Workplace Gender Guidance Omitted from New Equality Rules
Transgender women may continue using female toilets in workplaces for the foreseeable future, after the Equalities Minister confirmed that long-awaited official guidance will not cover employment settings. Bridget Phillipson admitted on Wednesday that the forthcoming Code of Practice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is solely intended for organisations providing services to the public, not for employers managing staff who identify as a different sex.
Businesses Left in Limbo After Supreme Court Ruling
Since last year's landmark Supreme Court judgment, which clarified that sex is defined by biology rather than gender identity under the Equality Act, numerous businesses and public sector bodies have postponed updating their policies. They had been awaiting new rules from the minister before making any changes. However, Ms Phillipson's revelation means employers must navigate these complex issues without specific statutory guidance.
Unbeknownst to many, the EHRC maintains separate guidance for employers, which has not yet been updated despite the legal shift. The commission has urged organisations not to delay ensuring compliance with the law, but the absence of clear workplace rules has created widespread uncertainty.
Campaigners Condemn Minister's Comments
Ms Phillipson's comments have provoked a fierce backlash from campaigners, who argue that staff remain in a state of limbo nearly a year after the Supreme Court's decision. Some of the most high-profile clashes over gender ideology have involved NHS staff objecting to transgender women colleagues—biological males—using female changing rooms.
The minister made her remarks during a meeting with Christian nurse Jennifer Melle, who was suspended after speaking out about being punished for 'misgendering' a paedophile. When questioned about delays in publishing the EHRC guidance, submitted in September, Ms Phillipson stated: 'There's no delay, it's just the process that we are following. I do want to get that good practice out there into the world.'
She added: 'What I would say, however, is the Code of Practice applies to services and associations. It doesn't apply to the workplace regulations. So that really is a matter for the NHS...and how they intend to uphold their responsibilities as an employer.'
Nurse and Charity Express Alarm
Following the meeting, Ms Melle said: 'I am thankful to have had the opportunity to speak to the government about my case. I was alarmed to hear that the long awaited EHRC guidance does not apply to workplaces, however. The Government needs to be transparent and someone in authority has to take decisive action.'
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, who attended the meeting, commented: 'Good leadership and good law require clarity. It is astonishing that the public, political parties and frontline NHS nurses, for example, have been kept in the dark on this.'
Women's rights charity Sex Matters highlighted that even the Cabinet Office has refused to update its outdated staff policies until the EHRC guidance is published. Helen Joyce, its director of advocacy, stated: 'This is nothing more than the minister for women and equalities trying to distract from the delay in laying the EHRC guidance before Parliament in a timely fashion. As long as she fails to do that, anyone who wants to ignore the law has a convenient excuse at hand.'
Government and EHRC Respond
A Government spokesman said: 'The EHRC has submitted a draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations to Ministers, and we are reviewing it with the care it deserves. We have always been clear that this Code will not apply on employment which is why we have said that employers should be following the law and updating their guidance in line with the ruling.'
The EHRC added: 'We have been clear that we submitted the Code of Practice for service providers, associations and public functions to the Government at the beginning of September 2025. While we are planning to update the employment Code of Practice in due course to reflect developments in the law including the Supreme Court's judgment, as well as other non-statutory guidance for employers, we have also been clear that our priority was to revise the relevant sections of the services Code of Practice – as a wider update to that guidance was already underway before the Supreme Court's judgment.'
The commission reiterated that duty-bearers, including employers, should not wait for the Code of Practice to be published to make necessary changes to comply with the law, advising them to seek independent legal advice as needed.
