To ask my employer for compensation for accidentally leaking my pay details?

[salviapurplerain]

Posting here for traffic. I'm part of a group of people being made redundant at the end of this month. As part of the process, every individual in this group has been emailed a financial illustration of what the package will look like. It's a 1 like excel spreadsheet with detailed personal information including gross annual pay and a full breakdown of the exit package.

We have just found out that on one person's spreadsheet, along with that person's financial information, HR accidentally shared all the information for 6 other people! I am one of those people whose information was shared and I'm so upset! This is a breach of confidentiality and data protection surely!

Will I be unreasonable to claim compensation for this?

@Iamthewombat

Lots of us are getting bog all, why the hell shouldnt someone who can increase their personal finances do so, when their livelihood has been taken away?

big corporations who are shedding jobs (and passing on those peoples work to their former colleagues) in order to keep profits and dividends up.

I am genuinely sorry that you have been made redundant, but you surely don’t really think that any means of ‘increasing your personal finances’ is justifiable?

I can’t see what damage the OP has suffered, and the chances of future damages seem remote. For her to pursue a campaign against her soon to be former employer via a complaint to the ICO, in the hope of screwing a few bob out of them for spurious emotional distress, is most likely to lead to the colleague who made a genuine mistake getting a good kicking.

You say that you work for Marstons plc. Like most businesses in the leisure and hospitality sector, I can’t see there being many bumper dividends or bonuses for the board for the next few years. I can see exactly why such a business would choose to make people with shorter service redundant. It might be the difference between surviving the next year and not. That’s not much consolation to you, I realise, but it’s not personal on the part of your employer. Good luck with your next job.

Like I said, naive

Compensation?
Don’t be ridiculous.
Even if they were found to have breached confidentiality (as they certainly have), given that your only “loss”would be for emotional distress - just how much emotional distress is there in a bunch of soon to be ex colleagues knowing your salary?
An award of £7.99 might be fitting - just enough to buy a book on resilience.
I’m sorry you’re being made redundant, and I’m sorry that you have the irritation of their mistake. But beyond that - it’s a non event.

Like I said, naive

It’s a fact that many plcs affected by Covid have already cut their dividend and more will follow. I won’t pursue the argument, though, because you are obviously upset and this won’t help.

@christinarossetti19

OP, I don't know anything about the law, but fwiw I don't think you're being grabby, greedy or childish.

Being laid off is a horrible experience in itself. Your employer breeching pretty basic confidential information is distressing. I'm not surprised that you're upset.

Best of luck with finding another position if you haven't already.

This. There are some monumentally nasty responses on this thread. Wtf is wrong with some people?

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow what don’t you understand and what were the multiple breaches?

All I can say from reading some of these comments that some of you are easily 'distressed' and I wonder how you will ever cope with anything serious life throws at you.

Before anyone rushes into print to tell me how dreadful being made redundant is I will point out that it has happened to me twice - and I couldn't have cared less if my employers had published my wages and redundancy package in the local newspaper - it wouldn't have 'distressed' me!

YWNBU to report the data breach because it is very unprofessional and definetly should not happen again. But unless there's a massive back story and your company has been the worst employer ever, I don't think it's a good idea to start demanding compensation.

This might very well come back to bite you in the arse, probably you wouldn't get any money but chances are high that your professional reputation could be damaged from making such demands as it's a small world and people talk. You don't want to be known as the greedy and opportunistic one that employers should fear.

No you've had no financial loss.

If you worry/care is about privacy surely the goal is that they've put measures in place to make sure this doesn't happen again and apologize?

I had a confidentiality breach recently, never occurred to me they should pay me for it, though I was shocked the response was very non apologetic.

It might be better if people go by what the lawyers on the thread have said. I don't support this kind of claim BUT GDPR and from 1 Jan 2021 UKGDPR and DPA 2018 allow it - no financial loss but have distress - you CAN claim. You might get very little indeed and may not be worth it but it is technically possible.

That contrasts with the old Data Protection Act 1998 where you claim damages for distress as far as I remember you also had to have had some financial loss. That changed when GDPR came in. I have not looked it up but that is my recollection.

I can understand why you were made redundant.

@Penners99 what a stupid comment

Not to me

Generally insurance policies will pay out on claims like this (they do in my place) we've had quite a few successful claims re breach of data - so may not come out of your employers pocket (obviously affect premium but not your issue).

I was surprised this type of claim is covered but they are - information is the new gold and this is the new slip and trip claim.

Approach a solicitor no win no fee to act for you rather than go directly to your employer. They won't take you seriously anyway if not supported by solicitors letter in my experience

Come on OP, its one thing to want to hold a company accountable for a breach its another to want money when its for nothing financial? Unless you want to pay for private therapy to get over the shock?? 🤣

I'm really surprised by the responses.
Whilst the OP may well not be entitled to compensation, the lack of empathy re her salary being shared, is shocking.

I wouldn't like my salary being shared. It's supposed to be confidential.

A really upsetting thing to happen, on top of being made redundant.
Sorry you are going through this , OP.

I have legal aid/insurance so would not worry too much about the cost.
Talking to your insurance co might be the best place to start. I ticked the 'legal costs' box on my household contents insurance, and have spoken to them about two cases. One where a (soon to be Ex) member of staff made very serious allegations against me - allegations of criminal as well as professional wring doing and in public, and when it was all proven made up , and that the employee concerned had actually been seriously professionally negligent and deliberately hiding financial info, I asked my insurance co if they would cover a lawyer to look at defamation. They said no.

Then I consulted them when I was being made redundant and my employers were not following procedure - they did give advice, but told me to get an employment lawyer and put the costs in my package.

So call them for advice about whether you have an actionable case before paying a lawyer and then going to your insurers with a bill. They won't pay for anything they haven't agreed in advance.

Depending on the industry you are in, this could follow you around for a long time. People talk to each other.

@Redwrecker

Come on OP, its one thing to want to hold a company accountable for a breach its another to want money when its for nothing financial? Unless you want to pay for private therapy to get over the shock?? 🤣

Our system uses the ability of people to sue as a way to hold companies to account. The ICO does not have the resources to follow up on every breach and there are no other provisions in law for the OP to use. If she doesn't request compensation the company is not held to account.

@Oblomov20 big companies they generally aren’t. There are pay scales and when new jobs are advertised the salary is also advertised.

YABU OP.

I don't work in our finance team but I know everyones salary as I open the post that gets passed to the other teams so see all the bank statements. So I know what everyone I work with gets paid. Doesn't interest me to be honest.

I wouldn't like my salary being shared. It's supposed to be confidential

In a lot of jobs there’s a published payscale and it is absolutely transparent where everyone stands on that. In my job, all salaries are agreed by our trustees and listed in the minutes of their meetings which all members can ask to see, not just all employees! In some workplaces there is a culture of confidentiality about pay but usually that’s a bad thing that often allows for wwomen and BAME people to be paid less than their white male counterparts.

See, I was thinking the company will probably have insurance for this sort of thing so will not necessarily come out of its bank account as such.

Good shout about contacting my home insurance first to make sure they are willing to cover the cost. Thanks for pointing it out.

My company accidentally emailed the details of around 200 people to all of those people. I think it was full name, DOB, address and driving licence numbers.

Oops!