The Civil Service is still operating under outdated 2019 transgender guidance that defies the Supreme Court's landmark ruling from April.
Despite the court making clear that sex under the Equality Act means biological sex, the Cabinet Office's guidelines for trans staff remain unchanged.
It's a situation that's left campaigners furious, with the current policy allowing biological males who identify as women to access female-only spaces like toilets.
The guidance, which is broadly mirrored across government departments, was drawn up six years ago and predates the crucial legal clarification.
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It's understood that internal Civil Service policy is now being reviewed with plans to update it following the judgment.
Sex Matters, the women's rights charity, has warned that the existing guidance makes it "impossible" to enforce sex-based rules without staff facing accusations of bullying.
Maya Forstater, who heads the organisation, has written directly to Sir Keir Starmer demanding he take action.
"The civil-service model policy is unlawful and should be withdrawn immediately," she told the Prime Minister.
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that sex under the Equality Act means biological sex
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The Cabinet Office's "Civil Service Gender Identity and Intersex Model Policy" states that individuals should be able to select whichever single-sex toilets match their gender identity.
It also treats repeated "misgendering" – referring to someone by a gender other than the one they identify with – as potential bullying.
"Deliberate, continued and/or repeated incidents are unacceptable and should be dealt with using the bullying, harassment and discrimination policy," the guidance states.
Ms Forstater said the edicts, which were issued under the previous government, conflict with the Equality Act.
"They make it impossible to understand, communicate or enforce clear sex-based rules without being accused of bullying," she added.
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Maya Forstater (right), who heads Sex Matters, wrote to the Prime Minister saying: 'the civil-service model policy is unlawful and should be withdrawn immediately'
|GETTY
Meanwhile, Women and Equalities Secretary Bridget Phillipson has been sitting on new EHRC guidance for more than three months without signing it off.
The proposed rules would protect women-only spaces, but Ms Phillipson has described them as "trans-exclusive" in a statement to the High Court.
Her delay comes amid pushback from Labour backbenchers, while the PCS union, representing civil servants, has called the draft guidance "damaging" and "impossible to implement".
The NHS finds itself in a similar predicament, with hospitals across England still relying on the same 2019 guidance that's been "under review" for years.
Staff continue using old policies that permit biological males identifying as women to access female-only wards, changing rooms and toilets – more than eight months after the Supreme Court's ruling.
Shadow equalities minister Claire Coutinho didn't mince her words, saying the NHS policies "range from the mad to the downright dangerous".
"NHS trusts are clearly putting ideology above the law in a way that undermines the safety and privacy of staff and patients," she said.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting promised to overhaul NHS guidance on single-sex spaces after the April ruling, but progress has stalled while ministers await the final EHRC guidance.
A Government spokesman said: "We review and update guidance wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the law, including the Supreme Court judgement.
"The EHRC has submitted a draft Code of Practice to Ministers. This is a 300 page long, legally complex document and we are working at pace to review it with the care it deserves."
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