WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) is appealing a High Court decision which found it liable for a data breach by a disgruntled worker.
In 2014, Andrew Skelton, then a senior internal auditor at Morrisons’ Bradford headquarters, posted the payroll data of more than 100,000 workers online, including their names, addresses bank details and salaries.
READ: Morrisons to appeal court ruling
Skelton was jailed for eight years for the incident, which the court heard he carried out against his employer in an act of vengeance.
Despite his prosecution, the High Court ruled last year that Morrisons was also liable for the release of the information and that the affected employees were entitled to compensation.
It stated that despite Skelton’s criminality, he was acting in the course of his employment when he leaked the details online.
More than 5,000 claimants represented by JMW Solicitors are seeking compensation over the incident, in what is the UK’s first data-leak class action.
The supermarket chain, which has already spent £2mln on tackling the breach, is challenging that ruling, arguing that it cannot be held directly or vicariously liable for the actions of a rogue employee.
Nick McAleenan, who is representing the workers, said that by seeking to reverse the decision, Morrisons is denying compensation to the victims.