Nurses in Darlington were unlawfully discriminated against by their employers when they were forced to share female-only changing rooms with a man who identified as a woman, an Employment Tribunal has ruled.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust’s policy ‘Transitioning in the Workplace’ asserted that if female nurses were uncomfortable getting changed in front of a man, they should find alternative changing facilities.

But the Tribunal found that the policy ‘violated the dignity’ of the nurses by creating “a hostile, humiliating and degrading environment”, which was compounded by the Trust not taking seriously the nurses’ concerns about the policy.

‘Not lawful’

The judgment highlighted that the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require employers to provide changing facilities which “include separate facilities for, or separate use of facilities by, men and women where necessary for reasons of propriety”.

While the Trust argued its ‘Transitioning in the Workplace’ policy was lawful, Employment Judge Sweeney and Tribunal members Denise Newey and Malcolm Brain disagreed.

They stated: “We were unclear what was meant by the submission that the policy was ‘lawful’ and deeper consideration of the argument led us to conclude that the policy of permitting biological males who identify as women to use a female changing room was not ‘lawful’.”

‘Dignity and protection’

Bethany Hutchison, President of the Darlington Nursing Union, and one of the claimants in the case said: “This is a victory for common sense and for every woman who simply wants to feel safe at work.

“Women deserve access to single-sex spaces without fear or intimidation. Forcing us to undress in front of a man was not only degrading but dangerous. Today’s ruling sends a clear message: the NHS cannot ignore women’s rights in the name of ideology.

“We stood up because we knew this was wrong. No woman should be forced to choose between her job and her safety. This ruling is a turning point, and we will keep fighting until every woman in the NHS is guaranteed the dignity and protection she deserves.”

‘Extreme gender ideology’

The nurses were supported in their case by the Christian Legal Centre. Its Chief Executive Andrea Williams said: “This judgment exposes the extent to which the NHS hierarchy has been captured by extreme gender ideology and its willingness to sacrifice women’s safety and dignity in order to uphold it.

“Allowing a man into a female-only space because he claims to be a woman violates human dignity, common sense, the law of the land and biblical truth.

“The NHS and the government should now give up their sabotage of clear judicial decisions and abide by the law which acknowledges that men are men and women are women.”