County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has revised its changing room policy to require staff to use facilities based on biological sex, not gender identity, following a three-year legal battle with nurses.
The trust's updated Uniform Appearance and Dress Code Policy states: “In accordance with the Supreme Court ruling, staff must use changing spaces according to their biological sex. Alternative unisex changing spaces are provided for staff who choose not to use an alternative facility.”
Nurses Win Employment Tribunal
Seven nurses working at Darlington Memorial Hospital took their employer to court after the trust operated a policy that allowed a biologically male employee identifying as a woman to use a female-only changing room shared by hundreds of staff. Female nurses reported harassment and discrimination for seeking a single-sex place to undress at work.
The trust maintained its position after the Supreme Court confirmed in April last year that the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. It also resisted calls for change as national guidance was developed to reflect the ruling. The revised policy, signed off by Chief Nurse Gill Hunt, brings the trust into line with the law and reverses the position it attempted to defend at an employment tribunal, which it subsequently lost.
Nurses Welcome Change
Bethany Hutchison, who led the nurses’ revolt, said: “This short sentence in a policy has taken women three years of fear, humiliation and extraordinary personal sacrifice to secure.
“We were nurses asking for the most basic protection: somewhere private and safe to undress at work, away from members of the opposite sex. Instead of listening, the trust told us to compromise, broaden our mindset and be more inclusive. We were forced out of our own changing room, placed in inadequate facilities, threatened with disciplinary action and made to fear for our jobs and professional careers.
“Vulnerable colleagues were put under intolerable pressure. International nurses feared losing their visas. Women who had experienced domestic abuse were left distressed and afraid.
“Four of us were reported to our professional regulator simply for speaking publicly about what was happening. Throughout it all, the trust defended a policy it had been warned was unlawful.
“Even after the Supreme Court clarified the law, it refused to change course. It took a full tribunal judgment, an apology, damages and an enormous bill before the trust finally wrote biological reality into its policy.
“We welcome this change because it will protect women across the trust, but it should never have required a three-year legal battle. No nurse should ever again be treated as we were asking for dignity, privacy and safety.”
The change comes after the nurses won their employment tribunal and the trust apologised, paying them £187,000 in damages. The known public and legal costs have exceeded £1.2 million.
Trust Responds to Judgment
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which has supported the nurses, said: “The trust’s new policy is a complete vindication of the Darlington nurses and everything they have fought for.
“In one clear sentence, the trust has now accepted the position that Bethany and her colleagues maintained from the beginning: single-sex changing rooms are based on biological sex, and suitable alternatives should be provided for anyone who does not wish to use them.
“Yet this elementary and lawful solution came only after years of institutional intransigence. The trust ignored the women, disregarded internal warnings, pursued them through hostile processes and spent vast sums of public money defending a policy that exposed female staff to discrimination and harassment.
“The nurses were portrayed as the problem when the real problem was a policy that erased their rights. Their courage has now forced one of the country’s largest NHS trusts to recognise biological reality and protect single-sex spaces in practice.
“There must now be accountability for how this was allowed to happen, for the public money spent, and for the severe personal and professional harm inflicted on dedicated nurses who were telling the truth. Every NHS trust should read this policy change and act immediately. Women should not have to litigate hospital by hospital to secure rights already guaranteed by law.”
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “Following the (employment tribunal) judgment, we issued updated guidance to colleagues confirming that single-sex changing facilities are provided and used on the basis of biological sex. Where practicable, we have also introduced additional single-occupancy changing facilities which can be used by any colleague.
“We recognise our facilities can continue to be improved and remain committed to reviewing them. We are also ensuring the learning from this case is reflected in our guidance, training and policies, while keeping national guidance under review.”
Earlier this month hospitals were told wards, lavatories and changing rooms should be segregated by biological sex, not gender identity. New guidance, which applies to patients and staff, was published 18 months after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled sex must be grounded in biology and not self-identification under the Equality Act.
NHS England has told hospitals and GP surgeries they must comply with a judgement made in the For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers case in April last year that stated the words “sex”, “woman” and “man” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. From now on, NHS trusts must ensure single-sex spaces are not used by those of the opposite biological sex, even if they identify as a different gender. However, the soon-to-be-abolished quango has yet to clarify how rules that are based on biological sex will be implemented and monitored to ensure compliance.
