Template Letter for Data Breaches

Here is a template letter you can use to complain about data breaches.  I have put this together for a complaint concerning a social worker, but you can adapt the template to suit your need.  If not using for a social worker complaint, you will need to remove the sections about social worker professional standards.

Your Address

The Date

Who the Letter is address to.

Dear XXX

Formal Complaint Unauthorised Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Data.

On the (Insert Date) , (Insert Social Worker Full Name) a professionally registered social worker employed as a social worker by (Insert Council Name) disclosed data that they were not authorised to do. 

In doing so they 

Breached Section 170 (1) (a) Data Protection Act 2018:  Which makes it an offence to knowingly or recklessly disclose personal data without consent.

Breached Social Worker Professional Standard 2.2  Respect and maintain people’s dignity and privacy.

Breached Social Worker Professional Standard 2.6  Treat information about people with sensitivity and handle confidential information in line with the law.

The breach occured because  (XXXX inseert what they did and state that you are harmed because of it.)

With regards to this incident, I wish to make a formal complaint and I also require require:

a)     A copy of your organisation’s data protection policy for the relevant period;

b)     A copy of any risk assessment in place prior to the data breach and any risk assessment in place after the data breach had occurred;

c)     Any relevant notes and documents pertaining to any internal investigation into this incident;

d)     Confirmation that your organisation reported the data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) within 72 hours of identifying the data breach; or the minutes of any meeting if you decided not to report the matter.

e)     A copy of any correspondence between your organisation and the ICO relating to this data breach;

I reserve the right to refer the matter to the Information Commissioners Office.


Yours Sincerly


XXXXX