Employment tribunal data breaches

We represent several clients who are claiming for employment tribunal data breaches, and there are many ways these kinds of incidents can take place.

Employment tribunals are sensitive matters that need to be treated confidentially. Many people involved in disputes with an employer do not want colleagues or former colleagues knowing the details about what’s going on. Although some colleagues may need to be aware for witness evidence purposes, it’s not usually a matter that should be so widely known.

Over the last 5 years, we’ve been at the forefront of data breach compensation claiming as a leading firm of expert lawyers. A number of the individual legal cases we deal with have involved leaks and breaches associated with employment tribunal matters. Here’s how we can help you.

Compensation for employment tribunal data breaches

Victims of employment tribunal data breaches can be entitled to make a claim for compensation with us on a No Win, No Fee basis.

An example of where a legal case can be brought may be where the identity of an employee or former employee involved in a dispute is leaked or disclosed without consent. A case could also arise if it’s the details of a dispute leaked or disclosed with reason or authority.

This kind of information can be incredibly personal and sensitive and is protected by important data protection legislation. Where an employee is to blame for the beach, their employer can be held vicariously liable. This means that the case can be brought against the employer or former employer directly.

The organisation responsible may even be a union or a solicitor. They all have a duty to protect your information, so you can be entitled to bring a claim against whoever is at fault.

You can speak to our team now for free, no-obligation advice about your options and how we can help you.

What can you claim for?

There can be a few things that we include when it comes to compensation claims for employment tribunal data breaches.

In most cases, victims can claim for the distress caused by the loss of control of their personal information. Generally speaking, the more a victim suffers, a more a case could be worth. This could depend on things like the nature of the information exposed, who it has been exposed to, and how much has been exposed.

We can also consider the individual impact on the victim which often varies from person to person.

You can also look to include a claim for losses and expenses. This kind of case may change your employment situation completely, and you may also be able to claim for lost earnings from time off work. In some cases, where applicable, it may be that you can no longer work for the same organisation and need to claim for the loss of your job.

You can read more about data breach compensation amounts on our specialist advice page here.

A recent example

In a recent example, the information for 120 women involved in an equal pay dispute with the BBC was leaked. It’s understood that the women are involved with complaints against the broadcaster, with information leaked from an  employment tribunal case for presenter Samira Ahmed.

A document containing personal and private information for the women involved was publicly accessible with information not redacted to protect identities. There has been a dispute between the BBC and the National Union of Journalists as to who’s responsible for the leak.

These kinds of simple but potentially devastating leaks happen all the time, and it’s a part of a systemic issue with many organizations who are still failing to treat data protection with the respect that it requires.

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