2,000 employees set to sue Morrisons over data breach

MORE THAN 2,000 employees of supermarket giant Morrisons are to sue the supermarket over a massive breach of data security. 

The leak by a disgruntled former employee led to nearly 100,000 staff details being leaked on the internet.

Andrew Skelton handled internal audits and had the authority to access the data. He released it after being caught distributing controlled controlled drugs and using the company’s mailroom to ship parcels to private eBay customers.

He posted the details of 99,998 staff, including bank, salary and National Insurance details to newspapers and data sharing websites.

Skelton was jailed in July for eight years following a trial at Bradford Crown Court.

More than 2,000 of his ex-colleagues are now to pursue a group claim against the retailer following a hearing before Senior Master Barbara Fontaine at the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court in London.

Nick McAleenan of JMW Solicitors, said the claim to be filed by his clients would allege that Morrisons was ultimately responsible for breaches of privacy, confidence and data protection law.

Mr McAleenan, a Data Privacy lawyer, said there will be a four-month period in which other Morrisons’ employees who were affected could join the group action.

He said: “Whenever employers are given personal details of their staff, they have a duty to look after them.

“That is especially important given that most companies now gather and manage such material digitally and, as a result, it can be accessed and distributed relatively easily if the information is not protected.

“My clients’ position is that Morrisons failed to prevent a data leak which exposed tens of thousands of its employees to the very real risk of identity theft and potential loss.

“In particular, they are worried about the possibility of money being taken from their bank accounts and – in the case of younger clients – negative consequences for their credit rating.”

 “I expect that we may well see other employees who might have been dissuaded from making a claim on their own deciding to join with their colleagues because of the group momentum which has now been established.”