Equality regulator engages Scottish Government and NHS Fife regarding staff access to single sex facilities

[NotAtMyAge]

The EHRC have today written to NHS Fife and the Scottish Health Secretary about the requirement for single-sex facilities for employees. I quote: "We would like to remind you of your obligations under the Equality Act 2010. The Act protects individuals from discrimination and harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic, including sex, religion or belief, and gender reassignment."

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/media-centre/news/equality-regulator-engages-scottish-government-and-nhs-fife-regarding-staff

Thank you.

Yes, it has been posted on the current Sandie Peggie thread and the Scottish Labour thread.

But, good to bring it to separate attention tonight.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78ed8v0g8lo

It's made it to the BBC as well, who even have an analysis by a Scottish political correspondent.

If we were still on Planet Normal this would be a decisive intervention calling the NHS back to legality and sanity.
But I am just so overwhelmed by how tenacious the surreal commitment to gender ideology is that I feel afraid that the hive mind of transactivism will somehow manage to portray this intervention as a Trumpist coup against progressive values.
The Scottish Labour conference seems to have delivered a fuck you to Anas Sarwar's wriggle back towards realism. I feel too afraid to hope for anything normal to happen anymore.

Thanks for posting in a new thread. I've given up on Sandie's threads as they are too fast going for me and there's only so many you can miss out.

Watchdog tells NHS Fife to provide single-sex changing rooms

www.thetimes.com/article/7caaf0b2-7838-48f5-816c-6139a449193b?shareToken=b7f081d622da252f2b4928eb7b693964

This is great news but implies that only Scotland is denying staff and patients single sex facilities. This is happening throughout the NHS.

Yes all well and good, but it doesn't resolve the problem that if a woman wants to use a single sex changing room, and the man, the male bodied person in front of her, says he isn't a man and that he is a woman, reminding the employer of the Equality Act makes no difference.

How is a woman supposed to be able to dress in privacy when a man stands in the changing room declaring he is a woman?

That's why I did this. I miss things too and a separate thread will be seen by those not following the very busy ones.

Indeed, but it's a start. Hopefully the Darlington nurses case will focus the EHRC's attention on the NHS in England. Sadly, as a resident of Wales I despair of anything being done about the Welsh government's total capture.

I wasn’t sure from reading the first part if they were saying Upton’s wishes had to be balanced with Sandie’s needs. He doesn’t even have a GRC, but the General Medical Council apparently allows doctors to self-ID, in defiance of UK law.

But I read on, to We have requested that NHS Fife provide us with a copy of any equality impact assessment relating to the provision of changing facilities for staff; any information relevant to how such policies have been kept under review…

It seems pretty unlikely that they did any impact assessment (as they should have done) before allowing males into the women’s facilities.

I am so glad we have the sanity of Baroness Faulkner on the EHRC, and on this case.

Tell me about it. I live in totally captured Wales. I guess it's a start.

Surely that's only because employers have been cowed or brainwashed so thoroughly by Stonewall? They need to remember who's in charge and take back some control of the workplaces they are responsible for. The workplace regulations are there to back them up, as are the single-sex exceptions in the Equality Act, but they have to be prepared to use them.

Are Fife still proceeding with the court case? What leg do they have to stand on, even if they can't read someone else has just read the law to them, no less than the EHCR who are responsible for this area. Can they still spend 5 months wasting more public money?

Oh dear that's going to be a massive problem for NHS Fife as they claimed in a foi response requesting the same info that it didn't exist and had no such policy as they were waiting on the NHS Scotland policy and its NHS Scotland who are responsible for risk assessing it and as such had done no risk assessments 🤣🤣🤣

They have no choice as it's Sandie who brought the claim against them and the case is only part heard. They and Dr Upton are the respondents and the continuation of the tribunal is out of their hands.

They could settle though? And pay her compensation. Plus a public apology etc.

Both NHS Fife and Dr Upton would have to agree to settle and so would sandie

I can't see DrU ever agreeing to settle as that would be an admission of wrongdoing on his part and acknowledgement that he's not a woman.

They could settle though? And pay her compensation. Plus a public apology etc.

NHS Fife offered to settle. Sandie clearly wanted this batshittery in the public eye.

Baroness Faulkner's term was extended, wasn't it? How long has she got to run?

Well done the EHRC (and about time too). Are they sending a similar letter to Darlington?

It's understood that Sandie has already turned down an offer to settle. All the indications are that she wants this to go to a judgment.

She'll be in post until November while her successor is being recruited.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chair-of-equality-and-human-rights-commission-term-extended-to-november-2025

God I hope she can get stuff done before Harriet Harperson or some other gender-addled dickhead gets in.

Oh, so do I. I dread the thought of a Stonewall-trained replacement taking up the post.

The ERHC only need to shred one policy. 💅

And Oopse Dooopse😁, the public nature of the ET and lack of compliance makes this NHS branch an ideal test case. Once they produce the documents any failure found during the audit creates the framework for change and other bodies will have to adapt their policy.

“Under the Public Sector Equality Duty, all Scottish health boards must assess how
(1) their policies and practices affect people with protected characteristics. We have requested that NHS Fife provide us with a copy of any
(2) equality impact assessment relating to the provision of changing facilities for staff;
(3) any information relevant to how such policies have been kept under review; and
(4) any details on steps taken to ensure that the rights of different groups are balanced in the application of these policies.

(1) Policy and pratices are the current and will not differ largely across the UK as an easy HR cheat is to pull other orgs policy and check ( the documents will be part of the board pack which is public etc)

(2) So is the missing EIA document is missing because nobody produced it? Likely and they have confirmed it

Hoardasurass · Today 11:46

Oh dear that's going to be a massive problem for NHS Fife as they claimed in a foi response requesting the same info that it didn't exist and had no such policy as they were waiting on the NHS Scotland policy and its NHS Scotland who are responsible for risk assessing it and as such had done no risk assessments 🤣🤣🤣

(3) So that is a broad sweeping look back to 2004 when the law on Gender Reassignment and at any lobbying by Stonewall et al and any actual legal advice.

(4) polite FRO with your case-by-case policy but produce them and prove what you did.

Now if this is the EHRC's starting point the other NHS will not want to be held up to public criticism so the bright bunnies will be pulling their files together.