A Muslim NHS worker could receive a £25,000 payout after trans women were allowed into single-sex toilets at her workplace.
Lawyers for the woman have said she could receive up to £25,000 in compensation - for "discrimination" at work.
The employee, anonymised in an employment tribunal ruling, sued bosses over claims she suffered discrimination and harassment because of her belief that sex was a biologically defined.
Her case centred on policies adopted by NHS England in 2017, which stated that trans colleagues could use single-sex facilities after they reached "full-time presentation... in the new gender role".
In 2022, she received an email announcing the transition of a colleague, and was asked to attend a "trans awareness session".
She then complained formally and argued the policy, which allowed trans women to use single-sex showers and toilets, indirectly discriminated against women generally, Muslim women specifically, and women with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The employment tribunal had upheld the women's claim, ruling the NHS England failed to demonstrate its trans policy was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
Despite NHS England having sought advice from external bodies including Stonewall, Unison and other trade unions, the tribunal said "reliance on contemporaneous guidance or good practice advice cannot justify an incorrect interpretation of the law".
Quarry House in Leeds, the office building where the anonymous NHS employee worked
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"Employers must seek their own legal advice and ensure that they are applying the law correctly," the tribunal added in its findings.
The tribunal added there was no express legal right for a trans person to use the single-sex facilities.
NHS England should have considered alternative measures, such as gender-neutral toilets and the installation of a lock to make a private shower, the tribunal added.
The tribunal also reinforced that the Supreme Court's ruling that the Equality Act refers to biological sex "is not limited to events that take place after the Supreme Court’s decision".
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Leeds Employment Tribunal found there was no legal right for a trans person to use single-sex facilities
|The lawyers added the decision reinforced the 2025 Supreme Court ruling which ruled that in equality legislation, sex is defined at birth.
The Scottish Feminist Network said in response to the ruling: "Another Employment Tribunal win for a woman expecting access to single-sex facilities. In England. It's noticeable that the decisions are in the opposite direction for women in Scotland.
"Hopefully, the Scottish appeals can point to these judgments and expect consistency."
And the Women's Rights Network said: "This is great news for women who work in the NHS. It’s time that NHS England and the devolved NHS to ensure the law is obeyed by ALL hospitals and NHS organisations."
In April, Bridget Phillipson said updated EHRC guidance would come 'as soon as practicable after the election period'
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Solicitors at the firm Didlaw, who represented the complainant, said the Leeds tribunal ruling should pressure ministers to publish guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) which had been "inexplicably and unjustifiably delayed".
Bridget Phillipson, Minister for Women and Equalities, told MPs in April: "This Government has always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex.
"The Supreme Court’s ruling last year brought clarity for women and service providers such as hospitals and refuges, and made clear that protections for trans people remain in the Equality Act."
She added the Government was taking "urgent action" to ensure the guidance would be updated "as soon as practicable after the election period".
NHS England is set to be abolished by the Government as announced in the King's Speech.