Allison Bailey v Stonewall - Employment Tribunal hearing Thread 17

[ickky]

The Tribunal started on 25th April, witness testimony concluded on the 26th May. Closing arguments for council will be on the 20th June. I don't know if the existing links and pins will work. I will email nearer the time to check.

If you would like to view online you need to send a request for access.
Send an email to

[email protected]

The subject heading of the email request should read

“MEDIA OR PUBLIC ACCESS REQUEST – Case number 2202172/2020 - Ms A Bailey – 20th June 2022.

Then ask for the pin for the online access.

You will be contacted with instructions on how to observe the hearing.

When joining the live tribunal please choose a non inflammatory/offensive name, everyone can see it in the chat - This is a court room, please behave accordingly.

The court chat function is there for official court purposes, not for observers, please don't use it unless you have a technical issue.

On the first page underneath where you put your screen name, select the video and mic that are not crossed out (top option), this is the courts vid and mic.
On the next page select NONE on the drop down windows for vid and mic, these are your own video and mic.

You must be muted so as to not disturb the hearing.

There is also live tweeting from

twitter.com/tribunaltweets

Abbreviations:

AB: Allison Bailey, claimant
BC: Ben Cooper QC, barrister for AB
SW = Stonewall Equality Limited (respondent 1)
IO = Ijeoma Omambala QC, senior counsel - barrister for SW
RW = Robin White junior counsel to SW - assisting IO
GC = Garden Court Chambers Limited (respondent 2) (GCC would be a better abbreviation)
AH = Andrew Hochhauser QC, senior counsel - barrister for GC
JR = Jane Russell junior counsel to GC - assisting AH
RM= Rajiv Menon QC & SH = Stephanie Harrison QC (jointly respondent 3 along with all members of GC except AB)
EJ = Employment Judge Goodman hearing the case
Panel = any one of the three panel members (EJ and two lay members)

Thread 1 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4529887-Allison-Bailey-v-Stonewall-Employment-Tribunal-hearing?

Thread 2 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4542466-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-2

Thread 3 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4545725-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-3

Thread 4 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4546945-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-4

Thread 5 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4548160-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-5

Thread 6 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4550451-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-6

Thread 7 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4551757-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-7

Thread 8 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4552521-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-8

Thread 9 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4553181-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-9

Thread 10 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4553754-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-10

Thread 11 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4555145-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-11

Thread 12 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4555687-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-12

Thread 13 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4556235-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-13

Thread 14 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4556407-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-14

Thread 15 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4556803-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-15

Thread 16 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4557036-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-16

Allison Bailey - claimant (4-9, 11-13 May)

Witnesses for the claimant:

Dr Nicola Williams - Fair Play for Women (29 April)
Dr Judith Green - A Woman's Place (29 April)
Kate Barker - LGB Alliance (3 May)
Lisa-Marie Taylor - FiLiA (4 May)

Witnesses for the respondents:

Stephen Lue - barrister for GCC (3-4 May)
Zainab Al-Farabi - ex Stonewall (10 May)
Kirrin Medcalf - head of trans inclusion Stonewall (10 May)
Leslie Thomas - barrister at GCC (13 May)
Sanjay Sood Smith - Stonewall (16 May)
Shaan Knan - LGBT consortium - on STAG (16 May)
Rajiv Menon - joint head of chambers (16-17 May)
Maya Sikand - barrister at GCC (17-18 May)
Mia Hakl-Law - HR senior for GCC (18 May)
Judy Khan - barrister at GCC (19-20 May)
Charlie Tennent - clerk at GCC (20 May)
Luke Harvey - clerk at GCC (20 May)
Louise Hooper - Barrister at GCC (20 May)
David Renton - barrister at GCC (20 May, 25 May)
Marc Willers - Barrister at GCC (23 May)
Stephen Clark - Barrister at GCC (23 May)
Liz Davies - Barrister at GCC (23 May)
Cathryn McGahey - Bar Council Ethics Committee's VC (24 May)
Tom Wainwright - Barrister at GCC (24 May)
Colin Cook - Head clerk at GCC (24 May)
David de Menezes - GCC, Head of Marketing (25 May)
Kathryn Cronin - barrister at GCC (25 May)
Michelle Brewer - barrister at GCC at time, now left and a judge (26 May)
Stephanie Harrison - joint head of chambers (26 May)

To Come

Closing arguments for AB, GCC, and SW (20 June)

Whatever happens it’s been one hell of a crazy ride.

EJG did offer a wee rebuke for that!

There was a comment about Allison being a gay icon for doing this. All the others were thanking the tribunal members.

In the middle of Ben's last half-hour stand a sparrow hawk alighted in the ash tree outside my window (I work upstairs) and seemed to take a keen interest in what was going on. I hope it wasn't attracted by the sound of Ben's wren safely hundreds of mils away.

She wanted the last word, but unfortunately it was a rambling stream of consciousness of about 4000 words.
And EJG was just exasperated. 😬

Brevity is your friend IO.

Thanks to ickky for the threads, and you lovely lot of vipers for the insight and the laughs, and most especially to Allison for doing this for herself but also for all of us. Glasses of wine and biscuits all round. Cheers all.

I'm very sad it's all over, but pleased for AB. I bet she has a big sigh of relief now.

Are we placing bets on how long the Judgement will take?

I think 4 months as there was so much to read through.

I think BC made the case that Allison was subjected to a hostile environment. So hopefully they will judge the case from that standpoint.

I don't know why I found that so funny!

That was actually me. Now the chat is closed down and hopefully no-one remembers my name.

Sorry, I know this was ages ago now, just catching up, but yes, I think it was, well done Lipbalm and the other poster who described him!

I hope Alison is now in a position to take a decent break. As BC said, this is an important case and today the significance became even more clear. Is it possible for any organisation that is a Stonewall Champion to be confident that it isn't indirectly discriminating against GC employees? I don't think it is, despite with IO says. I think paying money to be a Stonewall Champion says something about an organisation — and not what the organisation probably thinks it says.

Well, so that's that then. All over bar the judgment.

I need a lie down now.

Thank you @ickky and everyone for a superb series of threads. We most definitely need a musical.

Those little cheesy nibble things for me please. I'm going to have a Pimms.

That was an intensive day. Ha being read the SW closing statement I'm fairly astonished at IO implying that Allison was treated too leniently. Allison endured days of pretty patronising, and sometime racist, questioning all on her own. iO's witnesses required a support dog, support mum, support lawyers, and frequent breaks.

I am pathetic. I actually blew a Allison and Ben a kiss.
I'm genuinely in awe of both of them.

Thank you to @ickky for the threads and to you all for the insight

Just finished catching up. Thanks everyone & especially @ickky!

I will always have the voice of the Charlie Brown teacher in my head in place of 1) de Menezes' droning; 2) the 'this is how twitter works' tutorials; and now 3) IO's incoherent and endless closing statement.

The point about being a Stonewall Champion and the possibility of it leading to indirect discrimination was an interesting one. A bit of a stretch perhaps but a good shot across the bows

I'm with you on this.

Just open mouthed at SW's audacity in flat out lying on their submission. And expecting to get away with it, because they are used to no one checking on them, and their whole raison d'etre is now 'reality is what I say it is and don't you dare say anything'.

I look forward to that getting put back in its box, it is very long past time.

Ickky, thank you very much for these threads, you've been amazing. All strength to AB. We've all seen in real time exactly what and who she had to deal with, and many lesser women would have just fled.

Thanks to all. I couldn’t watch today but I’ve tried to follow along.

Allison is spectacular isn’t she?

Thank you everyone, and especially @ickky

for Allison