Sailor sues MoD after she was banned from taking fitness test needed for promotion because she'd had a baby

By CLAIRE DUFFIN, SENIOR REPORTER Published: 12:06, 4 August 2026 | Updated: 12:07, 4 August 2026 A female sailor who tried to sue the Ministry of Defence for sexism after she was banned from taking a fitness test because she'd had a baby has lost her case.  Emma Upton-Webb, a Petty Officer, said she was not allowed to enroll onto an officer training course needed for a promotion when she was nine months post partum.  The training at the Britannia Royal Naval College involved taking part in a 1.5-mile run.  But Royal Navy policy prevents servicewomen from completing fitness tests until two years after they have had a baby.  It states that sailors returning from maternity leave benefit from 'less onerous fitness requirements' after childbirth to help protect their health.  Ms Upton-Webb, from Hampshire, argued the policy amounted to discrimination and sued the Ministry of Defence for direct and indirect sex discrimination.  But an employment judge dismissed her case saying the policy around pregnancy was put in place for safety reasons.  Emma Upton-Webb, a Petty Officer, argued the Royal Navy policy amounted to discrimination Ms Upton-Webb, pictured on social media, went on maternity leave in July 2022, had her baby in the summer of 2022 and returned to work in March 2023 Southampton Employment Tribunal, Hampshire, heard Ms Upton-Webb joined the Royal Navy and was promoted to Petty Officer before leaving the Navy in 2012. She rejoined in October 2018 and was accepted to attend BRNC on the Upper Yardsman route for officer training in 2020. However, Ms Upton-Webb suffered a training injury and she had to be withheld from the course. When it was rescheduled to the following year, she suffered a traffic accident. She was downgraded as 'Medically Not Deployable' due to her hip injury but completed the academic aspect of the training course. She was also made Sub Lieutenant – an officer rank which those who complete BRNC become. Ms Upton-Webb was expected to attend the BRNC for the second half of the training course in May 2022, but in January she became pregnant. She told her senior officers about her pregnancy, and they said that she would have to be downgraded in rank, back to Petty Officer. She was also told that although she could continue with the academic training, 'there was little point in her doing so' because she would have to repeat it as too much time would pass before she could undertake the sea training element. Ms Upton-Webb went on maternity leave in July 2022, had her baby in the summer of 2022 and returned to work in March 2023. After having her baby, she wanted to complete the BRNC course but was told that it may be a risk for her to do so. Ms Upton-Webb's boss consulted a Surgeon Commander who said another woman who had done the course at 14-month post-partum 'really struggled, not so much with fitness, but with the fact that her body has changed so much post-childbirth' They added:  'I would really (really) worry about someone joining ahead of the 12-month point.' The Navy policy surrounding women returning from maternity leave states that in order to ensure that naval servicewomen are treated fairly 'it has been necessary to assess the impact on the postnatal body of maximal effort fitness training and testing'.  It said that as a result,  for a two-year period following the birth of their child, naval servicewomen will use the Rockport Walk, which is a one-mile walk as the 'submaximal element of their RNFT unless they request, as a personal decision, to undertake the maximal test of a 2.4 km run or [a multi-stage fitness test] and have specific medical clearance to do so, which must be provided to the supervising PT at the time of the test'. The tribunal heard that the 'fitness standard for entry' at BRNC was the 2.4km run, not the one-mile walk.  Ms Upton-Webb was not allowed to undertake the 2.4km run and was refused entry to BRNC. She was told she could enrol 24 months after she gave birth. At the tribunal, she accused the Navy of sex discrimination, saying their refusal of letting her into the BRNC 'denied her the opportunity to progress her career' while she was two years post-partum. She claimed other male colleagues had been given 'tailored' courses if they were deemed medically unfit. Employment Judge Keith Richardson ruled Ms Upton-Webb was not discriminated against. He said: 'In this instance I am not persuaded that, looked at objectively, it was reasonable for [Ms Upton-Webb] to regard herself as having received less favourable treatment because of the provisions imposing less onerous fitness requirements on women for the first two years after birth. Judge Richardson also said it wasn't sex discrimination that she was demoted from Sub Lieutenant back to Petty Officer. Ms Upton-Webb, who is still in the Navy and is married to an officer in the RAF, said she is appealing the tribunal decision.