By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 2nd October 2023. Has an employer sent your personal data to the wrong address? Did you suffer harm as a result of this? If you have suffered mentally or financially as a result of a personal data breach, you may be eligible to claim compensation.
This guide will look at how a personal data breach can affect you and your psychological and financial health. The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) work together to provide stringent data protection laws for citizens of the UK.
Employer sent my personal data to the wrong address claims guide
We can help you, if this has happened to you. We have a team of advisors that can provide you with information and answer any questions that you may have about making a claim. This free service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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- Website: Contact us through our website
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Select A Section
- Am I Entitled To Seek Compensation?
- Information An Employer Could Send To The Wrong Address
- Ways An Employer Could Have Sent Personal Data To The Wrong Address
- Am I Entitled To Seek Compensation?
- What Could I Claim If An Employer Sent Personal Data To The Wrong Address?
- How To Claim If An Employer Sent Personal Data To The Wrong Address
Am I Entitled To Seek Compensation?
If you have been harmed by an employer data breach, you might wonder whether you would be eligible to make a claim for compensation.
Personal data is any information that could identify you directly or could do so in combination with other information. Any organisation that processes your personal data must adhere to the rules and regulations set out in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Together, these makeup data protection laws.
If an organisation were to fail to adhere to data protection laws, this could result in your personal data being compromised in a data breach. A personal data breach is classed as a security incident which affects the integrity, confidentiality and availability of personal data.
To be eligible to make a personal data breach claim, you must be able to meet the following criteria:
- Your personal data must have been compromised in the breach.
- The data breach must have been caused by the organisation’s failings.
- Due to your personal data being breached, you suffered financial or mental harm.
If you have any questions about when you could be eligible to make a claim following an employer data breach and the compensation you could receive, contact our advisors today.
Information An Employer Could Send To The Wrong Address
Your employer may hold your personal data, and also a type of personal data known as special category data. These can be affected by an employer data breach.
Special category data is information that requires an extra level of protection. For example, this would include information such as:
- Racial or ethnic origin,
- Political information,
- Philosophical or Religious information,
- Trade Union membership
- Biometric or genetic data
- Medical records
Any information that could identify you is personal data. This includes:
- Name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Email address
- Phone number
- Bank account
- Debit/Credit card information
A breach of this information could result in emotional distress and financial losses.
Contact us today for information about what could occur if your employer has sent your personal data to the wrong address.
Ways An Employer Could Have Sent Personal Data To The Wrong Address
A data breach can occur in a number of ways, but not all cases of a data breach will result in a claim. This is because the breach must result from the organisation’s failings in protecting your personal data to make a claim. Some examples of how a personal data breach could occur:
- Human error: Lack of data protection training or a simple mistake can result in a letter being sent to the wrong address. For example, an employee may write the wrong address on an envelope and fail to check if it is correct before sending it.
- Outdated records: Your employer must keep up-to-date records. If you inform your employer that your address has changed, but they do not note this, this could result in a letter containing personal data being sent to the wrong address.
Get in touch today to learn more about how a personal data breach can occur and who could be eligible to make a claim.
What Could I Claim If An Employer Sent Personal Data To The Wrong Address?
Data breach compensation is calculated differently depending on the case. The amount of compensation you could receive will be determined by the type of injury, its severity and the extent of the injury’s impact on your daily life. Also your financial losses and predicted expenditure or losses in the future.
For compensation, there are two forms of damages you can claim for; these are known as material damage and non-material damage.
- Material damage: This aims to address the financial impacts of a data breach. For example, comprised bank details could lead to a damaged credit score or loans taken out in your name.
- Non-material damage: This aims to address the psychological impacts of a data breach. For example, you may suffer distress, anxiety, depression, or PTSD.
Since Vidal-Hall and Others v Google Inc. [2015], claimants may now pursue non-material damage without claiming material damage at the same time. Previously, non-material damages were only available to those also claiming material damages.
| Psychological Injuries | Compensation Brackets | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PTSD: Severe (a) | £59,860 to £100,670 | Severe PTSD symptoms that will be significant and permanent. |
| PTSD: Moderately Severe (b) | £23,150 to £59,860 | Effects or symptoms of PTSD can inhibit daily life for the foreseeable future |
| PTSD: Moderate (c) | £8,180 to £23,150 | There will have been improvements made and symptoms that continue should not be too disabling. |
| PTSD: Less Severe (d) | £3,950 to £8,180 | Recovery has been achieved within two years. |
| Mental Harm: Severe (a) | £54,830 to £115,730 | There is a poor prognosis and the symptoms will impact daily life |
| Mental Harm: Moderately Severe (b) | £19,070 to £54,830 | There will be significant issues with all aspects of life but it is distinguished from the category above because there is a better prognosis here. |
| Mental Harm: Moderate (c) | £5,860 to £19,070 | An improvement has been made in the health of the person. |
| Mental Harm: Less Severe (d) | £1,540 to £5,860 | The award in this category will look at the length of the illness and how sleep and daily life were affected. |
The table above features guideline compensation brackets taken from the 16th edition of the Judicial College guidelines (JCG), published in the spring of 2022. These are only guideline figures illustrating what you could receive in terms of non-material damage and not guarantees.
To get a free estimate of the value of your claim, you can get in touch with our team of advisors today.
How To Claim If An Employer Sent Personal Data To The Wrong Address
A No Win No Fee arrangement provides a way for someone to obtain legal representation for a breach of personal data without paying a solicitor upfront for their services. A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) also known as a No Win No Fee arrangement.
The solicitors who offer these services don’t require ongoing costs while your claims proceed, and you only pay a legally capped success fee from your compensation. This is only if your claim is successful. You won’t have to pay the fee to your solicitor if your claim is unsuccessful.
If you need help, advice or guidance on your claim. Our advisors can provide answers and information and clear any confusion you may have about the claims process.
Contact us today:
- Website: Contact us through our website
- Live chat: Talk to us about your claim today
- Phone: 0800 073 8801
Data Breach Claims Against Your Employer
For more helpful guides:
- What are my rights after a medical data breach?
- Rights after a social services data breach
- What are my rights after a school data breach?
We’ve also gathered information from many sources, to help develop background information on your rights as a data subject.
Contact our team for more advice if your employer has sent your personal data to the wrong address.