CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS FOUND DUMPED IN WHEELIE BIN
AN ARBROATH businesswoman was shocked to find confidential documents in her wheelie bin.
Mrs Irene Mitchell, who operates Ferrier's Florist in Market Place, made the discovery at the weekend.
And she was amazed that such sensitive material, which Mrs Mitchell believes to have come from the parks and recreation offices at the junction of Gravesend and Market Place, could be disposed of so carelessly.
Angus Council says that the documents had been placed in Mrs Mitchell's bin by error during a recent move of files to the authority's HQ in Forfar.
The discarded documentation included payroll details which provided full name and address of the employee, his position and grade, how he is paid, his payroll number, the trade union of which he is a member, service details, his next of kin and contact telephone number.
Another document contained details of why an employee was absent from work and was signed by an assistant manager.
Further information on the documents indicated disturbance allowances claimed during January of this year when employees were carrying out salting duties.
Mrs Mitchell feels that such confidential information should not be so carelessly discarded, but should be shredded before being thrown away.
She explained: "I would have thought this kind of material would be shredded before being thrown away. If I ever have to discard information on my customers, everything is shredded before it goes in the bin. I would not like this kind of information to be in the public domain.
"I feel it is very, very careless and irresponsible on the part of whoever put it in the bin."
A spokesperson for Angus Council commented: "As part of a recent exercise to box up and move personal paper files from the office in Arbroath to council headquarters in Forfar, old papers were discarded. The bulk of these papers, which included some timesheets, related to staff who have subsequently left the council's employment.
"Our usual process is to shred all papers containing confidential details prior to their disposal, but in this instance a small number of papers were incorrectly put out in a black bag with normal waste. The bag was then placed, in error, in the bin belonging to the florist's shop.
"We are grateful to Mrs Mitchell for drawing this to our attention and have contacted her for retrieval and correct disposal of the contents of the bag. We apologise for the inconvenience which has been caused."
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Weather for Arbroath
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 18 C
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