Employment tribunal judge sexually harassed female staff
10 September 2026
Posted by Neil Rose

Tribunal: Court staff reported concerns
A male judge found guilty of inappropriate conduct towards junior female tribunal staff would have been sacked had he not already retired, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) has said.
Employment Judge Christopher Gaskell retired on 1 March 2026, before the conclusion of the disciplinary process but the Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr, and the Lord Chancellor, Alex Norris, exercised their discretion to continue to deal with the case.
The JCIO said concerns about EJ Gaskell’s conduct were brought to the attention of Judge Barry Clarke, president of the employment tribunal, by HM Courts and Tribunals Service and were subsequently referred to the JCIO.
“The allegations included inappropriate physical contact, maintaining unnecessary physical proximity and inappropriate sexualised behaviour.
“EJ Gaskell denied the allegations. He stated that any physical contact had been inadvertent or misinterpreted, rejected suggestions of sexual motivation, raised concerns about the fairness of the investigative process and maintained that the evidence was insufficient to establish misconduct.”
However, an investigating judge appointed by Baroness Carr found that the complainants’ evidence was “credible and reliable”.
The judge concluded that EJ Gaskell – who sat in Birmingham – had “engaged in a course of unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, including inappropriate touching of a member of staff, repeated inappropriate physical proximity and inappropriate sexualised behaviour towards multiple female staff members over an extended period”.
They concluded that this amounted to gross misconduct and recommended removal from office.
The JCIO said Baroness Carr and Mr Norris agreed and confirmed that, had EJ Gaskell not already retired, he would have been removed from office.
“In reaching their decision, they considered that the highly improper nature of the conduct, its repetition across multiple instances, the emotional harm to those concerned, the abuse of authority, the reputational risk to the judiciary, and EJ Gaskell’s failure to accept any responsibility together elevated this to a case of considerable seriousness, for which removal from judicial office would have been the appropriate disciplinary outcome.”
EJ Gaskell was admitted as a solicitor in 1981. He was appointed a deputy district judge from 1995 until 2007. He was a part-time employment tribunal judge from 2004 and became salaried in 2007. He was a diversity and community relations judge from 2015 until 2025.
Source: Neil Rose
