Emman Bhangu acts in unfair dismissal and discrimination claim against the Government of UAE.

Emman Kaur Bhangu has been successful at a public preliminary hearing for her claimant client in Sabir v The Government of the United Arab Emirates.

In August 2026, Emman Bhangu, acted as counsel in Sabir v The Government of the United Arab Emirates (Case No. 2201882/2024) at the Central London Employment Tribunal. Her claimant client, a Medical Co-ordinator employed at the UAE Embassy’s Dubai Health Authority (London) function, brought claims of unfair dismissal, disability discrimination, and failure to pay a redundancy payment and holiday pay. The UAE Government asserted state immunity under the State Immunity Act 1978.

At a Public Preliminary Hearing before Employment Judge Brown, Emman successfully established that state immunity did not bar the claimant’s claims. The Tribunal accepted the Claimant’s argument that his employment — facilitating the medical treatment of UAE citizens in UK hospitals and liaising with hospitals, patients, and families — was not an exercise of sovereign authority. As Medical Coordinator for the UAE Embassy, his functions were practical, administrative, and ancillary and did not call for personal involvement in the diplomatic or political operations of the mission.

The Tribunal further agreed that, in the alternative, the Respondent had in any event submitted to the jurisdiction under s.2 SIA 1978 by pleading matters in its Grounds of Resistance that went beyond the sole purpose of claiming immunity and addressed the merits of the claim.

The Tribunal’s judgment, handed down on 11 August 2026, means that Mr Sabir’s claims for unfair dismissal, disability discrimination, redundancy payment and holiday pay will proceed to a full hearing.

The decision represents a significant result in the developing law of state immunity and employment by foreign states, and in particular against the Government of the United Arab Emirates itself.

Find out more

The full judgment will be published on the Employment Tribunal Decisions website after the summer break.

In the meantime, if you would like to find out more about this tribunal, or discuss working with Emman, please contact Katie Hager or call +44 (0)20 7353 6381.

News 12 Aug, 2026