In this guide we explore your options should your personal data be compromised in a disciplinary records data breach. To claim data breach compensation, you must meet specific eligibility requirements. We will provide further guidance on this throughout our guide.
Disciplinary records data breach claims guide
Disciplinary records may contain different kinds of personal data, some of which can be more sensitive. We look at examples of the types of data that may be included in your records. Additionally, we look at ways this data could be compromised and what organisations could do to help protect your data.
We examine potential steps you could follow after a UK GDPR data breach. Additionally, we look at when an organisation should notify you of a data breach involving your personal data and what to do when they don’t.
We explore the compensation you could claim for following a breach of your personal data. Additionally, we look at what you must prove to claim data breach compensation.
To conclude, we examine Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA). Hiring a solicitor under a CFA could reduce the financial risks associated with legal representation. A CFA is a specific type of a No Win No Fee arrangement.
Free legal advice is available from our advisors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Contact us today to discuss your potential claim.
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Choose A Section
- What Is A Disciplinary Records Data Breach?
- Examples of A Data Breach
- What Should I Do After A Disciplinary Records Data Breach?
- What Compensation Could I Receive From A Data Breach?
- No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors – What are The Benefits?
- More Information About A Disciplinary Records Data Breach
What is a Disciplinary Records Data Breach?
Legislation is in place to protect personal data. The Data Protection Act 2018 sits alongside the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) to set out a data controller and data processors responsibilities for protecting personal data.
A data controller is responsible for setting the purpose for processing personal data and may also process it themselves. A data processor acts on behalf of the controller.
Additionally, the UK GDPR provides those affected by a personal data breach the right to seek compensation for the damages they have incurred.
A personal data breach is a security incident that affects the availability, confidentiality and integrity of your personal information. Personal information is any data that can be used to identify you. Your disciplinary records could contain different types of personal information, such as:
- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- Email address
- Bank account details.
Special category data may also be included in your disciplinary records. Additional protections are given to special category data due to its sensitive nature. It includes:
- Information about a trade union membership
- Information about your race and ethnicity
- Data relating to your health, such as disabilities
Get in touch with our advisors if your personal data was compromised in a disciplinary records data breach.
Examples of a Data Breach
There are various ways a disciplinary records data breach could occur. One example is human error. However, organisations should provide staff with adequate data protection training to prevent instances of accidental data breaches, such as sending an email to the wrong address.
Additionally, they should ensure their cybersecurity systems are updated regularly to avoid cybercriminals gaining access to personal data.
Data protection breach examples can include:
- Email sent to the wrong person. If an email containing your disciplinary records is sent to the wrong recipient, a personal data breach may have occurred. Additionally, a failure to use the BCC (blind carbon copy) feature when sending emails could also result in a data breach. The BCC feature conceals the email addresses of multiple recipients from each other.
- Disciplinary records sent to the wrong address. If your address changed and you notified your employer, but they failed to update their data and ended up sending a letter to the wrong address, a data breach has occurred.
- Verbal disclosure. This could happen over the phone, for example, if sufficient data security checks were not carried out. It could also occur if someone is overheard.
Get in touch with our advisors to discuss the consequences of a disciplinary records data breach that compromised your personal data. They can advise on what a data breach is and if you can claim.
What Should I Do After a Disciplinary Records Data Breach?
If an organisation discovers that your personal data was involved in a data breach and this risks your rights and freedoms, they should inform you without undue delay. You should also be told what information was included in the data breach. Additionally, you can ask how the breach occurred and what is being done to put it right.
If you suspect a data breach has occurred, you could notify the organisation. However, if the organisation does not respond or does so in an unsatisfactory manner, you can report your suspicions to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The ICO was established to uphold the rights and freedoms of a data subject. They’re an independent authority that can fine organisations for not complying with data protection laws. However, they cannot give you compensation for a data breach.
Copies of the communication between yourself and the organisation, or the ICO could be used as evidence to help support a data breach compensation claim. However, it’s important to note that you do not need to make a complaint to the ICO to claim. To claim, you must prove:
- An organisation’s failings caused a personal data breach
- You suffered financially or mentally due to the breach of your personal data.
Following a disciplinary records data breach, you may want to seek legal advice. A solicitor specialising in data breach could help gather supporting evidence. Our advisors could put you in touch with an experienced solicitor from our panel if your claim is eligible.
What Compensation Could I Receive From a Data Breach?
Should you want to claim compensation for a disciplinary records data breach, you may wish to know how compensation is awarded in data breach claims.
The Vidal-Hall and Others v. Google Inc. (2015) Court of Appeal set a precedent. In this case, it was determined that damages could be awarded for mental distress suffered without claiming for a financial loss. As such, you can claim for mental suffering, such as post traumatic stress disorder or distress, even if the data breach did not harm your finances.
To receive compensation for your mental health injury, you can claim under the non-material damages head.
When assigning value to mental suffering, legal professionals use a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them. Injuries are listed with guideline compensation brackets. Examples of these figures from the 16th edition of the guidelines, released in April 2022, are included in the table below.
| Injury | Severity | Potential Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental suffering | Severe (a) | £54,830 - £115,730 | This mental injury makes it difficult to cope in relationships and with daily life. The prognosis is very poor. |
| Mental suffering | Moderately severe (b) | £19,070 - £54,830 | Significant problems occur in different areas of life. This also impacts relationships. However, the prognosis is better. |
| Mental suffering | Moderate (c) | £5,860 - £19,070 | Despite issues with life and in relationships there is a significant improvement and the prognosis is good. |
| Mental suffering | Less severe (d) | £1,540 - £5,860 | A period of disability occurs with an impact on daily activities and sleep. The extent of harm will be considered when valuing the award. |
| Anxiety Disorder | Severe (a) | £59,86 - £100,670 | Permanent issues preventing the person from functioning at the same levels as before the trauma with a bad impact on all areas of life. |
| Anxiety Disorder | Moderately severe (b) | £23,150 - £59,860 | A significant disability, although professional help may result in some recovery. However, the disability lasts into the foreseeable future. |
| Anxiety Disorder | Moderate (c) | £8,180 - £23,150 | The person will have mostly recovered but some non-grossly disabling symptoms remain. |
| Anxiety Disorder | Less severe (d) | £3,950 - £8,180 | A virtually full recovery, however, some minor symptoms may last beyond 1-2 years. |
Please only use these figures as a guide because they will differ from what’s listed in the table.
What Else Could I Claim For A Disciplinary Records Data Breach?
You may also experience financial harm due to a personal data breach. For example, you may have had your identity stolen leading to someone taking out loans in your name. As a result, you could experience financial loss and an impact on your credit score.
To recover any monetary damages, you could claim under the material damages head. However, evidence needs to be submitted, such as bank statements.
To discuss damages for your disciplinary records data breach claim, contact our advisors.
No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors – What are the Benefits?
You could enlist the services of a data breach solicitor to represent your claim. If so, an experienced solicitor from our panel could provide their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which is a type of No Win No Fee service.
Under a CFA:
- You won’t pay any fees for your solicitor’s services if the claim fails
- You will pay a success fee from your compensation if the claim succeeds. This is subject to a legal cap.
Contact Us For Free To See If You Can Claim
Our advisors are available to discuss your potential disciplinary records data breach claim. Furthermore, if you require any further clarification on anything mentioned in this guide, an advisor can help.
To speak to a member of our team:
- Contact us online
- Call us on the number at the top of the page
- Use the live chat feature below
More Information About A Disciplinary Records Data Breach
We’ve provided additional external links that may be helpful:
- NHS – Stress
- GOV – Making a Data Protection Complaint Guide from the Government
- ICO – Data Security Trends
Further guides:
What Should I Do If My Data Is Breached?
We hope this guide on claiming following a disciplinary records data breach has helped. However, if you have any other questions, please get in touch on the number at the top of the page.
Writer Danielle Beck
Editor Meg Monsoon