In the case Saggar v Ministry of Defence [2005], it was held that an abroad based staff member of a British organization, who was a UK local when recruited or at any time during the course of the staff member's employment, is entitled to bring a discrimination claim in the UK. The claim can be brought even if the worker did no more operate in Britain after the relocation overseas.

After 16 years at a Ministry of Defence base in Britain, Lieutenant Colonel Surinder Nath Saggar was completely stationed in Cyprus from 1998 and was still there when he made a claim for race discrimination.

The Employment Tribunal chose that Lieutenant Saggar worked wholly outdoors Britain and might not submit a race discrimination claim in Britain. He appealed against this choice to the Employment Appeals Tribunal (" EAT").

The EAT dismissed the appeal and held that:-

In order for Lieutenant Saggar's claim to prosper, the EAT would need to look at the entire of his employment from 1982 onwards, which would be "ridiculous";

The EAT was bound by the choice of the Court of Appeal in the case of Carver v Saudi Arabian Airlines [1999] where for the functions of developing whether a tribunal has jurisdiction to hear a claim, it is essential to consider whether, at the time of the supposed discrimination, the complaintant was wholly or generally working in Great Britain;
Appropriately, at the time of the supposed discrimination, Lieutenant Saggar worked completely in Cyprus.

The case went to the Court of Appeal and it was decided that: -

The appropriate duration for determining whether a claimant worked wholly or primarily outside Great Britain is the entire period of employment;
This technique was supported by the phrasing in s 8( 1) of the Race Relations Act 1976; and
This choice applied similarly to all employees even though an individual serving in the Armed Forces is not a staff member as there is no agreement of service.
The matter was remitted to a various tribunal to determine the concern of jurisdiction in accordance with the Court of Appeal's judgment.

Comment: This is a significant decision in favour of staff members. This implies that in most cases where employees are posted abroad they are entitled to bring employment claims in the UK. In practice, as well as adhering to the guidelines of the nation where workers are working, it would be sensible for employers to use English employment law requirements also.

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© RT COOPERS, 2005. This Briefing Note does not offer a comprehensive or complete statement of the law associating with the problems gone over nor does it make up legal suggestions. It is intended just to highlight basic problems. Professional legal recommendations need to constantly be sought in relation to specific circumstances.