaches, while 714 were cyber breaches. 

What Organisations And Individuals Could Breach Your Medical Data Privacy?

Different medical service providers, trusts, individuals and other bodies can store medical data. Private healthcare companies and insurance companies may also hold your medical data. Organisations and individuals that store this, and may therefore potentially breach your medical data privacy, include:

• NHS: Holds the medical record of around 65m people in the UK
• IQVIA: Healthcare data company that received 502 data releases from the NHS in 2020/21
• Health Data Research UK: Registered charity and national institute for health data science
• Capita: A government contractor that uses health data to determine disability claims for the Department for Work and Pensions
• Aviva: The UK’s largest insurer consisting of more than 15m customers
• GPs: GPs store and control medical records

Has an organisation or individual breached your medical data privacy? For example, you may have been subjected to a GP data breach. Our team of advisors can offer expert advice on what to do next.

Source: https://www.ft.com/content/6f9f6f1f-e2d1-4646-b5ec-7d704e45149e 

Types Of Medical Data 

In Article 4 of the Data Protection Act (2018), the UK GDPR describes data concerning health as the “personal data related to the physical and mental health of a natural person, including the provision of healthcare services, which reveal information about his or her health status”.

Subsequently, there are many types of medical data. Below are some examples:

• Any information on your medical history, including medical opinions, diagnosis and clinical treatment
• Data collected during a medical examination or test, or when you have registered to use health services
• Appointment details can also reveal someone’s medical condition

Our advisors can offer guidance on the steps to take if you have been harmed by a medical condition data breach. Begin your claim process with Legal Expert today.

Examples Of How Your Medical Condition Data Can Be Breached

There are a variety of cyber and non-cyber incidents that could provide grounds for a medical conditions data breach claim. 

Cyber incidents refer to data breaches that involve a digital or online element. Non-cyber incidents do not occur online but do involve a party whose intent is malicious. 

However, sometimes data breaches can occur due to human error. This is when a breach results from an accident or mistaken action where the person did not have bad intentions.

 Examples of data breaches you could be eligible to claim for include:

• A receptionist at your NHS GP surgery sends a letter about your medical appointment to the wrong address, despite you providing them with the correct address
• Your psychologist shares information about your mental disorder with another party. They do not gain your authorisation beforehand.
• A medical professional loses a digital copy of your medical records, which they are unable to recover.
• A Hospital fails to update its cybersecurity systems. As a result, a cybercriminal gains access to your medical records and steals your personal data.

If you would like to learn more about medical data breach claims, our team are available to answer your queries at any time. Data breach law can seem complicated from the outside, and you come across some unfamiliar terms. This is why our advisors, who are experienced in handling data breach claim enquiries, will advise you on your potential claim free of charge. They could connect you to a No Win No Fee solicitor if you are eligible, so why not contact us today?

Examples Of ICO Fines For Medical Data Breaches

A medical conditions data breach can happen as a result of cyber-attacks or if confidential data is not securely stored. Additionally, human error can cause a data breach. 

This occurred in 2018 when data breaches affected 150,000 NHS patients in England. At this time, some patients had their health data used for research purposes, despite opting out of this when asked. The NHS data breach was reportedly due to a coding error. 

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44682369 

Healthcare Organisations Fined By The ICO 

The ICO may issue penalties to organisations or individuals that cause a medical conditions data breach. The following examples show what type of action the ICO has taken in past instances:

• Bupa Insurance Services Limited, a health insurance company, was fined £175,000 after an employee stole the personal data of 547,000 customers and offered it for sale on the dark web
• A London NHS Trust was fined £180,000 after a sexual health clinic it operated accidentally leaked the details of 781 people who had attended HIV clinics

If you fear you have been the victim of a medical conditions data breach, you may want to seek legal advice.  Speak to our team of advisors for more information. 

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36247186#

Medical Conditions Data Breach Settlement Calculator

We refer to two types of damages when calculating a medical conditions data breach settlement.

Material damages cover any financial losses you have incurred as a result of the data breach. Evidence to support this could include your credit rating and bank statements

Non-material damages take into consideration any psychological damage that the data breach has caused. Psychiatric damage, like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), can be valued in line with the Judicial College Guidelines. This is a publication that solicitors use to help when valuing claims

Following the Court of Appeal case, Vidal-Hall v Google Inc (2015), you can now file for non-material damages even if the data breach didn’t cause you any financial losses.

Our team of advisors can value your claim and potentially connect you with a solicitor. 

Talk To Us About No Win No Fee Medical Conditions Data Breach Claims

If you’ve suffered mental or financial harm as a result of a medical condition data breach, you might be interested in making a claim. However, the claims process can seem daunting, and you may not know where to start.

If this is the case, one of our No Win No Fee personal data breach solicitors may be able to help. Our solicitors offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis by providing their clients with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). When you work with a solicitor under a CFA, they won’t ask for a fee to begin work on your claim, nor will they ask you to pay them for their continued services. You also won’t pay a fee for their work if your claim fails. 

However, if your data breach compensation claim succeeds, then your solicitor will take a success fee, which is a percentage of your compensation. This percentage is legally capped to ensure that you keep the majority share of what you receive and is taken directly from your award. 

Our advisors are on hand to help if you would like to learn more about how our solicitors could help. Get in touch today by:

• Calling us on 0800 073 8804
• Contacting us via our contact form
• Using the live chat feature at the bottom of this screen

Healthcare Data Protection Breach Resources

Here are some resources that you may find useful if you have been subjected to a medical conditions data breach: 

• Health A to Z – An NHS guide on medical conditions.
• Personal Data Breaches – NHS advice on what a personal data breach is and the steps that should be taken following an incident.
• Your Data Matters – The ICO offer guidance on how to take your case to court and claim compensation.

Here are some more of our guides that you may find useful: 

• Medical Data Breach Claims – What action to take if your medical data was breached. 
• Unauthorised Access to Medical Records – How to claim compensation if someone has gained unauthorised access to your medical records.
• Hospital Negligence Claims – How to claim compensation if you have been subjected to substandard medical care that caused you unnecessary harm. 

Get in touch if you are ready to take the next step in making a claim following a medical conditions data breach.