News & Events

Naomi Cunningham

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 Cunningham acts for rape crisis support worker in Scotland in belief discrimination claim

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

Naomi Cunningham acts for social worker in belief discrimination case in employment tribunal 

Naomi Cunningham acts for social worker in belief discrimination case in employment tribunal 

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

DLA Practitioners Group Meeting: "Religion/Belief Discrimination"

DLA Practitioners Group Meeting: “Religion/Belief Discrimination”

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

Naomi Cunningham contributes to the latest edition of DLA Briefings – Scottish court rules on the meaning of ‘sex’

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 published in New Law Journal

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

Naomi Cunningham gives evidence to the Women and Equalities Select Committee

The Women and Equalities Select Committee invited Naomi Cunningham to a formal meeting on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill and Equality Act Naomi Cunningham appeared last week before the Women and Equalities Select Committee to discuss the interaction between the Equality Act 2010 and the Gender Recognition Act 2004. She appeared before MPs beside Lord Falconer of Thoroton KC, Robin White (Barrister, Old Square Chambers) and Dr Michael Foran (Senior Fellow and Lecturer in Public Law at Glasgow University) to explore the repercussions of the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill.  Cross-party MPs were told that the SNP’s Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill (GRR) will change the legal definition of sex for both men and women, to the extent that…

News 9 Feb, 2023

Watch the Seminar: After Forstater: Sex and Gender in the Workplace

Outer Temple’s Andrew Allen KC and Naomi Cunningham presented at our ‘After Forstater: Sex and Gender in the Workplace’ seminar on 21st September 2022. The slides and full video of the talk are now available. Barristers Andrew Allen KC and Naomi Cunningham, who both specialise in Employment & Discrimination, spoke at the recent ‘Sex and Gender in the Workplace Seminar’. This event provided advice for both employers and employees on how to approach the current gender critical debate in the workplace by focussing on recent case law and the practical measures that employers can or must do. The Discussion Andrew Allen KC, joining remotely, opened the event with a short tour of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality…

Webinars & Recordings 7 Oct, 2022

Event: After Forstater: Sex and Gender in the Workplace- 21st September 2022

Join Outer Temple Chambers and guests for an upcoming seminar hosted by Andrew Allen QC and Naomi Cunningham named ‘After Forstater: Sex and Gender in the Workplace’. This will take place on Wednesday 21st September 2022. You are invited to join Outer Temple Chambers for a discussion hosted by Andrew Allen QC and Naomi Cunningham on sex and gender in the workplace and employment law. Within the talk, Andrew and Naomi will analyse recent legal developments and provide practical tips and advice. This event will be useful for both claimant and respondent solicitors. The event is hybrid and will take place at Outer Temple Chambers in London on Wednesday 21st September 2022 from 6 pm – 7:30 pm as well…

Events 22 Jul, 2022

Naomi Cunningham gives evidence to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee of Scottish Parliament

The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee invited Naomi Cunningham to give evidence the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill on 14th June 2022. Naomi Cunningham gave evidence to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 14th June 2022. The Committee took evidence on the Bill from Professor Sharon Cowan (Professor, University of Edinburgh School of Law), Naomi Cunningham (Barrister, Outer Temple Chambers), Karon Monaghan QC (Barrister, Matrix Chambers) and then from David Parker (Lead Clinician, National Gender Identity Clinical Network for Scotland). The Committee then considered the evidence in the afternoon in private. You can watch the meeting on-demand here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee-june-14-2022 Find Out More Naomi…

News 14 Jun, 2022

Naomi Cunningham, Will Young and Bianca Venkata have completed the ’25 for 25: Pro Bono Challenge’

Outer Temple Barristers Naomi Cunningham, Will Young and Bianca Venkata have recently completed the ’25 for 25: Pro Bono Challenge’, run by the charity Advocate. In order to complete this challenge, they all had to complete 25 hours or over of pro bono work between June 2021 – June 2022. Advocate is a charity that connects volunteer barristers with those who require free legal assistance. This ensures that those who cannot afford legal assistance can still receive justice. Yet another three of Outer Temple’s barristers have completed the ’25 for 25: Pro Bono Challenge’ ran by Advocate. This challenge requires barristers to complete a total of 25 hours of pro bono work between June 2021 – June 2022. We are…

News 6 Jun, 2022

Naomi Cunningham - Hot 100

Naomi Cunningham named in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list

We are delighted to announce that Naomi Cunningham has been named by The Lawyer as a ‘Hot 100 Lawyer’ for 2022. Every year, The Lawyer compiles a list of lawyers that they feel have made an impact on the legal world and have excelled in their field.   Their ‘Hot 100’ rates on excellence and relevance. It covers “an incredibly diverse mix of legal professionals; scrappers from the rough and tumble of criminal law; sophisticated corporate dealmakers; intellectuals and silver-tongued advocates from barristers’ profession; the in-house counsel with the ear of their CEOs; associates rising to greatness; and even the occasional professional with no legal qualifications at all who is nevertheless showing the industry how to better itself. But whatever…

News 17 Jan, 2022

Naomi Cunningham is published in DLA Briefings Vol 74

Naomi Cunningham has been published in the latest Discrimination Law Association Briefing paper on the latest Forstater v CGD Europe EAT decision. Naomi’s article was included in the DLA November briefing paper (Vol 74, 987-1000 Nov 2021) on the subject of gender critical beliefs following the recent EAT decision in Forstater v CGD Europe Ltd [2021] UKEAT/0105/20/JOJ. Her article looks at the facts of the case and the implications for practitioners going forward. Read the full briefing here. Discrimination Law Association Journal This DLA journal provides accessible and authoritative analysis of the latest developments in discrimination law. The publication takes a complainant-oriented perspective and cover all areas of discrimination law.  Briefings contains editorials with analytical overviews of current issues, discussions…

External Publications 9 Nov, 2021

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