Labour in 'untenable position' after refusing to withdraw gender self-ID policy

Departments in the civil service have adopted a policy based on gender self-ID which has been criticised by Sex Matters as a “misunderstanding of the Equality Act”.

According to the charity, the policy allows employees to access opposite-sex workplace facilities and tell colleagues and line managers that questioning this is “transphobia”.

“The policy is not in line with the law”, they said. “It embeds gender ideology at the heart of government thinking and operations.”

Maya Forstater, CEO of the charity, said: "This refusal by the head of the civil service to withdraw its outdated 2019 model policy leaves civil servants in an impossible situation.

"Sir Chris Wormald refuses to say whether the Cabinet Office’s model policy – which has been copied across Whitehall – is lawful. It is not compatible with the Supreme Court judgment in April, but civil servants still face being disciplined if they breach it.

"We are in the absurd situation that civil servants are advising Bridget Phillipson on the EHRC code of practice while the head of the civil service is claiming he cannot tell those staff members what rules are lawful until the guidance is finalised.

"Meanwhile, the Cabinet Office is telling individual government departments to take their own legal advice rather than developing a single, standard policy that follows the law.

"This is an untenable position. Sex Matters will now be considering its legal options."

It was revealed in November last year that transgender civil servants are still allowed to use toilets of their choice.

The Times obtained a leaked copy of guidance drawn up by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which sets out the practical applications of the law.

According to the guidance, if a facility such as a toilet is used by someone of the opposite sex, it would no longer be considered a single-sex space.

The civil service policy however, says: “All individuals have the right to express their identity at work and present in their gender.

“This could mean using any appropriate single-sex toilets and other facilities.”

It adds bullying and harassment “includes refusing to accept an individual’s gender identity” or refusing to use their preferred pronouns.

This includes when the individual is not present.

One civil servant said: “The gender identity and intersex policy completely clashes with the Equality Act — it makes a mockery of women’s safety, privacy and dignity in the workplace … How are we supposed to uphold the law if the civil service as an employer doesn’t even understand it?”

The government said: “We review and update guidance… to ensure it complies with the law, including the UK Supreme Court judgment. The EHRC has submitted a draft code of practice to ministers.

“This is a long and legally complex document and we are working quickly to review it with the care it deserves.”