Can My Employer Give Out My Personal Information Without My Consent?

By Megan Newton. Last Updated 23rd November 2023. In this guide, we will examine whether personal information can be shared without your consent being provided. UK residents, through various pieces of data protection legislation, have certain rights over the processing of their personal data. We shall examine these rights and explain what laws are in place to protect said data.

As we go, we will explain the data protection laws that are in place, what could happen if these are breached and who could be eligible to make a personal data breach claim for compensation.

To find out if you can make a data breach claim after your employer shared your data without consent, call and speak with an advisor on 020 3870 4868. They can help you get the answers you need. Or you can ask us to call you back using our contact form.

Employer gave out my personal information without consent data breach claim

Can My Employer Give Out My Personal Information Without My Consent?

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Can I Sue If An Employer Gave Out My Personal Information Without My Consent?

Any organisation that processes your personal data, including your workplace, must take reasonable steps and measures to protect your personal data. They must also adhere to the rules and regulations found within the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR), as together they form data protection laws.

If your workplace were to fail to adhere to data protection laws, this could result in a data breach at work that compromises your personal information. A personal data breach is classified as a security incident that affects personal data’s confidentiality, integrity and availability.

However, you may also be wondering, ‘Can my employer give out my personal information without my consent?’ An organisation must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. These are:

  1. Consent – you have consented to have your personal data processed.
  2. Contract – the processing is necessary to fulfil a contract.
  3. Legitimate interest – it is necessary for your legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party unless there is a valid reason not to.
  4. Public task – processing is necessary to perform a task in the public interest or for official functions.
  5. Vital interest – processing is necessary to protect a life.
  6. Legal obligation – processing is necessary to comply with the law.

So there may be some instances where your employer does not need your consent to share your personal data, as they have a lawful basis for doing so.

To be able to make a personal data breach compensation claim, you must prove the following:

  1. The breach must have been caused by your workplace’s actions or inactions.
  2. Your personal data must have been involved in the breach.
  3. Due to the personal data breach, you suffered mentally or financially.

To see whether you may have a valid personal data breach claim, you can contact a member of our advisory team.

What Information Could An Employer Give Out?

An employer will store and process many types of data. But not all of this data is necessarily protected by law. Only your personal and special category data is covered. Below, we have given a few examples of each type.

  • Personal data could include your date of birth, your landline or mobile phone number, home or house address,  email address, and your full name. As well as bank account details and debit card or credit card data.
  • Special category data is a type of personal data, but it reveals facts about you such as your religious beliefs or political beliefs, trade union memberships, genome and biometric data, sexual preferences, etc. This specific type of data is given added protection under data security laws.

Call our advisors today for free advice on whether you are eligible to make a personal data breach claim. There is no obligation to start a claim, but you could receive answers to any questions you have.

How Much Can I Claim If My Employer Breached My Personal Data?

How much data breach compensation could be awarded in a successful employer data breach claim? As we have discussed in the previous section, if your case is a success, you can claim for the material and non-material damage you have suffered.

In order to have a valid data breach claim, the onus will be on you to prove how the organisation responsible for keeping your data secure failed to do this in accordance with data protection law. This will need to have led to your personal data being breached and you subsequently suffering with material or non-material damage.

However, to give you an idea of the amounts that could be awarded for non-material damage, we have looked to the Judicial College Guidelines JCG which is often used by the legal system to value injuries.

Health ProblemSeverityAdditional InformationPotential Compensation
Psychological injurySevereAs a result, the sufferer's work, school, and personal lives will be severely impacted. There is a poor prognosis for recovery. £54,830 to £115,730
Psychological injuryModerately Severe There will have been a significant impact on the sufferer's home, school, or work life. Nevertheless, the prognosis for recovery is better than for those in the severe bracket. £19,070 to £54,830
Psychological injuryModerateWork, school, or home life and the ability to function may have been affected. However there has been significant recovery.£5,860 to £19,070
Psychological injuryLess SevereThe length of time they suffered, and the extent to which sleep habits and daily routine were negatively impacted will be taken into consideration. £1,540 to £5,860
PTSDSevereAs a result, the sufferer cannot function at the same level as before suffering from PTSD. Negative effects will be felt in every aspect of the sufferer's life.£59,860 to £100,670
PTSDModerately SevereAfter receiving treatment, the prognosis for recovery is better than that of severe PTSD. £23,150 to £59,860
PTSDModerateA good level of recovery will have been made and symptoms that remain will not be major. £8,180 to £23,150
PTSDLess SevereWithin two years, there should only be minor symptoms with a near full recovery made. £3,950 to £8,180

Make A No Win No Fee Data Breach Claim

If your personal data has been compromised in a data breach at work, and you meet the eligibility criteria to make a personal data breach compensation claim, one of the solicitors on our panel may be able to help you.

As well as having years of experience handling data breach claims, they may offer to represent you under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement. With this No Win No Fee contract in place, you will not be expected to pay them for their services in the following instances:

  • Upfront.
  • During the claims process.
  • If the claim fails.

Should your claim be successful, your solicitor will be due a success fee. This fee will be taken directly from your compensation as a legally limited percentage.

To see if you can make a claim with one of the solicitors on our panel, you can contact our advisors. They can also help answer your questions, such as, ‘Can my employer give out my personal information without my consent?’. To get in touch with them today, you can:

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