Key facts
- City firms are tightening transgender policies regarding bathroom access following new EHRC guidance.
- Admiral, Coventry Building Society, and Santander are among the firms updating their procedures.
- The EHRC's guidance clarifies that single-sex spaces should generally be restricted to biological sex.
- The changes are a response to a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex and gender.
- Some firms are also providing gender-neutral facilities alongside single-sex options.
City firms are being compelled to revise their transgender inclusion policies, specifically concerning access to single-sex bathrooms, following the publication of fresh directions by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). This move comes in response to a significant Supreme Court ruling on gender from last year.
Major financial institutions, including Admiral, Coventry Building Society, and Santander, have updated their human resources procedures to restrict transgender staff and visitors from using female and male facilities. These adjustments align with the new guidance issued by the regulator.
The EHRC's code of practice, released last week, clarifies how to interpret the Supreme Court's landmark judgment on the definition of sex. The guidance emphasizes that service providers should limit single-sex spaces, such as bathrooms and changing rooms, to individuals of their biological sex, unless these facilities are self-contained. It also suggests offering a 'third' or mixed-sex space, provided it does not compromise existing single-sex provisions.
This formal code has prompted several financial services firms to re-evaluate their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. This is partly due to accusations from the charity Sex Matters, which in a May report titled 'Sex-based rights in the City,' identified over a dozen firms it claimed were not adhering to the watchdog's earlier guidelines by failing to restrict access to women-only facilities to biological females. Among those named were Natwest, Standard Chartered, and Prudential.
In response to the EHRC's latest guidance and the pressure from Sex Matters, several of these blue-chip firms have updated their transgender policies. A spokesperson for Admiral confirmed that the company has "aligned our relevant policies with the legal position," having waited for official guidance before altering its previous policy, which reportedly allowed transgender staff and visitors to use single-sex spaces. Coventry Building Society also adjusted its policy to "provide a safe and inclusive environment for all colleagues," now offering both single-sex and gender-neutral spaces in compliance with legal guidance.
The situation highlights the delicate balance companies must maintain following the Supreme Court's ruling, which defined a woman as someone biologically female. This judgment has had broad implications for many large firms whose DEI policies previously focused on identified gender rather than biological sex. Last year, Lloyds also updated its policy to exclude trans women from female lavatories, expecting staff to use facilities based on their biological sex. Insurance giant Aviva has made similar policy revisions.
While some trans advocacy groups, like the Good Law Project, have criticized the ruling and guidance for potentially undermining inclusive workplaces, others, such as Bobbi Pickard, chief executive of Trans in the City, believe that balancing these priorities is achievable, often through the provision of universal toilets.