The Supreme Court’s decision in WM Morrison Supermarkets plc (Appellant) v Various Claimants (Respondents) reaffirms the fundamental tenets of vicarious liability despite the employer's appeal being allowed, say Dean Armstrong QC & Shyam Thakerar
- Employers have very little space to hide when it comes to data protection breaches and, unless they have suffered at the hands of a vindictive employee, will most likely face the consequences of such a breach by their employees.
- The Supreme Court has not changed the law with regard to vicarious liability or made it less likely for employers to be found vicariously liable for the acts of their employees when acting in the course of their employment.
In the judgment handed down today (2 April 2020) in WM Morrison Supermarkets plc (Appellant) v Various Claimants (Respondents) [2020] UKSC 12, [2020] All ER (D) 02 (Apr) the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision to find that Morrisons was not vicariously liable for the actions of a rogue employee in deliberately disclosing the personal data of almost 100,000 employees.
In doing so,
