A trans woman who was deadnamed by her employer has been awarded £25,400 after successfully claiming direct discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment in a case that highlighted HR’s failure to update its policies.
Miss AB, as she was referred to in the anonymised judgment, claimed that the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames “deadnamed” her after it failed to update her records following her transition to a woman. Deadnaming refers to the practice of continuing to use someone’s pre-transition name.
The claimant gave eight months’ notice to the council, where she worked in the transport department, that she was intending to transition and did so with effect from July 2020.
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Despite AB’s efforts to change her name on pensions records, a door pass, and a staff directory, it took two years before matters were resolved. She told the tribunal that she received no support and that the council had failed in its duty of care.
A dispute took place between AB and her managers when she raised concerns over street lighting plans she considered unsafe. Her bosses accused AB of throwing a “hissing fit” (sic) and referred to her in emails in what the tribunal agreed was “derogatory” and “unprofessional” language.
AB accused her managers of singling her out and implying that she was incompetent and not doing her job correctly. In an email she said: “If you wish to proceed I will pass this to HR as I feel since my transition, I have been singled out on a witch-hunt and if you wish me to resign I will do this on grounds of constructive dismissal and secondary discrimination, I will not be bullied and treated in a demeaning manner.”
Her male manager demanded an apology, a move that the tribunal concluded showed officials had a “dismissive” attitude to her concerns. AB also told the tribunal that she had endured a “long and painful struggle” after transitioning in 2020.
In another incident, AB found a Post-it note stuck to her locker with her dead name crossed out and her post-transition name written on, in full view of everyone. The tribunal found that this was not rectified until April 2022 and that no investigation into who had done this was held.
In its judgment, the tribunal found that AB’s deadnaming amounted to less favourable treatment and this was because of her protected characteristic. It awarded her £25,400 in compensation, comprising £21,000 for injury to feelings plus interest. Other aspects of her claim did not succeed.
The Croydon employment tribunal heard evidence from Ms Bailey, senior HR business partner, who accepted that Kingston council did not handle the claimant’s transition well.
She explained that at the time of the claimant’s transition there was an overarching Equality and Diversity Policy Statement which had been updated in March 2018. Gender reassignment was also referred to in Kingston’s 2006 Dignity at Work Policy.
The “sexual harassment” section of the policy referred to the Sex Discrimination Act providing protection against discrimination on various grounds, including someone who intends to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone gender reassignment.
We find its policies and practices at the time of the claimant transitioning to have been woefully inadequate” – Employment Judge McLaren
The policy specified that harassment of an individual on the grounds of gender reassignment was to be treated as sexual harassment.
It was accepted by the tribunal that the policy had not been updated in line with the Equality Act 2010 and was only updated when a new Dignity at Work Policy was brought into force in December 2021, “many years after the legislation changed” the judgment stated.
“While we accept that the Equality Act was in place and therefore the employer was bound to meet its obligations, we find that it had failed to incorporate these legal obligations into its policies,” said Employment Judge Fiona McLaren in her decision. “It had not provided appropriate training to staff. It did not have any policy in place that would assist individuals like the claimant.
“We are surprised at such an omission by a local authority and we find its policies and practices at the time of the claimant transitioning to have been woefully inadequate with both a failure to provide guidance to staff undergoing transition and to team managers.
“We understand why the claimant felt badly let down by her employer. She was left to navigate a complex set of respondent systems with no support or even signposting from HR as to how to do this. We were told that the respondent employs around 4,500 people and has an HR strength of around 60, yet despite this level of resource there was nothing appropriate in place. No adequate explanation has been given for this significant failing.”
“It does not appear any apology has been offered to the claimant or other staff potentially facing the same issues.”
Sarah Ireland, chief executive of Kingston Council, said: “We are very sorry for the shortcomings in the experience of our employee and for the distress this has caused. Prior to the outcome of the tribunal we had taken actions to free our workplace from discrimination. These include ensuring our managers are knowledgeable and understanding of the support they need to give our employees, providing all staff with mandatory diversity and inclusion training, trans and gender diversity sessions as well as developing our Trans Equality Policy and supporting guidance for staff who start their transitioning journey whilst working for the council.
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“We have improved our processes and systems to better support officers from the trans and non-binary community and also reviewed our dignity at work policy to make it easier for employees to report any incidents of discrimination. There is always more that we can do to ensure we are building equity into our culture and working practices. We are committed to doing the hard work necessary to create a workplace that is welcoming and inclusive to everyone including our trans and non-binary colleagues.”
