Managers not confident dealing with complaints from trans staff

One in six managers and business leaders would not feel confident dealing with a complaint about a transgender employee’s treatment at work.

This is according to a survey by law firm Irwin Mitchell, which found lack of knowledge and training, not feeling equipped to deal with the situation, uncertainty over the law, and anxiety about saying the wrong thing contributed to managers’ worries about dealing with complaints about the treatment of trans staff.

However, 76% of leaders said they would feel comfortable dealing with complaints of this nature.

Charlotte Rees-John, employment partner at Irwin Mitchell, said: “It can be a polarising debate and I’m not surprised that those who aren’t confident about dealing with these types of issues, worry about causing offence.

“That’s where good diversity and inclusion training comes in. It should explain the language around this issue, for example what various terms mean and why they are important to trans people, challenge prejudices and encourage staff to accept and respect other people’s points of view, even if they are fundamentally different to their own.”

The survey of 2,049 people in a leadership role found that:

• 15% of managers would not feel confident dealing with a grievance either from or about a trans employees’ treatment at work, rising to 20% among 25-34 year olds
• Males were less confident than females about their ability to handle a complaint
• One third of people in chairman/chairwoman positions would not feel comfortable dealing with a grievance about the treatment of a transgender employee.

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Reasons given for this uncertainty included: “People are far too ready to take offence”, “It’s a no-win situation, very one-sided”, “Too old, and I was brought up in a different generation”, “Fear of offending the employee”, “Feels like a minefield”, “Lack of support from higher ups”, “Scared to use the wrong pronouns”.

Irwin Mitchell has produced a guide to trans employees’ rights in the workplace.

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