ECtHR, App. Nos. 19059/18 and 19725/18, [2022] ECHR 19059/18, [2022] ECHR 19725/18

The ECtHR accepted the UK Government’s concessions that it had breached the Article 6 and 14 rights of the second claimant, a domestic worker whose claims against the State of Libya had been blocked by the State Immunity Act. The claimant, who had been employed as a domestic worker and nanny in the household of the Cultural Attaché at the Libyan Embassy in London, had sued her employer for unfair dismissal, failure to pay the minimum wage over a period of six years, failure to provide the documents required by Part 1 of the Employment Rights Act (written statement of the particulars of employment), breach of the Working Time Regulations 1998 and unlawful discrimination/harassment on the grounds of race. She had claimed over £220K (most of this for failure to pay minimum wage) in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, which the UK Government claimed was excessive.

The ECtHR ordered the UK to pay the claimant EUR 56 500 for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages, together with any tax chargeable on the non-pecuniary damage, together with EUR 12,500 and tax in respect of costs and expenses (this against a claim of £34,125).