Legal protection

The Equality Act 2010 lists gender reassignment as one of the ‘protected characteristics’ on the grounds of which people are protected against unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation. This applies in education, employment and the provision of goods and services.

It is not necessary for an individual to be under medical supervision, or to undertake gender reassignment surgery, to benefit from the legal protection, which commences from the point at which they first propose to transition.

“A person has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.” - Equality Act 2010

It is unlawful to discriminate against someone because they have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment or are perceived to have it, whether or not the perception is accurate. It is also unlawful to discriminate against someone because of their association with a person who has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment (for example as a family member, friend, partner, etc.); or their association with someone who is perceived to have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. It is also unlawful under the Equality Act for people with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment to be treated less favourably because of their sex registered at birth or because of their perceived sex registered at birth.

As a public authority, in the exercise of its functions, the University also has a general duty under the Public Sector Equality Duty to have due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other unlawful conduct prohibited by Equality Act 2010;
• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share and people who do not share a relevant protected characteristic;
• Foster good relations between people who share and people who do not share a relevant protected characteristic.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows individuals who are at least 18 years old to apply for legal recognition of their “acquired gender” by obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). “Acquired gender” for these purposes means the gender in which the person is living or the gender to which the person has “changed” under the law of the country or territory concerned. It is a criminal offence under this legislation to disclose information obtained in an official capacity (i.e., as part of a person’s work role) relating to an individual’s application for a GRC or (where the application has been granted) the individual’s gender before it became their acquired gender, save in specified circumstances.

University staff must not ask if someone has a GRC or ask to see a person's GRC. If a staff member believes it is necessary for any reason to ask if a person has a GRC and/or ask to see a person's GRC, they should first contact the Equality and Diversity Unit.