(Advice) How far do single-sex exemptions reach/any conditions

[TheWomenWithTheGoldenGun]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a little bit of a predicament I have found myself in at work.

I have recently taken up a managerial position in a warehouse, and I decided that it was best to have one-to-one meetings with the team members: just to have a general chat and find out if there's anything any special requirements/needs and any complaints about the previous management.

The team consists of 6 men and 5 women, I started the one-to-one meetings and everyone I've met has been very pleasant during the one-to-one sessions, one of the women on the team identified herself as a transgender woman, let’s call her Rachel. I started asking the women on the team if they felt comfortable with Rachel sharing the changing rooms and showers with her present - 3 out of the 4 women I asked said they feel comfortable sharing the changing rooms and showers with Rachel apart from one who said that she felt uncomfortable.
Now, this is the predicament I find myself in; I don't want any women at work feeling uncomfortable, especially in a male-dominated field but I'm not sure if 1 woman feeling uncomfortable out of the other 3 women on the team is a legitimate reason legally.

Can any of the wonderful women on Mumsnet please help me?

Hi OP

just so we’re clear - you were unable to tell Rachel was male until they told you?

or is Rachel a woman identifying as male?

people are sharing a communal shower?

Yes,

Rachel is a male who identifies as female.

The 3 who said they were comfortable with Rachel. Are they REALLY comfortable or are they saying they are out of fear of being sacked for being transphobic?

Welcome to Mumsnet!

Nobody should have to share a shower with anyone they don't want to have a shower with. At home, at work, at school, at the gym. Never. Consent is a thing, not a figment of others' imaginations.

As an aside do warehouses REALLY have communal showers or are you here for the screenshots?

Yes, we do,

The whole team works the floor lifting and moving boxes, loading trucks, etc etc

We have two sets of showers one for men and one for women all of which have individual curtains for privacy.

Well, that is unusual, isn't it? What is in the boxes?

None I've ever worked in has.

I've been in one where there was a separate, single occupancy unisex shower, in case someone had to wash spilt hazardous materials from him or herself, but otherwise, no showers.

Frankly, I think it's good working conditions where there is sufficient access to fully functioning shared microwaves!

And at the end of a shift all 9 team members go and have a shower at the same do they? Sure....

There is a site near me that has a portakabin for washing asbestos off you. Not sure what happens when you go in; I picture a sort of abrasive miniature carwash and then some kind of like laser strips it all off and then you get microwaved for twenty seconds I think.

But it's one at at time.

Probably one only, ever, really, after they hear the screams.

They must be desperate to stay at work (unpaid!) then.

Personally, I clock out and sprint for the bus. I have a shower at home.

I think I'd still do that, even if showers were available at work, to be honest with you. I must just be really unsociable.

There seems to be some scepticism over your scenario. Giving you the benefit of the doubt for the moment here's some suggestions.

I get a at least one person has to lose out, who should it be? vibe from your question. I would suggest that if you are asking in good faith that you consider trying to keep everyone happy.
Under the equality act sex is a protected characteristic, and where necessary single sex spaces are approprite. If one female is not happy showering in front of a male she has a right to single sex privacy.
I assume your shower areas are also toilet areas, but you don't mention this?
Why not change break times, or shift start and end times for different workers?
If showers are taken towards the end of the shift before going home you could maybe allow the uncomfortable female to start her shift 15-20 minutes early, and end 15-20 minutes early. Declare that window single sex time, and allow her to shower and change in peace. After that designated window it becomes anyone who wants rather than single sex. Allow any female at any time to choose which shower room shift she is on as long as it's not constant disruptive changes. Each woman gets to choose for themself do they want shower in a single sex space or not. Women who are happy to shower with trans women get to do so and the trans woman gets to shower with any women who are happy to do so.
You can also stagger breaks throughout the day in an attempt to keep everyone happy.
Premesis with even a small number of workers these days are required by law to have individual disabled toilets. These can be used by everyone of every sex and gender for good privacy.
You seem to have quite a high female to male ratio in a manually intensive job that tends to be done by males. Showers imply a lot of sweat and heavy lifting. It will be interesting to see as this thread progresses if you are here asking in good faith or not.

Facilities such as toilets and showers are either single sex or single use (self contained cubicles).
You shouldn't be asking the women if they consent or not. It puts them under pressure, and women you employ in the future might not consent but feel unable to say no.
Employers have to give women and men separate toilet and shower facilities so just do that. Alternative accommodations can be made for staff who don't want to use the shower that matches their birth sex. It could be tricky to handle so get HR involved if you aren't sure how to manage things.

By the way OP, if you want some advice on managing a team for the first time do post on Employment Matters. Having one to ones regarding such a sensitive situation is very poor management, so do seek advice or training!

Oh and you did seek the TW's written permission to disclose their trans status to the rest of the team? Hope so for your sake!

At my work We just have the one shower in the same room that houses an ‘accessible’ loo and baby changing facilities. To date none of our warehouse staff have used the shower.
I would NEVER expect any woman to have to shower with men. It’s horrendous to even suggest this course of action.

Presumably they've all been happy before this? They've all been working together before? Unless you all arrived at the same time...
I hope what you have not done is outed Rachel to the rest of the team and caused tension.

Besides which, they are individual showers. Nobody is showering with anybody! I don't see why anything has to change.

I am not sure that this comes under single sex exemption so I was googling to see what material came up. And guess what an old thread from mumsnet was listed.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/3959227-UK-toilets-showers-changing-legislation-reference-thread

It is from a couple of years ago, but any links would show if there is an update on the provision described.

You could also contact Sex Matters and ask them for advice. sex-matters.org/

You sound quite inexperienced and unclear about your role.

Are you not being line managed and supported as you start your new job? What were the ongoing arrangements prior to your arrival? What's the company position? What other policies exist around the use of facilities in the building?

Why did you have one to ones but then have this as a communal discussion? You are giggly likely to be falling foul of the EA in the way you've gone about this.

Why was this the first thing that you happened across that you felt the need to address?

What's your situation in unilaterally investigating this issue? Who do you need to discussion your findings and proposed solution with?

I don't think your lack of understanding of the scope of the EA is the issue here tbh. You need to be properly orientated and supervised in your new role.

Hmm, so everyone works in a very physical environment, and then the women and Rachel all shower together afterwards - but nobody had noticed that Rachel was a transwoman? How odd!

And what Herringbone said, obviously, with a suggestion you treat all your team better than this

Why on earth did you ask people this question without having a clear idea of how to respond if any of them said no?

As I understand it, it only takes one person to say no for you to have to find different provision.

Did you check that 'Rachel' was out in the workplace? If not, you've outed her and that's serious. I think that by calling women in individually and asking them face to face whether they have any issue sharing a shower room with a man you've put them in a difficult position. They know that saying they have an issue with their transgender colleague using female facilities is something that could get them into trouble. I'm amazed that they didn't all say they were fine with it.

Here's the HSE guidelines on loos and facilities for workers. It's clear that any facilities should have lockable doors and so the shower-curtain set-up won't do. It's also clear that men and women should have separate facilities.

www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg293.PDF

I can't imagine any workplace not having separate, lockable shower cubicles. Even in the most basic campsites and facilities I've been to, there have always been separate cubicles. I'm calling dodgy.

Just get another shower installed that is completely private and give all staff the opportunity to use it?

Something strange here. Unless you are trolling I would ask to get this post deleted.