Transgender discrimination
If you are transgender, you’re protected from discrimination at work under the Equality Act 2010.
If you’re not trans, you are cis-gender. That means you identify with the same sex you were registered as at birth. You’re also protected from discrimination at work under the Equality Act 2010.
Trans people might be a minority, but transgender awareness is on the rise. Some people think it’s a hot potato – an issue which is awkward to deal with.
So let’s look at the data…
Here are the number of trans people in England and Wales aged over 16, according to the Office of National Statistics in 2021 (the latest survey):
- 45.4 million (93.5%) = Cis
- 2.9 million (6.0%) = Didn’t answer
- 262,000 (0.5%) = Trans
Of those:
- 48,000 (0.10%) identified as a trans man
- 48,000 (0.10%) identified as a trans woman
- 30,000 (0.06%) identified as non-binary
- 18,000 (0.04%) wrote in a different gender identity
Transgender discrimination in law
In 2021-22, nine cases of transgender discrimination reached decision stage at the employment tribunals compared with four the previous year. Not many – but more than double. It seems cases are on the rise.
Cases included:
- Colleagues deliberately and persistently using the wrong pronouns when addressing or referring to transgender colleagues
- Transgender employees being harassed for using facilities such as changing rooms and bathrooms that align with their gender
- Employees making transphobic comments on social media platforms
For example, a trans woman was appointed as a Catering Assistant at the Northern General Hospital, however, she received abuse soon after she joined.
Staff were concerned that she was ‘naked from the waist down’ in the communal changing room where there was a shower cubicle. In return, she made a ‘light-hearted’ comment about being so hot that she took her pants off. Her manager then asked if she wore underwear to work.
The employment tribunal judge ruled that such questioning only occurred because she was a trans woman in the female changing room. She therefore won her claim of transgender discrimination.
Gender-fluid/Non-binary discrimination in law
The Equality Act 2010 expressly includes people who have undergone or are undergoing gender reassignment. However, there has been debate about whether the Act protects people who identify as non-binary or gender fluid.
Rose Taylor was an engineer at Jaguar Land Rover for more than 20 years. In 2017, she changed the way she presented and started wearing women’s clothes to work.
She suffered insults and abusive jokes, but didn’t receive support from management.
Rose brought a claim of direct discrimination and harassment to the employment tribunal – and won. She was awarded £180,000 in compensation.
This case does not establish a legal precedent, but is likely to affect the outcome of future cases.
What your employer should do
Your employer should:
- Ensure applicants can express their chosen gender identity on application forms
- Create an inclusive workplace
- Encourage employees to state their chosen pronouns
- Install some unisex bathrooms
- Introduce gender-neutral uniforms
- Train staff to treat everyone with dignity
What colleagues can do
There’s a classic science fiction book: ‘Woman on the Edge of Time‘ in which everyone uses the pronoun ‘per’ and 13-year-olds get to choose their own first name. The heroine, Connie, is bewildered by this. But she’s been married and divorced. Luciente, the person Connie meets from the future, queries: “But you keep changing your last name”.
In our culture:
- Famous people often have a ‘stage’ name that everybody calls them
- A women often changes her surname when she gets married
- A couple who get married or become civil partners may choose to combine their surnames by going double-barrelled
- You might meet a man called Michael who asks you to call him Mike
- Your friend Sarah might be known as Pumpkin as a term of affection
People respect those name changes, and call someone by their preferred first name, nickname or last name. Calling people by their preferred pronouns is a small thing to remember.
Gender-critical beliefs
Philosophical beliefs are also protected under the Equality Act 2010.
Your employer should take reasonable steps to prevent any employee from discriminating against or harassing another on the basis of their beliefs.
People with gender-critical views believe it is impossible to change sex. In 2021, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that gender-critical beliefs can qualify for protection from discrimination under the Act.
What this means to you
If you have been discriminated against at work, we can help. There is no cap to the amount of compensation you might receive.
Related reading
For more on the subject, please check out these links:
- Our page on the issue is here: Gender reassignment
- Our article about the most high-profile transgender case is here: Are you transgender and suffered discrimination?
Need help?
We have already helped thousands of people to win millions of pounds in compensation.
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