Civil servants oppose plans to end trans reassignment leave policy

1 persons hateful comment is another person's facts

I’m a CS with a disability. In my dept, trans colleagues receive unlimited leave for reasons pertaining to gender reassignment and these absences are deliberately excluded from absence review trigger points. I can have 9 days absence in a rolling 12 month period before I am subject to action under absence management policies. My hospital appts don’t receive paid leave (and shouldn’t) and must be booked either outside of work hours or the time made up. The CS is supposed to foster good relations between communities and these sorts of policies do not do that as the unfairness is obvious.

Perhaps broadly, but there’s plenty of hateful commentary and ignorance too.

I agree its about fairness or lack of with the old policy.
I also think thats what most posters on this thread are objecting to

If gender reasssignment isn't a medical or health issue, it doesn't need any special paid time off at all, same as I don't need special paid time off when I'm well.

If it isn't a disability but is a health issue, it should be treated like all other non-disability health issues under the same sickness policy.

"The Civil Service LGBT+ Network and a:gender, two employee groups... said they would no longer promote the Civil Service as an inclusive employer."

Oh no, whatever will the Civil Service do to attract applicants now.

Sad times.

Because gender reassignment isn't a disability and isn't always a medical or health issue.

Probably the same reason there are separate policies for special leave for carers, or for voluntary work, or jury service.

That doesn’t appear to be the experience of CS employees on this thread. Can you comment on the disparity? Are they lying? Ignorant? Misled by others?

Why are there two separate policies then? Why not simply include gender reassignment in the general paid special leave policy?

Why is everyone saying that trans people should 'get what everyone else gets'?

The CS also has a policy of paid special leave related to health and disability needs. So if someone needs time off to deal with follow ups after surgery or for chronic health conditions, that is also permissible without using either sick leave or annual leave.

It is discretionary and has to be agreed with a line manager, as is the gender reassignment paid special leave.

Why is everyone saying that trans people should 'get what everyone else gets'?

The CS also has a policy of paid special leave related to health and disability needs. So if someone needs time off to deal with follow ups after surgery or for chronic health conditions, that is also permissible without using either sick leave or annual leave.

It is discretionary and has to be agreed with a line manager, as is the gender reassignment paid special leave.

Agree, it should be proportionate to what everyone else gets and shouldn’t cover non-medical procedures like hair removal or transplants. The problem for me is that objections are so often framed around hatred and frantic imaginaries of trans people - see many pp - rather than basic fairness.

For those types of surgeries you're probably correct but if it covers hair transplants and lazer hair removal etc then it might be regularly used.
However the fact that even 1 person could when everyone else cant is the problem

Well because if less than half of trans people have these surgeries, and only a tiny number of people have all of them, then it isn't really that much of a problem. If most people who identify as trans have all of them, then it's a bigger issue.

In theory yes but not all these treatments are NHS funded so unlike most civil servants are having surgery every year. Even funded treatments have long waiting lists, so I don’t think the yearly issue would ever arise.

No i think that is veey relevant. If it is that long to include the risn of serious but rare complications but few people actually take that long, then it is absolutely fine IMO.

What is your objection to people being allowed time off to recover from surgery?

The problem is the policy. How many people use it to its max is irrelevant.

Well because if less than half of trans people have these surgeries, and only a tiny number of people have all of them, then it isn't really that much of a problem. If most people who identify as trans have all of them, then it's a bigger issue.

Why is that relevant?

In theory yes but not all these treatments are NHS funded so unlike most civil servants are having surgery every year. Even funded treatments have long waiting lists, so I don’t think the yearly issue would ever arise.

How many trans women get boobs job or facial surgery?