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Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach Compensation Claims
By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 2nd March 2024. Welcome to this guide about claiming sickness at work personal information data breach compensation. If your personal data relating to sickness at work has been exposed by your employer, then you could be entitled to claim compensation. You would need to show that this breach caused you financial and/or emotional harm and that it was caused by the wrongful conduct of your employer.
As a data controller (i.e. someone who decides how and why your personal data is processed), your employer is responsible for protecting your personal data. Your personal data may be breached if a data controller does not adhere to this.
In this guide, we will share examples of information related to sickness at work. Furthermore, we will discuss how to make a No Win No Fee claim with the help of our panel of solicitors.
Additionally, for more free advice, you can contact our advisors. They are free to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Contact us now by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Use our Live Chat function in the bottom left corner of your page.
- Use our claim online form
Select A Section
- What Is A Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach?
- Types Of Information Related To Sickness At Work
- Causes Of Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach Cases
- Can I Sue My Employer For Disclosing My Personal Information?
- Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach Compensation Calculator
- Make A No Win No Fee Workplace Data Breach Claim
What Is A Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach?
A personal data breach is a security incident that affects a the availability, confidentiality or integrity of personal data. Personal data is information that could identify a natural person, either on its own or when it’s combined with other information. Data breaches can happen as a result of human error or because of malicious action on the part of an individual.
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) make up the regime for personal data protection in the UK. They lay out the obligations and responsibilities for processing the personal data of UK citizens.
To make a successful claim for personal data breach compensation, you need to prove that because of the breach, you suffered financial loss and/or mental harm – i.e. stress, anxiety, depression etc.
If your employer, for example, has caused a data breach, you could ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to conduct an investigation. To prevent the ICO from refusing to investigate, you must contact within three months of the last meaningful contact with the third-party responsible for the breach.
Contact our advisors for more information on your rights after a personal data breach.
Types Of Information Related To Sickness At Work
If you are suffering from sickness at work that resulted in you needing time off or impacted your performance, your employer might hold some sickness records about you. This can include anything from:
- Information about your medical conditions.
- Private medical information.
- Your medical records. This could include mental health information.
- Absence and absenteeism information.
Some of this information, for example, medical records, is classified as special category data. The UK GDPR defines special category data as personal data that needs more protection because of its sensitive nature.
For to find out whether you might be able to make a claim for a sickness at work personal information data breach, contact our team today. They can also advise you on what you can do if your data has been breached.
Causes Of Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach Cases
A sickness at work personal information data breach could happen in a number of different ways. We’ve outlined some of these below:
- Your employer sends an email containing your personal data to the wrong email address. This person doesn’t have the authorisation to view this information.
- Your employer is working in a communal space with your sickness information on their screen. They go to the toilet and leave their device unattended and unlocked. This information can then be seen by people in the vicinity.
- While on a break, your manager is speaking with one of their colleagues about your absence from work because of sickness. However, they do so within earshot of someone else who isn’t authorised to know this information.
Contact our advisors about whether you may be able to claim compensation.
Can I Sue My Employer For Disclosing My Personal Information?
In order to make a successful claim for sickness at work personal information data breach, certain criteria need to be met. This is:
- Your personal data was breached due to the failings of the data controller or a data processor (someone who processes data on a data controller’s behalf). If they did all they could to safeguard your data and a breach occurred despite this, then you would not be able to claim.
- Due to this, you have suffered from financial loss and/or emotional distress.
It’s also important to consider that you need to be within the appropriate time limit to start your data breach claim. This is generally 6 years from the date of the breach, but it can be one year from the breach when the claim is made against a public body.
If you are considering making a claim, our panel of solicitors may be able to help you. Contact our advisors for more information; they may be able to confirm whether you’re still within the time limit for claiming.
Sickness At Work Personal Information Data Breach Compensation Calculator
In data protection law, you can claim for financial losses and/or mental suffering caused by the data breach. These are otherwise known as material and non-material damages.
Examples of material damages can include:
- Funds taken from your account if your sort code and account number were involved in a breach
- Money is spent on your credit card if your details were exposed.
- Loans are taken out in your name – this can also affect your credit score. This could happen if your identity was stolen as a result of a breach.
Examples of non-material damages could include anxiety at the thought that someone without authorisation has access to your medical records. You may find yourself being treated differently by colleagues if they
Sometimes material and non-material damages can interlace. For example, you could become extremely anxious at the idea of your breached home address being accessed by your abusive ex-partner. You are so worried that you pay to have extra security measures, such as alarms, installed in your home.
Previously, you would have to prove that you suffered from financial loss to claim for psychological damage. However, this changed after the Vidal-Hall v Google (2015) case, where the Court of Appeal ruled that you can now claim for mental suffering without having experienced financial loss. This means you can now claim for either material or non-material damages independently or both together.
Using the figures outlined in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) below, we have included a table of guideline compensation brackets relating to non-material damages. These figures should be used as a guideline only, as the amount you receive may differ depending on your case.
| Non-Material Damage | Severity/Notes | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Mental Damage Generally | Severe – The person will have serious problems with being able to cope with life/education/work and will experience extreme future vulnerability. | £54,830 – £115,730 |
| Mental Damage Generally | Moderately Severe – The person will experience problems with being able to cope with life/education/work and will experience future vulnerability. However, the diagnoses will be much more optimistic than in cases of a higher severity. | £19,070 – £54,830 |
| Mental Damage Generally | Moderate – Whilst the person will suffer with the ability to cope with life/education/work and will experience future vulnerability, there will have been marked improvements by trial and prognosis will be good. | £5,860 – £19,070 |
| Mental Damage Generally | Less Severe – Will consider the damage period and the extent to which sleep and daily activities were affected. | £1,540 – £5,860 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | Severe – The person will suffer permanent effects, preventing them from working/functioning the same as pre-trauma. All aspects of life will be affected. | £59,860 – £100,670 |
| PTSD | Moderately Severe – There will be a better prognosis with the potential of some recovery with professional help. However, the person will still likely have a significant disability for the foreseeable future. | £23,150 – £59,860 |
| PTSD | Moderate – The person will have largely recovered. Continuing symptoms will not be majorly disabling. | £8,180 – £23,150 |
| PTSD | Less Severe – The person will virtually experience a full recovery within one to two years. Only minor symptoms will persist after this period. | £3,950 – £8,180 |
Contact our advisors today to see what could be included in your sickness at work personal information data breach claim.
Make A No Win No Fee Workplace Data Breach Claim
If you are eligible to make a personal data breach claim, you may like to instruct a solicitor to work on your case. One of our data breach solicitors could help with your claim, and may offer their services to you under a type of No Win No Fee arrangement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When your solicitor provides their services under this type of agreement, they generally don’t charge any upfront or ongoing fees for their work on your claim. Furthermore, you won’t be asked to pay for their services if you’re not awarded compensation following an unsuccessful claim.
However, if your claim for a workplace data breach has a positive outcome, they will deduct a success fee from your award. The amount that can be taken as this fee is a percentage that is limited by the law.
Free advice about starting a claim, if your personal data was compromised due to a data breach at work, is available from our team of advisors 24/7. They can also assess your case, and if you have valid grounds for a claim, you could be passed on to one of our data breach solicitors.
To speak to an advisor:
- Fill in our ‘claim online’ form for a callback.
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Use our live chat feature.
References
Here are some additional resources that may help you.
Our guides:
- Employer personal data breach compensation claims guide
- Lost or stolen paperwork data breach claim
- How to report a data breach incident
- A General Guide To Data Breach Compensation
- Brentwood Borough Council
- East Suffolk Council
- Solicitors Lost My Medical Records – Can I Claim?
- The Police Sent My Personal Data To Someone Else, Can I Claim?
- Foster Care Data Breach Claims
Additional resources:
ICO: Does an organisation need my consent to process my data?
ICO: Taking your case to court and claiming compensation.
National Cyber Security Centre: Data breaches: guidance for individuals and families.
Thank you for reading our guide on claiming sickness at work personal information data breach compensation.
Written by Robinson
Edited by Stocks
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