By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 17th December 2024. In this guide, we explain what a UK GDPR breach is and how a compensation calculator can help when estimating what could be awarded in a successful personal data breach claim. The laws around the safe use of your personal information are tighter than ever since the introduction of new data security legislation. Under the new laws, if data has been breached because those who were handling it (data controller or processor) failed to adhere to data protection laws and it causes distress then you could have a right to be compensated.
If data controllers or processors (those organisations that handle personal data) are found not to be applying the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and The Data Protection Act 2018 properly could suffer a fine from the governing body called the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). It could also enable you to seek compensation for emotional distress and financial trouble if your personal data is breached as a result.
Speak to our team in complete confidence now to learn more about what your rights are after a data breach. They can advise how our data breach specialists could help you with your data breach claim. Simply:
- Call our advisors on 0800 073 8804
- Ask about your claim online at Legal Expert
- Open up the live chat tab you see below to start a conversation.
You can also watch our video below which explains the key takeaways from our guide:
Select A Section
- When Can UK GDPR Breach Compensation Claims Be Made?
- Types Of Sensitive Or Personal Data
- Who Can Claim For A UK GDPR Breach?
- Compensation For Data Breach – Examples Of Data Breaches
- Evidence You’ll Need To Claim UK GDPR Breach Compensation
- UK GDPR Breach Compensation Claims Calculator
- UK GDPR Breach Compensation Claims With Our No Win No Fee Solicitors
When Can UK GDPR Breach Compensation Claims Be Made?
You could be eligible for compensation for a data breach if you can prove the following:
- The data breach was caused by the organisation’s failures.
- Your personal data was compromised in the breach.
- As a result of your personal data being breached, you suffered mental harm or financial loss.
Personal data is any information that could directly identify you or could identify you in combination with other information. Your name, home address, and national insurance number are all classed as personal data. In the next section, we will provide more examples of what could be classed as personal data.
A personal data breach is a breach of security that leads to the accidental or unlawful alterations, destruction, or loss of personal data. It also included the unauthorised disclosure or access to personal data.
Per the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), any organisation that processes the personal data of UK residents must do all that they can to keep it safe. This could include ensuring that they update their cyber security measures and provide efficient data protection training to all staff members. If you can prove that an organisation’s failings caused your personal information to be compromised, you could make a claim for your data breach.
Contact our advisors today to receive free legal advice regarding your specific claim. Additionally, they could answer any questions you may have about personal data breach claims.
Types Of Sensitive Or Personal Data
In order to interact with virtually every type of business or organisation, both on and off-line, we are obliged to provide details about ourselves. Some of this information is required by law. We trust that the organisations that retain and use this data are doing so in accordance with UK GDPR law. For example, you may need to provide:
- Name and address
- Email address
- Date of birth and disclosed ethnicity
- Details of dependants
- Housing and employment details
- Bank information
- Affiliations with religious groups
- Biometric data such as fingerprints
The ICO calls these pieces of information ‘identifiers’ which means that they can be used to identify you.
Who Can Claim For A UK GDPR Breach?
Data breach victims may only discover the breach long after the initial problem occurred. Companies are legally required to report a serious data breach to the ICO within 72 hours. Also, they should contact any customer or service user affected to alert them.
If you are subjected to a personal data breach you can do the following:
- Raise a complaint with the organisation that breached your data as soon as you become aware
- After no longer than 3 months from the last meaningful contact with them on the matter, you can ask the ICO to step in if there is an unsatisfactory response, (you can complain to them at any point if you wish).
- The ICO does not pay compensation either but their involvement can lend weight to your claim.
- Start to assemble evidence of the financial or emotional toll the data breach has taken on you
- Reach out for help with a data breach solicitor
Tracking a data breach back and obtaining proof that the party involved caused the issue through positive wrongful conduct are essential. Professional help can organise this. Furthermore, a solicitor can ensure that you calculate all the costs to you caused by the problem. After a successful data breach claim following a UK GDPR breach, a compensation calculator could help to estimate what you may be awarded.
Data Breach Claims – What Are The Time Limits?
If you are claiming data protection breach compensation, you need to start your claim within the time limit. There are two different time limits involved with data breach claims. The time limit will depend on the nature of the organisation you are claiming against.
Generally, you must start your claim within six years of the incident.
When making a claim against a public body, such as a local council, the time limit to start your claim is typically only one year.
Call our advisors to learn how much compensation for a data breach you could get if you are within the time limit or what factors could affect the data breach compensation amount.
Compensation For Data Breach – Examples Of Data Breaches
Before discussing examples of compensation for a data breach, it would be helpful to explore different scenarios in which a valid UK GDPR breach claim might arise.
Some examples of when a personal data breach could occur may include:
- Your personal data is stolen during a cyber attack due to an organisation not updating its cyber security measures.
- Your personal information is sent to the wrong postage address, despite a company having your correct home address on file
- An organisation sends a group email but accidentally shares your email address with other recipients because they failed to use blind carbon copy (BCC)
- Your employer verbally discloses your personal data to an unauthorised party without a lawful basis for doing so.
Our data breach solicitors have helped countless clients secure UK GDPR breach compensation amounts in the UK. Get in touch at any time to arrange a free consultation and to see if you could be eligible to work with one of them.
Evidence You’ll Need To Claim UK GDPR Breach Compensation
When you make any kind of UK GDPR breach claim, it’s your responsibility to prove that the organisation or company responsible for your data failed to comply with data protection law.
To do this, you’ll need to support your data breach claim with evidence. This might include:
- Correspondence with the ICO.
- Medical records or a letter from a psychiatrist detailing how the breach has affected you mentally.
- Receipts, bills, bank statements, and other financial documents that prove the financial losses you’ve suffered.
- Statements or communication with the other party.
- The results of an ICO investigation.
One of the benefits of making a data breach compensation claim with the help of a solicitor is that they can handle this step. They can talk to witnesses who have seen how the breach has affected you, contact an independent medical professional to arrange an assessment, and collate your financial losses.
To learn more about how a solicitor could help you, get in touch today. Or, keep reading to learn more about making a claim and find out how our data breach compensation calculator could help you.
UK GDPR Breach Compensation Calculator
A UK GDPR breach compensation calculator can give you a useful insight into what you could be awarded, but you may also like to know how data breach compensation works.
There are two types of harm for which you can seek compensation. One is material damage, which means the impact of a data breach on your financial situation. That might mean:
- You’ve missed work due to the stress of the situation.
- The breach meant you had to move house, at your own expense.
- A data breach badly affected your credit score.
Material damage will address these things. Sharing proof of your loss, such as bank statements or payslips, will be vital.
When a data breach calculator asks you what mental harm you have suffered due to the breach, it is looking to estimate harm from non-material damage. During your claim, those responsible for reaching a data breach compensation amount will attempt to value your psychological injuries.
They might get support from a set of guideline compensation figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). We’ve used the document and its brackets to make the table, which you might find handy as a guide.
In case you are wondering, you can seek a payment for both material and non-material damage or for just one of them. If you’d like to learn more about using a data breach compensation calculator or would appreciate a more detailed review by an advisor, simply call the number above.
| Type of Harm | Severity | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Very Severe Psychological Harm Plus Financial Losses | Severe | Up to £250,000+ |
| General Psychiatric Damage | Severe | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Moderately Severe | £23,270 to £66,920 | |
| Moderate | £7,150 to £23,270 | |
| Less Severe | £1,880 to £7,150 | |
| Anxiety Disorder | Severe | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Moderately Severe | £28,250 to £73,050 | |
| Moderate | £9,980 to £28,250 | |
| Less Severe | £4,820 to £9,980 |
UK GDPR Breach Compensation Claims With Our No Win No Fee Solicitors
If you’re eligible to make a personal data breach compensation claim, one of our solicitors could represent you in your claim. Additionally, one of them may offer to work with you on a No Win No Fee basis with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
If you work with a No Win No Fee solicitor, you won’t be required to pay them any upfront or ongoing fees for their work. Furthermore, if your claim is unsuccessful, then you won’t have to pay for your solicitor’s services.
If you make a successful claim, a success fee is taken from the compensation awarded to you. It’s a legally capped percentage of your compensation that’s taken by the solicitor supporting your case.
For more information on claiming compensation for a UK GDPR breach of personal data, you can contact our advisors today. They may also connect you with one of our solicitors if they believe you may have a valid case.
You can reach them through the following methods:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- Filling out the online claim form
- Using the 24/7 live chat service
Learn More About A UK GDPR Breach And How A Compensation Calculator Could Help You
- Details on bank data breach compensation claims
- Also, FAQ’s on data breach compensation issues
- With this in mind, more details on how to report a data breach incident
- Advice from the Government on cyber security
- If you work for a school or if your personal data held by a school is shared by email, you could make a data breach claim against that school.
- Tips for being more cyber aware
- In conclusion, cyber security guidance for businesses
Thank you for reading our guide about a UK GDPR compensation calculator.
