High Court cases involving confidential data theft from the workplace have risen 313% in the last year, says commercial law firm EMW.

EMW says that High Court claims have surged from 23 cases in 2008 to 95 in 2009.

Mark Finn, principal at EMW, says: “The risk of employees stealing sensitive company information has been substantially heightened by redundancies and the fall in bonuses and commission-based pay during the recession.

“Modern technology has made data theft incredibly easy, and for many employees who have seen their incomes dramatically fall during the recession the temptation to jump ship with their employers’ client list can be very difficult to resist.

“In sales-led environments, such as recruitment or property agencies, where commission makes up a large component of pay, the problem has become particularly acute. There are few barriers to entry in those markets, so it’s very easy to start up your own agency with just a database of client names.”

He adds: “Employers should take data theft very seriously – it has the potential to cause huge damage to a business.”