Can you be fired for making a Greencore data breach claim?
April 5, 2022
Many of the employees who have contacted us about compensation are extremely worried that Greencore could fire them for making a data breach claim.
In December 2021, Greencore began to experience some IT disruption. The business, which is a leading UK manufacturer of convenience foods, looked into the incident and discovered that it had experienced a cyberattack. In response, the company was forced to shut down some of its systems. Following the security failure, Greencore investigated the incident and uncovered that some HR data had been accessed.
In February 2022, Greencore wrote to employees to warn them that their personal information might have been exposed. The stolen information relates to current and former Greencore employees. It includes:
This is a significant amount of personal information and the delay in notifying those affected means that employees were not given the chance to secure their personal data between then and now.
As information stolen in breaches is often used by cybercriminals, this delay means that Greencore employees have been left vulnerable to cyber fraud and scams. Anyone who has been contacted by Greencore and told that their data was compromised in the breach should now take immediate steps to protect themselves.
Keller Lenkner UK has launched an action to help those involved in the Greencore data security failure claim compensation for any distress or financial losses experienced because of this breach. We urge anyone affected to register with us.
Crucially, an employer cannot fire you or harm your career in any way if you make a claim. Greencore would be breaking employment law if it did, and any action could be classed as discrimination.
IF YOU ARE AFFECTED BY THE GREENCORE DATA BREACH, CONTACT US TO MAKE A NO-WIN, NO-FEE COMPENSATION CLAIM.
Any current or former Greencore employee involved in this breach must be vigilant to protect against further attacks.
If your data was compromised in this incident, it could be shared and sold on the dark web. And, while Greencore has informed its employees that “the manner in which the data was stored means that it is not easy for someone to access and/or read” this does not mean that it won’t be used by criminals.
While Greencore states that it is “confident that none of your information has been shared online or otherwise misused following the incident and we also believe that the risks of this happening at anytime are minimal” it cannot guarantee the safety of the data.
Similar data breaches have resulted in fraud, blackmail, and identity theft, so Greencore employees are at high risk of being targeted by cybercriminals.
Those affected by the incident could have a compensation claim.
REGISTER TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE GREENCORE GROUP ACTION.
Many of the employees who have contacted us about compensation are extremely worried that Greencore could fire them for making a data breach claim.
Greencore, a leading UK manufacturer of convenience foods, has experienced a data breach affecting current and former employees. The business employs over 13,000 people, so the number of individuals involved is likely to be significant.
Find out more about making a group action claim for compensation.
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See our answers to the FAQs we get asked about the Greencore data breach.
In December 2021, Greencore experienced a cyberattack. Greencore investigated the incident and discovered that some HR data had been accessed. This information relates to current and former Greencore employees.
The stolen information relates to current and former Greencore employees. It includes:
This might not be a comprehensive list.
If you are affected by the data breach, Greencore should have been in touch to notify you.
Anyone who thinks they might be involved should take immediate steps to protect themselves. Our data protection lawyers have created a handy guide to help keep you safe.
Greencore claims the delay was justified because, while it became aware in December 2021 that it had experienced a cyberattack, it was only after investigation that the business discovered that current and former employee data was accessed in the attack.
But, even if Greencore did not know exactly what information had been accessed, it must have known that personal data could have been compromised. At that stage it should have contacted every single employee to warn them that their data could be at risk and let them take steps to protect themselves from harm.
Greencore believes that the data has not been used by cybercriminals and it is unlikely that it will pay compensation without evidence to directly link criminal activity to the breach. At Keller Lenkner UK, our cyber investigators can help you uncover such evidence. We can also help you to claim compensation for any distress suffered because of the breach.
Absolutely not. An employer cannot fire you or harm your career in any way if you make a claim. Greencore would be breaking employment law if it did.
If Greencore informs you that your data is involved in this breach, you can join our no-win, no-fee compensation claim. There are no costs to register and no obligation to proceed.
A group action claim is where a group of people – sometimes even thousands of people – have been affected by the same issue. Group action cases are also known as class actions, multi-claimant, or multi-party actions.
There are no costs to join a claim. However, if your claim is successful, you may have to pay a ‘success fee’. This fee is taken from the compensation awarded to you. At Keller Lenkner UK, our success fee is competitive, and we make sure you are fully informed about any potential costs before you officially join our action. If you lose, you won’t have to pay a penny.
While each case is judged on its own merits, there are some things we would typically look for when it comes to when claiming compensation following a data breach, cybercrime or other GDPR violation:
With stolen data, cybercriminals can make purchases using your bank and credit cards, apply for credit in your name, set up fraudulent bank accounts and access your existing online accounts.
GDPR failures, cybercrime and data breaches can have a significant impact on you, both mentally and physically. They can cause or exacerbate anxiety, stress and other psychological conditions.
Keller Lenkner UK has been shortlisted in three categories at the Modern Law Awards 2022. These categories are ‘Business Growth Award’, ‘Innovation of the Year’ and ‘Boutique Law Firm’. We have also been shortlisted for ‘Law Firm of the Year’ at the 2022 LexisNexis Legal Awards.
This follows our 2021 success where we were shortlisted in the ‘Independent Law Firm of the Year’ and ‘Strategic Legal Operations Team of the Year’ categories at The British Legal Awards, and the ‘Disputes Boutique Firm of the Year’ category at The Lawyer Awards.