Case 1404289/2023 · Employment Tribunal
Miss Hannah McCann v Ministry of Defence — 2025
- Case reference
- 1404289/2023
- Decision date
- 17 December 2025
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Miss Hannah McCann
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe Claimant was a pilot under training at RNAS Yeovilton and brought a claim of sex discrimination, including alleged direct sex discrimination and harassment by Mr Pearson, a Babcock employee involved in her pilot training. The Respondent applied for a preliminary determination that it could not be vicariously liable for Mr Pearson's alleged acts because he was not its employee or agent.
The Tribunal considered s.109 of the Equality Act 2010 and authorities on agency. It found that an agency relationship could not be established in the circumstances, including because Mr Pearson was an employee of a subcontractor and there was no direct agreement between the alleged principal and agent as required by the binding authority considered.
The Tribunal therefore held that the Respondent is not vicariously liable under s.109 Equality Act 2010 for the alleged acts of Mr Pearson set out in paragraphs 2.1.2 to 2.1.4 of the list of issues. The judgment did not award any remedy and did not determine the full listed final hearing claims.
Claims and outcomes
2 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex discrimination | The judgment is a reserved preliminary hearing judgment on whether the Respondent is vicariously liable under s.109 Equality Act 2010 for alleged acts of trainer Mr Pearson in paragraphs 2.1.2 to 2.1.4 of the list of issues. It does not determine the merits of the sex discrimination allegations generally. | Other | Sex | — |
| Harassment | The judgment records allegations of harassment against Mr Pearson and decides that the Respondent is not vicariously liable under s.109 Equality Act 2010 for the alleged acts identified in paragraphs 2.1.2 to 2.1.4 of the list of issues. It does not determine the merits of the harassment allegations generally. | Other | Sex | — |
Legal tests applied
8 references- s.109 Equality Act 2010
- s.39(2) Equality Act 2010
- s.40 Equality Act 2010
- s.83(3) Equality Act 2010
- Yearwood v Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
- Kemeh
- Handa
- UBS AG (London Branch) v Kommunale Wasserwarke Leipzig GmbH
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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