Gender Reassignment Discrimination

Q: What are the types of discrimination?

Direct discrimination: if your employer treats you worse than they treat or would treat other employees because you are going through gender reassignment. For example, if you are passed over for a promotion because of your gender reassignment. Indirect discrimination: an example of this would be if your workplace has a policy that puts you at a disadvantage because of your gender reassignment. For example, if you have to wear certain uniform to carry out your role and it differs between genders. Victimisation: you might experience victimisation if, for example, you’ve made a complaint or raised a grievance in the workplace about fellow colleagues for their discriminatory behaviour towards you because of your gender reassignment. Harassment: if some colleagues have made discriminatory comments about your gender reassignment, and these comments made you feel degraded, humiliated and upset, you may have experienced harassment.

How our gender reassignment discrimination specialists can help

It is unlawful for someone to be discriminated against because of gender reassignment.

If you are in the process of undergoing gender reassignment, or you’re considering it or have been through the process already, your rights in the workplace should be protected. If you feel they aren’t, we are here to help.

Call us free today to see how we can help you understand your options on 0808 164 0808, or request a call back if you’d like one of our no-win, no-fee experts to call you.

gender reassignment discrimination frequently asked questions

What are the types of discrimination? toggle accordion

Direct discrimination: if your employer treats you worse than they treat or would treat other employees because you are going through gender reassignment. For example, if you are passed over for a promotion because of your gender reassignment. Indirect discrimination: an example of this would be if your workplace has a policy that puts you at a disadvantage because of your gender reassignment. For example, if you have to wear certain uniform to carry out your role and it differs between genders. Victimisation: you might experience victimisation if, for example, you’ve made a complaint or raised a grievance in the workplace about fellow colleagues for their discriminatory behaviour towards you because of your gender reassignment. Harassment: if some colleagues have made discriminatory comments about your gender reassignment, and these comments made you feel degraded, humiliated and upset, you may have experienced harassment.

What is the ACAS process? toggle accordion

Any employee who wishes to bring a claim for gender reassignment discrimination at work needs to submit details of their claim to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), so that they can establish whether the employer will agree to ‘early conciliation’. Depending on your circumstances, we may be able to help you with this.

What is gender reassignment discrimination under the Equality Act 2010? toggle accordion

According to the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful for you to be discriminated against for one or more of the nine protected characteristics:

Age;
Disability;
Gender reassignment;
Marriage or civil partnership;
Pregnancy and maternity;
Race;
Religion or belief;
Sex;
Sexual orientation.

It’s illegal for any fellow employees, or your employer, to make discriminatory comments or display discriminatory behaviour towards you based on your gender reassignment. It’s also a criminal offence if your employer treats you less favourably for this reason, or if they fail to address other employees displaying the same discriminatory behaviour towards you.

Gender Reassignment Discrimination legal services

Helping people who are mistreated at work for going through gender reassignment

Working closely with you to understand what’s happened
Handling the legal case for you to ease the burden
Being there with you, every step of the way

Funding your employment claim

A dispute with your employer can be stressful, and the last thing you want to be worried about is how to pay for the legal help and advice you need. We will help you get the best possible outcome in the most cost-effective way. Click below to find out more about the funding options available to you.

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Our no win, no fee arrangement

We have a no win, no fee arrangement available, which is known as a Damage Based Agreement (DBA). A DBA is where the payment of our fees depends upon the success of the claim. This means that if the case is won or settlement terms are agreed, we would be paid by taking a percentage of the compensation that you are awarded. We are one of the only employment law firms in the UK to offer Damaged Based Agreements (DBAs) for all types of claimant employment cases.

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Examples of gender reassignment discrimination

Gender reassignment discrimination can arise in many different scenarios within the workplace. We’ve listed some examples below:

Use of single-sex facilities – some workplaces will have separate toilets for men and women, and may refuse a transgender person entry to the toilet for which they identify. Generally someone who is going through gender reassignment should be allowed to use the toilet or facilities for the gender with which they identify, and refusing to accept this would be classed as gender reassignment discrimination.
Absence from work – if an employer treats a transgender person less favourably because they request time off work to receive treatment for gender reassignment, this could amount to gender reassignment discrimination.
Deliberate use of incorrect pronouns – if someone is identifying as the opposite gender while they go through the process of reassignment, they may wish to be addressed by the pronouns that align with their new gender. An example of gender reassignment discrimination would be if other employees or the employer deliberately refused to acknowledge this, and made discriminatory remarks about it.

The four types of discriminatory behaviour

It’s important to consider the four discriminatory behaviours, as outlined under the Equality Act 2010:

Direct discrimination: if your employer treats you worse than they treat or would treat other employees because you are going through gender reassignment. For example, if you are passed over for a promotion because of your gender reassignment.
Indirect discrimination: an example of this would be if your workplace has a policy that puts you at a disadvantage because of your gender reassignment. For example, if you have to wear certain uniform to carry out your role and it differs between genders.
Victimisation: you might experience victimisation if, for example, you’ve made a complaint or raised a grievance in the workplace about fellow colleagues for their discriminatory behaviour towards you because of your gender reassignment.
Harassment: if some colleagues have made discriminatory comments about your gender reassignment, and these comments made you feel degraded, humiliated and upset, you may have experienced harassment.

Gender reassignment discrimination solicitors

If you have experienced gender reassignment discrimination in the workplace, then we recommend you act quickly. The law states that an employee only has three months, less one day, from the date of the discriminatory act to start a complaint at an employment tribunal. We recommend you contact our gender reassignment discrimination solicitors as soon as possible, to avoid losing out on valuable time given that the ACAS process (more below) can be timely.

The ACAS Process

Our gender reassignment discrimination experts are here to guide you

Neha Thethi

Head of Employment

Employment

Lucy Needham

Litigation Legal Assistant

Employment

Get in touch with our no win, no fee gender reassignment discrimination solicitors today

If you need to talk to someone straight away you can call us for free on 0808 164 0808

Complete our form for a callback as soon as possible

Other discrimination at work claims we can help with

Age discrimination → Sex discrimination → Disability discrimination → Pregnancy & maternity discrimination → Racial discrimination →

Disclaimer

In general you have three months less one day from the most recent act of discrimination or breach to take action, meaning you should act fast.

We recommend you speak to one of our lawyers in the first instance. As part of the process, you’ll need to get in touch with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), who will aim to achieve early conciliation with your employer. However, our lawyers can assist in this process where appropriate and we have formally been instructed.

Please be aware that the ACAS process can take up to around a month to complete, which will be taken from the three months you have to begin with. It’s important to act quickly in order to bring a tribunal claim. If the conciliation procedure is unsuccessful, we may be able to support you with the tribunal. If you feel you have a potential employment claim please act quickly and contact us today.