Period dignity officer update

[BaileySharp]

They've scrapped the role
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-62807683

Rather than appoint a woman they're just scrapping it

This is probably it

If the people hiring for the role had only applied the single sex exception - permitted under the EA2010 - they could have everyone a whole lot of trouble.

"It is understood Dundee city council, Angus council and Perth college are arguing the sole respondent should be Dundee and Angus College". Don't really blame them. Looks like Katie Baxter is in her own then.

If the people hiring for the role had only applied the single sex exception - permitted under the EA2010 - they could have everyone a whole lot of trouble.

This.

I don't know if he will have a case for discrimination as the role itself went away. It's not as if it's still there and they gave the job to a woman. Anyway, we shall see.

What a colossal waste of money, however you slice it. But I, for one, shall be glued to the press and watching all the details unfurl.

BTW: what's all this 'shame' around periods they (men in particular) have started talking about? Jeffery Marsh seems to do it too. I'm past that stage of life now, but I didn't feel 'shame' about my periods. I felt pain, I felt they were nuisance & restricted my life sometimes. But 'shame', which seems Biblical to me? No.

I see it as a ploy. We get told we feel shame often enough until we do, then those who have enlightened us and lifted our shame become lauded. And also one more thing that most of us naturally wish to keep private, becomes public.

One more boundary erased.

Women don’t want men ‘helping’ them with their periods

it really shouldn’t be much of a surprise. I mean there’s even dedicated law to allow for the fact that there are 2 distinct sexes and sometimes discrimination against members of one sex can be a proportionate means to meet a legitimate aim (like ‘helping’ women and girls with their periods in a way that respects their privacy and dignity)

Yeah

I’m pretty unconvinced about the necessity of a period dignity officer

but if we must have one it damn well shouldn’t be a fella

Same here. A bit of embarrassment, when I was younger, definitely, but mostly just "oh fucks sake, this again" because periods are messy, uncomfortable/ painful and flipping annoying. But never shame. And in my experience as a teacher until about five years ago, there was much less embarrassment among girls - they'd openly ask friends for tampons etc and not do the whole 'hide it up the sleeve' thing we used to do as teens. I agree that if girls keep hearing "we are tackling period shame!" And "you shouldn't feel any shame about your period" of course they are going to see it as something shameful.

What's all this 'shame' about?

Well, if underage girls are embarrassed about periods, men can't talk to them about inserting things up there, can they? I'm sure there's nothing wrong with this. Nothing at all.

I don't know if he will have a case for discrimination as the role itself went away. It's not as if it's still there and they gave the job to a woman. Anyway, we shall see.

But AFAIK it went away not because the need for it had gone, but due to public outcry that a man had been appointed.

Definitely here with 🍿they'll probably settle but I hope they don't. Iirc, there was a whiff about how that particular man got the job and who he may have f......favoured to get it.

Agreed.

what a sad and avoidable situation, if only they had had the common sense to apply the single sex exemptions in Eq Act in the first place

Yes to all of this! Another boundary breached and something that should be private dragged out into the public domain.

I feel the same way about all this talk of penises and vaginas in normal everyday conversation and news reporting. I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT ANYONE'S GENITALS. Stop talking about them FFS.

A mans a man (for a' that) whether or not he has a willy. We KNOW this! God I'm cross this morning 🤬

If I'm remembering correctly there was some really dodgy advertising/hiring practices for the job which they were desperate to cover up.

So my question is if he is found to have been hired due to a flawed or illegal process whether knowingly or unknowingly would he still have a case🤔

So hope this bullshit gets to court. More sunlight

Thanks for posting the update. I hope the councils win at shoving the responsibility for this mess on the one college. Lets have some light shone on his wonderful credentials that only he (and no woman) can possess.

Yup, I vaguely remember some well dodgy hiring shenanigans. Will be very worthy of 🍿to see it all come out in court

It seems there were at least three FOIs at the time, asking about the recruitment process and other candidates. All of which were refused.
If the case goes ahead there will surely be questions around this? So it's disclose or settle. They've probably already decided to settle and are just arguing about who the bill lands on - Dundee and Angus College.
Though in order to justify that decision won't someone need to point out that the appointment was down to a certain person at D&AC who appointed her favourite.
So it might all come out yet.

Jason probably has a good case if they didn’t follow proper procedures in either the hiring and/or the firing.

This should have been a role with a genuine occupational requirement for the post holder to be a woman. Possibly, following Lady Haldane’s judgement, a transwoman with a GRC might have be eligible but not transwomen per se.

The main issue will be what process they followed to remove him from the role. Having made such a mess of the recruitment I would have recommended a compromise agreement, which would have prevented this ET.

The buck passing by the councils etc. should be a sight to behold. Any one know if we can access the hearings?

@Diamondsmile the article said it was a closed hearing

@Hoardasurass this was a preliminary hearing and I think they are always closed.

The ET should be open to the public and that I would be interested in attending. This is where they should have evidence about the recruitment and dismissals processes and what advice was received. From an HR perspective very interesting.

All this.

Join the dots up to 'I am not having a male do my smear test for x reasons' and 'I am not comfortable/able to undress in a room with a naked male' and 'I'm homosexual and not having sex with a male no matter how that male internally feels' .

The answer to all of which is ooooh you have hang ups and a duty to overcome them!

So you can't say no to males being in women's spaces and fucking over your consent to their hearts' content while using your body for validation and any other personal agenda.

Men: get stuffed. This is nowt to do with you.

I look forward to hearing precisely what qualified this man to speak to women about periods. Especially as, I seem to recall, he was previously personal trainer to the recruiting manager.

Depends if he had existing service with that employer.

If the job was removed BECAUSE he was a man then although technically a redundancy he may have a SD claim. I'd imagine they didn't just reappoint with a woman, but unless they can fabricate Some bolleaux that the role was no longer needed due to reasons unconnected with a male appointee he probably has a case.

I'd imagine they have offered a low settlement already but he's holding out for more or has been advised he has a strong chance of winning

Will watch with interest

Really bizarre case - if an employer recruits someone who is wholly unsuitable for a role (not just because of their sex but because of their complete lack of relevant experience and qualifications), and then decides to axe the role, making the person redundant, does that person have a tribunal case? I expect Jason will argue that if he'd been female they wouldn't have axed the role so he was discriminated against on grounds of sex. It's all crazy.