In WM Morrison Supermarkets plc v Various claimants, the Supreme Court held that the employer is not vicariously liable for an employee's deliberate personal data breach because the employee was not engaged in furthering his employer's business but was pursuing "a personal vendetta".
In López Ribalda and others v Spain, the European Court of Human Rights held that Spanish shop workers' right to privacy was not violated when a supermarket secretly installed hidden cameras to monitor employee thefts.
In WM Morrison Supermarkets plc v Various claimants, the Court of Appeal held that the employer is vicariously liable for the criminal actions of an employee who disclosed the personal data of his fellow employees online.
In López Ribalda and others v Spain, the European Court of Human Rights held that Spanish shop workers' right to privacy was violated when a supermarket installed hidden cameras without their knowledge to monitor employee thefts.
In Antovic and another v Montenegro, the European Court of Human Rights held that overt camera surveillance in a university's lecture halls violated professors' right to privacy under the European Convention on Human Rights.
David Malamatenios is a partner, and Krishna Santra, Sandra Martins and Colin Makin are senior associates at Colman Coyle Solicitors. They round up the latest rulings.
In Edem v Information Commissioner and another [2014] EWCA Civ 92 CA, the Court of Appeal held that an individual's name will constitute "personal data" for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 so as to be exempt from disclosure pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act 2000 request, unless it is so common that, without further information, such as its use in a work context, a person would remain unidentifiable despite its disclosure.
In Initial Services Ltd v Putterill and Another [1967] 3 All ER 145 CA, the Court of Appeal affirmed that employees should not disclose confidential information that they obtain during the course of their employment, but that there is an exception where the disclosure is in the public interest.