Trade union guidance on supporting trans workers

There are around 400,000 trans people in the UK, around 290,000 of whom are in work. Several unions have produced guidance for their members on supporting trans workers which includes information about harassment.

For example, UNISON and the Scottish Transgender Alliance explain in their guide, Gender identity: An introductory guide for trade union reps supporting trans members (2013), that the terms transgender people or trans people are commonly used as umbrella terms to cover the diverse ways that people find their gender identity differs from the gender they were labelled with at birth. The guide explains that the process that transsexual people go through in order to achieve this — called “transitioning” or “gender reassignment” — is lengthy and difficult.

The Scottish TUC (STUC) guide, Supporting Trans Workers — a guide for trade unionists, explains that trans members can be particularly vulnerable to abuse, harassment and bullying in the workplace. It points out that harassment of trans workers (and service users) is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 and that employers must make sure that there is zero tolerance towards harassment of trans workers. It advises trade union reps that they will need to negotiate a harassment policy that specifically includes gender identity. UNISON advises its branches that they should make sure that transgender workers are treated as the gender in which they live, irrespective of legal sex.

The STUC guide provides the following example of harassment: “A worker was referred to by her former colleagues as “he, she, it, whatever” and told to use a male changing room. The employment tribunal found that her employer had failed to protect her from “an atmosphere of intimidation and hostility caused by the fact that she was undergoing gender reassignment.”

Unite describes in its guide, Trans Equality at work, supportive action that one of its reps took:

A trans member was working in the chemicals industry, and the UNITE rep spoke to their colleagues about their concerns, giving them an opportunity to ask questions they might not have felt comfortable discussing with the member. This was particularly useful in alleviating concerns about the member using female toilet facilities, which was then agreed by all parties. Management were supportive of the member's situation and bought a piece of loading equipment to help her carry on her job following a loss of upper body strength (a side effect of treatment) — the equipment benefited everyone in the workplace.

The general GMB union developed a Transgender Equality Toolkit as part of a two-year project, Putting the T back in LGBT (2014). This aims to raise member, employer, union, national and international awareness of the transgender community and their rights, and about supporting them in and out of work. It warns employers that if a trans person makes a complaint against an employer for an abusive incident, they risk being found liable where no specific policy is in place or publicised.