Stonewall in the Civil Service

[Heidi1982]

I work in the Civil Service in a department that hasn't yet left Stonewall. Do any other civil servants have any bright ideas how I can challenge this? I'm embarrassed to say I am very fearful of making a stand in public - my organisation is still enthusiastically guzzling the Kool Aid. Is there any way civil servants can raise anonymous complaints/issues, without necessarily going down the formal whistleblowing procedure? Or alternatively how can I raise this non-anonymously but in a way that doesn't put me and my career at risk?

why would it put your career at risk the civil service isnt meant to be in the pocket of a lobby group. stand up and if they try and push you out thats grounds for unfair dismissal and discrimination.

@VelvetChairGirl

why would it put your career at risk the civil service isnt meant to be in the pocket of a lobby group. stand up and if they try and push you out thats grounds for unfair dismissal and discrimination.

I'm afraid they are totally captured and it really could be very detrimental to stand up to it. I am not in a position to risk that, I wish I was but my personal situation means I just cannot put my job at risk, even if I would be able to claim unfair dismissal and discrimination.

I raised it as a PR / reputational risk and also made the case that HR could use the &6k annual fee to directly support LGBTQ+ staff with events, mentoring scheme etc.

I wouldn't trust the civil service as a job, my father worked at the department for trade and industry in whitehall, he was forced into early retirement, it was get lost or carry on but be demoted to lower level thus lower pension when he hit compulsory retirement age, so he left.

I’m with spondoolikay.
Send them a memo with a list of all the Civil Service departments that have already left Stonewall, and ask why yours is still signed up to a discredited lobby group. Say it reflects badly on your department to be left behind.

Legal feminist blog about organisations following sw legal advice could themselves have illegal policies.

The public sector equality duty means they can’t prioritise one protected characteristic at the expense of others. So ask for the equality impact assessment of why lgbt+ needed thousands and other pcs get what? Where’s the equal funds for disabilities or religion or women.

If you raised a complaint and there were consequences, then in theory you'd have further grounds for complaint and the department would be under investigation.
I realise that in practice it can feel like there is little protection for whistle blowers - especially when a department has been captured - and they can make your life unpleasant.

If you can't complain directly yourself, can you talk to a human rights lawyer and see if you can engage a third party to act on your behalf?

civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Guide-to-bringing-a-complaint-to-the-Commissioners-Civil-Service-Code-March-20121.pdf

We really do need to someone in the Civil Service, NHS, Unions etc to take this on. There would be masses of support out there with funding any tribunal/court cases. The publicity would be great. It needs someone who is being victimised because of their GC beliefs.

We also need to accept that though MP's may be in favour of GC, Civil Servants seem to be a law unto themselves. Take the case of the FCO who just signed their department up without taking account of the views of Liz Truss - I think she's a bit livid

OP could you complain anonymously to the minister for your department or approach your MP, if sympathetic, in confidence?

Namechanged to sympathise. My Department has (I think) recently renewed our SDC membership. There are some mitigations in place including ensuring legal opinion comes from our actual lawyers rather than Stonewall, and we're not entering the WEI this year.

I'll put my hand in my pocket for any court cases, but I'm not in any position myself to stand up and take it on. I resist the repeated suggestion to include pronouns in my signature (and when asked tell the truth about why I object to this) but that's as far as I feel safe. I have zero savings to fall back on, and young children to support. I rely on the flexibility of the CS and the reputation I've built up to balance work + caring, I just can't jeopardise that.

I've seen the Stonewall question raised anonymously via Slido at a virtual stand-up, ages back. Seniors handled it cautiously, briefly, and vaguely (this was pre Nolan and everything though) but the staff network swiftly condemned as transphobia. Clearly it was not effective in that we've since renewed our membership! I don't know if that's a useful mechanism to you OP.

Have you raised it in the People Survey OP? That is anonymous and the free text comments are often read by the departmental executive committee. I did that this year. Or does your department have other informal anonymous surveys? Or, as above, could you raise anonymously on Slido at a staff event if seniors are taking questions? Someone in my department did that once and I am really grateful they did as it made me feel not so alone (even though obviously I don't know who they are!). Seniors clearly did not understand the issue as they said 'we do not have mixed-sex facilities' when that is what we have in practice thanks to self-ID.

Other than that, if you want to do something in your own name, the route I would take would be to raise a concern with HR on specific policies where you are personally affected. e.g. is there a policy of self-ID for access to showers which is having the effect you can't use staff facilities? Or if e.g. you were being pressured to add pronouns to your signature.

I really, really do not recommend going to ministers directly - they do not have the powers to get involved with internal HR policy - that is the remit of the Perm Sec as the head of the department. You could write to your MP to raise a concern but you'd have to do that in your name - and it's not clear what they'd be able to do other than note your concern.

I'm afraid the scope of the PSED is only the exercise of the public functions of a department, not its internal HR policy. So that cannot be used here.

Do you have a 'biology-cogniscent' Conservative MP who could raise for you with the relevant Minister?
I realise your Trade Union would these days be a waste of time.

@highame

We really do need to someone in the Civil Service, NHS, Unions etc to take this on. There would be masses of support out there with funding any tribunal/court cases. The publicity would be great. It needs someone who is being victimised because of their GC beliefs.

We also need to accept that though MP's may be in favour of GC, Civil Servants seem to be a law unto themselves. Take the case of the FCO who just signed their department up without taking account of the views of Liz Truss - I think she's a bit livid

She should just cancel the membership then...it's bad value for money as we know lol.

@StonewalledNameChange

Namechanged to sympathise. My Department has (I think) recently renewed our SDC membership. There are some mitigations in place including ensuring legal opinion comes from our actual lawyers rather than Stonewall, and we're not entering the WEI this year.

I'll put my hand in my pocket for any court cases, but I'm not in any position myself to stand up and take it on. I resist the repeated suggestion to include pronouns in my signature (and when asked tell the truth about why I object to this) but that's as far as I feel safe. I have zero savings to fall back on, and young children to support. I rely on the flexibility of the CS and the reputation I've built up to balance work + caring, I just can't jeopardise that.

I've seen the Stonewall question raised anonymously via Slido at a virtual stand-up, ages back. Seniors handled it cautiously, briefly, and vaguely (this was pre Nolan and everything though) but the staff network swiftly condemned as transphobia. Clearly it was not effective in that we've since renewed our membership! I don't know if that's a useful mechanism to you OP.

Sums up my position too.

@WalpurgisNight

Have you raised it in the People Survey OP? That is anonymous and the free text comments are often read by the departmental executive committee. I did that this year. Or does your department have other informal anonymous surveys? Or, as above, could you raise anonymously on Slido at a staff event if seniors are taking questions? Someone in my department did that once and I am really grateful they did as it made me feel not so alone (even though obviously I don't know who they are!). Seniors clearly did not understand the issue as they said 'we do not have mixed-sex facilities' when that is what we have in practice thanks to self-ID.

Other than that, if you want to do something in your own name, the route I would take would be to raise a concern with HR on specific policies where you are personally affected. e.g. is there a policy of self-ID for access to showers which is having the effect you can't use staff facilities? Or if e.g. you were being pressured to add pronouns to your signature.

I really, really do not recommend going to ministers directly - they do not have the powers to get involved with internal HR policy - that is the remit of the Perm Sec as the head of the department. You could write to your MP to raise a concern but you'd have to do that in your name - and it's not clear what they'd be able to do other than note your concern.

I'm afraid the scope of the PSED is only the exercise of the public functions of a department, not its internal HR policy. So that cannot be used here.

Actually I think the PSED does apply to HR functions.

I agree, going to ministers wouldn't be appropriate.

Good point about the people survey, unfortunately I've missed the boat this year. I did go to town on it when it asked all the "what gender do you identify as" bollocks and nothing on sex, but thankfully they have changed that over the last couple of years.

@StonewalledNameChange

Namechanged to sympathise. My Department has (I think) recently renewed our SDC membership. There are some mitigations in place including ensuring legal opinion comes from our actual lawyers rather than Stonewall, and we're not entering the WEI this year.

I'll put my hand in my pocket for any court cases, but I'm not in any position myself to stand up and take it on. I resist the repeated suggestion to include pronouns in my signature (and when asked tell the truth about why I object to this) but that's as far as I feel safe. I have zero savings to fall back on, and young children to support. I rely on the flexibility of the CS and the reputation I've built up to balance work + caring, I just can't jeopardise that.

I've seen the Stonewall question raised anonymously via Slido at a virtual stand-up, ages back. Seniors handled it cautiously, briefly, and vaguely (this was pre Nolan and everything though) but the staff network swiftly condemned as transphobia. Clearly it was not effective in that we've since renewed our membership! I don't know if that's a useful mechanism to you OP.

You have my sympathies too, Stonewalled. I am in the same position. I think I will go the Slido route least initially. I haven't been asked to put my pronouns in my signature yet but that might be coming.