Torquay health trust has been fined with a huge amount by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for its gaffe of revealing its staff's equal opportunity data on its website, a recent report has uncovered.

As per the findings, it is the third highest amount being whacked by the ICO on a company for publishing personal information of employees. The first two included Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust that was hit on June 1 with £325,000 sum and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust that was fined a total of £225,000.

The trust in Torquay, England has been penalized with £175,000 since it had posted a spreadsheet on the website that allowed the public not only to know the staff's names and dates of birth. But, it also paved a way to check their national insurance numbers, information about their religion and sexuality and equality responses.

Almost 1,373 members' info was released and the same had though continued to be available online till 19 weeks. It is being said that a public member himself helped the staff by reporting the act.

However, claims by the ICO that there was lack of guidance at the Trust's end, the Trust has now launched a new web management policy ensuring the mistake would not repeat.