Civil servants have threatened to back legal challenges against the Government after officials have scrapped “reassignment leave,” which offered 13 weeks of paid leave for transgender staff undergoing gender reassignment.
The Civil Service LGBT+ Network and a:gender have urged Whitehall to stop introducing a replacement scheme and have said they will no longer endorse the Civil Service as an inclusive employer.
Transgender employees have up until now been allowed to take up to 13 weeks of leave within a 12-month period for medical treatment and recovery related to reassignment that would not be counted as sick leave.
The time off is set to be removed after closer inspection of the equality law “in mitigation of potential discrimination in respect of different provisions for other employees”.
The policy guides Whitehall documentation and is being updated following the Supreme Court’s ruling, which upheld a ruling that sex, in regard to the Equality Act, is biological, rather than based on gender identity.
It is also being reviewed due to the updated Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance, following the Supreme Court ruling.
A document that has been seen by The Times said that civil servants could face disciplinary action should staff fail to address transgender colleagues using their preferred pronouns and name.
The Times also said it included confirmation of the 13 weeks off for reassignment appointments.
However, staff groups have said this has now been removed.
In a letter to Cat Little, the Civil Service chief operating officer, the groups said the reasoning was “potentially legally misconceived and harmful”, and said officials are “levelling down support for a protected group”.
The groups argue that missing work due to gender was not comparable to other forms of medical leave.
They said if it was treated as medical leave, then the risk is raised of transgender employees being penalised or dismissed.
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They have also warned that staff may be forced to disclose personal medical information in order to avoid sanctions.
The letter said: “This is needlessly cruel. The previous provision gave colleagues a clear route to support. Removing it risks replacing a known protection with uncertainty, discretion and disclosure.”
The two groups confirmed that if the changes were implemented, they would no longer “represent the Civil Service, support recruitment activity or promote it as an inclusive employer for LGBTQ+ colleagues in any capacity”.
The groups also confirmed they would help support members who challenge decisions through formal complaints or legal proceedings.
The document is also understood to say transgender staff must not use single-sex facilities for the opposite sex and could instead be told to use unisex facilities or those of their biological sex.
The Cabinet Office said: “Departments are expected to update their own HR policies and these are currently under review.
"This guidance supports them in doing that, and they will work closely with all stakeholders, including staff, to develop and implement their policies.
“It would be inappropriate to comment while this is ongoing.”
GB News has contacted The Civil Service LGBT+ Network and a:gender for comment.
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