The former Great Britain track cyclist Jess Varnish has lost her employment tribunal appeal against British Cycling, which had threatened to alter the legal rights of elite athletes and the way they are funded by governing bodies.

Varnish has spent years in a legal battle over her claim she should be considered an employee of British Cycling or UK Sport and therefore should be subject to certain protections under law – including sick pay, a pension and the right to sue for unfair dismissal.

Having lost her initial case in January 2019, Varnish’s appeal has also now been dismissed after a two-day remote hearing in May. The judge, Mr Justice Choudhury, ruled: “The [original] tribunal was entitled to conclude, based on an evaluative judgment taking account of all relevant factors, that the claimant was not an employee or a worker.

“The tribunal had not erred in its approach to the assessment of employee status and nor had it reached conclusions that no reasonable tribunal, properly directed, could have reached.”

Varnish had claimed in April 2016 that the then British Cycling technical director, Shane Sutton, had told her “to go and have a baby” when she was dropped from funding before the Rio Olympics. A subsequent UK Sport independent investigation into bullying claims at British Cycling cleared Sutton, who had previously resigned, of that remark but found him to have used sexist language against Varnish.

If Varnish, a former world silver medallist, had been deemed an employee, it would have allowed her to pursue a claim against both British Cycling and UK Sport for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination.

The 29-year-old Varnish is yet to comment but a British Cycling spokesperson said the organisation welcomed the verdict. “We believe that British Cycling’s relationship with riders who represent this country is not one of employer-employee but that of an organisation supporting dedicated athletes to fulfil their potential,” he said. “This view was supported in law by the first tribunal, a verdict confirmed by today’s dismissal of Jess’s appeal.

“We had tried to reach a resolution with Jess much sooner, so we regret she was advised to pursue the route of an employment tribunal when other avenues were open to her. Because of our responsibility to represent the best interests of every rider who hopes to compete at an Olympics or Paralympics, that decision meant we had no option but to oppose her case.

“Since Jess raised her concerns about the Great Britain Cycling Team in 2016, we have implemented significant changes to the culture and processes of our high-performance programme. Four years on, and while we are always seeking to improve, we are happy to say that the well-being of staff and riders in our high-performance programme continues to be our highest priority.”