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Supreme Court: no vicarious liability where employee pursuing his own vendetta

By Laura Morrison
April 1, 2020
  • Data protection
  • Vicarious liability
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The Supreme Court has ruled that Morrisons is not vicariously liable for an unlawful data breach committed by an ex-employee.  The employee was acting purely in pursuit of his own vendetta against his employer.  This took his actions outside the “field of activities” assigned to him.

The case arose from a data breach that saw thousands of Morrisons employees’ details posted online by Mr Skelton, a disgruntled ex-employee.  The primary issue was whether there was a sufficient connection between Mr Skelton’s position and his wrongful conduct to make it right for Morrisons to be held vicariously liable.

The Supreme Court considered Mr Skelton’s motivation was relevant, disagreeing with the lower courts’ interpretation of previous case law.  In fact, it was highly material whether Mr Skelton was acting in the ordinary course of his employment or for his own personal reasons. The Supreme Court found that Mr Skelton was acting purely in pursuit of his own vendetta against his employer, and his actions were outside the “field of activities” Morrisons had assigned to him. As a result, Morrisons was not vicariously liable for his actions.

The Supreme Court’s decision will allow employers to breathe a sigh of relief. The decision builds on previous case law to provide further guidance as to what should be considered within the ordinary course of employment. It ensures businesses will not be liable for acts of their employees that are wholly outside their authorised remit.

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Laura Morrison

About Laura Morrison

Laura is a managing practice development lawyer based in Dentons' Edinburgh office, supporting the People, Reward and Mobility practice across the UK. She has more than 15 years' experience as an employment lawyer. Laura's responsibilities focus on supporting our fee earners through a variety of knowledge initiatives, from internal and external training to the development of innovative methods for service delivery.

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