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.