Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s independent whistleblowing hotline has been operational since Monday 15 November.
Anyone wishing to lodge a formal complaint about any form of discrimination that they have suffered as a result of any act or omission of the Club can do so using a dedicated email address: [email protected]
Mohinderpal Sethi QC of Littleton Chambers has been appointed to lead the independent investigation process which will consider any allegations that are lodged through the hotline.
Mr Sethi QC is Head of the Employment Team at Littleton Chambers and Chair of the Employment Law Bar Association. He is a leading expert in discrimination and whistleblowing in the world of elite sports, and recently conducted an independent investigation for British Gymnastics into complaints brought by Olympians. His biography may be seen below.
Mr Sethi QC announced the terms of reference for his investigation process on Monday 22 November, and they may be seen here
On 12 November 2021, Professor The Lord Patel of Bradford OBE, Chair of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, said:
“We need to listen to those who have experienced discrimination or harassment to help guide how we move forward as a Club. Since my appointment, I have urged others to come forward to share their experiences and I thank all of those who have spoken up so far.
“Setting up an independent whistleblowing hotline will allow there to be a safe space for people to come forward, secure in the knowledge that their complaint will be taken seriously, and I am happy to say that we have been able to put this in place within the week.
“Mohinderpal Sethi QC is eminently qualified in this area, and brings a wealth of experience as well as being completely independent from the Club.
“We are very pleased that he has taken on the role, which is a vital first step towards ensuring that we can move forward from our past, to hear from those who have suffered, and to take action. I am determined to make the Club an inclusive and diverse environment for everyone with a passion for County cricket”.
On 12 November 2021, Mohinderpal Sethi QC said:
“I welcome the opportunity to lead this important independent investigation process. Those who report their complaints to the Whistleblowing Hotline should feel reassured that these matters will be addressed in a careful and impartial manner.”
MOHINDERPAL SETHI QC BIOGRAPHY
Mohinderpal Sethi QC is Head of the Employment Team at Littleton Chambers and Chair of the Employment Law Bar Association.
Mr Sethi QC is a pre-eminent silk with considerable expertise in discrimination and whistleblowing law. He has appeared in many leading cases in the employment, sports, education, goods and services and public law ?elds in courts and tribunals up to the Supreme Court. He has extensive experience of complex and sensitive equal pay, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and age discrimination claims.
He has over 25 years’ experience of acting for a wide spectrum of clients ranging from multinational corporations, international banks and foreign governments to public figures, boardroom executives, gig-economy workers and pro bono clients in often highly confidential, market sensitive or politically charged matters.
His reported discrimination cases include:
• High profile sports investigation: appointed by British Gymnastics to conduct independent investigation into high profile complaints brought by Olympians [2021].
• Landmark pro bono appeal victory for working mothers: leading case on indirect sex discrimination arising from ‘the childcare disparity’ suffered by working mothers (Dobson v North Cumbria Integrated NHS Foundation Trust [2021] IRLR 729).
• Brexit, State Immunity and Discrimination Law: First case to consider whether a claimant can rely on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights despite provisions of the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 which confirms the Charter is no longer part of UK law since the end of the UK-EU transition period (Fenniche v Kuwait Health Office [2021]).
• Landmark diplomatic immunity appeal victory: Appeared in the first ever leapfrog appeal from the EAT directly to the Supreme Court (Basfar v Wong [2020] ICR 1185, [2020] IRLR 248). Supreme Court judgment outstanding.
• Gig economy workers: appeared in 5 worker status test cases concerning cycle couriers (O’Eachtiarna ors v CitySprint (UK) Ltd [2020]).
• Leading case on apparent bias: race discrimination, victimisation and unjustifiable union discipline (Bhardwaj v FDA [2016] IRLR 789 Court of Appeal).
• Diplomatic immunity and modern slavery: International Law, Human Rights and EU Law (Al-Malki v Reyes [2014] ICR 135, [2013] IRLR 929).
• Landmark pro bono dual indirect discrimination appeal victory: first ever case of indirect discrimination arising from combined protected characteristics (MOD v DeBique [2010] IRLR 471). Front page headline of the Daily Mail, 13 April 2010.
• Leading case on discrimination compensation: leading authority on causation and foreseeability of loss in discrimination cases (Essa v Laing Ltd [2004] ICR 746, [2003] IRLR 346 Court of Appeal).
• High profile race discrimination scandal: acted in race discrimination claims brought by highly ranked police officers against the Metropolitan Police Commissioner (eg Virdi v Comr of Police [2007] IRLR 24).
