Breach of Data Protection Law (GDPR) by ex employer

[Just 4 All]

I had an extremely poor ending to a 30 year career in a public sector job. There was corruption and bullying by management especially in response to my whistle blowing against them on several occasions and being compromised. I resigned whilst being investigated for Gross Misconduct, this was on advice from the Top Manager who said that if I resigned all of the charges would be dropped and the investigation would disappear. I was being investigated for signing a Managers signature several times on claim forms as they were too busy. I told them I had "left handed" their signature on the forms. They instigated an investigation and found that over two years I had made claims of £264 for journeys not taken. This was in taxis as part of the access to work scheme through the DWP.
I was pretty much taken aback as I have been an honest person my whole life, but the evidence was clear. I made the claims 6 months in arrears using shift rotas that had old information. I was under massive pressure and suffering mental health problems. It is so difficult to explain how I was functioning during this time. My managers lined up to condemn me and the investigation contained lie after lie. It wasn't raised that I hadn't claimed for a whole month which was equal to the amount which I had not knowingly claimed for. The DWP took no action against me. My workplace reported me to the police and I received a simple caution. The absolute shame and overriding unfairness of this hot me hard and I was actively suicidal. I came close to being sectioned.
The manager whom I had obviously been too honest and informed her that I had signed the claim forms in her name, it turned out, submitted a referral to our Occupational Health Contractor. On the referral she made statements to the effect that she had discussed the referral with me. She made statements to the effect that I gave permission for my details to be passed to the third party company and she supplied them with my Name, Address and telephone details. In total she made 6 false statements on the referral in my name.
Am I able to Sue this person for damages, it caused me great distress as the first I knew was when the Occupational Nurse phoned my home.Nobody had discussed a referral with me whatsoever. Apparently it was to see if I was fit to attend interviews for the investigation. I had already supplied sick notes from my Doctor regarding my mental health.

[paulajayne]

So you forged signatures on claims to the value of £254 and think you have redress.

Have I understood your post correctly?

[Just 4 All]

PAULAJAYNE a simplistic view of my post. I 'left handed' the signatures, which was widely practised in my workplace. We were asked to sign documents in the name of managers to progress reports on time. In my mind due to this not forged, 'left handed' and I informed the manager as soon as I could.
The anomalies amounting to £264, when confronted with the evidence amounted to nefarious claims. I explained overriding mitigation and that I had not claimed an amount in excess of the amount of the anomalies that I was actually entitled to.
The manager who I reported that I had 'left handed' her signatures and who took exception to this, soon after reporting my offence then committed fraud and offences against the GDPR and data protection I believe, this is what she included in her report bearing in mind that I knew nothing about this referral:

Consent

The referring manager has confirmed that:
- I confirm that Mr Xxxxx Xxxxxx is aware of the reasons for this referral.
- I can confirm that Mr Xxxxx Xxxxxx is aware that additional managers may have been added to this
referral and will have access to all relevant information.
- I confirm that Mr Xxxxx Xxxxxx is aware of the possible outcomes.
- I confirm that Mr Xxxxx Xxxxxx agrees to attend an Occupational Health (OH) assessment (by
telephone or face to face), if required.
- I confirm that Mr Xxxxx Xxxxxx agrees to an outcome report being written and is aware that this will
be available to all listed managers on this referral.
- I confirm that Mr Xxxxx Xxxxxx understands that their details may be provided to 3rd party subcontractors
(where necessary) purely for the purposes of delivering the referral.
- I understand that the information I provide may be disclosed to Mr Xxxxx Xxxxxx.
- I confirm that Mr Xxxxx Xxxxxx gives consent to OH Assist to contact them via text and voicemail
where applicable

I lost my £32K per year job and gained a simple caution from the police. Yes I am looking for redress

[ULA]

First if all suing anyone for damages is not something your should do without a solid basis for doing so and a strong case, since if you lost then you would be liable for the costs of the other person and potentially any legal representation they may have. Do you have a copy of what the person included in the report that corroborates what you have detailed in post #3? How have you heard about this?

Maybe to find out what if anything has actually been reported, have you considered doing an SAR to your ex-employer? It is much better to have all the facts before making a decision to sue someone even if that was a potential course of action.

[Just 4 All]

First if all suing anyone for damages is not something your should do without a solid basis for doing so and a strong case, since if you lost then you would be liable for the costs of the other person and potentially any legal representation they may have. Do you have a copy of what the person included in the report that corroborates what you have detailed in post #3? How have you heard about this?

Maybe to find out what if anything has actually been reported, have you considered doing an SAR to your ex-employer? It is much better to have all the facts before making a decision to sue someone even if that was a potential course of action.

Thanks for your response ULA and sorry for my delay in replying.
I have a copy of the Referral Form submitted to the Occupational Health Contractor, I requested this from the Human Resources Manager at my workplace and she emailed it to me. Therefore there is no question that this form was completed and submitted. There's also an answer to a grievance I submitted where the Manager in charge admitted what happened and said he was giving advice and guidance to my Line Manager.

Would that sound like solid evidence for a case claiming damages in your opinion ? Without prejudice of course.