Nick Hurley and Rachel Hearn write for ELA Briefing on a landmark decision in the case of Mahmood v Standard Chartered Bank
What does the first ever discrimination and victimisation case decided under Dubai International Financial Centre employment law mean for discrimination claims in the future?
Nick Hurley, Partner and Head of Employment, and Rachel Hearn, Senior Associate in our Employment team, unpick this question in an article for ELA Briefing, analysing the recent decision of Mahmood v Standard Chartered Bank heard in the DIFC court.
Mahmood was heard last year in the Court of First Instance in the DIFC and was the first ever case to tackle the issues of discrimination (on the ground of race) and victimisation under Part 9 of the Employment Law DIFC Law No 2 of 2019 (the Statute).
Concluding the article, Nick and Rachel explain that the "impact of the Mahmood judgment on the appetite of prospective claimants to launch proceedings based on allegations of discrimination will be interesting to observe". They continue:
Contrary to some of the commentary on the case we have heard predicting an increase in claims, we would expect the decision in Mahmood to have a chilling effect. Only those would-be claimants equipped with strong hearts, deep pockets and possessed of strong inculpatory evidence of discrimination are likely to be prepared to exercise the rights conferred on them by the Statute. Whether this effectively deters litigants and becomes a barrier to justice remains to be seen.
Read the full article republished on our website here.
Read the full article in ELA Briefing here (subscription required).
