Can I Claim For A Breach Of Dismissal Information?

Welcome to this guide on whether you can claim compensation for a breach of dismissal information. If you have recently been dismissed from your workplace and subsequently found that information relating to your dismissal has been leaked, accessed or verbally disclosed to those who have no authority to have access to this data, you may be wondering if could be eligible to make a data breach claim.

This guide will share how a personal data breach could happen and the impact it could have on you and your life. Additionally, we will discuss the time limits for making personal data breach claims and how our panel of solicitors could help you under a No Win No Fee agreement.

After finishing this guide, you can speak with our advisors if you still have any questions regarding your claim. Our team is here to help you with any questions you may have, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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What Is A Breach Of Dismissal Information?
How Could A Breach Of Dismissal Information Happen?
How Long After The Breach Could You Claim?
What Are My Rights After A Breach Of Dismissal Information
Calculating Compensation For A Personal Data Breach
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What Is A Breach Of Dismissal Information?

A breach of dismissal information is when data regarding your dismissal from a workplace has been leaked or exposed by accidental or unlawful means. Having your dismal information breached could be detrimental as it can contain personal information about you, such as your name, address and where you were employed. Someone could then use this personal information to identify you directly or in combination with other information.

Additionally, a personal data breach is a security incident that affects the integrity, availability and confidentiality of someone’s personal data.

To make a personal data breach successful compensation claim, you must be able to prove a few things. Firstly, you must be able to prove that the data controller, such as your employer, did not comply with data security laws. Due to this, your personal data was breached, which caused you to suffer financially and/or psychologically.

How Could A Breach Of Dismissal Information Happen?

A breach of dismissal information could happen due to human error, such as oversight or omission. External intrusions can also cause a data breach, such as cyberattacks. The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022 reported that those who took part in their survey showed that 39% of UK businesses suffered from a cyber attack in the last year.

Both physical and digital data are protected by data protection law. Some examples of how a personal data breach could happen are:

Your employer leaves a file containing your personal data on a desk. The contents include personal information such as your name, address and why you were dismissed. Because they have left it in an unsecured location, it leads to an unauthorised person reading it.
Your employer verbally discloses your personal data and dismissal to another employee without a lawful basis.
Your employer emails a copy of your dismissal letter to the wrong email address.
A hacker manages to gain access to your employer’s systems. This was due to inadequate cyber security defence systems.

Speak with our advisors for advice on whether your case meets the eligibility criteria for claiming for a personal data breach.

How Long After The Breach Could You Claim?

If you want to make a claim for a personal data breach, then you must begin the proceedings within a certain time before your case becomes statute barred. You have 6 years to start a claim against an organisation or 1 year if the claim is against a public body.

Additionally, if an organisation becomes aware of a data breach that affects your freedoms and any rights, it must inform you of this as soon as possible.

You can speak with our advisors for more information regarding time limits for a breach of personal data claim.

What Are My Rights After A Breach Of Dismissal Information

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), alongside the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), provide the rules and regulations when it comes to processing personal data. They outline the responsibilities and obligations for the processing of the personal data of UK citizens.

Per data protection law, data controllers and data processors are responsible for protecting personal data. Data controllers decide how your data is processed, whereas data processors can act on behalf of a data controller.

As a data controller, your employer must adhere to data protection laws; otherwise, your personal data may be breached. This could be due to human error on your employer’s behalf or your workplace not updating its cybersecurity measures. It can also happen even when your employer has done all they can to protect your data, in which circumstances no claim could be made.

However, to form the basis of a successful claim, you must prove that the personal data breach was due to the organisation’s failings. Because of this, you have suffered financial or mental damages.

Furthermore, you can ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to investigate if your personal data has been compromised. You must do this within three months of your last meaningful contact with the organisation responsible for the breach. The ICO may refuse to investigate if you wait any longer.

Calculating Compensation For A Personal Data Breach

When making a personal data breach claim, you can claim for material and non-material damages.

Material damages consider financial losses due to the data breach. This can be money being taken from your bank account to loans being taken out in your name. You must keep a financial record of these losses, as, without them, you might not be able to claim them back.

Non-material damages consider the psychological injuries you have suffered due to the data breach (e.g. anxiety, depression, stress etc.) Previously, if you wanted to claim for non-material damages, you would have to prove you also suffered from financial loss. However, after the Vidal-Hall and Others v Google Inc (2015) case, the Court of Appeal decided that you could now claim for psychological damage caused by the data breach without claiming for financial loss.

Below we have added a table. The figures align with the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG,) which solicitors often use to value claims. The following table should be used as a guideline only.

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Non-Material Damage (Injury)	Severity/Notes	Amount
Psychiatric Damage Generally (Psych. Dam.)	Severe – The person will suffer coping with life/education/work etc. and will face extreme future vulnerability.	£54,830 – £115,730
Psych. Dam	Moderately Severe – The person will struggle to cope with life/education/work etc. and will face future vulnerability. However, there will be much more positive diagnosis.	£19,070 – £54,830
Psych. Dam	Moderate – The person will struggle to cope with life/education/work and will face future vulnerability, they also will have experience improvements.	£5,860 – £19,070
Psych. Dam	Less Severe -The damage period and the extent to which certain activities were affected will affect how much is awarded.	£1,540 – £5,860
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD	Severe – There will be lasting permanent effects, that will prevent the person from living life the same as they did pre-trauma. All aspects of life will be affected.	£59,860 – £100,670
PTSD	Moderately Severe – There is the potential of slight recovery following prognosis. The person should experience this help towards recovery following help from a professional. However, the person will still likely have a significant disability for a signification period of time.	£23,150 – £59,860
PTSD	Moderate – There will have been a large recovery evident in the person. Persisting symptoms won’t be extremely disabling.	£8,180 – £23,150
PTSD	Less Severe – There will be virtually be a full recovery experienced by the person. This usually takes place between 1-2 years. Only slight symptoms should continue after this allotted period.	£3,950 – £8,180

Contact our advisors for more advice regarding a breach of dismissal information.

Talk To Our Specialist Team

If you are considering pursuing a claim for a personal data breach and would like to do so with legal representation, our panel of solicitors could help you. A No Win No Fee/Conditional Fee Agreement is an arrangement between you and your solicitor; some of the benefits of this agreement are:

If your case is successful, you will only pay your solicitor a small success fee from your compensation.
If your case isn’t successful, you are not obligated to pay for your solicitor’s services.

Additionally, you can speak with our team about how a No Win No Fee agreement could benefit you.

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