Hottak & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs & Anor [2016] EWCA Civ 438 (09 May 2016)

Hottak & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs & Anor [2016] EWCA Civ 438 (09 May 2016)

The Court of Appeal held that the claimants' employment relationship did not have a sufficiently strong connection with Great Britain to justify the application of Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010. The Afghan locally employed staff were engaged and worked entirely in Afghanistan under contracts governed by Afghan law, and the circumstances did not constitute an exceptional case warranting extra-territorial application of British employment law. The discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010 could not be entertained by the English courts.

Citation
[2016] EWCA Civ 438
Parties
Claimant/appellant: Mohammed Rafi Hottak; Claimant/appellant: AL; Defendant/respondent: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; Defendant/respondent: The Secretary of State for Defence
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
09 May 2016
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Appeal From High Court to Court of Appeal
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Discrimination, Jurisdiction, Public Sector Equality Duty, Employment Rights, Extra Territoriality
Public Law Employment Law Equality Law Discrimination Jurisdiction Public Sector Equality Duty Employment Rights Extra Territoriality

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Parties

Mohammed Rafi Hottak

Claimant/appellant

AL

Claimant/appellant

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Defendant/respondent

The Secretary of State for Defence

Defendant/respondent

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Appeal From High Court to Court of Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Does Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 apply extra-territorially to Afghan locally employed staff?
  2. 2 Was the Afghan Scheme unlawfully discriminatory compared to the Iraq Scheme?
  3. 3 Did the defendants fail to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010?

Ratio Decidendi

The Court of Appeal held that the claimants' employment relationship did not have a sufficiently strong connection with Great Britain to justify the application of Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010. The Afghan locally employed staff were engaged and worked entirely in Afghanistan under contracts governed by Afghan law, and the circumstances did not constitute an exceptional case warranting extra-territorial application of British employment law. The discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010 could not be entertained by the English courts.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed

Orders

  • Declaratory relief granted regarding failure to have regard to Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149(1)(b) and (c) of the Equality Act 2010
  • Claim otherwise dismissed