Company sells employee secrets for £2.20

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 6 Mar 2009 at 09:42

The Information Commissioner's Office has shut down a firm which was selling the personal data of workers for £2.20 a time.

According to the ICO, The Consulting Association spent 15 years collating a database of information on more than 3,213 workers employed in the construction trade.

Data included information on personal relationships, political affiliations, trade-union activity and past employment history. There were also personal comments added by former employers including "lazy and a trouble stirrer", "Ex shop steward. Definite problems. No Go" and "Communist Party", according to the BBC.

This information was sold on to construction companies such as Balfour Beatty to help vet potential employees. They paid an annual fee of £3,000 for access to the database, and £2.20 each time for access to specific records.

The ICO says it will be prosecuting the owner of the The Consulting Association, Ian Kerr, and potentially taking action against those companies which utilised the database.

"The construction companies that were his customers, we have to investigate and find out just what their involvement is," deputy information commissioner David Smith told the BBC.

"But what we're looking to do there is issue enforcement proceedings against those that were involved and that'll put them essentially on notice that if they get involved in this illegal trade again, then they will face prosecution."