An appeal hearing in former sprinter Jess Varnish's employment case is set to open on the internet next week.Varnish, who was fired from the High Performance Program before the 2016 Olympics, will be dismissed in 2019 by British Cycling and UK Sport He failed in his first attempt to be determined an employee in a claim against the company, but won the right to appeal last December.

If Varnish is found to be an employee by the appeals court, it would be a landmark decision for British athletes and would give Varnish the right to seek compensation for wrongful dismissal and discrimination.

Varnish and her Team Sprint partner, Katie Marchant, failed to qualify for the Olympics. Both were outspoken critics of British Cycling's coaches' qualifying strategy, but only Varnish was fired for "performance reasons."

Varnish accused coach Shane Sutton of sexism and discrimination, and a subsequent investigation led to Sutton's resignation and a reorganization of athlete protections at British Cycling.

However, Varnish is no longer able to seek compensation following a judge's ruling that her funding was more like a grant than an employment contract.

"We could have easily walked away after the initial ruling went against us, but I believe we are doing the right thing by not giving up," Varnish told The Guardian in December.

"We want to give athletes the opportunity to hold accountable the governing body officials with whom they interact on a daily basis and whose careers and opportunities are largely dependent on them."

According to the BBC, Varnish will not appear at the hearing and a decision could take three to ten weeks.