News & Events
News & Events
For a long time, one of the hottest and most contentious questions in Equality & Diversity has been “What is a woman?” Last week, the Supreme Court answered this question in a ruling that is set to cause rewrites of policies up and down the UK. There have been various suggested answers to this question: anyone who says they are a woman; biological women plus trans-women who hold GRCs; or just biological women. Last week, the Supreme Court answered the question, at least so far as the Equality Act is concerned: a woman is someone who is biologically female. As the judges were at pains to point out, that doesn’t undermine the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. Those with that…
News 23 Apr, 2025
Scotland’s leading political and current affairs publication, Holyrood, has interviewed women’s rights barrister Naomi Cunningham for their latest International Women’s Day feature. Instructed on yet another prominent case relating to the issue of sex and gender, Naomi Cunningham has carved herself a niche career acting for those accused of discrimination based on their protected ‘gender-based’ beliefs. The latest employment tribunal, Peggie v Fife Health Board, has reignited a political debate in both Holyrood and Westminster, and Holyrood magazine invited Naomi for an interview to find out more about her motivation to defend cases such as these, and her rise to fame in this arena. Naomi tells Holyrood Editor, Mandy Rhodes, that the whole debate is simply a matter of ‘fact…
External Publications 10 Mar, 2025
Naomi Cunningham represented the Claimant, Sandy Peggie in a two-day ET hearing in Nov 2024, where she successfully opposed the application for a private hearing and anonymity order. The full trial starts on 3rd February 2025. Sandie Peggie is a female nurse. Beth Upton is a doctor identifying as a woman, and has been given permission to use women’s facilities in the hospital. Peggie objected to Dr Upton’s presence in the changing room she uses and, having failed to get any support from management, on the third occasion she encountered Upton there she said she didn’t think they ought to be there, and it was making her feel uncomfortable. A complaint of bullying was made against Peggie, she was suspended…
News 3 Feb, 2025
Naomi Cunningham secures £54,000 compensation for a social worker after her local authority employer admitted discriminating against her protected beliefs. Naomi recently acted for Lizzy Pitt who accused her employer, Cambridgeshire County Council, of harassment related to sexual orientation and her philosophical beliefs. The council had launched disciplinary proceedings against Ms Pitt after she voiced her gender-critical views at an LGBT network meeting. The council launched a probe after formal complaints were made which led to a management instruction and suspension from the LGBT network. Ms Pitt said she found the whole process “stressful and humiliating” and took the council to an employment tribunal. On the morning of the hearing, the council accepted liability and agreed to pay Ms Pitt…
News 12 Aug, 2024
Outer Temple’s Naomi Cunningham has been published in the August 2024 ELA Briefing in an article titled ‘Legal costs as damages for discrimination’. Naomi Cunningham of Outer Temple Chambers has written an article with Shazia Khan of Cole Khan Solicitors for the August 2024 ELA Briefing. In this article, Naomi and Shazia discussed damages, litigation costs and the Tribunal. They also discussed the recent decision of Meade v Westminster City Council and Social Work England (in which they successfully represented the Claimant). To read the full article ‘Legal costs as damages for discrimination’, click here. Find out more Naomi Cunningham has specialised in discrimination law, mainly but not exclusively in the employment context, throughout her career. In recent years, Naomi has…
External Publications, News 7 Aug, 2024
Naomi Cunningham has been published in the latest Discrimination Law Association Briefings paper dissecting the case of Omooba v Michael Garrett Associates (1) Leicester Theatre Trust Ltd (2). Naomi Cunningham’s article titled ‘Bowing to the mob: a ‘business case’ defence?’ was included in the DLA July briefing paper (Vol 82, 1088-1100 July 2024) following the recent EAT decision in Omooba v Michael Garrett Associates (1) Leicester Theatre Trust Ltd (2) [2024] EAT 30. Actress Seyi Omooba accepted a role as a lesbian character. However, whenever historic homophobic comments surfaced on social media, her contract was terminated. Despite conceding that she would have resigned in any event, Ms Omooba brought employment tribunal claims of discrimination and harassment on grounds of religion…
External Publications, News 2 Jul, 2024
The Times has named Naomi Cunningham ‘Lawyer of the Week’ after she acted for social worker Rachel Meade in an employment tribunal claim against both her employer, Westminster City Council, and her Regulator, Social Work England. Ms Meade had been sanctioned by Social Work England and then suspended on a charge of gross misconduct by the Council after a Facebook friend presented a dossier of her “gender-critical” posts to her regulator. The tribunal found that the regulator had “allowed its processes to be subverted to punish and supress the Claimant’s lawful political speech”. Both the regulator and the Council must now train their staff in freedom of belief and expression in the workplace. Read Naomi’s full interview, available to The…
News 9 May, 2024
Naomi Cunningham appeared in the Edinburgh employment tribunal for a counsellor complaining against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre of discrimination, harassment and constructive dismissal on grounds of her protected ‘sex-realist’ belief. Naomi represented Roz Adams, who was accused of being ‘transphobic’ after she consulted a ‘non-binary’ colleague, AB, about how she could reassure a client assigned to AB that AB was not a man. Managers insisted that it was contrary to policy to disclose the sex of any worker to a service user, although service users could be told that no men were included in its staff or volunteer team. The Centre’s CEO is Mridul Wadhwa, a transwoman. Ms Adams left the centre after the disciplinary hearing concluded that she was…
News 26 Jan, 2024
Rachel Meade was sanctioned by Social Work England and suspended by Westminster City Council in 2021 for private social media posts that included gender-critical beliefs. Employment barrister, Naomi Cunningham, successfully represented Rachel in an Employment Tribunal. Social worker Rachel Meade has successfully sued her employer, Westminster City Council (WCC), and professional regulatory body, Social Work England (SWE), in an employment tribunal for discrimination on the basis of her protected beliefs under the Equality Act 2010. Between 2018 and 2020, Meade had shared posts about upholding women’s rights from various organisations, during the then reform consultation for the Gender Recognition Act 2004, with many of her posts being links to national newspaper stories and articles by advocacy groups such as Fair…
News 9 Jan, 2024
Naomi Cunningham will be speaking at the DLA Practitioners Group Meeting on “Religion/Belief Discrimination” on Tuesday 14th November 2023. Join Outer Temple’s Naomi Cunningham at the Discrimination Lawyers Association Practitioners Group Meeting as she speaks on “Religion/Belief Discrimination”. The topic of discussion will be “Higgs v Farmer’s School – the last word on religion or belief discrimination?” Book your place This event will be held at Outer Temple Chambers, 222 Strand, London, WC2R 1BA on Tuesday 14th November 2023. Places are limited and booking is required. The event is free for DLA members. Non-members pay a fee of £10 or can click here to become a member. To book a place and register for the event, click here. Agenda Registration…
Events 9 Nov, 2023
Discrimination law specialist Naomi Cunningham was invited to write an article for Discrimination Law Association Briefings on the Scottish court ruling on the meaning of ‘sex’. Naomi’s article highlights the issue that, under the Scotland Act 1998 (the Act), any provision of legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament is of no effect in so far as it is ‘outside the legislative competence of the Parliament’; a provision is outside the legislative competence of the Parliament if it relates to reserved matters. Equal opportunities is a ‘reserved matter’ by schedule 5 to the Act, but that reservation is subject to certain exceptions, one of which relates to ‘the inclusion of persons with protected characteristics in non-executive posts on boards of [a…
External Publications 18 Jul, 2023
Naomi Cunningham has written an article titled ‘Women’s Sport and the law’ in New Law Journal. In this article, discrimination law specialist, Naomi Cunningham, and Fiona McAnena, director of sport at Fair Play For Women, examine what is fair and what is legal when it comes to trans inclusion in elite women’s sports, weighing up the law and the latest guidance. For as long as there has been organised sport, men and women have competed in separate categories. In March 2023, World Athletics announced that no athlete who had gone through male puberty would be allowed to compete in women’s world ranking competitions. Soon after, UK Athletics followed suit. Naomi and Fiona discuss whether sporting bodies risk legal claims brought…
External Publications 6 Jun, 2023
