Judge engaged in sexualised behaviour with staff

A judge inappropriately touched a junior staff member and subjected women to "sexualised behaviour", an investigation found.

Employment judge Christopher Gaskell's actions were an abuse of his position and caused distress to staff, the report continued.

Gaskell, who worked in Birmingham, resigned in March while under investigation for his behaviour towards women he worked alongside. The inquiry concluded his actions amounted to gross misconduct and he would have been sacked if he was still a sitting member of the judiciary.

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) said Gaskell denied the allegations and had insisted any physical contact with female staff had been "inadvertent".

JCIO said he also denied behaving with a sexual motivation, and "raised concerns about the fairness of the investigative process".

It said concerns about his behaviour had initially been raised with the president of Employment Tribunals by HMCTS, before they were referred to the JCIO.

"The allegations included inappropriate physical contact, maintaining unnecessary physical proximity and inappropriate sexualised behaviour," it said.

No mention of the ongoing investigation was made by the Judicial Office when he resigned in March, but in a ruling published on Wednesday it emerged the Lady Chief Justice had appointed an unnamed senior judge to investigate the allegations.

The investigation found the women who made the complaints to be "credible and reliable".

The investigating judge found he "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".

This amounted to gross misconduct, the investigating judge concluded and his behaviour "involved an abuse of position and authority, caused distress and emotional harm, created a risk of further harm and was incompatible with the standards of behaviour expected of a judicial office holder".

Judge Gaskell's retirement did not end the disciplinary process, and Wednesday's ruling made it clear he would have been sacked if he was still working.

JCIO said the Lady Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor "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".

Gaskell first became a judge in 1995 and went on to hold senior roles in the tribunal system.

He was a Diversity and Community Relations judge for the Midlands from 2015 until 2025.

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.