Jess Varnish wins right to appeal case against British Cycling that could have far-reaching implications for athletes
Jess Varnish has won the right to an appeal in a legal case against British Cycling that could have significant consequences for athletes’ employment status.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal has overturned an initial decision, saying the former track cyclist did not have the right to appeal the decision that went against her in January of this year.
Varnish, 29, is arguing that she should have been considered an employee of British Cycling or the funding agency UK Sport when she was controversially dropped from the Team GB programme for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The new appeal hearing could order a new tribunal to take place or overturn the decision of the original one, which would set an important precedent regarding state-funded athletes’ employment status.
“We could easily have walked away after the original decision went against us. However, I believe we’re doing the right thing by not giving up,” Varnish said in a statement.
“I want to give athletes an opportunity to hold to account employees of governing bodies, who they interact with on a daily basis, and have significant control over their careers and opportunities.
“I continue to think it’s unfair that athletes still have no structured means to do this, and I hope this appeal will be the first step towards affecting change, and bring about a fairer, more modern, high-performance system in the UK where athlete welfare is not just a soundbite, but something that we all believe in.”
Both criticised their coaches after their final race for mistakes made during qualification but only Varnish was let go, with British Cycling claiming it was for performance reasons.
But soon after her exit was confirmed, Varnish claimed that Shane Sutton, British Cycling’s former technical director, told her “to go and have a baby”. Sutton denied saying that.
