A UK court has ordered the United Arab Emirates to pay a Filipino domestic worker GBP 260,000 (approximately P21 million) for exploitation at the hands of one of its envoys. The ruling is part of a trio of landmark decisions in the UK and Switzerland that are chipping away at diplomatic immunity in cases involving migrant domestic workers.

The worker, who asked to be called Malaya, was employed by a UAE diplomat in the UAE in 2012 and later in the UK in 2013 when he moved for a diplomatic posting. Court documents show she was locked in the diplomat's house, not allowed to leave unless accompanied by a family member, and had her passport confiscated. She worked an average of 17 hours a day — conditions the court described as modern-day slavery. Malaya managed to escape when the door to the residence was inadvertently left unlocked.

Earlier in 2026, the UK court ordered the UAE government to compensate Malaya for false imprisonment, injury to feelings, and unpaid wages. The diplomat didn't appear in court. The UAE Embassy in London didn't respond to requests for comment. It took 12 years for Malaya to get this ruling.

“The court decisions affirm the equality of treatment and equal application of labor laws to all workers, including domestic workers — local or migrant. It's our hope that other countries will follow suit and clearly define the extent of exercise of diplomatic immunity.” — Ellene Sana, executive director, Center for Migrant Advocacy

Diplomatic immunity is a legal protection under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. It shields foreign envoys from civil and criminal suits to prevent political harassment while they do their official duties. But some diplomats have used it as a loophole to avoid prosecution for abusing migrant domestic workers.

A 2023 Rappler global investigation found 208 migrant domestic workers in 18 countries who filed hundreds of complaints against 160 diplomats between 1988 and 2021. The top complaint was wage theft — salaries underpaid or not paid at all. Others included physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. Some diplomats confiscated ATM cards from accounts where the worker's salary was deposited. Then they withdrew the money and kept most of it. One worker's bank statement showed funds used to pay for pizza.

In 2025, Switzerland's Federal Court ruled that diplomatic immunity can't be used as a defense in domestic worker maltreatment cases. That decision lets domestic workers' cases be treated as regular employer-employee disputes, stripping away the legal shield. In 2022, a UK court ruled that immunity doesn't apply when there is evidence of human trafficking or modern-day slavery.

All three cases were filed by Filipino female domestic workers formerly employed by diplomats. The rulings shift the power balance in a system where the employer-employee arrangement gives diplomats total control: they sponsor the worker's visa, so the worker depends on them for both job and immigration status.

Ellene Sana of the Center for Migrant Advocacy said these rulings affirm that labor laws apply equally to all workers, including domestic workers. She hopes other countries will follow and clearly define the limits of diplomatic immunity.