David Lloyd

[AprilMadness]

I don't want to spam Emma's David Lloyd thread so have continued on here.

I know it's Easter weekend so don't expect a reply anytime soon. But have sent the following email to [email protected].

As a long-term member of David Lloyd, I am writing to request clarification regarding your current policy on access to changing rooms and other single-sex facilities.

Your current policy states that members are permitted to use changing rooms aligned with their “gendered appearance,” thereby allowing biological men to access women’s changing rooms.

In light of the recent ruling by the United Kingdom Supreme Court, which confirmed that the protected characteristic of sex under the Equality Act refers to biological sex, I would like to understand how your policy aligns with this legal standard.

Please confirm your position on this matter, including how the policy is applied across your facilities and how compliance with current equality legislation is ensured.

I look forward to a timely response.

I'm really looking forward to their reply!

I wish there was a Ballantine's near me!

What on earth does 'gendered appearance' mean? Considering that stereotypes sound like all they care about, Are they suggesting that a butch lesbian might be ordered to use the men's?!

What next: would they try to force an adult with dwarfism to attend children's sessions?!

If your writing again I'd remind them that they may also fall under workplace regulations unless they have separate staff M / F changing, particularly the pool staff and swimming instructors.

I got a response today from David Lloyd:

"Apologies for the delayed response, I have been on annual leave and as I had been the one previously communicated with you this had filtered back to my inbox.

We do indeed follow the EHRC guidance and supreme court ruling. Apologies but I may have misunderstood, are you saying there are members in breach of these rules, as that has not been reported?

You have stated on your previous email that we have breached this and are non compliant however in your previous emails to me this was not mentioned, you were just questioning the definition. The definition is not set out by us but by the government and most recently, their supreme court ruling.

Members should now use the changing room assigned to their biological sex or we have two private change/shower areas that are not assigned to either sex, with access showers.

If you could give me more detail on incidents that are breaching with these rules I would be more than happy to help and discuss with any member in question.

Best wishes,"

Thanks for posting the reply @TangenitalContrivences .

They seem to have missed the part where they publish, what is in fact a change, to their actual members.

I have had no issues at my nearest DL , but they did make a thing about saying members should use the facilities appropriate to their gender identity.

Bit woolly…

Good work cell 8941b!

Good point. They have to publish the changes otherwise….

Also it reads as if they pretend that you have made a complaint about a specific incident or person, rather than pulling them up on their unlawful policy.

it did rather. I replied last night:

"Thanks for coming back to me, and I hope you had a good break.

I really appreciate you putting your response in writing, and I’m very glad to hear that David Lloyd Clubs are now aligning with the Supreme Court judgment and the interim guidance from the EHRC.

To clarify — my concern wasn’t about any specific incident at the Brighton club. I raised this following the Emma Hardy legal case, which highlighted that David Lloyd Clubs had previously allowed individuals born male to access female changing rooms. This raised serious questions around privacy, dignity, and legal compliance, especially for families like mine, where my daughter uses the facilities independently. As a man, I obviously don’t go into the female spaces myself and so have not seen any breeches personally, but as a parent I have a direct interest in ensuring they remain single-sex.

I’m encouraged to hear that members are now expected to use the changing rooms aligned to their biological sex, with private alternatives available. However, I’d like to understand how this will be proactively enforced. As you know, the Equality Act (as clarified by the Supreme Court and EHRC) isn’t optional or subject to internal policy interpretation, it’s binding. Relying solely on member complaints is unlikely to offer adequate protection, especially when breaches may not be easily reported or noticed until after harm is done.

Could you please confirm what steps are being taken to:

1. Ensure staff are aware of and trained on this legal obligation;
2. Proactively monitor or manage access to female spaces in line with the law; and
3. Prevent any recurrence of the legal issues that led to the Hardy case.

I want to reiterate that I appreciate your time and the progress that’s been made so far — it’s good to see steps being taken in the right direction, and I’m glad we’re having this conversation. These are serious issues, and getting it right protects everyone — women, children, staff, and the Club itself.

I’m sure you may need to escalate this for further guidance so no rush at all, I am very happy and assured now that single sex really does mean single sex.

Thanks again and best wishes,
"

'Breaches' isn't it? I always forget which one means trousers.

Doesn't matter they'll know what you mean.

Interested in this having had to challenge a man in the women's changing rooms last year.

breeches are trousers
breaches is what DL is doing if they let men in.

Allowing breeches risks causing breaches.

Watching this with interest and thanks so much for challenging this with DL.

I’m a member and often go with my kids (male & female). It clearly says on the door to the women’s changing that only boys up to 8 years old can use it, they could easily add a similar sign saying that they are for biological sex. Not sure if it says on the men’s changing that girls up to a certain age only can use it as haven’t ever been in…

Has anyone had any joy from emailing their club direct?

the last response I got was:

"Thank you for your patience.

We maintain that we always aim to carefully balance the needs and concerns of all our members at club level and consider our legal responsibilities when it comes to changing room access.

Our Clubs and Team Members are informed of this approach, and in keeping with our usual processes, we don’t typically issue wider member communications on individual matters of this nature or share the detail of any training that’s taken place with Teams.

All Clubs have a separate changing room for Male and Female as a minimum, with a further separate family and/or disabled changing room in selected clubs.

Please note that boys aged 8 and below may use the Male, Family, and Female changing rooms.

We understand and respect that you feel strongly about this. While we won’t be offering any further comment beyond what has already been shared, please be assured that your concerns have been noted and are appreciated.

Best regards,

David Knight
General Manager
David Lloyd Brighton
"

I have responded saying this is not good enough and escalating to a formal complaint to head office

Good work OP - this reads like they will leave it until members report individual incidents (which means harm is already done) rather than proactively publicise and enforce their changed policy. As you say it’s not good enough.

Tbf if they do that there will probably be some unpleasant trans protest (although hopefully not as disgusting as the ‘pour bottles of urine over myself in a dress’ bloke at the EHRC offices) but that’s on them.

I reported an individual incident and it was completely ignored. No response to my email.

Follow up with threats, the more voices the better