Clyde & Co and Mo Sethi KC represented Standard Chartered Bank on landmark DIFC Court victory

Global law firm Clyde & Co and Mo Sethi KC represented Standard Chartered Bank in the first-ever discrimination and victimisation case to be decided under the current employment legislation in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court.

The claimant, a British national of Asian origin, was employed as the bank’s Head of Compliance for Global Islamic Banking, based in Dubai, until his employment was terminated by reason of redundancy. His claims for whistleblowing detriment and dismissal were struck out at a preliminary hearing. At trial, he claimed to be the victim of a long-term racist conspiracy involving many senior managers of the global bank in a large number of jurisdictions. He sought the maximum compensatory award for numerous acts of discrimination under Article 59 and victimisation under Article 60 of DIFC Employment Law No 2 of 2019. He claimed an uplift in damages of three times pursuant to Article 40(2) DIFC Law of Damages and Remedies No 7 of 2005. He also claimed that the Bank should be fined for breaching its statutory duty to provide and maintain a workplace free of discrimination and victimisation and without risks to health and safety under Article 43(2) DIFC Employment Law. 

Following a multi-week trial in the new DIFC Courts, Chief Justice Wayne Martin has handed down judgment in Mahmood v Standard Chartered Bank DIFC (CFI 044/2021) dismissing each and every allegation made by the claimant in a comprehensive 188-page judgment. In doing so, for the first time, the DIFC Court has clarified many important aspects of DIFC law and provided welcome guidance on the practice and procedure of bringing and conducting such complex and high-value discrimination and victimisation claims. The judgment will be of interest to all dispute resolution and employment law practitioners in the DIFC, ADGM and other Middle East offshore jurisdictions. 

Ben Brown and David True of our MEA Employment team instructed Mohinderpal Sethi K.C. to appear for the defendant. Our team was instructed by Yasser Shabbir of Standard Chartered Bank. 

Clyde & Co has a dedicated award-winning MEA team of specialist employment lawyers advising businesses across the region. Named Employment Team of the Year at the Oath Middle East Awards 2023, and highly ranked in Chambers Global and Legal 500, its employment specialists assist regional and multinational clients with the full range of issues which arise in the workplace on a day-to-day basis, including: workforce and regulatory investigations; disputes and labour court litigation; employment issues arising out of corporate restructurings, outsourcings and mergers and acquisitions; recruitment issues and complying with workforce nationalisation requirements; immigration requirements; employment documentation; entitlements under local labour laws; training on applicable local labour laws; employee relations issues; termination of employment and handling disciplinary issues; and post-termination issues such as enforcing restrictive covenants and protecting confidential information and employment litigation.

The MEA employment team strive to empower employers with tools for managing employment law intricacies: Law at Work is an innovative electronic platform which provides comprehensive insights, analyses, and resources to allow employers and legal professionals to navigate the intricate landscape of employment law in the UAE, KSA and Qatar.  

With over 30 years of experience in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Clyde & Co is one of the largest international law firms with over 80 partners and over 540 staff operating through 10 offices and associated offices in Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Riyadh. Clyde & Co supports international and local organisations throughout the wider region with a full-service offering of local specialists across most business sectors and services of law, including commercial, commercial disputes, corporate, cyber risk, data protection & privacy, employment & immigration, finance, global recoveries, insolvency & reorganisation, intellectual property, international arbitration, projects & construction, real estate, regulatory & investigations, and technology, outsourcing & data.

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