Ms Hounga, a young, illiterate Nigerian citizen was encouraged by her employers to travel to work in the UK illegally from Nigeria as their au pair, with the promise of schooling and wages of £50 a month. The tribunal guessed that on entering the UK, she was around 14 years-old. The tribunal had no doubt that the plan, to enter the UK using a passport and visa under someone else’s name and with a false story, was “master-minded” by the employer’s family. Once in the UK, Ms Hounga was paid nothing and suffered serious abuse at the hands of her employer, who threatened her with the risk of imprisonment because of her illegal status.

When eventually she was dismissed and thrown out, she did not even know her employer’s address. Even in these circumstances, the Court of Appeal ruled that she could not bring a claim for discrimination, concluding that she was a willing participant in the decision to enter the UK illegally and that as a result, her treatment at the hands of her employer was inextricably bound up with the illegal contract of employment.

Hounga v Adenike Allen [2012] EWCA Civ 609