Estimating Compensation For A Sexuality Data Breach Claim

If you suffer a sexuality data breach, the consequences could be severe. You might be left feeling distressed or suffering with your mental health. Furthermore, you may need to take time off work to cope with the impact of the breach and, as a result, suffer from a loss of earnings or other financial losses. We want you to know that you’re not alone and we could help you.

A guide to claiming after a sexuality data breach

In this guide, you will learn what you could do in the event of a sexuality data breach at work and how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help you. We’ve also featured a sexuality data breach compensation table to help you understand what you might receive in a data breach payout.

Ahead of beginning this guide, we wanted to share our contact details with you. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by:

Calling the number above;
Using our live chat service;
Or starting your claim now.

Choose A Section

Guidance On Claiming Compensation For Data Breaches
What Is A Sexuality Data Breach?
Examples Of A Data Breach
How Much Could I Get For A Sexuality Data Breach?
A Breakdown Of How To Get A No Win No Fee Agreement
Further Information About Sexuality Data Breaches

Guidance On Claiming Compensation For Data Breaches

When claiming compensation for a sexuality data breach, it is important for you to know what legislation is in place to protect your data privacy. The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) is key legislation that sits with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The key principles of the UK GDPR that organisations should follow when storing or processing personal data, include:

Using personal data fairly, lawfully and transparently
Only using personal data that is necessary and relevant
Only using personal data for the purpose it was collected for
Updating personal information and ensuring it’s kept up-to-date
Securely disposing of personal data that is no longer needed
Having appropriate security measures in place to store and process data

In order to make a valid claim, you’d need to show that an organisation’s wrongful conduct caused a data breach. This could be, for example, if they provided substandard online security that led to a breach in which your personal data was involved. You’d also have to show that you suffered financial loss or psychological harm as a result.

We could help you claim compensation under the UK GDPR, but only if you have a valid claim. Speak to an advisor for a free consultation with no obligation to use our services afterwards.

What Is A Sexuality Data Breach?

Before we discuss what a sexuality data breach entails, you should know about the UK’s independent authority that enforces data protection law. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is who an organisation reports to when a data breach has occurred in which your rights and freedoms were compromised. The ICO categories a data breach under three headings:

An availability breach occurs when you lose access to your personal data
A confidentiality breach happens when an unauthorised party accesses or discloses your personal data
An integrity breach is when someone deliberately or accidentally tampers with your personal data

Information that relates to your sexual orientation falls into a restricted category under the UK GDPR, otherwise known as special category data. A data controller (usually an organisation) decides why data on your sexual orientation is collected and also how it is used. A data processor (a separate organisation) can give their services to process personal data on behalf of the controller.

Examples Of A Data Breach

You might wonder, ‘how do sexuality data breaches happen?’ Cybercriminals may use data on an individual’s sexuality to coerce money from them, particularly if that person’s sexuality is not publicly known. However, sometimes a data breach may happen by human error. Let’s look at some examples.

A sexuality data breach could occur at work if your employer discusses your sexual orientation with another colleague without a lawful basis. Others may hear this verbal disclosure too.
An employer could unlawfully exploit an employee’s sexuality by sending a letter containing their personal data to the wrong recipient.
A clinic may send a mass email to their LGBTQ+ clients but not use the BCC field, meaning all recipients could see each other’s email addresses.

The ICO’s Data Breach Statistics

The latest data security incident trends published by the ICO revealed there were 2,404 incidents reported in 2021/22 Q3. Some of the most common incidents reported were as follows:

Data emailed to incorrect recipient (419)
Other non-cyber incidents (353)
Non-cyber unauthorised access (262)
Phishing scams (221)
Data posted or faxed to incorrect recipient (181)

Our advisors may help you understand who was at fault for your data breach. Furthermore, they could connect you to a solicitor from our panel to help you make a sexuality data breach compensation claim.

How Much Could I Get For A Sexuality Data Breach?

When calculating sexuality data breach compensation, solicitors may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The document features compensation ranges for psychological injuries based on previously settled court cases. We can therefore use the 16th edition of the JCG to give you an estimate of what you might receive for non-material damage. We have featured our sexuality data breach compensation table below.

Injury	Compensation Range	Notes
Severe Psychiatric Damage	£54,830 to £115,730	All aspects of your life are badly affected.
Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage	£19,070 to £54,830	You are likely to be unable to work due to your symptoms.
Moderate Psychiatric Damage	£5,860 to £19,070	Although symptoms persist, the prognosis is slightly more optimistic.
Less Severe Psychiatric Damage	£1,540 to £5,860	Whilst you may struggle to sleep, the prognosis is promising.
Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	£59,860 to £100,670	Loss of employment may occur since you are unable to work.
Moderately Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	£23,150 to £59,860	There is a significant risk of disability occurring in the foreseeable future.
Moderate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	£8,180 to £23,150	Although a recovery is expected, symptoms may still persist.
Less Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	£3,950 to £8,180	Within two years you will make a full recovery.

Meaning Of Material Damage

Another head of damage you could potentially claim for includes financial losses caused by the data breach incident. Material damage that may occur following a sexuality data breach may include a loss of earnings. The severity of such a security incident may leave you suffering with anxiety and unable to return to work for a lengthy time, therefore causing you great financial loss. You could use wage slips to prove your financial loss.

Our panel of data breach solicitors have vast experience and may help you collect the evidence required to claim for material and non-material damage. Furthermore, a solicitor from our panel could clarify how much you may earn for a psychological injury.

A Breakdown of How To Get A No Win No Fee Agreement

If you want to take action but fear that legal costs may leave you unable to do so, we may have a solution for you. A No Win No Fee agreement is a feasible alternative to funding legal representation and requires no upfront fee to your solicitor. Furthermore, a No Win No Fee solicitor won’t take their fee from you unless they have successfully secured you a data breach settlement. You’ll also agree the percentage of the fee with your solicitor before legal proceedings begin so there aren’t any hidden charges.

It is important to note that a solicitor will generally only work with you if you begin your claim within the time limit. Under the Limitation Act 1980, the time limit to make a sexuality data breach claim is typically within six years.

Ask About Making A Sexuality Data Breach Claim

We want the best for you, which is why our panel of solicitors may process your claim on a No Win No Fee basis. Furthermore, they could help strengthen your claim with their experience and knowledge. If you have suffered mental harm because of a sexuality data breach claim, it may also be possible for our team to arrange a private medical assessment for you. The medical report could prove the extent of your injuries.

However, a solicitor from our panel can only help you if you have a legitimate claim. Our advisors offer free legal advice and can clarify whether your claim is valid. For further information, you can contact us via the following means:

Call the number featured at the top of this page
Speak to our team instantly using our live chat service
Why not see if you can start your claim now?

Further Information About Making A Sexuality Data Breach Claim

We have now come to the end of our guide on making a sexuality data breach claim. Before you go, you might want to check out some additional resources.

Data protection rights – Government guidance on your rights as a data subject.

Anxiety, fear and panic – NHS advice on finding support for anxiety.

Get support – Mind Out is a mental health service that offers support exclusively to the LGBTQ+ community.

Other Data Breach Guides

For any additional queries on sexuality data breach claims, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Publisher Ruth Voss

Writer Lewis Jaques

Sexuality Data Breach Claims