Thousands of Morrisons staff could get payout as High Court approves compo for personal info leak
A disgruntled employee posted the details of thousands of workers online, taken from the company's payroll data
The High Court has allowed a compensation claim by Morrisons supermarket staff whose personal details were leaked by a disgruntled colleague.
Andrew Skelton, a senior internal auditor at the retailer's Bradford headquarters, posted the details of thousands of workers online in 2014.
The information had been taken from the company's payroll data and Skelton was jailed for eight years.
The data included the salary and bank details of nearly 100,000 staff.
A group of 5,518 former and current Morrisons employees said this exposed them to the risk of identity theft and potential financial loss and that Morrisons was responsible for breaches of privacy, confidence and data protection laws.
The supermarket giant denied liability for the case, saying it couldn't be held accountable for Skelton's criminal misuse of the data.
Lawyers said the case was the first mass data leak action of its kind in the UK.
The case has potential implications for every individual and business in the country.
Following Mr Justice Langstaff's decision on liability on Friday, Nick McAleenan, of JMW Solicitors, said: "The High Court has ruled that Morrisons was legally responsible for the data leak.
"We welcome the judgment and believe that it is a landmark decision, being the first data leak class action in the UK."
Mr Justice Langstaff said although Morrisons did not store the data in an unsafe manner, it was legally responsible for the leak.
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A Morrisons spokesman said: “A former employee of Morrisons used his position to steal data about our colleagues and then place it on the internet and he’s been found guilty for his crimes.
"The judge found that Morrisons was not at fault in the way it protected colleagues’ data but he did find that the law holds us responsible for the actions of that former employee, whose criminal actions were targeted at the company and our colleagues.
"Morrisons worked to get the data taken down quickly, provide protection for those colleagues and reassure them that they would not be financially disadvantaged. We believe we should not be held responsible so we will be appealing this judgement.”