Employment Law Update - Employment Status

The Employment Appeal Tribunal ('EAT') in Varnish v British Cycling has upheld the decision of an Employment Tribunal that a professional sportsperson (in these circumstances) is not an 'employee' or a 'worker'. This meant that the Claimant was unable to bring claims for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination.

The Claimant, Ms Varnish, is a well-known gold medal winning professional cyclist. She had a contract with British Cycling which was not renewed after she failed to qualify for the Olympics in 2016. It was alleged a director of British Cycling told her to "go have a baby". Ms Varnish brought claims for, amongst other things, unfair dismissal and sex discrimination.

The EAT considered the employment status of Ms Varnish. They concluded that due to the lack of remuneration from British Cycling to Ms Varnish, and that payment was instead given from sponsorships and lottery grants, the Employment Tribunal was entitled to find that Ms Varnish could not be held to