This guide will explain when employee data breach claims against the Ministry of Justice might be warranted. We’ll look at how information about you is protected by new laws like the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Furthermore, we’ll look at how the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can fine organisations for breaking these laws.

As we continue, we’ll show you that if you’re employed by the Ministry of Justice, and you can prove that you’ve suffered financial or psychological harm following an employer GDPR data breach, you could start legal action to claim compensation for your suffering. We’ll also show how much might be awarded.

If you have any questions during the course of our article, please use live chat to connect with us. Should you decide that you’d like to pursue compensation, you could use the Legal Expert banner below to connect with them. They can provide free legal advice and could appoint a specialist data breach solicitor to your case if it is strong enough. Their number is 0800 073 8804 if you’d prefer to call them directly.

Select A Section

• What Is An Employee GDPR Data Breach Claim Against The Ministry Of Justice?
• What Are GDPR Rules?
• Are Ministry Of Justice Employees Covered By The GDPR?
• What 7 GDPR Principles Should Employers Follow?
• Types Of Data Which Is Covered By GDPR Rules
• What Are Breaches Of The GDPR By Your Employer?
• How Might An Employer Breach GDPR Rules?
• Could An Employer Share Your Personal Data Without Your Permission?
• What Happens When A Government Employer Breaches The GDPR?
• What Is The Information Commissioner’s Office?
• Guidance From The ICO  On Protecting Government Employees Data
• Can I Report The Ministry Of Justice If They Break The GDPR’s Rules?
• Calculating Damages For A GDPR Data Breach Claim Against The Ministry Of Justice?
• Making No Win No Fee GDPR Data Breach Claims Against The Ministry Of Justice
• Resources Where You Can Find Out More
• GDPR: FAQs For Government Employers

What Is An Employee GDPR Data Breach Claim Against The Ministry Of Justice?

Incidents that cause data breaches are usually associated with some form of security problem. As a result, information about you (the data subject) is changed, lost, accessed, destroyed or disclosed illegally.

When making employee data breach claims against the Ministry of Justice, you will need to show that:

• The breach took place, and data relating to you was involved.
• The breach was the fault of the defendant.
• As a result, you suffered psychologically, financially or both.

You should bear in mind that time limits apply to such claims. Generally, you’ll have 6 years to claim. This runs from the date you found out the breach had happened. However, where a claim is related to a human rights breach, you’ll only have 1 year.

Although you’ll often hear about privacy violations caused by criminal entities, you could also claim for accidental data breaches caused by human error. Whatever type of breach has occurred, if your finances or mental health have been impacted, you could be eligible to claim damages.

What Are GDPR Rules?

The GDPR and the DPA are some of the strongest laws regarding data privacy in the world. These pieces of legislation mean that organisations (or data controllers) must have a lawful reason before personal data is processed. This can sometimes be achieved by explaining to you that your data is going to be used and asking you to consent to it happening. That’s why you’ll often notice tick boxes on application forms.

Additionally, data controllers must make efforts to try to ensure any data they process is secure. By doing so, the number of breaches resulting from hackers, cybercriminals and others should reduce.

Importantly, while many breaches relate to computer security issues like ransomware, malware, keyloggers and phishing emails, non-electronic data is also protected by the rules of the GDPR. That includes hand-written or printed documents containing sensitive data.

Are Ministry Of Justice Employees Covered By The GDPR?

All companies and organisations that process personal information are obliged to comply with the GDPR. This applies to employers, including those representing government departments.

While you may not realise it, your employer will know a lot about you. While the data they collect is necessary (like your bank details), you probably wouldn’t want it being leaked. As your employment continues, information relating to sickness, disciplinary issues, training and performance could all be added to your records.

It is important to note that your information doesn’t need to have been hacked by cybercriminals for you to be eligible to claim. For instance, if a colleague overheard your manager talking about a disciplinary incident involving you, then a breach is likely to have happened. As a result, you could be eligible to claim for the stress that resulted.

What 7 GDPR Principles Should Employers Follow?

The GPDR’s rules are based on several data protection principles. They are:

1. Fairness, transparency, lawfulness. Processing requires a lawful basis and the data subject needs to be informed when their data is to be used.
2. Purpose limitation. It is illegal to use data in ways that were not specified when it was collected.
3. Data minimisation. Data processors should only collect the absolute minimum amount of personal information.
4. Accuracy. This means personal information should be kept accurate. If errors are spotted, the data should be deleted or corrected immediately.
5. Storage limitation. While no specific time is defined, the GDPR only allows personal information to be stored while it is needed.
6. Confidentiality and integrity (security). Processes should be used to keep personal data secure and confidential. For example, data could be anonymised or encrypted.
7. Accountability. All data controllers have to take accountability for data protection and show how they comply with the new legislation.

Types Of Data Which Is Covered By GDPR Rules

The rules of the GDPR apply to any data that might be used to identify an individual. But what type of data does that include? Any of the following information held by your employer might help to identify you directly:

• Your name.
• Contact details.
• National Insurance number.
• Staff number.

Also, some information that may be stored by your employer might indirectly lead to your identification. Therefore, information relating to your ethnicity, disabilities, age, sexual orientation or marital status is also protected.

Any type of information, whether physical or electronic, is covered if it is:

• Accessed from a filing system.
• Processed electronically by computers.
• Found in accessible records.
• Stored by public bodies.

If you’d like to learn more about how the GDPR applies to employee data breach claims against the Ministry of Justice, please get in touch today.

What Are Breaches Of The GDPR By Your Employer?

There are many ways an employer could cause an employee data breach. Some are accidental, but others are deliberate. Therefore, rather than trying to provide a full list, we have listed some example scenarios below. In the next section, we’ll provide details of a news article relating to real MoJ data breaches that are said to have occurred recently.

Here are a few of the ways an employer might cause a personal data breach:

• Where a computer is being used in a public area and unauthorised parties can read personal information.
• If communications intended for you are posted or emailed to the incorrect person.
• Where personal or sensitive documents are not securely shredded before being disposed of.
• When an unencrypted device containing sensitive information ends up in the wrong hands.

If you can provide evidence that you have suffered damage to your finances or mental health because of these or similar scenarios, you may be able to begin a claim. Get in touch via live chat and we’ll provide more details.

How Might An Employer Breach GDPR Rules?

In a news report online, it was identified that the MoJ had to tell the ICO about 17 serious data breaches in 2019.

The report said that in one case, the MoJ sent records to the incorrect prisoner. Here, 143 people were said to be affected. In another, the names and addresses of children involved in a domestic abuse case were disclosed illegally.

Additionally, the report detailed an incident where an unencrypted memory stick was stolen from a probation officer’s vehicle. It contained around 33,000 documents relating to a fraud trial.

This goes to show how new GDPR and DPA rules are starting to improve data privacy. Without this new legislation in place, these incidents would not have been reported. With the new system in place, organisations like the MoJ have the opportunity to make changes to stop them from happening again.

Report: https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252494038/Ministry-of-Justice-in-the-dock-for-catalogue-of-serious-data-breaches

Could An Employer Share Your Personal Data Without Your Permission?

Data sharing is something that happens every day. It makes a lot of processes quicker and smoother. As per the GDPR’s rules, though, a lawful basis must exist for data to be shared. On many occasions, your employer will ask for your consent to share data about you. That will then give them legal grounds to continue. However, it is possible to share your data without your agreement in some instances. That’s when:

• Your employer is legally obliged to share your details. For example, they must send payroll data to HMRC by law.
• Your employer suspects your life, or somebody else’s, might be at risk. This is called vital interests and means they could share details about you with police or other emergency services.

If you can prove that your employer has shared your details without a legal reason to do so, and you have suffered mentally or financially as a result, you could claim compensation. Use our live chat service if you’d like to know more about claiming on this basis.

What Happens When A Government Employer Breaches The GDPR?

Companies are obliged to do several things if they find out about a potential data breach. Most firms will therefore have an action plan of what needs to happen following a security incident. It will include:

• Contacting the ICO to let them know what has happened.
• Beginning an immediate investigation into what has happened. They should attempt to ascertain what information that’s been exposed, when the breach happened and who it could affect.
• Telling data subjects what has happened if it could put them at risk.

To substantiate employee data breach claims against the Ministry of Justice, you’ll need evidence. Our advice here is that if you are sent an email or letter about a breach, you should keep it safe. Once you have proven that the breach occurred, you’ll need additional evidence to prove how it caused you to suffer financial or psychological harm.

What Is The Information Commissioner’s Office?

The ICO is an independent authority that promotes data privacy and police laws, including the DPA and the GDPR. They were founded in 1984. If they are made aware of data protection issues, the ICO is empowered to investigate. Where laws have been broken, they are able to issue fines to the company responsible. These fines should be proportionate, dissuasive and effective. Alternatively, they can tell the company to work differently when processing data.

However, even when wrongdoing is identified, the ICO isn’t able to compensate those affected. Instead, it is down to the individual data subject to take action themselves, and compensation will be paid by the data processor responsible for the breach.

If you are thinking of claiming, you may wish to discuss the case with Legal Expert. They can help with employee data breach claims against the Ministry of Justice. When you get in touch, they’ll review your case for free and explain your options.

Guidance From The ICO On Protecting Government Employees Data

The ICO provides a lot of documents to support employers. In the Employment Practices Guide, for instance, they show how employers need to use the GDPR in association with:

• The monitoring of staff.
• Sickness and health records.
• Recruitment procedures.
• Staff employment records.

Furthermore, the code explains that GDPR rules cover temps, contractors, agency workers, former employees, failed applicants as well as current members of staff.

Can I Report The Ministry Of Justice If They Break The GDPR’s Rules?

The ICO is there to help you if you would like a workplace data breach to be investigated. Before you get in touch, though, you must try to resolve the issue first through your employer. Therefore, you’ll need to begin with a formal complaint. If you aren’t happy with their response, you should escalate your complaint if possible. If 3 months pass without any meaningful response, you can ask the ICO to step in.

Again, if the ICO do investigate, it won’t mean you’ll be compensated. The ICO’s actions are limited to enforcement notices and financial penalties for the organisation if they are found to be at fault. The only way you could receive compensation is by beginning legal proceedings yourself.

Importantly, an ICO report is not required in all cases. If enough evidence exists to prove that the GDPR data breach took place, your claim could be settled without ICO intervention.

If you want to find out more, please speak to an advisor in live chat.

Calculating Damages For A GDPR Data Breach Claim Against The Ministry Of Justice?

As we’ve said already, if you suffer because of a personal data breach, you might be eligible to seek compensation. In general, there are two main elements to a claim:

1. Material Damages. The part of your claim that is based on financial costs, expenses and losses.
2. Non-material damages. In this part of the claim, you’ll seek compensation for any psychological issues that arise due to the breach.

When the hearing of Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc [2015] was reviewed at the Court of Appeal, the Court explained that compensation might be payable if the claimant has suffered financial or psychological harm as a result of the data breach. Also, you are allowed to claim for these injuries whether you’ve lost money or not. The Court also directed that mental injuries could be valued with reference to personal injury cases.

We have added a compensation table below. To show how much could be awarded for the anxiety, distress and depression that could result from a breach, we’ve used figures from the Judicial College Guidelines. These outline guideline compensation brackets for a number of different injuries.

Injury	Severity Level	Compensation Bracket	Further Guidance
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	Severe	£56,180 to £94,470	Permanent symptoms of PTSD such as suicidal ideation, flashbacks, hyper-arousal and mood disorders.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	Moderately Severe	£21,730 to £56,180	While suffering will be significant and similar to above, professional support should improve the claimant's condition.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	Less Severe	Up to £7,680	Mild symptoms that resolve in full within a short period of time.
General Psychiatric Damage	Severe	£51,460 to £108,620	The claimant will struggle significantly. Specifically, with coping with life in general and managing relationships. Also it is unlikely that treatment will help and the claimant will therefore remain vulnerable. As a result very poor prognosis will be given.
General Psychiatric Damage	Moderately Severe	£17,900 to £51,460	There will be a more optimistic prognosis but the claimant will initially suffer as described above.
General Psychiatric Damage	Moderate	£5,500 to £17,900	In this category, a good level of recovery will have occurred meaning the prognosis will be good.

You will usually be invited to a medical review as part of your claim. This is so an independent medical specialist can try to determine how much you have suffered and to prove that the injuries were inflicted by the breach. To achieve this, they will use your medical records and ask you questions about how the data breach has impacted you mentally.

Once they have completed the review, a report detailing any psychological damage will be prepared. It will also detail the medical expert’s prognosis of your recovery.

Whilst these medical reviews are mandatory, most solicitors will be able to book a local appointment for you to limit how far you need to travel.

Making No Win No Fee Personal Data Breach Claims Against The Ministry Of Justice

Now that you’ve seen why employee data breach claims against the Ministry of Justice might be warranted, let’s discuss how you could fund legal representation. In many cases, you could claim on a No Win No Fee basis. This could remove the need to make an upfront payment but still allow you access to an experienced data breach solicitor.

This service may not be appropriate for every claim. This is because the solicitor needs to check that there is a reasonable chance of winning your claim first. After your claim has been properly reviewed, you’ll receive a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) if the solicitor is happy to continue. The CFA is your contract (and the formal title of a No Win No Fee agreement), and it explains that you won’t need to cover the cost of your solicitor’s work if compensation is not awarded. This means you won’t be asked to pay them anything upfront, as the claim is ongoing or in the event that it’s unsuccessful.

You will only need to cover your solicitor’s fees where a positive outcome to your case is achieved. If that happens, a success fee will be taken from your settlement amount. Details of this success fee are included within the CFA. It is a fixed percentage of any compensation awarded. By law, success fees have been limited to ensure you always get the majority of the settlement you’re awarded.

If you are interested in claiming on a No Win No Fee basis, why not ask Legal Expert to review your claim for free? They have an experienced team of data breach solicitors and could appoint one to your case if it is suitable. Contact them using the banner below to find out more.

Resources Where You Can Find Out More

We have almost completed our guide on employee data breach claims against the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, to provide additional support, we have added some more guides and links that might help you below.

Personal Information Charter – Government information about the ways in which the MoJ processes personal information.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – As this is one of the conditions listed in our compensation table, we’ve supplied more information on PTSD.

ICO Register – This is where you can search for details of over 900,000 registered data controllers.

Claiming Against Your Employer – Here, we examine when you could sue your employer if harmed by a workplace data breach.

HMRC Data Breaches – This guide shows the process employees of HMRC should follow if they wish to claim.

How To Prove Liability – A guide that explains methods you could use to help prove liability if your employer denies liability for an accident at work.

GDPR: FAQs For Government Employers

You have arrived at the final part of our guide about employee data breach claims against the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, we would like to take the opportunity to try and answer some common questions that arise.

How long does a personal data breach claim take?

The time taken to settle data breach claims varies from case to case. Where the data controller admits liability quickly, the claim could be processed in a matter of months. Where liability takes longer to prove, the claim could take longer.

What can I do if my data has been breached?

If you can prove that you’ve suffered financial or psychological harm following a GDPR data breach, you could complain to the responsible party. If you’re not happy with how they’ve dealt with the issue, you could ask the ICO to investigate. Separately, you could seek damages from the responsible party if you have suffered mental or financial harm as a result of the breach.

Does the ICO have to issue a fine for me to claim?

If the ICO fines an organisation following a GDPR data breach, it will also write a report explaining what has happened. While this report might be useful, it is not a mandatory requirement when seeking damages. Therefore, you could still claim compensation without an ICO investigation report.

How do I start a claim?

To begin a compensation claim because you’ve suffered due to a personal data breach, you will need to collate any evidence that can support your claim. This could include your medical records to show how you’ve suffered psychologically, plus financial records to show any losses. Then you may wish to contact a specialist data breach lawyer to see if your claim can proceed.

Thank you for reading our guide on employee data breach claims against the Ministry of Justice.

If you suffer damage to your mental health or finances due to data protection failures, you could be compensated. This guide will explain when employee data breach claims against Vodafone might be justified. Additionally, we’ll explain the claims process and how much you could receive in compensation.

If you work for Vodafone and you’re worried that your personal information has been leaked by your employer, then this guide could prove useful. We are going to show how the General Data Protection Regulation (GPDR) protects the type of information you give to your employer.

Also, we’ll look at what the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is and the action it can take following data breaches.

Explaining Employee Data Protection Rights

In May 2018, the GDPR became part of UK law when the Data Protection Act 2018 was enacted.  Data safety is now a high priority and these laws aim to reduce the number of data breaches.

You might not realise it, but the leaking of personal data can cause serious suffering like depression, anxiety and distress. As a result, you could be eligible to claim for this suffering. Furthermore, you could also be compensated for any monetary losses that result from a breach as well.

We have specialist advisors who can answer any questions about claims in our live chat service. If you believe you should be compensated, you may wish to connect with Legal Expert via their banner. They have a team of data breach solicitors who may be able to help. To contact them on the phone, you can call 0800 073 8804.

Select A Section

1. What Is An Employee Data Breach Claim Against Vodafone?
2. What Is The GDPR?
3. Do Data Protection Rules Apply To Vodafone Employees?
4. What Are The GDPR Protection Principles?
5. What Categories Of Data Are Protected By The GDPR?
6. Examples Of Data Breaches Of Employers
7. What Could My Employer Have Done To Breach The GDPR?
8. When Is Consent Necessary Before Sharing Employment Data?
9. What Are The Consequences Of Breaching The GDPR?
10. What Is The Information Commissioner’s Office?
11. Guidelines On Protecting Employment Data And Information
12. When And How To Report A GDPR Breach
13. Employee Data Breach Claims Against Vodafone Compensation Calculator
14. Making A No Win No Fee Employee Data Breach Claim Against Vodafone
15. Resources And Services
16. Employment Data Breach Claim FAQs

What Is An Employee Data Breach Claim Against Vodafone?

Before looking at why employee data breach claims against Vodafone could be possible, let’s look at some GDPR terms:

• A data subject. The individual who is going to provide their personal data to an organisation.
• The data controller. A company that would like to process information relating to a data subject.
• The data processor. The organisation that will process data on behalf of the data controller. For example, an outsourced payroll provider could manage wage payments on behalf of an employer.
• Data processing. Actions involving personal data such as collection, deletion, storage or dissemination.

In terms of the GDPR, data breaches are caused by security problems. As a result, information that relates to a data subject could be lost, unlawfully disclosed, destroyed, changed or accessed illegally.

To make a successful employee data breach claim, it will need to be proven that:

• Data relating to you was exposed in a data breach involving your employer.
• The breach was the fault of your employer.
• Due to that data breach, you suffered financial losses or damage to your mental health.

While you will often see articles about data breaches involving phishing emails, ransomware, viruses and other techniques used by hackers, data breaches can also be the result of human error within a company. Regardless of the cause, you could claim if the breach resulted in your suffering.

The time limit for data breach claims is 6-years from the date you gained knowledge of the breach. If the case is centred on a human rights breach, the limitation period is just 1-year.

What Is The GDPR?

The GDPR is a set of rules introduced while Britain was part of the EU. Following Brexit, the law was amended to become the UK GDPR. It applies to those who wish to process data about UK nationals whether the company is based in the UK or abroad.

Legally, before collecting and processing personal data, a data controller must ensure there is a lawful basis to do so. This can come from a contractual arrangement, a legal need or by asking the data subject to permit the use of their information. The last of these reasons is why you see so many boxes popping up on websites these days.

Additionally, data controllers need to make sure information is processed in a secure and confidential manner. Therefore, many have had to adopt new security protocols since the GDPR’s introduction.

The GPDR will also apply to paper-based documentation if it is a) stored in a filing system or b) going to be put into an electronic system. Any digital data of a personal nature are also covered by the new laws.

Legal Expert offers free legal advice about employee data breach claims against Vodafone. Please use their banners if you’d like to connect with them.

Do Data Protection Rules Apply To Vodafone Employees?

All employers need information about their staff. For example, they’ll need to know your bank details if you are going to be paid electronically. With so much data that could be used to identify you, it is covered by the GDPR. Furthermore, to try to prevent data breaches, it must be stored as securely as possible.

If a colleague were to gain access to your work records, it could lead to you suffering. You might become anxious, embarrassed or stressed when thinking about what they’ve seen.

Where records are stolen by cybercriminals, you might lose out financially too. If you do suffer because your employer is involved in a data breach, this is the type of suffering you could claim for.

Please use live chat if you have questions about the claims process.

What Are The GDPR Protection Principles?

Here are some brief details about the founding principles of the GDPR, found in Article 5.

1. Where personal data processing occurs, it must be legal, fair and transparent.
2. The processed data cannot be used for any other reason than specified.
3. Organisations should not collect any information that’s not required.
4. Personal data that’s stored needs to be kept up to date.
5. It is not legal to keep any personal data for longer than it is needed.
6. Data must be processed using confidential and secure methods.
7. The organisation must be accountable for the processing of personal data and be able to show how they comply with these rules.

What Categories Of Data Are Protected By The GDPR?

As part of their data processing planning, data controllers should establish whether they are using personal data. The ICO definition is that personal data is anything that could be used to identify the data subject. That means information that could lead to the direct or indirect identification of an individual must be protected.

Examples of the information held by employers that might directly identify you:

• Your name.
• Employee number.
• National Insurance details.
• Mobile or telephone number.
• Your computer username.
• Email address.
• Home address.

Information that may mean you could be identified indirectly:

• Religious beliefs.
• Marital status.
• Disability information.
• Sexual orientation.
• Your age.
• Your race or ethnicity.

Examples Of Data Breaches Of Employers

Let’s now take a look at a few scenarios which could lead to an employee data breach:

• If electronic devices without encryption are left behind on a train.
• Where a cybercriminal gang exploits weaknesses in IT security to steal personal data.
• When staff with no business reason look at your employment record.
• If a manager discusses your poor performance in front of other colleagues.
• Where staff can look at each other’s records as they are stored in insecure parts of the computer network.
• If sensitive documentation gets into the wrong hand as it wasn’t shredded before disposal.

Would like us to check if you might have a valid claim? If so, speak to us on live chat today.

What Could My Employer Have Done To Breach The GDPR?

On the ICO’s website, you can search through all of the actions they have taken and fines they’ve issued. At present, no data breaches involving Vodafone have been listed. However, a breach in 2020/2021 involving Vodafone Group’s low-cost operator announced that around 2.5 million customer’s personal data had been accessed by hackers.

While at this stage it isn’t clear whether the ICO will get involved and whether or not UK customers have been affected, it’s said that personal data and SIM data had been accessed and is available for sale on the dark web (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/vodafones-ho-mobile-admits-data-breach-25m-users-impacted/).

Relating to employees, however, there aren’t any reportable incidents involving the mobile phone operator. Therefore, to give some idea of how employers can get things wrong, we’ll look at a case study involving another company.

The incident is reported to have involved a sports retailer, Sports Direct, whose staff portal was attacked using a known technical vulnerability. As a result, unencrypted data relating to employees was stolen. According to the news site, the attacker left their number so that management could call them.

In the article, it is claimed that the company didn’t tell staff about the breach. However, it did contact the ICO to make them aware of the incident.

Details: https://www.theregister.com/2017/02/08/sports_direct_fails_to_inform_staff_over_hack_and_data_breach/

When Is Consent Necessary Before Sharing Employment Data?

The modern world thrives because of data. It floats around the internet, the cloud and businesses. Generally, data sharing is a great way to speed up processes that would take a long time if they were paper-based. However, that doesn’t mean companies can just move data around as they please.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, data controllers must have a lawful basis to process any personal information. However, that doesn’t always mean they require your consent to supply information about you to others.

Sometimes, there is a legal requirement to share data about employees. One example of this is when HMRC asks for information relating to income or tax payments.

Additionally, a legal basis to share information might be formed if your employer believes that you or somebody else is at risk of harm. In that situation, they could give your details to the police.

Whether your consent is needed or not, your employer can only share the minimum amount of information. By doing so, fewer data about you is being passed around and therefore the risk of a data breach is lowered.

What Are The Consequences Of Breaching The GDPR?

Where an organisation finds out about a data protection breach, they are obliged to act quickly and inform you without delay. They must begin a risk assessment and investigation to find out what has happened. Where the breach is reportable, the company should tell the ICO within 72 hours:

• What happened.
• Who might be impacted by the data breach or who has already been affected?
• When the breach came to light and how they found out about it.
• The steps that have been taken to try and resolve the issue.

Additionally, they need to communicate with data subjects who might be put at risk by the breach. One piece of evidence that could help during employee data breach claims against Vodafone is an email or letter telling you that information about you has been illegally accessed. Therefore, it would be a good idea to retain a copy if you’re sent one.

If you want to know what other evidence could be used to support your claim, connect to live chat today.

What Is The Information Commissioner’s Office?

Each country that adopted the GDPR appointed a watchdog to oversee it. Here in the UK, our watchdog is the Information Commissioner’s Office. Their role means that they:

• Keep a record of all organisations that register with them.
• Investigate complaints and concerns raised by the public.
• Take control of several data protection laws.
• Conduct investigations where breaches are discovered.
• Use enforcement notices where companies need to change their working practices.
• Use penalty notices to fine companies that have broken data protection laws.

As we’ll explain in the next section, they also compile documentation to support those affected by the DPA and the GDPR.

Guidelines On Protecting Employment Data And Information

The role of a watchdog is not just about punishing those who make mistakes. Whilst that might be necessary on occasion, the ICO prefers to be supportive. Therefore, they produce documentation aimed to help those who have to implement the GDPR.

For employers, they have written the comprehensive Employment Practices Code. This is a tool that can be used to ensure that recruitment, staff monitoring and other processes are compliant with the new legislation.

When And How To Report A GDPR Breach

The ICO is happy to review your concerns about data handling if:

• You have complained formally to your employer first.
• They have provided you with a formal response.
• 3-months or less have gone by since your last useful update.

The ICO website says that they could turn your request down if there has been any undue delay in them receiving it. For information on when to complain to the ICO, please use live chat to talk with us.

Employee Data Breach Claims Against Vodafone Compensation Calculator

Compensation in data breach claims is usually made up of two parts. Firstly, you can claim for material damages. This is used to cover any costs or monetary losses caused by the breach. After that, you could seek non-material damages for any suffering caused by anxiety, stress, depression or other psychological issues. This part of the claim is called non-material damages.

The Court of Appeal in the case of Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc [2015] made it clear that:

• Claims for non-material damages could be made whether you lost money due to the data breach or not. Before this case, financial damage was required in order to claim.
• When valuing mental health injuries, the amount of compensation should be based on the formulas that are used in personal injury cases.

The Judicial College Guidelines are used in personal injury cases to help gauge compensation levels. Therefore, our compensation table includes its figures. Please bear in mind, while we have provided potential figures, you’ll get a better estimate if your case is reviewed by a data breach lawyer.

Type of claim	Level of Injury	Settlement Details
PTSD Injuries	Severe	£56,180 to £94,470
PTSD Injuries	Moderately Severe	£21,730 to £56,180
PTSD Injuries	Moderate	£7,680 to £21,730
PTSD Injuries	Less Severe	Up to £7,680
Psychiatric Damage (General)	Severe	£51,460 to £108,620
Psychiatric Damage (General)	Moderately Severe	£17,900 to £51,460
Psychiatric Damage (General)	Moderate	£5,500 to £17,900
Psychiatric Damage (General)	Less Severe	Up to £5,500

An important part of the claims process is proving firstly that your injuries were caused by the breach and secondly, determining how serious the injuries are. That’s why you’ll need to attend a medical assessment during your claim. Most law firms can arrange these locally on your behalf.

Your medical review will be conducted by an expert that is independent of your claim. They’ll ask questions and read your medical records to try and determine the extent of your injuries. They’ll also provide a prognosis to explain how you will suffer in the future (if at all).

Once the meeting is over, a report will be compiled that sets out the assessor’s findings.

Making A No Win No Fee Employee Data Breach Claim Against Vodafone

To mitigate against the fact that some people don’t make claims because they’re worried about solicitor’s fees, many companies provide No Win No Fee services. As the law firm is taking on most of the risk, you’ll benefit from lower stress levels during your claim. You’ll still benefit from having a data breach solicitor on your side, but you won’t have as much financial risk.

To reduce their risk, solicitors will check your case before accepting it. Should they decide to work for you, their services will be funded by a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Within the contract, the criteria that will need to be achieved before you pay your solicitor will be explained. Essentially, though, you won’t have to pay them if they don’t win your case.

Where compensation is awarded to you, your solicitor will retain a fixed percentage of it to pay for their work. In the CFA, you’ll find the percentage listed as a success fee. That means you’ll know what is payable before you sign up with the solicitor. Importantly, these fees are legally capped to try and stop overcharging.

Legal Expert provide a No Win No Fee service for claims they take on. Use their banners or call them on 0800 073 8804 if you’d like to know more.

Resources And Services

Now it’s time to provide some links and external resources that might be helpful during employee data breach claims against Vodafone.

Data Protection Officers (DPOs) – ICO information on how DPOs help with implementing and managing the GDPR’s rules.

Treating PTSD – This NHS resource shows what options are available during the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

HMRC Employee Data Breaches – If you work for HMRC and you suffer due to a breach, this guide could help.

Claiming Against An Employer – A general look at what constitutes data breaches by employers and when you could start a claim.

Temporary Workers Rights – Details about what rights temporary workers have if they want to seek compensation from an employer.

Employment Data Breach Claim FAQs

We are going to answer some common questions relating to data protection in this section. If you require further details on employee data breach claims against Vodafone, please let us know.

What is special category data?

In terms of the GDPR, data that is categorised as ‘special category’ is personal information that’s sensitive. There are more stringent rules about processing such data which could include information about an individual’s political opinions, ethnic origin, sex life and religious beliefs.

What are the consequences of breaching the GDPR?

While some data breaches won’t cause any issues at all, others can be very serious. Where personal data is illegally accessed it can cause embarrassment, anxiety or distress for the data subject. Furthermore, where criminals are involved, financial losses could be sustained too.

Can I claim for another person?

It is sometimes possible to represent somebody else during a compensation claim using by becoming their litigation friend. However, there are limited reasons why this might be possible. One case where the process could be used is where the claimant does not have the mental capacity to represent themselves.

Is employee data covered by GDPR?

Any information that could identify an employee falls within the scope of the GDPR’s rules. That can be information like employee numbers, names, contact details and National Insurance numbers. Additionally, information relating to marital status, ethnicity, religion, disabilities and other characteristics are covered too because they might indirectly identify somebody.

Thank you for reading our guide to employee data breach claims against Vodafone.

Guide by HAM

Edited by BIL