An employment tribunal was slanted against a whistleblower who raised concerns about Sellafield, her lawyers have told an appeal.
The nuclear site terminated an 18-month 1,500-a-day contract with equality consultant Alison McDermott after she said she flagged a "toxic culture".
Ms McDermott lost an employment tribunal with a judge concluding she was not a whistleblower.
Sellafield's barrister said the tribunal in 2021 acted appropriately.
A two-day hearing has begun in London after Ms McDermott's lawyers appealed against the tribunal's finding on 13 grounds, including that it was an "error in law" for the tribunal judge to refuse to look into her claims about there being a "toxic culture".
They are also appealing against an order demanding Ms McDermott pay 40,000 in costs, which the diversity consultant has previously said would act as a deterrent for future whistleblowers.
Ms McDermott began working at the site on the Cumbria coast in September 2018 under the direction of human resources manager Heather Roberts, who is also a respondent in Ms McDermott's case along with Sellafield and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Ms McDermott said she was let go the following month after saying an investigation should be carried out into claims of sexual harassment by an employee and a subsequent cover up.
Sellafield said the contract was terminated because of the quality of her work, although at the 2021 tribunal admitted lying to her about the reason by saying it was because...
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