Trans civil servants may be forced to 'out themselves' under new guidelineshttps://www.thepinknews.com/2026/07/23/civil-servants-trans-toilet-guidelines/ 🔗Jack Wetherill (23 July 2026)
Following the updated EHRC guidelines which were presented to parliament in May, transgender civil servants "may not use facilities of [their] affirmed gender which are designated as single-sex". According to the guidelines, as seen by Metro, this is not affected by a person having a Gender Recognition Certificate as that "does not alter your sex".
Trans civil servants must instead use mixed sex or unisex facilities, or use toilets that match their biological sex.
However, there are fears the guidelines may force some trans civil servants to "out themselves", as the guidelines adds: "You will need to discuss the options and agree on the most suitable arrangement with your line manager."
This is despite the fact their is "no legal requirement" for an employee to disclose that they are trans.
TransLucent CEO Steph Richards told Metro: "Trans staff may be put into a position to 'out themselves' to managers, directly violating their right to privacy under Article 8 of the ECHR."
According to Metro, the guidelines also include sections on what would happen if someone deadnamed or misgendered a trans colleague.
While the guidelines accept it can "happen accidentally", they add: "Deliberate deadnaming or misgendering to deny, mock or invalidate a person's trans identity is unacceptable and should be investigated as potential misconduct."
It also adds that "some employees do not believe in trans or gender identities", which is "protected" under the Equalities Act if it is a "philosophical belief".
