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Discrimination Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

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

discrimination data breach compensation

Discrimination data breach compensation guide

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

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

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

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

To contact us:

Select A Section

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

Does The UK GDPR Protect People From Discrimination?

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

Data protection legislation:

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

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

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

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

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

When Could The UK GDPR Protect People From Discrimination?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What Information Does The UK GDPR Apply To?

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

Personal data can include:

Special category data includes personal data relating to:

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

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

When Could You Claim Discrimination Data Breach Compensation?

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

The discrimination data breach compensation claim criteria are as follows:

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

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

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

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

Discrimination Data Breach Compensation Calculator

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

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

Material Damage In Data Breach Claims

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

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

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

Non-material Damage In Data Breach Claims

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

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

Edit
Injury Severity Potential Compensation Notes
PTSD Severe (a) £59,860 to £100,670 Permanent symptoms result in the claimant not being able to function at the same level as prior to the trauma with a bad impact on all areas of life.
PTSD Moderately severe (b) £23,150 to £59,860 The claimant may make some recovery with the help of a professional, however, they will continue to experience significant disability for the foreseeable future.
PTSD Moderate (c) £8,180 to £23,150 A recovery has largely taken place, however, the claimant will continue to experience some symptoms that are not grossly disabling.
PTSD Less severe (d) £3,950 to £8,180 The claimant makes virtually a full recovery, however, some minor symptoms may persist beyond 1-2 years.
Mental Injury Severe (a) £54,830 to £115,730 The claimant experiences a severe disability impacting their ability to cope with life and relationships. The prognosis is very poor.
Mental Injury Moderately severe (b) £19,070 to £54,830 The claimant experiences significant problems in life and with relationships, however, an optimistic prognosis.
Mental Injury Moderate (c) £5,860 to £19,070 There are problems coping in life and with relationships, but the claimant experiences improvements in their mental state with a good prognosis.
Mental Injury Less severe (d) £1,540 to £5,860 A period of disability occurs, impacting the claimant’s day-to-day activities and sleep. The award will be determined by the level of this impact.

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

Start A Discrimination Data Breach Compensation Claim

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

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

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

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

To contact us:

Discrimination And Workplace Data Breaches

Further guides from Legal Expert:

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

Written by Brown

Edited by Stocks