NHS managers are told not to offer sympathy to female colleagues worried about sharing toilets with biological men in woke handbook

NHS managers have been told not to sympathise with female colleagues worried about sharing toilets with biological males.

Thousands of workers at a hospital trust in the North East have been given a woke handbook which forbids team leaders using phrases such as ‘I understand your concerns’ to anyone who complains about the issue.

The 38-page document, which applies to more than 8,300 doctors, nurses and support staff, also says that it is discriminatory not to use a trans or non-binary person’s preferred pronoun.

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust has been accused of unlawfully discriminating against employees with gender-critical views, with critics calling it ‘a recipe for bullying women’.

The Free Speech Union also said the policy must be withdrawn.

Under the ‘Transitioning at Work and Gender Diversity Policy’, staff are told it is transphobic to ‘deliberately use the name a Trans colleague had prior to transition’. They are also told it is offensive to ask a trans or non-binary person questions such as ‘which bathrooms do you use?’

The policy tells bosses that employees who identify as a different gender should be allowed to use alternative changing rooms and showers, even if they have no plans to medically transition.

It reads: ‘Managers must not make supportive comments such as ‘I understand your concerns’ to staff who, for example, complain about Trans or Non-Binary colleagues having access to gendered spaces.

‘This policy applies to everyone, including applicants applying for a job, staff including agency and volunteers, services users and carers, visitors, stakeholders and any other third party organisations who work in partnership with the Trust.’

Under the ‘Transitioning at Work and Gender Diversity Policy’, staff are told it is transphobic to ‘deliberately use the name a Trans colleague had prior to transition’. They are also told it is offensive to ask a trans or non-binary person questions such as ‘which bathrooms do you use?’

The Equality Act orders employers not to discriminate against staff on several ‘protected characteristics’ that include religion and belief. Now campaigners have told the trust the policy must be scrapped.

In a letter to bosses at the Trust, Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union, said: ‘We are writing to request that this policy be immediately withdrawn and an urgent review undertaken.

‘We are especially concerned by its insistence that female staff cannot refuse to use the same bathroom facilities as biological males and cannot express any concerns about having to do so.

‘The Trust must strike a balance between protecting trans individuals from harassment and discrimination and protecting the rights of gender-critical employees.’

Gender-critical author Helen Joyce added: ‘This policy clearly unlawfully discriminates against Trust employees who hold gender-critical beliefs.’

Kath Griffin, director of human resources and organisational development at the Trust, said: ‘This policy was developed in partnership with our staff and trade unions. It is… an important part of promoting, respecting and celebrating equality and diversity.’

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘Biological sex is fundamentally important when it comes to defining what a woman is and protecting single sex spaces.

‘Spaces which are reserved solely for women and girls should be maintained by NHS Trusts in line with the Equality Act.’ 

Maya Forstater, who lost her job after saying that people cannot change their biological sex said: ‘This policy is a recipe for bullying women out of the workplace and making it hostile and intimidating for them.’

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