On 22 January 2026 Mr Justice Lavender, sitting in the King’s Bench Division of the High Court, ordered that the United Arab Emirates pay £262,000 (including damages assessed at £234,000) to a claimant who was held in domestic servitude in London by one of its diplomats in 2013. The infliction of domestic servitude and labour exploitation by diplomats on workers tied to diplomatic visas is a well-recognised phenomenon. The case is understood to be the first in England and Wales where a state has been held liable for the wrongs inflicted by one of its diplomats.
The Claimant was brought to the UK to work for Salem Mohammed Sultan Aljaberi and his family in 2013, having been promised good working conditions. However, after she arrived, for three months from February to May 2013, she was subjected to servitude. The family did not permit her to leave the flat alone while she was with them and when they were away she was locked in. She was expected to care for the Aljaberis children and provide other domestic services and was not given rest days, lunch breaks or days off. The judge found she was forced to work an average of 17 ¾ hours a day. She was fed inadequately and was subject to verbal abuse and threats. The family confiscated her passport and denied her internet access in the flat. She had no family, friends or support network in the UK. After 89 days she escaped on an occasion when the family left the front door unlocked. Following her escape she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder which still persists in 2026.
The claim, initially issued in 2019, was pleaded on the basis that the UAE was vicariously liable for the torts of Mr Aljaberi. The claim form was served outside the jurisdiction, and default judgment obtained in the absence of a defence. In 2025 the UAE confirmed it would not engage in the proceedings. The Court award included £85,000 for false imprisonment and injury to feelings; £35,000 for psychiatric injury, and £15,000 in exemplary damages; as well as damages for unpaid wages and lost earnings arising from her injury and mistreatment.
The Judgment can be found here.
COL was represented by James Robottom, instructed by Zubier Yazdani at Deighton Pierce Glynn.
The case has been reported bythe Guardian here.