R (Z) v Hackney London Borough Council

This appeal concerned the obligations under the Equality Act 2010 of Agudas Israel Housing Association Ltd, a charity that provides housing in Stamford Hill, Hackney, for the observant Orthodox Jewish community, in particular, the Haredi community. The first respondent was Hackney London Borough Council. The appellant was a single mother with four children, who was waiting to be allocated a suitable property by the Council. The appellant commenced proceedings against the Council and AIHA in 2018 complaining that there had been unlawful conduct on their part in various respects. In particular, she complained that there had been unlawful direct discrimination against her on grounds of her religion and on grounds of her race. Her claim was dismissed by the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court considered the appeal, focusing on the claims against AIHA. The court found that the appellant's claims against AIHA were based on the prohibition of direct discrimination on grounds of race or religion by any person in the provision of services, as contained in the Equality Act 2010. AIHA relied on defences set out in section 158 and section 193 of the 2010 Act. The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal was right to conclude that, on its proper interpretation, the statutory defence based on section 193(2)(b) of the 2010 Act does not include an implied requirement of proportionality. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal was right to conclude that AIHA benefited from that defence, whatever the position on the issue of proportionality. The appellant's new claim based on the Race Directive failed. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal.