Confidential council files, some containing sensitive personal data, have been found dumped in a bin in Telford.
Telford & Wrekin Council said an immediate investigation was launched after the documents – 58 in total – were found by a member of the public. Officers were today contacting all the people whose data was included to apologise.
A spokesman said they believed the papers were put in the bin on the Wrekin Retail Park in Wellington by a former member of staff.
The documents – handed to the Shropshire Star – include job applications and staff sickness forms and include details such as addresses, qualifications, previous employment and references of people who applied for a cleaning supervisor job at Muxton and Phoenix schools in Telford.
There are also nine return to work forms detailing the reasons for individual staff absences between March and May this year – even revealing one member of staff was suffering from stress and depression.
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Council paying-in books were also thrown in the bin along with names of every pupil at Moorfield Primary School in Newport who has a school meal.
Read more on Shropshre Star.
The BBC adds:
It said an investigation had quickly identified the person responsible, a former worker who had dumped the documents after clearing her car.
Jonathan Eatough, a senior lawyer at the council, said the person responsible had thought the papers were blank forms and was “mortified” to discover what had happened.