Your Rights in Workplaces FAQ

This page summarises general legal information relating to the rights of transgender and/or non-binary individuals under the law in England, Scotland and Wales. This information represents our understanding of these rights at the time of publication of this information. It is not intended to give specific legal advice on which you should rely. If you require legal advice, or further details on any matter referred to, please consult an independent legal professional.

You may have noticed that there has been a lot of court cases recently related to transgender employees’ access to facilities and toilets when at work.

Many of those who reach out to TransActual for support (which includes individuals and organisations looking to stay trans inclusive) have done so because they are at a loss as to what they are and aren’t allowed to do.

With the help of our lawyers, this FAQ aims to provide you with a clearer picture as to what a trans persons rights are when at work in light of the various cases and specifically, the High Court’s decision in R (Good Law Project Ltd) v Equality Human Rights Commission [2026] EWHC 279 (Admin).

It is important to note that law on trans access to toilets and facilities is unsettled – we will do our best to keep this page up to date, but these FAQs should not be taken as legal advice.

Please note that these FAQs address only ‘protected characteristic’ in the Equality Act 2010 of gender reassignment and do not cover any other protected characteristics such as sex or religion and belief.

The EHRC’s draft Statutory Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations (the Code) was published on 21 May 2026, which will apply (to the extent it comes into effect) to employers that provide services to customers, in relation to those services. However, as these FAQs deal with duties from an employer to an employee, the Code does not apply – employment services are covered in a different Statutory Code of Practice which the EHRC says it will update in due course. There is currently no timescale for this.

Language

When we refer to:

The “Regulations” we mean the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
“Gender reassignment” we mean the protected characteristic set out in section 7 of the Equality Act 2010. A person has this protected characteristic if they are proposing to undergo, are undergoing, or have undergone a process (or part of a process) to reassign their sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex. This definition is broad: it does not require medical treatment or surgery, and it can include social or legal steps taken as part of that process.
“GRC” refers to a “Gender Recognition Certificate” which may be granted under the Gender Recognition Act 2004. GRCs can be either “full” or “interim”.

FAQs

The Regulations mean your employer must provide you with suitable and accessible toilets, washing and changing facilities. Broadly, your employer can comply with the Regulations by:

providing separate “male” and “female” rooms;
providing separate rooms intended for use by one person at a time that are capable of being locked from the inside and used by one person at a time – these can be gender neutral; or
a mix of both.

In addition to complying with the Regulations, employers must meet their statutory obligations to employees who have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. This means applying the Regulations alongside the employer’s duties under the Equality Act 2010, and ensuring that the provision of toilet facilities does not result in unlawful discrimination against you as a trans member of staff. (See Does that mean my employer must provide only “single-sex” male and female toilets?.)

Each case will be decided on its own facts, but scenarios that are likely to be unlawful would include trans employees being forced to use facilities that do not align with their gender, or being “gender policed” at the entrance to facilities. (You can find more relevant information about this in the EHRC Code of Practice – paragraphs 13.161-13.165 consider “asking about sex” and scenario at 13.170. Though the Code is about accessing services, it is supportive of trans employees being able to bring a claim if you do find themselves subject to this kind of behaviour.)

Employers may encounter competing viewpoints in the workplace, including those based on so-called “gender critical” beliefs, and employers must consider how to balance those beliefs with your rights as a trans employee. Each case is different, but it is important to understand that those beliefs do not displace an employer’s duty to comply with equality law in relation to your trans status.

If you are concerned that the toilet provision at your workplace is not legally compliant, read What can I do if I am unhappy about my employer’s policy on workplace facilities?

Your employer must provide suitable and safe facilities for all its employees, including those who are trans.

To comply with the Regulations as they relate to toilets, an employer must provide either separate “male” and “female” toilets, or toilets in self-contained rooms that can be locked from the inside and are for use by one person at a time. Your employer could also provide a mix of both. In question 1, we explained that the Equality Act 2010 requires employers to ensure that toilet facilities are provided for trans employees, so an employer that provides only “male” and “female” toilet facilities is unlikely to meet this requirement (see Does that mean my employer must provide only “single-sex” (trans-exclusive) male and female toilets?). See paragraph 13.123 of the EHRC Code of Practice for an example of it being supportive of this position in principle.

The position for washing and changing facilities is more context-specific.

If washing facilities (including showers) are required because of the nature of the work that you do, or for health reasons, then your employer must provide “suitable and sufficient washing facilities”. Facilities for washing the hands, forearms and face only can be in a shared, multi-user space. By contrast, showers need to be provided either within separate “male” and “female” facilities, or as individual, self-contained units that can be locked from the inside and used by one person at a time. Employers may also choose to provide both types of facility. As before, employers must ensure they make provision for trans employees in order to comply with the Equality Act 2010, so an employer that provides only “male” and “female” washing facilities (where required by staff) is unlikely to meet this requirement.

A similar distinction applies to changing facilities. Workplaces where staff are required to change out of their clothing when they arrive at work (e.g. a surgeon putting on scrubs) will require different changing facilities to workplaces where staff are only required to put on an item over their normal clothing (e.g. a waiter putting on an apron). The Regulations require employers to provide separate “male” and “female” facilities where necessary “for reasons of propriety”. As before, employers must ensure they make provision for trans employees in order to comply with the Equality Act 2010, so an employer that provides only “male” and “female” changing facilities (where required by staff) is unlikely to meet this requirement.

No.

There is no legal requirement to provide “single-sex” toilets in the workplace. The Regulations permit employers to provide single lockable rooms for use by one person at a time as an alternative.

Employers must ensure that toilet provisions are not discriminatory based on gender reassignment. It is likely to be unlawful for an employer to provide only “male” and “female” toilets if this results in trans members of staff having nowhere to go to the toilet. (See also paragraph 13.148 of the EHRC Code of Practice as an example of it being supportive of this position, in principle).

As a minimum, your employer should provide one gender-neutral facility. If you are concerned about the potential unwanted “outing” that might arise from this, you should speak with a safe member of staff – see What can I do if I am unhappy about my employer’s policy on workplace facilities?. In practice, this may mean that some employers decide to designate facilities that are currently marked as ‘accessible’ or ‘disabled’ as also being gender-neutral facilities. The law permits this approach, but employers need to take care to ensure that it does not impact on disabled employees’ access to facilities in a way that cannot be justified.

Having a GRC does not give you a right to use the toilet aligned with your gender. However, having a GRC can clearly illustrate that you have the protected characteristic of ‘gender reassignment’. Your employer is not allowed to unlawfully discriminate against you on the basis that you have this protected characteristic.

That’s great! There are several, legally compliant ways for employers to provide trans-inclusive facilities in the workplace. Some options include:

Make all facilities self-contained and gender neutral
Have a mixture of “male”, “female” and gender neutral toilet facilities.
Designate at least one toilet in a self-contained room (e.g. a current accessible toilet) as a gender neutral facility for use by anyone.

There are lots of other things employers can do to be trans-inclusive such as:

Ensure recruitment processes are inclusive to everyone regardless of gender identity.
Offer the option to include pronouns on email signatures.
Engage experts to develop internal policies to ensure they are actually workable for trans people and people who transition at work.
Provide training to all staff and managers.
Carry out equality monitoring on recruitment, training, promotion and retention.
Encourage staff to wear a uniform or follow a dress code in a way that aligns with their gender.
Mark trans specific events in the year such as TDoR, TDoV and Trans History Week.
Fundraise for a trans support charity.

Your employer should have a grievance policy and procedure that can be used to raise concerns. Typically, a grievance policy will suggest an informal approach where possible in the first instance such as speaking to a line manager and/or the HR department, depending on the size and structure of the organisation. If you feel more comfortable having a colleague/friend attend that meeting with you, you can request that. You could also ask that person to take some notes so you can focus on what you want to say.

If you are not satisfied with your employer’s response, or if you feel that your concerns cannot be dealt with under the informal grievance process, you can raise a formal grievance in writing and your employer should follow a fair process in accordance with the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

There may also be other HR policies that you could use to make complaints or to raise concerns – depending on the situation, this could include equal opportunities or EDI policies, safeguarding policies, and/or whistleblowing policies. You could ask HR to send you copies of them if you are unable to locate them independently.

If you do not feel that your concerns are being taken seriously by your employer, or if you feel that your employer has wrongly dismissed your concerns, you might also seek support from other resources internally at work (e.g. a staff forum or EDI group) or externally (e.g. a trade union or ACAS) to seek advice on formal next steps.

You do not have to be trans to make a complaint about facilities for trans people in your workplace, though you do have to be an employee. An act of allyship could be to raise a complaint if you have concerns about the approach your employer is taking.

The Equality Act 2010 also contains specific provisions to protect people who are disadvantaged by an employer’s policy or practice in substantially the same way as their trans colleagues. For example, this could include non-binary and gender fluid staff.

Yes, absolutely, and you should take the approach set out in What can I do if I am unhappy about my employer’s policy on workplace facilities?.

If you have a GRC you should raise this also so your employer can consider its duties under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 alongside its equality duties.