Jess Varnish's sex discrimination case against British Cycling and UK Sport to open proceedings

Jess Varnish’s sex discrimination case against British Cycling and UK Sport begins in Manchester on Monday  with a preliminary hearing which is set to last a week and which could have major ramifications for UK Sport.

The former track sprinter lost her place on British Cycling’s Olympic programme in the spring of 2016, a few months before the Rio Olympics. Varnish alleged sexism, bullying and discrimination, with her allegations eventually leading to the departure of technical director Shane Sutton.

This week’s preliminary hearing will deal solely with Varnish’s employment status at the time. The question before the tribunal will be: ‘Was Varnish self-employed or was she an employee (or worker)?’

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The tribunal’s ruling will be significant as there are three classes of paid engagement; employee, worker and self-employed. Both ‘employee’ and ‘worker’ come with protections against discrimination, the right to the National Minimum Wage, paid holiday, whistleblowing protection. The self-employed do not have such protections.

There could also be pension and tax implications.

If Varnish is able to prove employee or worker status, it will pave the way for her to bring some or all of her claims for unfair dismissal, sex discrimination, victimisation and detriment suffered for being a whistleblower.

It could also force UK Sport to overhaul its current funding system. “The significance of this case has been likened to the Bosman ruling in professional football which allowed footballers to be free agents after their contracts expired,” said Varnish’s lawyer Simon Fenton, a partner at Constantine Law.

Varnish's claim will be heard at Manchester Employment Tribunal from Dec 10 – 17.

If successful she will have to come back to tribunal next year to decide whether she suffered sex discrimination, although Sam Minshall, Associate in the Sports Business Group at law firm Lewis Silkin, cautioned: “Whatever the outcome at the preliminary hearing, it would not be at all surprising if the judgement was appealed. You would expect that UK Sport/British Cycling are more likely to have the pockets to fund an appeal than Varnish.”