Muslim NHS worker wins transgender toilet discrimination case

A Muslim employee of NHS England is set for compensation of thousands of pounds after winning an employment tribunal which ruled that bosses had discriminated against her by allowing trans women to use single-sex toilets.

The employee, who has not been named, claimed that she had suffered discrimination and harassment because she believed that men and women were defined by their biological sex.

NHS England adopted a policy back in 2017 that allowed trans employees to use single-sex facilities, such as toilets and changing rooms. They would be allowed to use the facilities that corresponded with their chosen gender once they had reached “full-time presentation … in the new gender role”.

After a colleague had chosen to transition to a different gender, the woman was asked to attend a ‘trans awareness session’ which moved her to lodge a formal complaint. She contended that the policy discriminated against women generally, and Muslim women specifically, as well as women with post-traumatic stress disorder from male sexual violence.

The tribunal upheld the claim, saying that NHS England had failed to demonstrate that their policy was a proportionate means to achieve their aim, explaining that there was no legal right for a trans person to use a single-sex facility of their chosen gender, and that NHS England should have considered alternative solutions.

NHS England accepted the ruling that its policy amounted to unwanted conduct, but denied that it created a hostile environment or violated the woman’s dignity. The woman’s lawyers predict that she could receive up to £25,000 in compensation.

The lawyers said that the tribunal’s ruling would “further pressure” the government to publish guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission which has been “inexplicably and unjustifiably delayed”, explaining how to apply the Supreme Court’s ruling on gender identity. The guidance has been received by the government who said that they would publish the report after the May elections.