Cycling-Briton Varnish loses employment tribunal appeal

Former European team sprint champion Varnish was dropped from the national squad before the 2016 Rio Olympics, after which she claimed she should have been considered an employee of British Cycling or the funding agency UK Sport. The initial employment tribunal in January 2019 found against Varnish, although she won the right to appeal.

Former British cyclist Jess Varnish's employment tribunal appeal against the sport's national governing body has been dismissed, it was announced on Tuesday. Former European team sprint champion Varnish was dropped from the national squad before the 2016 Rio Olympics, after which she claimed she should have been considered an employee of British Cycling or the funding agency UK Sport.

The initial employment tribunal in January 2019 found against Varnish, although she won the right to appeal. "The (original) tribunal was entitled to conclude, based on an evaluative judgment taking account of all relevant factors, that the claimant was not an employee or a worker," appeal judge Mr Justice Choudhury ruled.

"The tribunal had not erred in its approach to the assessment of employee status and nor had it reached conclusions that no reasonable tribunal, properly directed, could have reached." Had the 29-year-old Varnish won her appeal, she would have opened up the possibility of a wrongful dismissal and sexual discrimination case against British Cycling and UK Sport.

Varnish originally said she had been told to "go off and have a baby" by former British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton, who resigned after the allegations.