In Kingdom of Spain v Lorenzo, Ms Lorenzo, a dual British and Spanish national, worked in an administrative role at the Spanish Embassy in London. She alleged that she was subjected to discriminatory treatment and harassment by a senior member of the Embassy’s diplomatic staff, including disparaging remarks and unfair treatment in the workplace. Ms Lorenzo resigned in 2015 and brought claims for race discrimination and harassment under the Equality Act 2010.
The Spanish Embassy argued that it was immune from these claims, asserting that state immunity applied to the employment relationship because Ms Lorenzo was a Spanish national and had worked in a diplomatic mission.
The employment tribunal rejected the Embassy’s immunity arguments, finding that Ms Lorenzo’s role and the alleged acts of discrimination did not involve governmental or sovereign functions. Instead, the claims arose from private law acts related to her employment, making state immunity inapplicable.
This decision was upheld by the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which noted that employment claims are not protected by state immunity unless they are directly linked to the sovereign functions of the state.
The Court of Appeal has now confirmed this approach. It highlighted the distinction between acts of a governmental nature (such as national security decisions or recruitment policies for diplomatic agents) and acts of a private law nature (such as alleged discrimination in...
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