Varnish tribunal could have far-reaching consequences for British sport

Jess Varnish’s long-running dispute with British Cycling and UK Sport is to be heard before Manchester Employment Tribunal next week in a case which could have repercussions for hundreds of funded athletes.

Former track cyclist Varnish was seeking to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but was dropped from the Great Britain team just a few months prior to the Games.

She alleges she was discriminated against and Manchester Employment Tribunal will sit next week at the start of a potential two-stage process.

The first stage, from 10 to 17 December, is to determine if, as an athlete in receipt of UK Sport funding, Varnish was self-employed or an employee.

Should it be ruled that Varnish was an employee, the parties would reconvene for a tribunal in 2019 with the now 28-year-old claiming she was dismissed on the grounds of sexual discrimination.

The case could have implications for the hundreds of athletes, across Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, who are backed by UK Sport and their respective national governing bodies. There have been comparisons drawn with football’s Bosman ruling, which in 1995 afforded more contractual freedom for players.

Simon Fenton, a partner at Constantine Law and representing Varnish, said in a statement: “It is Varnish’s case that she was an employee (or worker), with the right not to be discriminated against.

“This case comes in a line of decisions from the cases of Uber, Addison Lee and Pimlico 0 Jess Varnish: Claims to be a victim of sexual discrimination.

Plumbers which show how tribunals are looking at what actually happened in practice rather than simply accepting what is said in the contractual documentation. And they are deciding that the individuals are workers. If it is decided that Varnish was either an employee or worker, she will have to come back to tribunal some time in 2019 for them to decide whether she suffered sex discrimination.”

Oral and written witness testimony will be heard.

Should Varnish earn employee status, UK Sport will likely have to overhaul its funding system. The tax implications will mean less money is available, so fewer athletes may be funded. UK Sport declined to comment on the proceedings, as did British Cycling.

However, last month UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl argued in an interview with the BBC that the funding athletes receive from the Lottery, which is distributed by her agency, is “similar to a student grant”.

Varnish’s representatives are understood to take exception to that view, believing there to be a greater similarity to the central contracts issued by the Rugby Football Union and England and Wales Cricket Board for England international players.