Victory for Workers in Morrisons Data Leak Case

The High Court has allowed a compensation claim by thousands of Morrisons staff whose personal details were posted on the internet.

It follows a security breach in 2014 when Andrew Skelton, a senior internal auditor at the store's Bradford headquarters, leaked the payroll data of nearly 100,000 employees. The information, that included employees' names, addresses, bank details, and salaries, was posted online and sent to several newspapers.

Now, 5,518 of the affected employees are seeking compensation for the upset and distress caused by the leak.

Morrisons claimed it could not be held accountable for Skelton's actions. However, at the High Court a judge has ruled that the company can be held vicariously responsible for the breach. Mr Justice Langstaff said:

"The point which most troubled me in reaching these conclusions was the submission that the wrongful acts of Skelton were deliberately aimed at the party whom the claimants seek to hold responsible, such that to reach the conclusion I have may seem to render the court an accessory in furthering his criminal aims.

"I grant leave to Morrisons to appeal my conclusion as to vicarious liability, should they wish to do so, so that a higher court may consider it, but would not, without further persuasion, grant permission to cross-appeal my conclusions as to primary liability."

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