June 5, 2021
Should employers discriminate against trans people in the workplace?
In recent months various figures in the ‘Gender Critical’ movement have launched a range of attacks on the rights of transgender people in the UK. Some have argued that the Equality Act 2010 is being misinterpreted by various organisations or that the right of a trans woman to access some single-sex spaces contravenes Health and Safety legislation (despite this legislation having been in place for many years without any issues).
These voices have attempted to establish a legal case for discrimination against transgender people, basing their arguments on an erroneous understanding of the law. These false arguments have multiplied and spread widely, influencing the discourse up to government level and stimulating a frenzy of anti-trans hate, much of it from people who have little or no knowledge of the law in this area, nor the important principles which underpin it.
This paper looks at the rights of trans people in the workplace to use toilets and changing facilities in accordance with the gender in which they live. It explains that this does not breach Health and Safety legislation and on the contrary, organisations that restrict the facilities their trans employees use risk having to pay unlimited compensation. It draws extensively on statutory and case law and it will be of use to anyone who wants to know the facts, especially to those who have legal training or an interest in law.