UK: Supreme Court dismisses Dyson’s application to appeal migrant workers lawsuit alleging forced labour in Malaysia, allowing the case to proceed
Summary
Date Reported: 9 Nov 2022
Location: Malaysia
Companies
Dyson - Buyer , ATA IMS - Employer , Jabco Filter System - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 24
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal - Sector unknown , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Bangladesh , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Forced Labour & Modern Slavery , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Occupational Health & Safety , Denial of leave , Harassment (other than sexual) , Violence , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Minimum Wage , Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: In November 2023, the English High Court declined to exercise jurisdiction over the case. In 2024, the workers were granted permission to appeal decision that their case against Dyson should not be heard in the English Courts; the appeal was granted in November 2024.
Source type: Lawsuit
“Migrant workers’ case to proceed in English courts following Supreme Court refusal of Dyson appeal”, 8 May 2025.
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The Supreme Court rejected Dyson’s application to appeal the ruling made by the Court of Appeal in December 2024 that the legal claim by migrant workers at the two Malaysian factories can be heard in the UK, finding that the application did not raise a point of law of general public importance.
The decision, which comes almost three years after the claim was issued, removes the final barrier delaying the claims from proceeding before the English courts. The High Court will now hear evidence of the allegations of modern slavery and false imprisonment in factories that supplied Dyson and issue a judgment on whether Dyson should be liable for the human rights abuses allegedly present in their supply chain. Dyson denies that it is responsible for any of the allegations of unlawful working practices.
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The claim … is being brought by 23 migrant workers and the estate of one deceased migrant worker who worked at factories operated by two supplier companies, ATA Industrial and Jabco in Johor, Malaysia, where many Dyson products were made. …
The Nepalese and Bangladeshi workers, … allege they experienced forced labour, false imprisonment, assault, battery, cruel and degrading treatment and exposure to extremely hazardous working conditions and abusive living conditions. …
In 2023 the High Court ruled that the case should be heard in Malaysia rather than England after Dyson, which now has its headquarters in Singapore, challenged the right of the English courts to hear the claims. …
In November 2024, the workers took their case to the Court of Appeal, arguing the claims should be heard in the English courts as they relate to alleged harm caused by decisions and policies made centrally in the UK by Dyson UK companies and personnel. The claimants, … argued that there is a substantial risk that they would not be able to access justice in the Malaysian courts, …
Following this hearing, in December 2024 … The Court of Appeal made clear that English companies whose operations cause damage abroad can be held to account in the country where they are based, and that substantial inequality of resources between the parties in other countries will be considered by the English courts when deciding whether to allow claims to proceed here. The Supreme Court’s decision now means the substantive case can now proceed towards a trial in the High Court in London.
The civil negligence and unjust enrichment claims are being brought against three Dyson companies within the Dyson Group: Dyson Technology Limited and Dyson Limited, based in Malmesbury in Wiltshire, and Dyson Malaysia in Johor Bahru near to the ATA Industrial and Jabco factories.
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