Sapan Maini-Thompson acts successfully for former Deputy National Secretary of the Police Federation at Tribunal

Sapan Maini-Thompson has acted successfully for the former Deputy National Secretary of the Police Federation, Gemma Fox, to establish the jurisdiction of the Employment Tribunal over her claims for whistleblowing detriment, sex discrimination and harassment.

As the Claimant is an elected official lacking worker status, the primary dispute before the Tribunal was whether she is in a position “analogous” to a ‘limb b’ worker under the Employment Rights Act and, if so, whether it would amount to a discriminatory breach of her right to free speech under the ECHR to deny her whistleblowing protections. The Respondent argued the Claimant was in a position analogous to a secondee (deployed from the City of London police force) and therefore she was barred from bringing a claim under s.47B ERA. The Tribunal heard detailed evidence regarding the Claimant’s working arrangement and submissions on the case law arising from the decision of the Supreme Court in Gilham v Ministry of Justice.

In a reserved judgment, the Tribunal accepted the Claimant’s argument that in her capacity as an elected official performing work for the Respondent, she was in a position analogous to a ‘limb b’ worker and there is no policy justification from Parliament to deny her whistleblowing protection. The Tribunal further held it would be just and equitable to extend the time limit to bring her complaints of sex discrimination and harassment. The matter now proceeds to a final hearing.

Both the hearing and the underlying case, which relates to allegations of fraud at the Police Federation, have been covered extensively in the national press, including The Times.

Judgment

You can access the judgment, here.

Find out more

Sapan Maini-Thompson practices in employment, discrimination, public law and professional discipline. He represents both Claimants and Respondents in the Employment Tribunal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) and the High Court. He has worked with clients across multiple sectors including health & social care, higher education, financial services, local and central government.

To find out more about Sapan, contact Nick Levett on +44 (0)20 7427 4908 or Sura Mustafa on +44 (0)20 7427 4883 

News 2 Sep, 2026