Migration Jurisprudence from the South › United Kingdom
Taiwo v. Olaigbe; Onu v. Akwiwu
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom · United Kingdom · 2016-06-22 · National court
Citation: [2016] UKSC 31
Type of case: Private
Outcome: Decided against the migrant side
Question
Is mistreating a worker because her immigration status makes her vulnerable discrimination on grounds of race or nationality?
What the court decided
No. Immigration status is not nationality; the discrimination claims failed, although the workers had other remedies.
In plain language
Two domestic workers from Nigeria were badly treated by employers who knew their visas left them with nowhere to go. They said this was race discrimination. The Supreme Court disagreed: immigration status is not race or nationality under the law.
Dalam bahasa sederhana
Dua pekerja rumah tangga dari Nigeria diperlakukan buruk oleh majikan yang tahu visa mereka membuat mereka tidak punya pilihan. Mereka menyebutnya diskriminasi ras. MA tidak setuju: menurut hukum, status imigrasi bukan ras atau kewarganegaraan.
Pertanyaan: Apakah memperlakukan pekerja secara buruk karena status imigrasinya membuatnya rentan termasuk diskriminasi berdasarkan ras atau kewarganegaraan?
What happened afterwards
- 2016-06-22: Claims dismissed; the Court noted that Parliament could address the gap. Law unchanged.
Sources
Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).
Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/taiwo-onu-2016/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.