Naomi Cunningham has specialised in employment and discrimination law throughout her career, accepting instructions in goods and services discrimination as well as in the full range of employment matters.
In recent years, Naomi has developed a particular interest in gender reassignment discrimination, the interaction between the Equality Act and the Gender Recognition Act, the single-sex exceptions in the Equality Act and public sector equality duty. She gave evidence to the Women and Equalities Select Committee on reform of the GRA in February 2021, and to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament in June 2022. Her public law work in the area includes Fair Play For Women’s judicial review of ONS guidance on the sex question in the 2021 Census, the challenge to the lawfulness of the EHRC’s Code of Practice in AEA v EHRC, and FOIA appeals involving information held by the Judicial College and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Current instructions include a challenge to the Brighton Survivors’ Network’s refusal to provide single-sex group counselling, and a claim against a university for discrimination on grounds of “gender-critical” belief.
Naomi has written a popular and practical guide to employment tribunal proceedings, Employment Tribunal Claims: tactics and precedents, now in its 4th edition (2nd-4th editions co-authored by Michael Reed). A review in the ELA Briefing said “Every employment lawyer (including the tribunal judiciary) will learn something of value from reading this book.”
Naomi blogs regularly on the law at www.legalfeminist.org.uk and is chair of the third sector human rights organisation Sex Matters. She was named by The Lawyer as one of their “Hot 100” for 2022.
Naomi is an experienced and sought after barrister, instructed by claimants and respondents in individual and multiparty claims, across a broad range of employment law issues.
Asda Stores Ltd v Brierley and others [2021] UKSC 10
Element & ors v Tesco Stores Ltd (C-624/19)
Brierley & ors v Asda; Ahmed & ors v Sainsburys & anr; Fenton & ors v Asda [2019] EWCA Civ 8
Mansfield v Taran Microsystems Limited UKEAT/0307/17
Burdis v Dorset County Council UKEAT/0084/18
Awan v ICTS UK Limited UKEAT/0087/18/RN
Mbubaegbu v Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust UKEAT/0218/17/JOJ
Premachandra v HBOS PLC UKEAT/0090/15/RN
Azam v Ofqual UKEAT/0407/14/JOJ
Ros v Brighton & Hove City Council & others UKEAT/0176/13
Aspire Defence Services Limited v Hutchings UKEAT/0442/12/LA
Osoba v Chief Constable of the Hertfordshire Constabulary UKEAT/0055/13/BA
Lipinski v Ebbsfleet Autospray Centre Limited UKEAT/0288/12/JOJ
Governing Body of St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School & ors v Blundell UKEAT/0259/12/RN
London City Airport Limited v Chacko UKEAT/0013/13
Birmingham City Council v Akhtar & ors EWCA Civ 585
Dziedziak v Future Electronics Limited UKEAT/0270/11/ZT
Segor v Gooodrich Actuation Systems Limited UKEAT/0145/11
Mckerrow v The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust UKEAT/0387/11
Hamilton & ors v NHS Grampian UKEATS/0067/10/BI
Whether section 11 of the ERA can be used to determine the existence of an implied term; determination on a point of law without hearing evidence; costs
NHS Leeds v Larner UKEAT/0088/11/CEA
Whether an employee on long-term sick leave must take steps to exercise her right to annual leave in order to be entitled to holiday pay.
Compass Group PLC v Ayodele UKEAT/0484/10/SM
The scope of an employer’s obligation to consider a request not to retire.
Hussain v Acorn Independent College Ltd [2011] I.R.L.R. 463, EAT
Temporary cessation of work; whether temporary cover provided by a teacher counted towards his continuous service.
St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School v Blundell [2011] EWCA Civ 427
New evidence on appeal; application of rule in Ladd v Marshall.
Vickers v London Fire and Emergency Planning [2010] EWHC 1855 (QB)
Meaning of ‘unable to drive for genuine reasons’ in firefighters’ contract.
Blundell v Governing Body of St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School [2007] ICR 1451, EAT
The first appeal case on the definition of the ‘job’ to which a woman has the right to return following maternity leave.
Moyhing v Barts & the London NHS Trust [2006] IRLR 860, EAT
Sex discrimination against a male student nurse (funded by the EOC).
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd v Griffiths-Henry [2006] IRLR 865, EAT
The burden of proof in discrimination cases.
Comfort v Department for Constitutional Affairs (2006) (ET); (2005) (EAT); [2004] EWCA Civ 349 (CA)
Constructive dismissal case remitted by the CA for re-hearing after the original ET failed to deal with allegation of perjury by a senior civil servant giving evidence for the Respondent. The second appeal to the EAT concerned disclosure of the Respondent’s notes of evidence from the previous hearing.
Gdynia America Shipping Lines (London) Ltd v Chelminski [2004] ICR 1523, CA
Time for appealing an employment tribunal decision.
Kwamin v Abbey National plc [2004] ICR 841, EAT
Delay in promulgation of ET decisions, Article 6.
Addison & Addison v Ashby [2003] ICR 667
Whether child workers entitled under the Working Time Regulations to paid annual leave.
Naomi Cunningham is regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and holds a current practising certificate. If you are not satisfied with the service provided, please click here.
To find out more, contact Nick Levett +44 (0)20 7427 4908 or Adam Macdonald +44 (0)20 7427 4906 for a confidential discussion.
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