How To Claim Compensation For A Disciplinary Information Data Breach

Following a disciplinary information data breach, you might have questions such as:

  • When should a personal data breach be reported?
  • Who should personal data breaches be reported to?
  • How likely is a data breach payout? 

In this guide, we’ll answer those questions and discuss the average data breach payout. We’ll also go over examples of data breaches involving disciplinary information and you’ll discover whether you could be eligible for No Win No Fee data breach compensation.

disciplinary information data breach

A guide about making a disciplinary information data breach claim

Before we begin our guide, you should be familiar with data protection laws, including:

  • The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR): A data privacy law that overlooks how personal data is processed inside the UK. Essentially, under the UK GDPR, organisations and employers should use your data lawfully, fairly and transparently.
  • The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) implements the core principles of the UK GDPR and sets out how organisations should protect personal data they collect on individuals.

These two laws are very similar, though the DPA 2018 is primarily used for law enforcement processing.

Our advisors work around the clock to support you. They’re available 24/7 and can offer legal advice with no obligation for you to proceed with a claim afterwards. You can connect with us by:

Choose A Section

  1. Guidance On Claiming Compensation After Data Breaches Involving Disciplinary Information
  2. What Is A Disciplinary Information Data Breach?
  3. Examples Of A Data Breach Involving Disciplinary Information
  4. How Much Could I Get For A Disciplinary Information Data Breach?
  5. Benefits Of Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
  6. Additional Information About A Disciplinary Information Data Breach

Guidance On Claiming Compensation After Data Breaches Involving Disciplinary Information

Your employer, as a data controller, decides how and why your personal data is used. This means that they should give special consideration to your personal data. For example, employers must destroy data that is no longer necessary or needed. A data protection policy may be put in place to make this clear.

There should also be a limit on who can access your disciplinary information and how it can be used. What’s more, disciplinary records should be kept for at least six months.

If you have been subjected to a data security breach regarding your disciplinary information, our advisors might be able to help you. However, you must have suffered financial loss or psychological harm (or both) because of a data breach caused by an organisation’s wrongful conduct. Wrongful conduct could include substandard data protection processes. Get in touch with our advisors if you need free legal advice.

What Is A Disciplinary Information Data Breach?

A disciplinary information data breach involves a security incident in which the availability, confidentiality and integrity of your personal data is compromised. For example:

  • An unauthorised person may access or disclose your personal information
  • An organisation or individual purposely or accidentally loses, steals or destroys your personal data

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK independent body that investigates how organisations handle personal data. It can penalise organisations that have breached data protection law. 

The ICO defines personal data as information that relates to an identified or identifiable person; for example, your telephone number, home address or simply your name.

Disciplinary information may consist of computer records, hearing notes, outcome letters or any appeal paperwork. Disciplinary records may include personal data that is more sensitive. Special category data is sensitive and includes information about your health, ethnic origin and gender, for example. It requires extra protection. 

Our team of advisors are keen to help you and are available to answer any questions 24/7.

Examples Of A Data Breach Involving Disciplinary Information

A disciplinary information data breach may occur through cybercrime such as a phishing scam or ransomware threats. However, sometimes a data breach may occur by human error. For example: 

  • Appeal paperwork including personal information is posted to the wrong address 
  • Your employer sends an email chain about your disciplinary information, and identifying you, to unauthorised recipients
  • Your disciplinary record is not securely stored, allowing others to access it and potentially steal your information

Figures For ICO Data Breaches

The ICO recieved reports of 2,172 data security incidents during Q4 of 2021/22. The health sector was the most frequently affected, followed by education and childcare. The most common incident type was data being emailed to the incorrect recipient (381 incidents), followed by other non-cyber incidents (328) and unauthorised access (229). 

If you have suffered financial or psychological harm as a result of a data breach caused by the wrongful conduct of your employer, you may have grounds for a valid claim. Connect with our advisors for more information. 

How Much Could I Get For A Disciplinary Information Data Breach?

There are two heads of damage that you might be able to claim for when seeking disciplinary information data breach compensation claim. 

  • Material damage: Refers to any financial losses you incur because of a data breach. For example, you may have suffered a loss of earnings due to the time you took off work if the data breach caused you mental harm. 
  • Non-material damage: Accounts for psychological injuries you suffer due to a personal data breach, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety. 

Previously, it was only possible for claimants to claim for non-material damage if they had suffered material damage. However, following Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc (2015), the Court of Appeal ruled that you may now be compensated for mental harm without suffering any financial damage from a data breach. Essentially, you can claim for one damage or the other, or both. 

Additionally, in the case of Gulati & Ors V MGN Ltd (2015), it was held that injuries caused by data breaches can be valued as they are in personal injury claims. Therefore, we have created the below table using illustrative compensation figures from the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines. Solicitors may use these guidelines to value psychological injuries in disciplinary information data breach claims. 

InjuryCompensation RangeNotes
Severe Psychological Damage Generally£54,830 to £115,730Your ability to work and sleep is detrimentally affected and you may be unable to cope with all aspects of your life.
Moderately Severe Psychological Damage Generally£19,070 to £54,830The impact is still severe but the prognosis is better than the above.
Moderate Psychological Damage Generally£5,860 to £19,070You could see symptoms affecting your relationships with your family and friends.
Less Severe Psychological Damage Generally£1,540 to £5,860Daily activities are affected although the prognosis is more optimistic than above.
Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder£59,860 to £100,670All aspects of your life are badly affected, including your ability to work.
Moderately Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder£23,150 to £59,860Although professional help could improve the prognosis, significant disability is likely in the future.
Moderate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder£8,180 to £23,150Ongoing effects are not as impactful as the above.
Less Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder£3,950 to £8,180While minor symptoms persist, a full recovery is expected within one to two years.

An Explanation Of Material Damage

As stated in the previous section, material damage takes into consideration financial losses that were caused by the data breach. Therefore, you should keep hold of wage slips, bank statements and receipts to prove any expenses or a loss of earnings. Furthermore, you may claim for losses that have either happened or are projected to happen.

We understand that it may not seem easy to prove losses and harm, which is why we would recommend seeking legal advice. Our advisors can value your claim for free. If you have a strong, valid claim, the advisors could connect you with our panel of solicitors. They’re expertly trained and can use their experience to assist you and get you the compensation you deserve.

Benefits Of Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor

A disciplinary information data breach could have a severe impact on your finances, which might make you hesitant in seeking legal action with the help of a solicitor. We think everyone should be able to access the services of a solicitor when needed, no matter what the financial barriers may be. Subsequently, our panel of solicitors are able to offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis.

A solicitor who offers a No Win No Fee agreement requires no upfront or ongoing payment for their service. If your claim fails, you won’t pay the solicitor this fee at all. You’d only pay the fee for their work if your claim is successful. What’s more, the fee is capped at 25% of your compensation, so don’t be worried about getting overcharged. If you get in touch with our panel of solicitors, they may see fit to reduce this percentage. 

Ask About Disciplinary Information Data Breach Claims

To see if you are eligible for No Win No Fee personal data breach compensation, you can speak to an advisor. Remember, you’ll be under no obligation to proceed with the services of our panel. 

For more information:

Additional Information About A Disciplinary Information Data Breach

Before we conclude our guide about making a disciplinary information data breach claim, here are some additional resources that may help you.

Make a complaint – Report a data breach incident to the ICO.

Personal data an employer can keep about an employee – The government advises what personal information your employer may retain.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)  – Advice from the NHS on symptoms of PTSD.

Other Data Breach Claim Guides

If you are ready to take action, get in touch. 

Publisher Ruth Vernon

Writer Lewis Julius